Aaron Kaufman did not leave Gas Monkey Garage because of one documented blowup or a confirmed firing. The public explanation is more practical: the kind of ambitious fabrication work he wanted to pursue had outgrown the deadlines, budgets, and faster build format of Fast N’ Loud.
Gas Monkey announced his departure in December 2016, while the farewell appeared on television in 2017. Since then, Kaufman has continued working in fabrication, racing, and automotive television through his own company, Arclight Fabrication.
When did Aaron Kaufman leave Gas Monkey Garage?
Gas Monkey Garage announced Kaufman’s exit in December 2016, after approximately 13 or 14 years working with Richard Rawlings. The split was later shown on Fast N’ Loud in early 2017, which explains why both years appear in accounts of his departure.
Rawlings said Kaufman’s decision had come “completely out of left field” and was not his decision. That statement does not support the idea that Kaufman was fired. It also does not establish that the two men were involved in a single explosive falling-out.
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Kaufman’s televised departure was presented as a decision to move on and pursue his own plans. In a follow-up interview, he said there was no anger behind the move.
Why did Aaron Kaufman leave?
The clearest explanation came from Kaufman himself: he wanted to build more complex vehicles, while the production demands of Fast N’ Loud favored projects that could be completed within a television schedule.
The Pantera build exposed the problem
Kaufman identified the Pantera project as a turning point. The build was technically demanding and took longer and cost more than the show’s usual production framework could comfortably accommodate. Rather than treating the project as the upper limit of what he wanted to do, Kaufman wanted future builds to be at least that ambitious.
That created a basic mismatch:
| Kaufman wanted | Television production needed |
|---|---|
| Larger, more complicated fabrication projects | Builds that could meet fixed filming and broadcast deadlines |
| More time to engineer and refine a vehicle | Predictable schedules and controlled budgets |
| Greater freedom over the finished design | A format built around quick progress, drama, and completion |
Kaufman also referred to growing personal issues and professional differences of opinion. He did not publicly identify one specific incident, nor did he accuse Rawlings of misconduct. The available record points to accumulated differences over creative direction and the realities of making a weekly automotive series, rather than a confirmed scandal.
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Was Aaron Kaufman fired?
There is no verified public evidence that Kaufman was fired. Rawlings said the decision was not his and described it as unexpected, while Kaufman described leaving to follow his own direction.
There is also no verified evidence that a single argument caused the split. Claims that reduce the departure to a definitive feud between Kaufman and Rawlings go further than the public interviews support. The two men had professional and personal differences, but Kaufman’s stated reasons centered on the work itself: the scale of the builds, the production timetable, and his desire for more creative control.
What did Aaron Kaufman do after Gas Monkey?
He founded Arclight Fabrication
After leaving Gas Monkey, Kaufman launched Arclight Fabrication in the Dallas area with Jonathan Mansour. The company initially concentrated on parts and integrated build solutions for 1957–1979 Ford F-100 pickups.
That focus reflected a gap Kaufman saw in the aftermarket. Classic Chevrolet trucks had a large ecosystem of available parts, while older Ford F-100 owners had fewer comparable options. Arclight was intended to develop practical components and complete systems for those trucks rather than simply recreate the Gas Monkey formula under a different name.
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Shifting Gears with Aaron Kaufman
Discovery followed Kaufman and his new team in Shifting Gears with Aaron Kaufman. The series centered on Arclight and gave him room to pursue more specialized, ambitious builds.
One of the most notable projects was a 1971 International Scout transformed into a street-legal, Ultra4-style race truck for the King of the Hammers event. The project was very different from a quick restoration or auction build: it involved extensive fabrication, off-road performance requirements, and the need to make the vehicle usable on public roads as well as competitive in harsh terrain.
The show was not limited to a single season. Discovery’s current episode guide lists both Season 1 and Season 2.
Aaron Needs a Job
In 2019, Kaufman hosted Aaron Needs a Job. Rather than following one shop build, the series took him around the country to examine mechanically demanding industries and jobs. It extended his television identity beyond custom-car fabrication while keeping the focus on machinery, engineering, and hands-on work.
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Where is Aaron Kaufman now?
As of 2026, Kaufman remains publicly associated with Arclight Fabrication and automotive fabrication work in Texas. Arclight’s official website is active, and recent automotive media continues to identify Kaufman with the company.
A March 18, 2026 episode of MagnaFlow’s The MF Show discussed Kaufman’s work at Arclight and directed viewers to @thearclight for current project updates. The episode described his post-Gas-Monkey career as focused on his own shop, fabrication, racing, and purpose-built performance vehicles.
A later Restomod Air feature, published April 29, 2026, reported that its team visited Kaufman at Arclight Fab in Grand Prairie, Texas. That is significant because it confirms that Arclight is an operating shop with a continuing physical presence, not merely a television brand or an old show reference.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What changed after he left?
The biggest change was control over the type of work being pursued. At Gas Monkey, Kaufman was the lead fabricator within a business and television format shaped around buying, rebuilding, and selling vehicles. At Arclight, he could develop products, select more specialized projects, and make fabrication and racing central to the business.
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That does not mean every project became unlimited or free from deadlines. Running an independent shop brings its own financial, staffing, and engineering constraints. But the business allowed Kaufman to align the work more closely with the kind of technically demanding builds he said he wanted to create.
The short version of the split
- Kaufman and Rawlings worked together for roughly 13–14 years.
- Gas Monkey announced Kaufman’s departure in December 2016.
- The televised farewell aired in 2017.
- Kaufman said the Pantera build highlighted a conflict between ambitious fabrication and the show’s time and budget limits.
- He also mentioned personal issues and professional differences, but did not identify a single scandal or definitive feud.
- He moved on to Arclight Fabrication, later appeared in Shifting Gears with Aaron Kaufman, and hosted Aaron Needs a Job.
- He remains active in Texas automotive fabrication through Arclight.
Sources consulted include DrivingLine’s 2016 report, interviews with Kaufman published by Art of Gears, Discovery’s pages for Shifting Gears and Aaron Needs a Job, the Arclight Fabrication website, and recent features from MagnaFlow and Restomod Air.
FAQ
Did Aaron Kaufman leave Gas Monkey Garage in 2016 or 2017?
Gas Monkey announced his departure in December 2016. The farewell was shown on Fast N’ Loud in 2017, so both years appear in coverage. The most precise wording is that the exit was announced in 2016 and televised in 2017.
Was Aaron Kaufman fired from Gas Monkey Garage?
There is no verified public evidence that he was fired. Richard Rawlings said Kaufman’s decision came unexpectedly and was not his decision. Kaufman described the move as a choice to pursue his own plans.
Did Aaron Kaufman and Richard Rawlings have a feud?
Kaufman acknowledged personal issues and professional differences, but the public record does not establish one explosive argument or a definitive feud as the cause. His main explanation involved creative direction, demanding builds, deadlines, and television production limits.
What company does Aaron Kaufman own now?
Kaufman is associated with Arclight Fabrication, a Texas-based fabrication company that initially focused heavily on parts and build solutions for 1957–1979 Ford F-100 pickups. He remains active there as of 2026.
The Bottom Line
Aaron Kaufman left Gas Monkey Garage because the show’s production model no longer matched the scale and type of fabrication work he wanted to pursue. The split was not publicly established as a firing or a single feud. He went on to build Arclight Fabrication, appear in his own Discovery programs, and continue working on fabrication, racing, and performance projects in Texas.
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