Rutledge Wood Brings His Extensive Car Knowledge And Easygoing Charm To ‘Hot Wheels: Ultimate Challenge’

A lot has been made over the relative dearth of family-friendly content at the multiplexes over the last few months, but the same thing could be said for network TV’s winter schedules, too. Fortunately, with summertime fast approaching, NBC is stepping up to the plate with Hot Wheels: Ultimate Challenge. Despite airing at a time that’s not exactly family-friendly (Tuesdays at 10/9C), this reality TV competition show will be available to stream next day on Peacock, and it contains all of the elements that parents look for when choosing something to watch the whole family: excitement, humor, emotion, teamwork/collaboration, and a tie-in to a well-known and much beloved IP.

Hot Wheels have held an integral place in the hearts and minds of kids of all ages since they were first introduced back in the late ’60s. Since then, the Hot Wheels IP has made its way into video games and cartoons — and it’s worth noting that JJ Abrams and his Bad Robot shingle are currently hard at work at developing a Hot Wheels feature film — but the recent success of crossover shows like Lego Masters and Domino Masters have paved the way for the Mattel product to finally make its way into reality TV with Hot Wheels: Ultimate Challenge. Part Pimp My Ride and part Motor City Masters, HW:UC is hosted by the affable car connoisseur Rutledge Wood, who first made his name on the American version of Top Gear but has recently branched out into the world of family-friendly entertainment with Netflix’s smash game show Floor Is Lava. The Alabama native recently swung by Decider HQ in Midtown Manhattan to give us the scoop on his new show, not only confessing which of the show’s rotating panel of celebrity judges were his favorite to work with, but also sharing some behind the scenes scoop about how this impressive reality show came to be.

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DECIDER: How does it feel being the new Ryan Seacrest? Over the last few years, you’ve hosted American Barbecue Showdown, three seasons worth of Floor Is Lava, and now Hot Wheels: Ultimate Showdown. That’s a pace that even Seacrest would be envious of!

RUTLEDGE WOOD: I’ve been called a lot of things, but the next Ryan Seacrest is definitely a new one for me. Just hearing that term, what an honor! I hope I can rise to that occasion. I love Ryan, he’s on my Mount Rushmore of careers to follow. I think what this really means to me is that I’m so lucky to be the tour guide of fun and good times, whether it’s been covering NASCAR or or any of the Olympic sports I have done for NBC. That’s just one chapter of amazing fun. Floor Is Lava, the cooking shows, and all those other things, that’s another. But now with Hot Wheels: Ultimate Challenge, it’s so neat to be a part of all of these different things. And they’re all really special and fun. Like, man, I can’t believe it.

Well, with any luck, you and Miley can do New Year’s Eve together this year.

Oh my gosh, wouldn’t that be awesome? That would be the greatest. I’m ready. I feel like this is the year I’m ready to be there in Time Square for the ball drop. So let’s do it.

So how did you get involved in first place with Hot Wheels: Ultimate Challenge?

I’ve always been around cars, and I’ve always loved cars. Really, my two big loves are people and cars. And so somehow I was on the radar for the possibility of fun times like this. Hot Wheels have been this through point in my life and my career, because I still collect them. My daughter still gives me Hot Wheels for every holiday. And that’s the first memory that I have a playing with a toy when I was a kid was sitting on my bed on my quilt and I made my little city blocks and had all these Hot Wheels. And when I would smash them into each other and the paint would flake off, I get my mom’s paint pens, and I would start customizing them. So it’s the same thing that I did then that I actually do with cars in real life now. So, the fact that I got chosen to be the host for this, and to help other people kind of achieve their dreams of turning this idea that they’ve always had into a reality? It’s unbelievable.

Did you have a favorite car or a favorite track when you were growing up?

I mean, love the Loop de Loop. I had the one that would clip on the door, too. I mean, there’s so many good ones, right? You think about it. And then the best part is you’ve had the tracks that would raise two — if your friend had a little bit faster car, which sometimes was heavier, or sometimes it was longer, just kind of depending on the track. There were always so many good ones. I remember I had a Mercedes 560 SEC that looked like it came from Miami Vice. All the cars that I didn’t see growing up in Birmingham, Alabama, those are the ones that I had. I definitely had an A-Team van for sure. I had so many!

