Richard Rawlings Biography

Fast Facts

• Broke the 1979 record in the Cannonball Run after completing the 2,811 drive from New York to Los Angeles in 31 hours and 59 minutes
• Started his own printing and advertising company, which he later sold to fund a venture that followed his true passions, a hot rod shop called Gas Monkey Garage
• Worked as a firefighter, a police officer and a paramedic to fund his fascination with cars
• Quote: "Bottom line, if we're gonna have fun, it better have a motor!"
• Known for repairing run down classic cars on the television series "Fast N' Loud" and selling them for a profit
• His first car, which he bought when he was 14, was a green '74 Mercury Comet
• In the early 1990s, he was shot in the arm while defending his '65 Mustang 2+2 Fastback from a carjacker