Street Outlaws: How Real is it?

The most common question most people ask about this Discovery Channel show is “how real is it?” I personally used to wonder the same thing before becoming friends with some of the people involved. One of these people is John Gentry, aka “Baron.” John has become a good friend of mine and has been a part of the Oklahoma City “405” street racing scene since well before the days of the hit tv show. He has also been present for filming for almost the entire series. John briefly raced his own Oldsmobile Cutlass during a Cash Days episode in Season 5. John’s expertise comes from being present during filming, helping friends who are racing on the show as active members of “the list.”

I conducted the interview via phone call. In total we talked on the phone for about an hour about various things like our own cars. The formal interview portion lasted 30 minutes and was recorded with John’s consent. I asked him some basic questions that I had planned beforehand along with a handful of others that came up in conversation. I kept track of these new questions during the course of the interview.
John says on the actual production side of the show, there are three film crews following set groups of people. Each episode is the result of 15–18 hours of film time from what he has been told by production crew members.
Crew 1- Big Chief and Murder Nova
Crew 2- Farmtruck and AZN
Crew 3- Everybody else
Questions:
How does the racing in Street Outlaws differ from when the cameras are filming for the show compared to an actual illegal race event?
John made it clear that the roads are shut down for filming with safety precautions in place. When they appear to be on a road with other cars passing by, those cars are driven by production crew members. The racing itself is not illegal, however it does take place on an actual public road. John says the filming nights are a lot of “hurry up and wait.” The film nights can last 7–8 hours often lasting until 3 or 4 in the morning. John said there have been many nights where he gets home with only enough time to sleep for an hour before he has to go to work in the morning. Most of the racers on the show carry regular full time jobs in addition to racing.
Are the test hits real?
As far as John knows the test hits on the show are legal. I have heard from other participants of the show that some actual illegal test hits on the street have made it into the final cuts, however John has not personally witnessed this to confirm or deny. The clip below is John making a real illegal “test hit” with his Cutlass.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p406Omk2l_Q
Are the on screen fights real or staged for the cameras?
According to John the fights are not staged one bit. They are real and tensions are high. John says that James Goad aka “Reaper” will sometimes be extra hot headed in front of the cameras. A recent on-screen fight ,in the video below, between Reaper and “Doc” (James Love) is real. These two guys have an ongoing grudge. The fights may not be staged but he says the presence of the cameras definitely brings out the ego of many racers looking to get screen time.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pGmw7HK8k8o
Does the production crew change variables to affect race outcomes?
According to John, the racing is 100% real. He was very adamant that none of the racers on the show would ever throw a race on purpose because someone told them to. He has personally never witnessed a staged race of any kind.
Does the production crew manufacture grudges?
John says they do not manufacture grudges during filming, however the order in which they edit and produce the episodes has caused grudges. The film crew will sometimes place an out of context audio line into an event to emphasize drama that didn’t really happen. The racers in the show don’t see any of the footage until it is aired on tv. So one could conclude that they may not manufacture grudges on set, however post production has absolutely created real grudges. He does not know if this is the intent of the production crew or not.
Is the on-screen betting real?
Yes, it is. John says that any time a racer is shown betting and exchanging money with other racers during filming it is absolutely real. Kye Kelley from Mississippi once won 16,000 dollars from a Cash Days event and the production crew actually gave him a 1099 form.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWq86useNA8
What was filming Season 1 like compared to filming now?
John said “Back in the beginning everyone was strung out and nervous in front of the cameras. Now people are used to it and they are not as antsy on set.”
What was “Race Night” like before the show came about?
John says the top ten list was a real thing before the show came about and the races were actually done illegally back then. He said “during a callout two people would plan to race at a designated spot. They would show up, race, and leave very quickly. Only maybe 10–20 people max would be spectating just from word of mouth. There were no night long events where multiple people race in one spot for an extended period of time like it is on TV.”
Conclusion:
My original question was to find out how Street Outlaws compares to real street racing. My answer is it is real street racing. Now the interactions outside of the racing can be embellished at times however the racing is 100% real. According to John, nobody would throw a race for any reason whatsoever. Everyone has too much pride. It is also this pride that leads into the heated discussions between races. In most cases these are real too. Street Outlaws is one of the most legit reality television shows still being produced today.
