Local racer Kye Kelley has taken the underground street racing scene by storm and now he’s bringing a few friends with him.
Joining the cast of the Discovery Channel’s “Street Outlaws: New Orleans” are Jason Thames and Tommy “T.K.” Killingsworth, both of McComb, Barry Nicholson of Summit, Semon Dillon of Tylertown and Cory Temple of Magnolia.
Kelley split his crew into two teams, which he calls the big tire and little tire list. He held two drag races to see who is the fastest man on the list.
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On Monday’s episode, which airs at 8 p.m., Kelley holds a big tire shootout and viewers are introduced to Nicholson and Thames.
Nicholson, 36, is the owner of Godfather, a 1968 Camaro, and currently holds the fifth spot on the big tire list. Nicholson met Kelley 16 years ago when they raced in Fernwood and they’ve been friends since.
Nicholson is a native of Richton but moved to McComb at 19. He’s married to Stephanie Burroughs-Nicholson and they have three children — Taylor 17, Bentley 14, and Barrett, 8. He has an auto repair business at his home.
Nicholson said his family supports what he does, and he takes extra precautions to remain safe.
“I’m thankful that they’re supporting me on this wild ride and I’m excited to see what the future holds,” he said.
Before filming for “Street Outlaws: New Orleans” began, Nicholson was in a wreck that totaled his car.
“It was a pretty bad wreck,” he said, “I had two months to get my car rebuilt before filming.”
“It was scary,” his wife said. “It opened my eyes a lot.”
“Every time we get in our cars, we take a risk,” Nicholson said. “We know the risk, but it’s the risk we’re willing to take for what we love to do.”
Thames, 35, of McComb, is a big tire racer who owns a heating repair business. He and his car Justice, a 2001 Corvette, made their first appearance last Monday.
Thames is on a mission to stake his claim on the big tire list. He and Kelley met through a mutual friend, Eddie Ray Bailey.
“I’ve been knowing Kye since he was 14 or 15 years old,” Thames said.
He says he’s still getting used to the cameras being around and being filmed.
“It’s kind of scary. Pilgrim Films puts a mic on you and a camera in your face all the time. It’s nerve-wracking,” he said.
He said his wife, Amanda and his 6-year-old daughter Stormie are getting used to the attention.
“They support me 100 percent. They love it,” he said. “You do what it is that you love. Some people love to watch baseball games, I love to race and that’s what I do.”
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Killingsworth, a former drag racer, is the old school racer of the bunch.
“I take every day as it comes,” he said. “It’s something different, kind of like being in the newspaper. Everything we say and everywhere we go, they get it.”
He said he’s pleasantly surprised by the professionalism of the camera crew, but he finds it funny when cameramen make him repeat what he says.
“I don’t think they’ve run across many people like me,”he said.
He said being filmed is a whole different world.
“They want you to be yourself and that’s hard to do. A lot of these guys never had a camera in their face. It takes some getting used to,” Killingsworth said.
He said he was surprised when Pilgrim asked him to race.
“I was nervous at first, but I got over my nerves. It may not make it out of the cutting room, but I got to race and I’m happy,” he said.
He said that he’s just proud to be mentioned.
“So many people would give anything to trade places with us. I appreciate where I come from,” he said
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There’s no hype without the Hypeman, and on the show, that’s Semon Dillon.
Dillon, 28, is from Tylertown and met Kelley through the underground racing scene.
“We’ve worked on cars together,” he said, “We met during a race in New Orleans. I was talking noise then and he asked me to join him.”
Dillon works with Kelley at Down South Performance. He’s been racing since his mom trusted him with a car.
Dillon said he used to sneak out and race and his mom would find out. Now he doesn’t have to hide.
He says he’s always had dreams of being on television.
“It feels good being on television for a good cause and not being on television for doing something illegal,” he said.
He said his mother, Jennifer Bridges; his fianceé, Lawanda Jackson; and two children, Robert Jason and Katelynn Dillon are proud of him.
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In order for the racers to qualify for the small tire list, they have to get through Cory Temple, 36, and his 1979 Chevrolet Malibu “Moonshine.”
For the Magnolia man, that’s a huge feat. Temple doesn’t think his car is ready for the big leagues yet, but he’s working on it.
He wants to be a contender and let the small tire racers know he’s not just the runt of the bunch.
Temple and Kelley grew up together in Magnolia and both went to South Pike High School. They used to race together in Fernwood.
“We all used to race together. We’ve been together for years,” he said.
Temple, the father of three — Peyton, Emma and Ella — said it’s weird being recognized.
“It’s different; you walk in to a store now and everyone knows you but you don’t know them. It’s fun.”
Temple said if the show is picked up for a second season, he hopes to make more appearances and even race.
“I’ve been doing a lot of work and upgrades to my car. Moonshine and I are going to take the list by storm,” he said.
He said Kelley and Killingsworth have been a great help.
“I couldn’t do it without Kye and Tommy; they help me a lot,” he said.
As for his family, he said, “My mom, Pauline Kennedy, she’s not a big fan of seeing me race in person, but she can handle watching me on television.”
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“Street Outlaws: New Orleans” airs at 8 p.m. Monday on the Discovery Channel.
