JL: I was going to ask you about that. Is it intimidating? Those are big shoes to fill, those three guys on the British show, are you intimidated by that?

TF: Of course. We are not going to be able to fill those shoes from the British show. It would be daunting to try. What’s really happening is we are using this format and this style of show — that is really a very unique type of television — about three guys in a show that does revolve around cars but is more about the chemistry of these three guys trying to either kill each other. Or just enjoying the automotive world on somebody else’s dime with producers that are trying to kill them. That’s really what it’s about, so I don’t really go into the screen sessions or the shoot dates thinking that I need to act like a certain person. I just try to be myself and keep on my toes with Adam’s wit.

JL: Carolla does have a fast wit, and a large part of the British show is about humor. So are you going to try to keep up with Adam, or are you playing a different role — does he just get to crack all the jokes?

TF: You know Adam is an incredibly funny guy and the fact that he’s got a radio show where he simply can just flip a switch and just start talking is perfect for him because he really genuinely comes up with the craziest stuff throughout a conversation. I hope it translates that way on television, you know, because of the editing. On the radio it’s all live and so everybody listening gets to feel whats going on: his mental process through the conversations and how funny he really is and on the television show it’ll be edited up to match a certain story to an extent. There’s no denying Adam is a lot funnier than I am but what it really does is take pressure off me. I don’t have to be funny. All I have to do is enjoy the car and stick my opinion out there and occasionally snap back at him a little bit. He supports a huge load of the show with his wit so it really is a relief to be in that environment.

JL: What about this Eric Stromer character? What’s he like? Does he have a car background? Would you call him a car guy?

TF: Eric is definitely a car guy, but not in the technical sense. He doesn’t have a lot of technical knowledge about cars or racing experience. But he’s a gearhead and he’s somebody who knows what he likes and dislikes about cars. It’s an interesting perspective to hear because I’m taking into account the racing heritage and how much horsepower it has and how things feel, Adam’s taking into account his things and Eric is just simply reacting to what he thinks is cool about the car or isn’t. He represents a large part of the audience that may not know all the technical jargon but certainly have an opinion on what they like or dislike.

JL: We know that Adam has a whole hangar full of exotic Italian cars. What do you got? What’s your daily driver? Do you collect cars?

TF: I wouldn’t mind collecting cars at some point. Right now I drive an M3.

JL: Nice. E46?

TF: E46, yeah. And its fairly stock. It has a few AC Schnitzer bits on it to keep it exciting but when I moved to Southern California I found quickly that the highways here are very, very rough. I get to drive other people’s race cars and road going behemoths all the time so for my street car I really love the M3. It’s a great compromise — a multi-talented car thats quiet enough to have a conversation in but its fun when you want it to be.

JL: I’m surprised because most of the professional race car drivers I know have some like F150s to tow their go-karts around.

TF: Well, I do have two F450s and a F350.

JL: Aha — I knew it!

TF: And they each have trailers attached to them for the rally and the drift program.

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