‘Bo Duke’ Competes In ‘R U Faster Than a Redneck?’

Actor John Schneider from ‘Dukes of Hazzard’ races in episode 3 of the new SPEED TV competition series.

David Harris | Posted February 27, 2013 Charlotte, NC

Actor John Schneider practices for his competition behind the wheel of a race-prepped 1969 Chevrolet Camaro in ‘Are You Faster Than a Redneck?’ on SPEED TV. (Photo: SPEED)

As character Bo Duke, John Schneider would yell, “Yeee… Haaaw!”

Teamed with actor Tom Wopat, who played his cousin Luke Duke, their rough-and-tumble, stunt-filled frolic through Georgia’s sparsely populated Hazzard County in a souped-up, bright orange Dodge Charger tugged at the hearts of muscle car fans and automotive enthusiasts far and wide.

The Dukes of Hazzard was the “redneck” television sensation of the late 1970s and early 1980s. But for Schneider, the desire to go fast wasn’t an act. He loves it.

So getting behind the wheel of a race-prepared 1969 Chevrolet Camaro was a natural for the popular Hollywood star to compete in the third episode of the new SPEED competition series, R U Faster Than a Redneck? which premieres Monday, March 4, at 9 p.m. ET.

“It’s so much fun because these cars… they are so fast, hang onto the road so well, handle incredibly well for (their size) and they stop well,” said Schneider, who had just completed a practice session at Carolina Motorsports Park. “I’m sure I’m going to put it out in the dirt, but I’ll never take my foot off the gas, push right into it, never losing forward momentum.

“Now, the rear end eventually came around (during practice),” Schneider added. “It’s a weird thing because the less you do that, the faster you are going, but it’s so much fun to throw those cars around – especially my Camaro – around the corners. You try to get to a point where the car just breaks loose and then stay there. But, you have to find out where that is.”

The car he’s driving – a Year One built, 600-horsepower 1969 DynaCorn Camaro – is reminiscent of Trans Am racing’s glory days. It’s an overflow of performance, as Schneider tries to harness the car’s LS-7 crate engine, custom competition camshaft, GMPP dry-sump oiling system, fabricated headers, Tremac five-speed transmission and its Quadralink, four-link race suspension. It’s a car built for competitive road racing.

“The cool thing about Carolina Motorsports Park is that you can go up to the edge, go through it, and you’re not going to die,” Schneider said. “There have been a lot of people get right up to the edge, accidently go through it, but are able to recover. They just adjust a bit for the next one. You go back and look at tires, tire pressure, track heat… then go up next to the edge again.

“I’m hoping to find that spot in the last turn, as it’s difficult to get that one right.”

Hosted by comedian and actor Jon Reep, each episode of R U Faster Than A Redneck? offers two grassroots import racers a chance for $10,000 if they can win three rounds of competition, outmaneuvering domestic, muscle-car competitors that includes an initial qualifying session.

Each round gets progressively harder, as the performance of Reep’s muscle-car stable increases.

As Schneider intimated, the heart of R U Faster Than a Redneck? is its hardcore one-on-one racing, with two high-performance, race-prepped machines (one domestic and one import) facing off on one of America’s more technical race tracks – the Carolina Motorsports Park one-mile short course.

“When I heard about this show, I really wanted to be a part of it because this is my kind of thing,” said Schneider, who stars in the Smallville television show. “I saw the pilot, loved it; Jon (Reep) is wonderful, as I had met him a long time ago.

“I love the show and I love the fact that nobody has written how it will turn out,” Schneider added. “So many reality shows have nothing to do with reality at all. I was asking, ‘How am I going to do?’ The answer is, ‘I don’t know.’ I have to race. I love it. That’s how it should be.”

Schneider has competitive motorsport in his blood. Prior to competing on R U Faster Than a Redneck? Schneider spent seven years racing in one of the great, unheralded motorsports events in the United States, Nevada’s Silver State Classic Challenge.

Every May and September, about 200 car enthusiasts and racers gather to tackle Nevada’s Route 18, a 90-mile stretch of public road that is closed off for high-performance speed trials. Celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2013, these powerful road-going racers take on the “straights and narrows” in search of the next Public Highway Land Speed Record.

And if you were wondering, yes. Schneider drove a bright-orange 1969 Dodge Charger, like the famous General Lee that he drove in Dukes of Hazzard.

“I used to race the Silver State Classic out in Nevada,” Schneider said. “It’s a great race – 90 miles, and I was able to get my car to 140 mph on some stretches. The thing about the race is that you don’t ever see anybody, so you’re just racing against the clock. It’s a lot of fun.

“When you’ve been going for 30 miles in a straight line, then all of a sudden you come to the narrows, any turn at all seems like, ‘Aahhh! The road isn’t straight, what am I going to do?’

“I’ve done it about six or seven times and after about the third or fourth time, I started taking the narrows at 110 mph in my ’69 Charger,” Schneider said. “You’re always trying to find the edge. Now, what’s on the other side of the edge is not so great.

“Really, it’s an honor to be driving cars like this.”

Schneider has since sold the Charger to concentrate on his busy acting, writing and directing career, which includes shooting a new sitcom with producer Tyler Perry called, The Haves and the Have Nots.