The Shooting Locations for 'Street Outlaws' Revealed
Published Feb. 1 2021, 12:43 p.m. ET
Since first airing in 2013 on Discovery, Street Outlaws has largely become the most predominant car racing program on cable in the U.S. With enough fans and momentum to even warrant a signature multi-platform video game in 2019, the program clearly encapsulates the American street racing scene and details the lives of the eclectic characters that compose it, as well as their highly modified vehicles.
Throughout the show, fans are treated to wildly fast quarter-mile races, reckless driving, and overall risky automobile maneuvers that would make anyone scratch their head and wonder where and how those piloting the cars can actually pull such feats off. With that, here's a deep dive into exactly where and how the storied racing program is filmed, showing what it really takes to bring the burning rubber to viewers at home.
'Street Outlaws' is filmed in various secret locations across the U.S.
It makes sense that the hosts of Street Outlaws have often opted for the expansive American West to be the hosting grounds for their high-speed and often dangerous antics. Filmed on back roads in states the likes of Oklahoma, Texas, Arizona, Illinois, Nebraska, and Wyoming, the program is able to establish a fairly safe zone for the modified vehicles to prove their speed and agility without having to adhere to normal traffic laws or worry about other vehicles or pedestrians.
Although the show sees racers competing on back roads across a variety of largely desolate states, the true home of the crew (and street racing at large) is Oklahoma City, where boss Shawn Ellington set up his shop, Midwest Street Cars.
The states that have hosted 'Street Outlaws' are almost as varied as the cars raced in them.
Aside from its home in Oklahoma City, the races showcased on the show have had some pretty eclectic locations. In Ennis, Texas, the crew actually took part in their largest spectacle race ever, where a Season 8 visit saw them driving for roughly 30,000 eager fans. This, of course, was an anomaly for the usually desolate choices, but the rest seem to follow the same pattern.
For fall 2020 filming, the crew relocated to Mohave County, Ariz., where they set up on a section of Old Highway 91 and, with the permission of local police, hosted their signature quarter mile races in the desert.
While in Joliet, Ill. during Season 2, the crew took over the famed Route 66 Raceway and hosted a remarkable competition from the facility. At one point, crew members also filmed part of the season in Chicago proper as well but didn't engage in the high-speed antics they do in isolated areas.
No matter where they film, the show has the support of law enforcement and medical services.
With street racing as a whole illegal in the U.S., the crew must obtain legal protection from local law enforcement, adhere to strict rules, and always have medical personnel present in case things go wrong. Although there is a lot that can go wrong, the presence of the program has proven beneficial to the local economies it films near, with nearly $2 million being pumped into the Scotts Bluff County, Nebraska-area when they filmed there.
Another isolated location the show has opted to use for its infamous races is Casper, Wyo. Situated right in the heart of the American West, Casper was the proving ground for many early automotive advancements and thus became the perfect place for these races testing modern day engineering to take place. The crew shut down a segment of Highway 257, also known as the Casper West Belt, to take on this particular feat.
Beyond the aforementioned locations, the show has also seen racers travel to the likes of Louisiana, Kansas, Tennessee, Nevada, and Missouri. With such an array of locations under their belt as is, it's nearly impossible to guess where the gear-loving show members will take their races to next, and maybe that's exactly what they want.