There was also also an era where if you had certain Hot Wheels, you could smash them into each other and they would flip the door to like it was damaged? What a time to be alive!

Totally agree. How much impact, if any, did you have in the format of the show during the development cycle?

I didn’t. I came in just as a host later on during development of the show, but the cool thing for me is I love cars and know so much about it that once I actually got there, that’s when they asked if I would be a judge, too. And I was like, “Guys, I don’t want to be that guy, I don’t want to go through the nitty gritty.” And they said, “You know so much about cars, we really need this.” And I was like, “Okay, but you have to let me help [the contestants], too.” So I get to help on the front side with the design, I get to help people kind of bounce some ideas around. And the fact that all the producers gave that role to me put a lot of faith in me to not only help them, but then later I have to judge them on those different criteria. You know, “Hert” and Dalal [Ed. Note: He’s referring to Hertrech (“Hert”) Eugene Jr., an influencer in car culture and the drift scene, and Dalal Elsheikh, designer for the Ford Motor Company and Hot Wheels Brand Ambassador, who serve as judges alongside Rutledge] and I together — everybody comes from a different part of the car world, and how you see ’em. But sometimes you got to tell people like, “Hey, I liked the flames.” But they either were too big or they weren’t big enough. I mean, there’s this kind of razor’s edge on all the things you encourage, but every single car that came through our garage, something really special happened with it, and I wish they could have all won, honestly.

Were you a fan of Pimp My Ride on MTV?

Absolutely. I mean, Pimp My Ride really set the standard for modern era of transforming cars. But what they did was they would focus on one person, one story, one car, and they would say they did it in a week. We actually did all of this stuff in a week. And the fact that we did it for two people at once? It was a competition, and each show there’s $25 grand on the line. Then, out of all the cars that won during the first eight shows, three of those move on to the finale where the person that wins that gets to build a totally different car. That winner gets $50 grand and that car gets turned into an actual Hot Wheels diecast that you can buy. I mean, that’s insane. Who does that? Hot Wheels. And because I’m always wanting to have my own Hot Wheels, I understood the pressure very uniquely that all of these super fans felt. There were times that I wish I could have traded places with them, and I could have competed — but it’s pretty fun to host, as it turns out.

Who are some of your other favorite sort of reality TV hosts that you’ve looked to emulate through your career?

Guy Fieri has been a great friend and mentor to me. Really early on in my career, we met at a racetrack and I was so starstruck, I was like, “Oh my gosh, that’s Guy Fieri!” And he said, “Hey, it’s that weird dude from NASCAR!” And I was like, “WHAT?!?”

Not only did we become friends, but Guy really took me under his wing, helped me understood what I needed to do on the marketing side of what was going on. He even showed up to my Top Gear audition, and we got him in a car going sideways. I’d like to think that’s why I got the show.

So, you know, there’s a lot of people that I really look up to and admire, for their hard work and resilience. I mean, Terry Crews is another one of those guys, right? Not only does he represent strength, hard work and hustle, but vulnerability in this really special way. And I can tell you when I looked to my right, and I saw Terry Crews crying on this show, and then I was like, “Wait, what?” And I looked over to my left and the person whose car was they were crying. And then when I looked back at Terry, I was like, “Oh my god, I’m crying. What just happened? I thought this was a car show!” It was a great reminder to me that this is show about people and what connects all of us. And just so happens that that cars and one of the greatest toys of all time, Hot Wheels, connects us all.

That was one of the things that I really liked about the first episode. I watched it this weekend with my family and your ability as a host to empathize with the contestants really stood out. How do you get yourself in a place where you can you can connect on an emotional level, on camera, with contestants in the moment?

I think if my life has shown me anything, being a good listener is really, really important. I don’t think there’s anything that I’m more proud of my life than being a father. Having three daughters helps me immensely with understanding, empathy and where people are coming from and trying to put myself in their shoes, but it’s probably also why I was so close to tears — or actually in tears — a handful of times during this show. My daughters are 9, 12 and about to be 15 so I can see a good insurance commercial and start crying. That’s sometimes something they make fun of — and I get that — but I think for this show, these cars are this really bright spot that helps these people really define who they are. And then other times, they’re a little bit of a darker spot and cars helped them get from one place to transition to another. So I think that’s really what has helped me the most — just trying to sit and listen and understand.

