Alex Taylor has signed on as Hot Rod Garage’s new co-host, but she almost ignored the call to audition for the show.
When MotorTrend first introduced Hot Rod Garage, a project car show from the minds of Hot Rod magazine in 2015, it was really no more than a simple variety show.
But as the years have progressed, Hot Rod Garage has emerged as one of the most popular and educational automotive programs on television.
Why Alex Taylor almost missed out on a great opportunity
In 2022, the rising-star drag racer, Alex Taylor, signed on as Hot Rod Garage’s newest co-host alongside Lucky Costa, but she has now revealed that she almost missed the call which landed her the gig.
Taylor explained in a recent interview with Over Drive Magazine’s Alex Lucas, that she actually initially hung up the call from the Hot Rod Garage executives, because she assumed that it would be a “waste of time.”
Fortunately, Hot Rod Garage phoned again a few weeks later, and this time they were able to keep this busy 25-year-old on the call long enough to explain that they were looking for a new co-host for the show and to invite her to the screen-test in Los Angeles.
Taylor got the news that she landed the job a few months later, and the rest is history.
A brief overview of the Hot Rod Garage hosts over the years
Although Taylor and the Hot Rod Garage executives did end up getting through to each other, the show had already aired ten seasons prior to her joining the cast.
Hot Rod Garage’s history, and the hosts who made the show what it is, over the years, can be summarized as follows:
| Year | Hot Rod Garage seasons | Host |
| 2015 | Season 1 | Variety show format with various hosts for different segments |
| 2015 | Season 2 to season 4 | Tony Angelo (occasionally joined by Lucky Costa, who was a guest on the show) |
| 2016 to 2021 | Season 4 to season 9 | Lucky Costa joins Tony Angelo as the show’s permanent co-host |
| 2022 to present | Season 10 and season 11 | Tony Angelo departs from the series and Alex Taylor joins Lucky Costa as the new co-host of the show |
Alex Taylor’s first drag race started out as deal with her parents
Taylor had been well-known in the racing world even before she signed on to co-host Hot Rod Garage. But it turns out that her promising racing career started because of a clever deal which she made with her parents when she turned 16.
The deal involved Taylor maintaining near-perfect academic scores to secure a full-ride scholarship for her university studies, but Taylor has admitted that she still cannot believe she pulled it off.
She stated “Looking back, that’s the craziest thing I could imagine him letting me do.” Either way, Taylor ended that year as valedictorian and the youngest competitor in the history of HOT ROD Drag Week 2013.
There is more to Alex Taylor than meets the eye
If you have tuned in to watch one of Taylor’s Hot Rod Garage episodes (or even one of her Alex Taylor Racing YouTube videos) you will already know that there is much more to Taylor than simply being a skilled driver.
In fact after maintaining the perfect high school scores that she needed to win the bet with her parents, she attended the University of Arkansas-Fort Smith on a full scholarship.
Here she earned her bachelor’s degree in business marketing, graduating at the top of her class, and ensuring that she has all the skills necessary to make the most of her growing career in the hot-rod-limelight.
What Alex does when she is not filming for Hot Rod Garage
Hot Rod Garage’s eleventh season (and Taylor’s second season as co-host) just started airing a few weeks ago on 8 September 2023.
This means that Taylor has likely been spending most of her time leading up to the season premiere filming final scenes for the show.
However, fans who have been keeping up with Taylor’s career outside of Hot Rod Garage will know that she always has a lot on her plate.
When Taylor is not busy filming, she can often be found preparing for her next race or filming content for her many social media influencer deals.
In addition to all of that, she has also recently taken up the task of building her very own shop, which she calls “ATR HG.”
Taylor revealed in a recent Instagram post that her team has been hard at work on the outside of the ex-dollar-store building and they should be moving on to the interior very soon.
