Vegas insider reveals untold truth about Counting Cars as he outlines what was distorted for the camera
Published on Aug 17, 2025 at 12:08 PM (UTC+4)
by Henry Kelsall
Last updated on Aug 13, 2025 at 9:18 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Emma Matthews
A Las Vegas insider has revealed the untold truth about Counting Cars and outlined what was distorted for the camera on the reality TV car show.
Counting Cars was a reality TV car show for the History Channel, and a spin-off of Pawn Stars. It detailed Count’s Kustoms, an automobile restoration and customization company owned and run by Danny Koker, ‘The Count.’
The show ended in 2021, and naturally, some things were not quite as they seemed or were hidden from the viewer.
Rich Light, the founder of Gloss-It, spoke to VINwiki in 2021 after the show ended. He revealed the secrets behind the show.
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How Counting Cars portrayed the world of car restoration
Rich had worked with Danny from Counting Cars for a while, and the two worked together on the Las Vegas TV show.
He worked as an expert on the show, and did so for a couple of episodes, working on cars like a 1971 Chevrolet Corvette.
What Rich learned is that production companies determine what you do and how you do it on the show.
Effectively, the production team wants it to look good for the camera, and timelines are often strict.
“You are told to do X and for it to look like X in X time,” Rich said to VINwiki.
He confessed that, if you looked close up at some of the work in person, it didn’t look amazing.
That is the reality of the show and what really happened.
The production companies hold the power over the show.
Rich also likened the production companies to divine power, saying they are God, and you do what they tell you to do.
His friends had warned him that it was not what they thought.
They were getting no money for the jobs, and the sponsors were paying for the cars to be finished, but the jobs weren’t always finished 100 percent.
It felt like a big letdown for Rich.
It’s clear that the truth of these shows isn’t what we all thought.
Rich even alluded to some drama between cast members.
However, he didn’t want to delve into it as it was their business.
This is probably true for many big TV shows, especially reality TV.
BBC’s Top Gear likely portrayed things slightly differently from reality at times.
But it is quite a shock to hear how different things can be away from the cameras in a Las Vegas reality TV car show.
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Henry is a content writer with nearly ten years experience, having written for various publications since 2017. Qualifying with a Sports Journalism degree from Staffordshire University, Henry loves all things automotive but has a particular soft spot for classic Japanese cars and anything Lancia. He also has a curious passion for steam locomotives.