This one might get you in trouble a little bit. Who was your favorite of the celebrity judges to work with, and why?

That’s a that’s a tough one. Okay. Joel McHale and I have a ton in common. We both love vintage Toyota Land Cruisers, and we both love food. I loved getting to spend time with him. Sung Kang is one of my favorite human beings I’ve ever met. That guy is not only so talented, but so peaceful as a human being. He’s just fun to hang with. And I mean, of course, getting to hang with Jay Leno? For car people, there’s just nothing like it, and for him to give us that time was really special. Anthony Anderson and his mama Doris. Those two. You wouldn’t think that someone’s mom could be the most inappropriate person you’ve ever met, would you? And I think Anthony’s mom really holds that title uniquely. Those two are so much fun.

Well, you gave me like five answers, but they were five good ones. So I’ll let you slide.

Sorry. Yeah, I couldn’t pick just one.

I’ve got a couple of logistical questions here about the show that I had while watching it last night. So each episode takes place over the course of seven days. Can you talk a little bit about your your filming schedule through those seven days? You know, how long you’re on set, how long the contestants are on set…

We have seven days to reunite a person with this car from their past. Now, before they even get there, our team has spent a lot of time to get that car exactly the way that they remember it. Since this is not the exact same car, it’s about finding a car as close as we can and then getting the details right. So before we even shoot, our team has done a ton of work already. So then we unveil the cars to our superfans, introduce them to their team of builders (“The Carpoolers”) and then literally, they go right to work. We’ve got to get to the Chrome Zone, where we come up with a design a plan and then their team has figured out how do we do this because you go backwards, right? You figure the last day is Day 7, so Day 6 is when the cars go to paint, they get vinyl, kind of all the finishing details. But it’s those five days in between Day 1 and Day that things are wide open, and those are 8, 9 hour days. We’re there for as much of it as we can be because so much happens in those builds. Also, no one’s ever done anything like this, where the two garages are 30 feet away from each other looking at each other. You feel that pressure because you can see how the other team is doing — the progress is for real.

So you’re there like eight, nine hours or so each day throughout the course of the week. Can you talk a little bit about the decision to take the contestants away on Day 6 while the paint and finishing touches are coming together?

Well, when you think about the build process, there’s your initial stage of design, then you’ve got your big build stages, and then that final stage when you finish the car. So paint, vinyl graphics, kind of all the details. And the idea was if we take the superfans away for that last part, it also allows the team to put in some extra little easter eggs — something special for the super fans. And those have been so special. This gives us that big Day 7 reveal. It’s incredible because during this seven day period, everyone has gone on this incredible ride. We really get to dip into their lives as they share so much with us, and then to see where that car was at the start and all the way fast forward to see the transformations of these cars? It’s like the transformations of the contestants in their own lives. It’s really special.

I’m dying to know what happens to the finished cars at the end of each episode. That’s one things the show didn’t really explain.

You have to watch and see, because at the end, you’re gonna see how we go through how we pick the very best. Three of the cars will make it all the way through to the finale, where those three super fans will get a completely different car that they don’t have an emotional attachment to. And they’ll get a chance to build that car. Whoever wins that wins $50 grand and that car gets turned into an actual Hot Wheel itself. So you have to watch to find out where they go.

Last question for you. With everything that’s on TV this summer, give me the case for why families should make time to watch Hot Wheels: Ultimate Challenge.

There’s so much chaos going on in the world, and so few shows that people can sit down with their family of all ages and just sit and watch and enjoy. And Hot Wheels: Ultimate Challenge is a great way to remind us that we are connected to a time and a place, and so many of us are connected through cars. As crazy as that sounds, when you you hold a Hot Wheels car in your hand it is aspirational. You think about where I could go, and the things that I would do if I had a car like this — and I think is what connects us all. And Hot Wheels: Ultimate Challenge tells that story beautifully.

New episodes of Hot Wheels: Ultimate Challenge air on NBC on Tuesdays at 10/9C, and arrive on Peacock the next day.