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Tim Karrick is one of the drivers featured on Heatland Thunder.
The network that turned crab fishermen into reality stars is airing an unscripted show filmed in and around Lakeside Speedway in Kansas City, Kansas.
Heartland Thunder on the Discovery Channel follows four drivers who live to race modified cars on Lakeside's dirt track. The series made its debut on June 19. In the first episode, one of the drivers, Danny Charles, takes angry cigarette smoking to a new level after his car ends up against wall during the featured race.
The other featured drivers are Justin Boney, a heavyweight who hates finishing second; the well-financed Tim Karrick; and Tom Charles, Danny's father.
Heartland Thunder's real star does not wear a fire suit. The most compelling figure is Dee Charles, the wife of Tom, mother of Danny and a woman with no restricter plate on her emotions. In the first episode, she flies into the pit area after her husband's car performs poorly in a qualifying heat. Dee is upset that Tom and his crew did not adequately address a fuel pressure problem. "I told you that wouldn't work!" she yells, pounding on the roof of his car.
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Drivers mix it up at Lakeside.
The producers of the show work too hard to manufacture a rivalry among the featured drivers. In one scene, Boney calls into a radio show to address something Tom Charles says. It's obvious both men are acting on instructions.
At the same time,
Heartland Thunder does a lot of things well. The show captures the passion for grassroots racing that leads drivers and their loved ones to risk blood and treasure. There's also a quick and effective demonstration of how the front end of an old Chevelle becomes a car capable of competing on dirt.
Drama-wise, the debut episode benefits from a crash that involved two of the featured drivers. (No one was hurt.) After the race, Danny Charles fumes in the pits, believing that a competitor was careless on the track. The driver in question is a heavy-set individual. "Man, if you drove as well as you ate cheeseburgers, you might be good," Charles yells at him.
The second of six episodes of
Heartland Thunder airs tonight at 9 p.m.
Images via outlawgrafx and cherokee_kc's Flickr.
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