Special to the Daily Journal
ROCKINGHAM — Mike Rowe, the TV host, writer, actor, pitchman, spokesperson and star of the Discovery Channel’s “Dirty Jobs,” stars this Sunday in a drag racing segment of CNN’s “Somebody’s Gotta Do It” filmed earlier this year at Rockingham Dragway.
The Rockingham segment, which airs Sunday at 10 p.m., shows Rowe learning the basics of drag racing from Pro Stock legend and former IHRA World Champion Roy Hill, the North Carolina native, who is the owner and operator of Roy Hill’s Drag Racing School.
Using one of the school’s Super Comp dragsters, Hill spent a day teaching Rowe the ins and outs of drag racing’s straight and narrow. That instruction, coupled with the collateral interaction between the two larger-than-life personalities, was documented by a crew from California-based Pilgrim Productions.
At the end of the day, Rowe’s best time down the Rockingham quarter mile was 8.49 seconds at 144 miles per hour.
Rowe chose Rockingham because of its history and tradition. The track was built in 1969 and is one of only a handful of facilities to have hosted major events produced by the National Hot Rod Association, the International Hot Rod Association and the now defunct American Hot Rod Association.
“Mike Rowe is one of the most identifiable faces on TV,” said track owner Steve Earwood. “So this segment on such a popular network show won’t just be good for the track, it’ll be good for the school and for Rockingham and the surrounding area.”