Big Chief did decide to leave the Street Outlaws franchise, but it was not because he checked into rehab.
The Street Outlaws franchise has not only brought the under-the-radar world of street racing into the limelight, but it has also made celebrities out of the racers who used to compete in these illegal street races in the shadows.
This includes Justin Shearer, who is better known within the Street Outlaws franchise simply as Big Chief.
Big Chief initially shot to Street Outlaws fame because he took up most of the show’s non-racing screen time as the general organizer and host of the races, early on.
But Big Chief has maintained his fan-favorite status over the years and is he still regarded as the face of the series (and of street racing in general) in many circles.
Big Chief’s exit from the show
This is why it came as such a shock to fans when Big Chief was suddenly missing from the Street Outlaws franchise.
This included his appearance in spin-offs like Street Outlaws: No Prep Kings, Street Outlaws: America’s List, and the original 405-show.
This is also why so many rumors started circulating about what could have possibly prompted Big Chief’s decision to part ways with the show.
Perhaps the most widely spread rumor even claimed that Big Chief had fallen victim to some kind of addiction, and was missing from the series because he had been checked into a rehab facility.
Fortunately though, Big Chief has now released his own explanation (which is over an hour long) for why he left the show in which he dispelled all of these unsavory rumors and clearly showed that he was still at home, and still diligently working in the Midwest Street Cars shop alongside his partner, Jackie.
In fact, Chief actually shared in a different video posted to the Midwest Street Cars channel in August of 2022 that he was “in a wonderful place” in his life after deciding to leave the show.
And given that he is still actively posting on social media more than a year after this video was posted, we can only assume that his positive outlook on life has remained.
Big Chief following outside of the show
Big Chief’s exit from the series that he was so closely linked to sent shockwaves through the Street Outlaws fandom.
But although he has admittedly taken some time to get back into the swing of things in the world of real-life street racing, he has maintained a lot of the fame that he earned through the show.
Big Chief’s social media platforms and his following outside of the show can be summarized as follows:
| Platform | Following |
| The Midwest Street Cars YouTube channel | Over 370,000 subscribers |
| The Justin Shearer YouTube channel | Over 1,700 subscribers |
| The Justin Shearer Facebook page | Over 213,000 followers |
| The Justin Shearer Instagram page | Over 899,000 followers |
The real reason why Big Chief left Street Outlaws
While Big Chief denied the rumors about the reasons for his departure from this beloved franchise, he did provide a few details about what exactly contributed to this difficult decision.
According to Big Chief, he ultimately decided to part ways with the world of reality television (and its production teams), because he grew tired of playing by the Street Outlaws “rules” and wanted to get back to “real” street racing.
What Big Chief is doing now
While you may no longer be able to see Big Chief in new episodes in the Street Outlaws franchise, you can still follow his racing journey outside of the show.
Big Chief and Jackie have transformed the Midwest Street Cars YouTube channel into a sort-of pseudo Street Outlaws spin-off.
In it, they share updates about their builds and the various races that Big Chief has competed in over the last few years.
Will Big Chief ever return to the show?
Ever since Big Chief confirmed that he had really put his days of Street Outlaws racing behind him, fans have been flooding the comments of his social media pages, begging him to return to the series.
And, while Street Outlaws certainly has more than enough spin-offs to make room for such a comeback, Big Chief did state that he did not think that the “money, fame, clout” that he got from the show was worth it, if he did not agree with how the races were being organized.
Furthermore, since there is no real way for Big Chief to guarantee the unwritten rules of a spin-off show before agreeing to be on camera – it seems unlikely that he would be interested in returning to the franchise anytime soon.
