Tuesday, March 07, 2017

AmeriCarna Returns This Thursday

Velocity’s AMERICARNA returns to the network for a fourth season on Thursday, March 9 with NASCAR champion crew chief Ray Evernham guiding viewers through a series of remarkable stories from the automotive world. From Mario Andretti’s legendary 1965 Brawner Hawk IndyCar to the 1958 Chevy from the iconic movie American Graffiti, Evernham unveils the fascinating details behind the most notable cars in American history. Ray also helps his friend Dale Earnhardt, Jr. restore an El Camino to become racecar-performance worthy.

AMERICARNA kicks off with a special, one-hour story of the car that ignited Mario Andretti’s illustrious IndyCar career; the Brawner Hawk from the Dean Van Lines racing team. Ray works closely with hall of fame mechanic Jim McGee to fully restore the renowned vehicle back to its historic original form. Ray and Jim then take the 1965 racecar to the 100th running of the Indianapolis 500, where Andretti, who won the 1969 Indy 500, gets behind the wheel and races down memory lane.

AMERICARNA will also follow Evernham as he finally fulfills his childhood dream of owning the American Graffiti 1958 Chevy Impala.  After the car went up for auction, Ray prepares to restore the Chevy to its classic big-screen look. Ray and his team work painstakingly on this restoration, reviewing every scene from George Lucas’ 1973 film and cataloguing every detail to make sure they get it right.  Viewers can catch all the action on the brand-new season of AMERICARNA, premiering Thursday, March 9 at 9pm ET/PT on Velocity.

Upcoming AMERICARNA episodes include:

“The Machine, The Magic and Mario”
Thursday, March 9 at 9 pm [1-hour Special]
Ray uncovers the infamous “Brawner Hawk” – from the Dean Van Lines team – that became the breakout car in the career of Mario Andretti. Ray enlists HOF mechanic Jim McGee to restore the vehicle and, along the way, discovers a replica with many of the car’s original parts. After an award-winning stop at Amelia Island Concours, the car heads to the 100th running of Indy 500 where Mario Andretti himself gets behind the wheel.

“Two Juniors and the El Laguna”
Thursday, March 16 at 9 pm
Dale Earnhardt, Jr. wants Ray to help restore an El Camino, except add on a Laguna front end. It’s not a typical restoration, but it’s certainly a NASCAR performance-worthy restoration. Ray and the team build the car and then, in a bit of gamesmanship, challenge Kyle Tucker, owner of Detroit Speed, to a series of races against his award-winning Camaro. But as always, Ray has an ace up his sleeve in Al Unser, Jr. as his driver.

“Vintage Racing Takes an Awesome Turn”
Thursday, March 23 at 9 pm
In the late 60s, Camaros, Mustangs, and Corvettes roared to the forefront of the muscle car world. When Ray gets offered a spot in a vintage race featuring these cars, he’s propelled to dive into their history and afforded a chance to get behind the wheel at the Brickyard. But because it is a pro-am race, Ray pulls in a partner – none other than Bill Elliott, aka “Awesome Bill from Dawsonville.”

“Hollywood Makeover”
Thursday, March 30 at 9 pm

Everyone has a car they fell in love with. Maybe it was the first? Maybe it was the hot rod the guy down the street owned? In Ray’s case, it was the ’58 Chevy he saw in the iconic coming of age car movie, American Graffiti. When Ray gets the chance to own the car after years and years of pursuit, he jumps on it. But restoring the car to its "movie state" proves to be a grueling task that goes way beyond a typical build. But when it's you first love, you can't let her down.

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