Fast Cars & Superstars: Finale

John Elway was famous for his late-game heroics throughout his long NFL career, including a playoff fourth-quarter comeback against the Cleveland Browns known as “The Drive.” Well, that is officially Elway’s retirement nickname now as well, as he came out of nowhere to win “Fast Cars & Superstars: The Gillette Young Guns Celebrity Race.”

Here at KickingTires, we had suggested that any of four celebs could drive off with this event: pro wrestler John Cena, folk singer Jewel, her boyfriend and ex-rodeo star Ty Murray or extreme athlete Tony Hawk. All four gave healthy chases Sunday night, but each one came up short, as Elway bested them by a jaw-dropping 4-plus seconds.

Fast Cars & Superstars: Accuracy Trials Part 2

With his easy victory in last night's accuracy trials, pro wrestler John Cena has planted his stake as the celebrity most likely to drive off with the title from "Fast Cars & Superstars: The Gillette Young Guns Celebrity Race," which Cars.com is sponsoring.

To recap the rules for the accuracy test: Celebrity drivers need to hit arrows painted on the track with their left-side tires, 12 sets of them in all, and then they need to park their racecar cleanly in a box on pit row.

In last night's show, Cena benefited from the timidity and errors of his competitors: folk singer Jewel, ex-NFL coach Bill Cowher and pro volleyball player Gabrielle Reece. Reece and Cowher had had earlier entanglements with the infield and the wall, respectively, and that was reflected in their docile driving.

Fast Cars & Superstars: Accuracy Trials Part 1

Before this competition got started, several Cars.com staffers pegged Tony Hawk as the most likely winner of “Fast Cars & Superstars: The Gillette Young Guns Race” (which Cars.com is sponsoring) from the group of 12 celebrities. Last night, Hawk may not have been the fastest guy on the racetrack (holy cow, Ty Murray was on fire!), but he was by far the most accurate.

Accuracy’s the name of the game for this round: Celebrities have to get their left tires to hit a series of arrows painted on the racetrack surface, then park their racecar squarely in a box along pit row. For each set of arrows they miss, they get another 2 seconds added to their time. If they miss the box at the end, they could see anywhere from 5 seconds to 15 seconds added to their time. Speed counts, but accuracy is more important.

Fast Cars & Superstars: Time Trials Update 3

Well, they certainly saved the best for last in the time trials for "Fast Cars & Superstars: The Gillette Young Guns Race." Competing against Capt. Kirk (William Shatner) were pro volleyball player Gabrielle Reece and ex-NFL coach Bill Cowher. Reece and Cowher finally showed what the awesome power of a 600-hp car can do when the driver loses control for a moment.

Reece started the fireworks during her practice laps, when she lost control of the car, crossed the grassy area along the track, starting spinning and came to a stop just a couple feet from the wall. She seemed a little shaken, but it was Cowher who actually left some paint on the wall.

Fast Cars & Superstars: Time Trials Update 2

Well, Jewel showed up the guys in last night’s “Fast Cars & Superstars: The Gillette Young Guns Celebrity Race,” sponsored in part by Cars.com. Competing against ex-NBA star John Salley and pro wrestler John Cena, early bets might have suggested that the ultra-competitive, testosterone-laden men would have had the edge in driving a racecar around the track at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. Those bets would not have paid off.

Salley seemed overwhelmed during his ridealong, yelling and cursing as he was driven at nearly 200 mph. When it came time for his nighttime time trial, you could see he was trying as hard as he could, but he just couldn’t get the speed up; he finished with an average just shy of 135 mph. Jewel went next, and boy, was she nonchalant about it. She took in everything during the ridealong and her own time trial, all while busily chewing gum. For her, it seemed like a walk in the park as she averaged just under 145 mph, beating Salley by more than 10 seconds.

Cena went last, and after his ridealong he seemed like an early favorite to take it all. He’s a very confident, outgoing, funny guy, but he was all business both in his practice laps and during his time trials. Still, during the time trial, he couldn’t bust past Jewel’s pace, and he lost to her by a quarter of a second.

Jewel and Cena advance, and on Thursday’s show, William Shatner competes against pro volleyball player and model Gabrielle Reece and ex-Steelers coach Bill Cowher. What do the early betters out there think of that trio?

Fast Cars & Superstars Coverage on Cars.com

Fast Cars & Superstars Celebrity Profiles
John Salley
Laird Hamilton
Gabrielle Reece
Kasey Kahne
Serena Williams
Kurt Busch
Bill Cowher
John Cena
Tony Hawk
John Elway

Fast Cars & Superstars: Time Trials Update

We’re halfway through the first round of the time trial portion of “Fast Cars & Superstars: The Gillette Young Guns Celebrity Race,” and the competition is getting fierce. In last week’s first episode, Hall of Fame QB John Elway and professional surfer Laird Hamilton easily defeated tennis great Serena Williams. Williams, who seemed a little shell-shocked after her first ride-along, improved her time dramatically by the time she participated in the time trials, but it wasn’t enough to move on to the second round. She did make her goal, however, of beating the speed of her explosive tennis serve.

