Faster With Finnegan began on MotorTrend in 2020 as a budget-build-and-race series starring Mike Finnegan, Mike Cotten and David Newbern. It later continued under a new name, Faster with Newbern and Cotten. MotorTrend subsequently listed both versions among programs taking their final laps. The public accounts establish that timeline, but do not give a verified personal reason for Finnegan’s departure.
What was Faster With Finnegan?
MotorTrend launched the series in 2020 with host Mike Finnegan and co-stars Mike Cotten and David Newbern. Its central idea was simple: start with an inexpensive, worn-out or otherwise ordinary vehicle, modify it on a limited budget, and find out how it performed in a racing challenge. The show mixed hands-on automotive work with the humor and rough-edged experimentation associated with Roadkill. MotorTrend’s launch announcement introduced that premise.
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The format followed a repeating arc: the hosts presented a vehicle, chose a challenge and a competitor, worked on the build, and then put the result to the test. Season two kept that structure while varying the projects. Examples included an Opel Funny Car, a waterless boat race in a Cadillac, and a Vette Kart rally setup, as described in MotorTrend’s season-two announcement.
Why did it become Faster with Newbern and Cotten?
The clearest public account of the change comes from David Newbern’s own website: he says MotorTrend wanted to continue the show, and it became Faster with Newbern and Cotten. That supports a straightforward explanation for the title change: the series carried on with Newbern and Cotten under a different name. Newbern’s account does not establish a personal reason for Finnegan’s departure.
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It is therefore important to separate the documented transition from speculation. The available accounts do not confirm why Finnegan left, and they do not support attributing the change to a specific disagreement, career decision or personal circumstance.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Is Faster With Finnegan still on?
MotorTrend’s 2024 retrospective included both Faster with Finnegan and Faster with Newbern and Cotten among programs taking their final laps. That is the strongest cited indication of the shows’ later status; it does not provide a more specific end date or explain the decision. Read MotorTrend’s retrospective.
Streaming catalogs are a separate question from whether a series is still being made. Apple TV and Hulu had catalog pages for the program when checked, but a listing does not guarantee that episodes are currently watchable in every country or on every account. Check the service’s current page for your location: Apple TV and Hulu.
What the show set out to do
When the series launched, Mike Suggett, then MotorTrend Group’s head of programming and development, described its audience as “the millions of weekend mechanics across the U.S. who like to build, fix and (sometimes) race on a budget.” The premise reflected that pitch: the entertainment came not just from the race, but from seeing whether an ambitious, low-cost build could make it to the starting line and compete.
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