SPEED™ Adds Vast Array of New Faces to Prime Time Lifestyle Lineup

CHARLOTTE, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--From models to racers, stuntmen and stand-up comedians, SPEED has added many new faces and programs to its popular lifestyle repertoire this season. Following is an introduction to some of the newcomers and the shows they host:

“I love them and they’re my toys. I call my garage my ‘Jay Leno Starter Set.’ I’ve got three cars and three bikes. I’m somewhat of a car connoisseur but within my budget. Actually, a little bit beyond my budget.”

Alonzo Bodden, host of 101 Cars You Must Drive (scheduled to premiere June 23 at 9 p.m. ET): Alonzo Bodden got his television breakthrough when he won the grand prize on Last Comic Standing 3 after finishing runner-up in Season 2. He returned as a judge for the show’s fifth season last summer. Bodden’s movie roles include Scary Movie 4, Bringing Down the House and The Girl Next Door. He also has had television roles in Angel, Grounded for Life and Profiler.

Bodden, a former jet mechanic, knows his way around cars, and is ready to take SPEED viewers on a comedic look at some of the world’s most famous and not-so-famous machines.

“It’s funny how big Americans’ cars are and how slowly we drive them,” said Bodden, who was born in New York and now lives in Los Angeles. “Compared to Europe or Japan, we love our cars big. Compared to Germany and Italy and other countries, we have better roads with lower speed limits. That’s probably good because we’re putting on make-up while on the cell phone and that’s not good at 140 miles per hour.”

The transition from stand-up comedy to host of a weekly television show has been an easy one for Bodden.

“I’ve been a car and motorcycle nut all my life,” he said. “I love them and they’re my toys. I call my garage my ‘Jay Leno Starter Set.’ I’ve got three cars and three bikes. I’m somewhat of a car connoisseur but within my budget. Actually, a little bit beyond my budget.”

101 Cars You Must Drive, scheduled for 10 30-minute, high-definition episodes, is based on the popular book 365 Cars You Must Drive, written by Motor Trend magazine executive editor Matt Stone and automotive journalist John Matras.

To learn more about the host of 101 Cars You Must Drive, please visit: http://www.alonzobodden.com/home.html

Tanner Foust, host of SuperCars Exposed (Mondays at 9 p.m. ET): Tanner Foust, one of the premier rally car drivers in the world and a Hollywood stunt driver, previously hosted Redline TV on SPEED. Foust had lead driver roles in Fast and Furious 3: Tokyo Drift, Dukes of Hazzard and The Bourne Ultimatum.

He was the 2007 Formula Drift Pro Drift champion and a Pro Rally gold medalist in the 2007 X Games. Foust’s numerous other racing achievements include the 2005 Rally America PGT championship, a runner-up finish in the 2006 Rally America PGT class championship and five Endurance Ice Racing championships. He also has competed in the SCORE Baja 1000 and has vast experience in open-wheel racing. Foust also serves as a driver instructor and consultant for several racing series.

SuperCars Exposed takes viewers inside the extreme lifestyles of enthusiasts and their hyper-performance automobiles. The show, which premiered in February, isn’t just about pimped-out exotics like Tony Stewart’s Lamborghini Murcielago - it also focuses on ultra-fast cars and the tuners who build them. The program showcases everything from 200-mph autobahn burners built by Germany’s luxo-tuners Brabus, RUF and AMG to Japan’s twin-turbo N20 injected Toyota Supras and America’s super car, the thundering seven-liter Corvette.

To learn more about the host of SuperCars Exposed, please visit:

http://www.tannerfoust.com

Vida Guerra, host of Livin’ the Low Life (Thursdays at 10 p.m. ET): Cuban-born model/actress Vida Guerra skyrocketed to fame in 2004 as the FHM magazine model of the year and has since appeared in music videos with P. Diddy and Nelly, in addition to parts in national TV commercials and movies. She maintains a thriving magazine modeling career, as well as an Internet business that logs millions of visitors each year.

Born into poverty in Cuba, Guerra escaped with her family to the United States as a young girl and lived in New Jersey until a couple of years ago.