On last night’s episode, Krista Allen of ABC’s “What About Brian?” faced ex-rodeo rider Ty Murray and extreme sports maestro Tony Hawk. Talk about competitive: All three were doing their best to get the top speed, with Murray even passing his pace car after his time trial ended. The outcome of these time trials was much closer than in the first episode, when Hamilton easily beat Elway, who had easily defeated Williams. Last night, only a tenth of a second (about four car lengths) separated Hawk from Murray. While Allen looked like she might pull off the upset, her car lost control for a short time on one of the curves. That slowdown cost her; she wound up a mere 2 seconds behind the guys.

Still to come in the time trials are singer Jewel, pro wrestler John Cena, ex-NBA star John Salley, pro volleyball player and model Gabrielle Reece, ex-Pittsburgh Steelers coach Bill Cowher, and Captain Kirk himself: William Shatner. “Fast Cars & Superstars,” which Cars.com is sponsoring, returns tomorrow night at 8/7c.

Fast Cars & Superstars Coverage on Cars.com

Fast Cars & Superstars Celebrity Profiles
John Salley
Laird Hamilton
Gabrielle Reece
Kasey Kahne
Serena Williams
Kurt Busch
Bill Cowher
John Cena
Tony Hawk
John Elway

Fast Cars & Superstars Debuts Tonight

It’s the big night. There might be some basketball game on, but make sure to tune in a half hour before tipoff to catch the premiere episode of “Fast Cars & Superstars – Gillette Young Guns,” which is sponsored by Cars.com. The reality show pits celebrities against each other in NASCAR-style racing. Who’s tutoring the famous people behind the wheel? NASCAR drivers like Kurt Busch and Kasey Kahne.

If you haven’t read our interviews with many of the celebrities, check out the list below. We weren’t able to grab hold of William Shatner, but Denny Krane himself blogged about the experience on his fansite.

Fast Cars & Superstars Coverage on Cars.com

Other Fast Cars & Superstars Profiles
John Salley
Laird Hamilton
Gabrielle Reece
Kasey Kahne
Serena Williams
Kurt Busch
Bill Cowher
John Cena
Tony Hawk
John Elway

Fast Cars & Superstars: John Salley

CONCORD, N.C. — John Salley, the only NBA player to win championship rings with three different teams (Detroit, Chicago and the L.A. Lakers), is something of a media personality now. He’s appeared in movies and has a regular radio gig in Los Angeles. One of the hosts of “The Best Damn Sports Show Period” on Fox, Salley has a reputation for being a great interview, and he was in prime form at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. He’s one of the celebrity drivers for the Cars.com sponsored “Fast Cars & Superstars — Gillette Young Guns Celebrity Race,” which begins airing June 7 on ABC. We can’t be sure just how much of what Salley told us is 100 percent true, but he was awfully entertaining.

A lot of NASCAR drivers are shorter than 6 feet. How was it for you in there?

“Well, they custom-made my seat so I could fit, but I’m gonna tell you, you want to be as small as possible to be in this gear (jumpsuit). Because, one, it’s going to fit you better, and two, you won’t have as much to let out of your system when you go on yourself.”

Fast Cars & Superstars: Laird Hamilton

CONCORD, N.C. — Laird Hamilton is a champion surfer, and like fellow celebrity racer John Elway, his competitive side jumped at the chance to hop into the Cars.com car on a NASCAR track.

“To be taught by racecar drivers, yeah, that was like a no-brainer,” Hamilton said. “I’ve always said, if you ever want to be good at anything, see the best people in world that are doing it and learn from them.

”It’ll save you a lot of time.”

It's that same competitive drive that compelled him to be one of the first celebrities to go on a ride-along.

Fast Cars & Superstars: Gabrielle Reece

CONCORD, N.C. — Gabrielle Reece knows what she wants in a car, and it’s not very different from her needs as a pro volleyball player. She wants the high view.

“I like to be up high in a high car,” Reece said at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Charlotte, N.C. “I like to see what’s going on.”

Reece was one of a dozen celebrities taking part in “Fast Cars & Superstars — Gillette Young Guns Celebrity Race” back in March; it’s scheduled to air beginning June 7 on ABC, and Cars.com is a sponsor. Reece, who competed against her husband, renowned surfer Laird Hamilton, along with actor William Shatner and others, said she has unique demands for her cars.