The BEST Episodes of The Great Food Truck Race
Every episode ever - ranked by fan votes!
Last Updated: Feb 5, 2021
Network: Food Network
Seven food trucks in a competition to see who earns the most money, with the lowest earning truck kicked off at the end of each episode.
#1 - Showdown in Chi-Town
Season 6 - Episode 6 - Aired Sep 27, 2015
The two remaining teams arrive in St. Louis, ready for their final big sell. Tyler Florence challenges the teams to create three different dishes in 30 minutes to serve to two of the most renowned grill chefs in St. Louis, with the winner getting a valuable head start on the finale weekend. On their way to the Chicago showdown, they hit Springfield, Ill., for a Lincoln-themed sale. Once in Chicago, the teams have to hit three different ethnic neighborhoods with three different ethnic dishes. The team that first sells 50 dishes in each location will be crowned the champion of the Great Food Truck Race and drive away $50,000 richer.
8.62 #2 - High Steaks in Texas
Season 6 - Episode 4 - Aired Sep 13, 2015
In Amarillo, Texas, the final four teams are in for a steak-filled day: The seed money is determined by a steak-eating contest, and all the teams must add a steak dish to their menu. The team to sell the most of their steak dishes earns $500, as will the team with the best tasting dish. Prior to elimination, Tyler Florence makes each team send two members to pick up essentials, leaving their chances at the top three in the hands of their remaining teammate.
8.49 #3 - Where in the World is Lubec?
Season 3 - Episode 7 - Aired Sep 30, 2012
8.38 #4 - Spicy Showdown in Santa Fe
Season 6 - Episode 3 - Aired Sep 6, 2015
In Santa Fe, N.M., Tyler Florence challenges the five teams to use peppers to create the ultimate spicy Sante Fe meal. The hot challenge comes with a hot $1,000 prize. Then, the teams must put their planning skills to the test, as they only have one hour to shop for the entire weekend. Selling head-to-head at the farmers' market, some teams discover their best laid plans are their worst enemies.
8.37 #5 - Off-Road Eats in Arizona
Season 6 - Episode 2 - Aired Aug 30, 2015
Before the six remaining teams make it to Flagstaff, Ariz., Tyler Florence calls them up to let them know that their first challenge is underway: The team who sells the most in Flagstaff will get a one-hour head start to their next stop, Sedona, Ariz. In Sedona, the teams must make a dish incorporating the local delicacy, rattlesnake/rabbit sausage, and leave the comfort of their trucks to sell from Pink Jeeps.
8.28 #6 - Route 66: All-American Road Trip
Season 6 - Episode 1 - Aired Aug 23, 2015
Seven teams of food truck owners start The Great Food Truck Race selling their signature dishes on the Santa Monica Pier. They then embark down historic Route 66, stopping in Lake Havasu City, Ariz., for their first Truck Stop Cooking Challenge: The first team to sell 20 orders of their twist on Fish and Chips will get a bonus that might be enough to keep them safe from elimination.
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#7 - About Face in South Dakota
Season 4 - Episode 4 - Aired Sep 8, 2013
The five remaining teams meet Tyler at the Crazy Horse Memorial, where they’re given their seed money before heading out to shop in Rapid City, S.D. How will they manage when their follow car is taken during the Speed Bump? On day two, they race to the Wild Idea Buffalo Co., where they find a side of bison that they must butcher for use in all menu items. After selling $1,500 worth of their bison menu, they rush to be one of the first three teams to reach a vista and win a reward, and the next day the losing team is eliminated.
8.08 #8 - Hog Wild in Memphis
Season 2 - Episode 5 - Aired Sep 11, 2011
8.05 #9 - Holiday Hustle: Blizzard Brawl
Season 11 - Episode 1 - Aired Nov 27, 2019
Five aspiring food truck teams kick off the season in snowy Wolfeboro, New Hampshire. Tyler Florence challenges the contestants with naughty and nice holiday ingredients, and they compete for sales while battling the elements in a winter wonderland.
