Plot Synopsis

Richard Hammond, best known as a host of Britain's TOP GEAR, travels across the United States to learn how to operate America's largest and most dangerous vehicles by working alongside local experts who use these machines every day. Spending only days in each city -- and getting a true taste of American hospitality -- Hammond tries to master these monstrous machines, a task that takes years for most people to achieve. In each 60-minute episode, Hammond learns about a different occupation and tries to operate their machines, including: the US Army's MIA2 Abrams Tank (Fort Bliss in El Paso, TX), for which he tries to master all four positions within the tank -- Driver, Commander, Gunner and Loader -- by completing an extensive training program including hours of simulator training and of course, physical fitness training; the Feller Buncher, the Dangle Head Processor and the Log Loader (Oregon forest) that are respectively used to cut down trees and can process 1,000 trees a day, cut, strip and slice wood in less than a minute, and stack the logs; the Compactor, Scraper and Bulldozer (Regional Landfill in Denver, CO), as he spreads garbage, crushes the rubbish, covers the refuse and cleans all three machines at the end of the day; the Striker (Dallas-Fort Worth Airport in Texas), the world's most powerful fire engine, which has eight wheels which are all driven and it features two water cannons that can fire up to 1200 gallons a minute; a massive Track Hoe and Wrecking Ball (demolition company in Orlando, FL), as Hammond proves to the company that he's worthy of a real demo man title by demolishing a house with surgical precision; and the Crane, the Claw and Electro-Magnet (salvage scrap metal company in Louisiana), which are essential tools used to break down oil rigs and select the reusable material. In the Season 2 premiere, which aired on October 22, 2012, Richard took a job as a Hollywood stuntman with mentor Rick Avery, who has more than 30 years of experience performing stunts in countless blockbuster movies.