Sean “Farmtruck” Whitley is an American street racer and TV personality, born in Oklahoma USA. He’s known for being one of the main stars of reality series “Street Outlaws”.
Early Life
There’s no information about Shane Whitley’s family. The only information about his early childhood is his house’s location, situated in a tranquil rural area between the towns Bethany and Yukon, and near America’s “Mother Road”: the iconic Route 66.
Sean formed part of his high school’s work-study program, which allowed him to save money from an early age. His routine consisted on him attending classes until noon, and then working from four to six hours in the afternoon. During that time, he worked as janitor, and as a foundry assistant.
It’s known Sean’s interest in cars started in his teens, when he was learning to drive his mom’s 1974 Dodge Dart: ‘It was just a good old car that never broke, and it was dependable.’ he recalled in an interview with Motor Trend: ‘As soon as I got behind the wheel and out of eyesight of the house, I turned it into a race car, even though it was a slant-six. My mom taught me by grabbing my pant leg and pulling my leg off the accelerator because she thought I was going too fast.’
Not stopping there, he also took his father’s pickup for a ride – that event marked his beginning in car racing: ‘I was learning to drive a standard three on the tree ’73 Ford pickup, which would do a hell of a burn out in second gear -that’s what happened as soon as I got around the corner. Needless to say, I was excited to get behind the wheel of the truck. That’s what turned me into a truck guy’.
From then on Sean started driving around his natal Oklahoma, running on roads and streets easier to practice on in those open, solitary roads. Soon enough though, he decided to push his speed limits as far as possible, and took Route 66 as his preferred practice area, going 100 miles an hour the first time.
Career
Car Racing
Sean’s career in car racing started when he bought his first truck – a Camper Special Ford ¾ ton F-250 from 1970 – purchased with the money he saved from his various jobs in his teens: ‘It was just an old farm truck. It was a crappy truck, but it was the world to me. I loved it, and it was all I could afford’.
Despite loving his new car, Sean found out it was impossible to keep the truck with his tight budget, as it required many repairs and replacement of parts such as brakes and change of carburetor.
Unable to pay for those fixings, the Camper Special was stationed and inactive for a long a time, and was sold to an acquaintance when Sean found himself in need of money.
After his first vehicle’s unfortunate destiny, Sean bought a variety of cheap, second hand trucks. However, he never kept any of those as he was unconvinced that they were road worthy. He finally found his winning car when – thanks to an Auto Trader Magazine’s ad – he bought a Farmtruck Chevy Pickup 1970 C10. It proved to be the fastest truck Sean ever drove, and he wisely chose this particular car for his future racing activities.
Due to his favoritism for this truck, he adopted the name “Farmtruck” as his street pseudonym. In addition, Sean Whitely is an expert on car modifications, though it’s unknown exactly when and from whom he learned this particular skill.
Meeting with AZN and Racing Team
Sean “Farmtruck” met Jeff Bonnett “AZN” – who was driving a Chevy II Nova – at a street race in Oklahoma: ‘After we raced, we pulled over and started talking about the race. We just started laughing, both of us started cracking jokes and there was some sort of energy between us. There’s 20 years age between us also, but there was just something that we just laughed a lot. And we knew immediately that we were going to be best friends.’
Their unexpected affinity developed into a good friendship, which paved their way to become race partners later in life.
The duo often run in list races, however, their preferred activity is “fishing racing”, which usually led them to earn extra money. Together “Farmtruck” and “AZN” compete on board of the old 1970’s Chevy Farmtruck.
Street Outlaws
Sean “Farmtruck” and his race partner “AZN” debuted on TV in Discovery Channel’s series “Street Outlaws”, which showcases several of the country’s fastest street racers from Oklahoma City. Competing against each other to make it to the iconic The List, these racers risk not only their money, but also their lives on the road.
Sean entered the show after his truck became famous on the internet. However, “Farmtruck” was initially surprised when “AZN” informed him of his popularity: ‘AZN called me up one day and said, ‘You’re an internet sensation.’ And I was like, ‘What’s the Internet sensation thing?’ He said, ‘It’s on the computer. It’s a YouTube thing. Everyone loves the Farmtruck’.
That was when Discovery’s producer contacted him and other future fellow cast members to form part of the show. Although he and “AZN” obtained huge popularity thanks to “Street Outlaws”, they don’t consider themselves famous: ‘It hasn’t happened yet, we haven’t been recognized yet, but we’re excited for the day we do get recognized in public.’
To date, the show has aired 14 seasons in total.
Personal Life
Despite his popularity, “Farmtruck” has decided to keep his personal life out of the spotlight. This is why there’s no information about his romantic relationships and possible children.
“Farmtruck” is not a stranger to technology though, and he has an Instagram account in which he shares his adventures in his workshop and on the streets.
Related to AZN?
Sean “Farmtruck” Whitely is not related to his race partner Jeff “AZN” Bonnett. However, they maintain a very strong friendship.
How much Farmtruck worth?
Sean “Farmtruck” Whitley has an estimated net worth of over $2 million, a result of his earnings from street races, and from appearing in Discovery Channel’s “Street Outlaws”.
Physical Appearance
Sean Whitley is a man of white ethnicity, whose height and weight are unknown. He usually wears cowboy hats over his grey hair.
Interesting Facts
Sean’s date of birth is unknown. However, he has said he’s 20 years older than “AZN”, who was born in 1981.
Sean “Farmtruck” and his partner Jeff “AZN” are very grateful for the opportunity Discovery Channel has given them: ‘We’re fortunate that the seasons that we’ve had in the past, that the viewers have liked it. We’re never cocky about any season that we do. We’re just going to give it everything that we got and hopefully the fans will like it.’
“Street Outlaws” has an online shop, in which merchandise from the series is on sale.
The road from Oklahoma to Fontana is Sean’s favorite, which he took on his way to Mega Race. In this event, “Farmtruck” and “AZN” competed against Aaron Kaufman, who is a fellow TV personality: ‘What made it fun was that AZN and I went together, we built a car, we teamed up with our friends, we built a 1976 TransAm, and we got to go out there and race it. We got to build a car in three and half weeks, and we just had a lot of fun.’