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FEATURE INTERVIEWS:

Mike Finnegan – Life After Roadkill:

Almost sixteen years ago I started this podcast and now 600 shows and many amazing guests later it is still going strong. I have met many great friends and accomplished some unbelievable projects in those years and I am looking forward to what comes next.

This I week I spoke to my longtime friend Mike Finnegan and asked him about his very similar (yet a “slightly” bigger) social media story, which if course included co-hosting the wildly popular Kibbe and Finnegan show. Over ten years ago Mike and David Freiburger recorded a video of a road trip they went on and when someone at their employer (Hot Rod Mazagine) saw it and realized the potential of it. It launched on their YouTube channel it was the start of an automotive sensation called Roadkill. Mike had no clue how long it was going to last but over ten years later he is still a household name, to car people.

Mike recalls the humble start to Roadkill that eventually expanded to include shows like Hot Rod Garage, Faster with Finnegan, Engine Masters and others. Many crazy adventures ensued for the gear head duo across the country in unexpected conditions and with surprising results. Part of the allure of the show was that success was never guaranteed at the end of the show. Sometimes (or most times) they did not make it and soimetimes the car was not saved. More often than not though the efforts were rewarded and a lot of fun was had and shared to the viewers.

Roadkill grew large enough to garner attention from other media companies and eventually moved from its free host at YouTube and turned into a pay to watch experience behind a firewall. It was bundled with the other shows it spawned and even blocked off from certain countries much to the dismay of millions of fans. Later the show was sold and then late 2024 it was cancelled. The shows can still be seen currently but no more new episodes are being produced. We discussed how it all went down at length. While Mike and all of the others likely knew the day was coming, the truth was the reality of it still hurt.

All of that said, Mike saw the writing on the wall years ago and knew that something this great could not last forever. He started his own YouTube channel both as an insurance policy and as another outlet to give fans a way to see automotive fun on a free to view platform. He also launched the Kibbe and Finnegan Show with my, which has since become the Kibbe and Friends Show.

His YouTube channel is his new home base, and the fact that it’s not “new” has given him a great head start. Basically, he’ll just do more of what he was going to do anyway! Many of the faces you were used to seeing on the various MotorTrend shows have done a similar thing and are putting their efforts into creating new content back where it all started on YouTube. One question Mike has been asked repeatedly is if the cars from RoadKill are going to be released to the public or back to the show hosts and staff and at this time he really does not know.

Mike is looking forward to future shows on his own channel and has many plans for events and builds coming up. One thing that was pretty amazing was that he was able to produce a two part YouTube movie with Tony Angelo based on his trip to Drag Week 2024. It is a high production content video and Mike said it was a lot of work and expense but he loves the results. He plans to do more of this kind of offering but it takes a lot of money so he cannot do it every episode. He did say that future road trips are planned with other former MotorTrend show hosts to events such as Sick Week 2025 for a new YouTube movie and a road trip to the Mini Truck nationals in North Carolina.

If you would like to know more about Mike and watch his ongoing videos you can subscribe to his channel at YouTube.com/@FinnegansGarage or get updates regularly at Instagram.com/finnegan999. You can also check out Facebook.com/MikeFinneganNews where he shares content and additional pictures from his other outlets.

Thanks for being my friend Mike!

This interview sponsored by our pals at National Parts Depot – your premier source for muscle car restoration parts!