“When I was growing up, we didn’t have money or many material possessions, but the one thing my parents taught me was the importance of family,” Guerra said. “The lowrider culture definitely gets that. I think some people view the lowrider culture as somewhat of a lower class. But I think it’s a good way for these people to show their passion and I hope it can inspire others to do the same.”

Throughout Mexican-American communities from Los Angeles to Texas, cruisers have been dropping Chevys to a sidewalk-scraping stance since the late 1930s. By the late ‘70s, Los Angeles and other cities in the Southwest had combined the cars with lifestyle and fashion, and the lowrider scene was born. Livin’ the Low Life, which premiered in February, delves deeper into the world of lowriders than any media before it, building the lowrider into a weekly addiction for anyone who’s wild about super cars and stylish vehicles.

To learn more about the host of Livin’ the Low Life, please visit: http://www.vidasworld.com

Brett Wagner, host of Pass Time (Monday-Thursday 7:30 p.m. ET): Brett Wagner, also known as ”The Big Schwag,” is best known as former pitchman and announcer on Monster Garage with Jesse James. During this time, he became synonymous with his signature phrase “You gotta be kiddin’ me!”

Wagner started acting at 21 and has guest starred in more than 40 different TV shows, including NYPD Blue, Angel, Nip/Tuck, Judging Amy and Cold Case, in addition to numerous film roles. He was a series regular on The Jamie Kennedy Experiment, hosted Wrestling 101 on the Comedy World Radio Network and has performed numerous special appearances and emcee duties for car and motorcycle shows, in addition to hosting Monster Nation.

Pass Time, scheduled for 20 additional 30-minute episodes this summer, was the first show on SPEED to graduate from Launch Hour to full series status. While on Launch Hour, Pass Time was called Name That Test and Tune. On the program, which began in February, participants guess how quickly 10 cars will run the quarter-mile track and win cash prizes in return.

Jason Britton, host of SuperBikes! (Tuesdays at 10 p.m. ET): Jason Britton is a professional Hollywood stunt rider who began riding bikes without training wheels as a two year old. Britton’s stunt riding has appeared in multiple movies and television commercials, including Torque, Biker Boys and Waist Deep. He has produced several extreme stunt bike riding videos and has been featured in numerous national publications. Britton, a lifelong Huntington Beach, Calif. resident, is the executive editor of 2Wheel Tuner Magazine. He was BMX racing by the time he was 10, racing motocross by age 12 and riding street bikes at 16.

“I started riding a pedal bike when I was a year-and-a-half old and started riding a motorized bike at two years old,” Britton said. “Just when I was starting to put sentences together, I was learning to ride.”

With a lifetime of experience on two wheels, there isn’t much that intimidates Britton.

“I’m always looking for the latest and greatest challenge and the new big thing,” he said. “I haven’t really found anything yet that scares me on a sport bike. But the guys on dirt bikes scare the heck out of me. They do all kinds of crazy things, which I actually feed off of and try to get ideas to transition to the sport bike world.”

On SuperBikes!, Britton takes viewers inside the extreme lifestyles of today’s young riders. He travels the globe in search of the ultimate local stunt rider scene, visiting sport bike hot spots, events, tracks, back roads, urban streets … anywhere in the world where young riders congregate to share their passion for speed on two wheels. The program, which premiered in June 2006, features death-defying tricks by top stunt pros and amateurs, and introduces the stunt junkies and enthusiasts who take their bikes beyond the limits of manufacturer warranties and insurance policies.

To learn more about the host of SuperBikes!, please visit: www.jasonbritton.com

SPEED is the nation's first and foremost cable television network dedicated to motor sports and the passion for everything automotive. From racing to restoration, motorcycles to movies, SPEED delivers quality programming from the track to the garage. Now available in more than 78 million homes in North America, SPEED is among the fastest-growing sports cable networks in the country and, the home to NASCAR on SPEED and an industry leader in interactive TV, video on demand, mobile initiatives and broadband services. For more information, please visit SPEEDtv.com, the online motor sports authority, which re-launched in new widescreen format on Feb. 6.