7.96 #10 - Food Trucks Ahoy!
Season 12 - Episode 2 - Aired Mar 26, 2020
The six remaining teams roll into San Diego, where Tyler Florence makes them pair up for a taxing team challenge involving a slimy sea creature. At elimination, one team has a shocking announcement that changes the rest of the competition.
7.95 #11 - Finale at Mile 0 - Winning Keys in Key West
Season 5 - Episode 7 - Aired Sep 28, 2014
Tyler lays down the final gauntlet, as the teams must revisit each of the six lessons learned throughout the race, on an epic Florida road trip. They finalize their menu in Tampa, create a radio spot on the beach, partner up in Naples, take airboats into the Everglades for fresh alligator and then battle head to head in a cooking challenge to double their till, all before arriving in Key West. The teams sell on Duvall Street before being called to the White Street Pier for the final tally announcement, where one team will be crowned the winner of the Great Food Truck Race, driving away with $50,000 and the keys to their very own food truck.
7.95 #12 - 3,559 Miles to a Dream
Season 3 - Episode 1 - Aired Aug 19, 2012
Eight teams of aspiring Food Truck owners arrive in Long Beach, Calif., to kick off this season's Great Food Truck Race: Lighthouse to Lighthouse. Host Tyler Florence welcomes the teams and presents them with the food trucks of their dreams and matching cars. The teams are then sent directly to the toughest, most cutthroat place in the food truck universe: the place where it all started, Los Angeles. These rookies learn quickly that running a food truck is much harder than it looks, and the seven surviving teams realize that they are in for the ride of their lives.
7.93 #13 - St. Louis Upsell
Season 5 - Episode 5 - Aired Sep 14, 2014
When the final four teams hit the streets of St. Louis, Tyler is there to give them a challenge illustrating how a premium product is as good as money in bank. The next morning, Tyler gives them a truck stop challenge with the ultimate prize — the winning team will see their week's till doubled. Emotions are high at elimination as only three teams will get to head southward on the next leg of the Great Food Truck Race.
7.92 #14 - The Whole Enchilada
Season 9 - Episode 6 - Aired Aug 30, 2018
The final two teams head back to Los Angeles, where Tyler Florence welcomes them to the historic Pueblo de Los Angeles, the epicenter of LA's Mexican heritage and culture. He introduces Bricia Lopez, co-owner of James Beard-award winning restaurant Guelaguetza, and they explain the Mexican ingredients and flavors the trucks will be using in their final challenge: chayote and habanero peppers. Both trucks pull out all the stops for the win, but only one team is awarded the $50,000 grand prize.
7.89 #15 - Tampa 911
Season 10 - Episode 4 - Aired Jun 30, 2019
Six food truck teams meet up with Tyler Florence in Tampa, Fla., and are shocked to see a squadron of police officers arrive with sirens blaring. The officers are there to judge a contest based on Tampa's gift to the culinary world: the Cuban sandwich. After the challenge, the teams struggle with stormy weather and finding a good location to sell in the city, leading to one truck's elimination.
7.86 #16 - Holiday Hustle: We Three Trucks
Season 11 - Episode 3 - Aired Dec 11, 2019
Tyler Florence challenges the three food truck teams to tree decorating and tubing down a mountain for the prize of choosing their protein for the day. Then, the teams race for sales at a Killington, Vermont, ski resort before heading to Rutland, where they vie to win and move on to the next round.
7.85 #17 - Dinner Dates, Austin Style
Season 5 - Episode 3 - Aired Aug 31, 2014
This week, Tyler tests each team on their partnership skills in Austin, Texas. The teams are first paired up to sell together all weekend long, and are then sent for a Match.com event, feeding the hungriest singles in Austin. The next day, the teams must switch trucks and sell their partners' food. Then, the elimination comes down to a six dollar deficit.
7.83 #18 - Miami Meltdown
Season 10 - Episode 7 - Aired Jul 21, 2019
Tyler Florence finds out what makes the final three teams tick when he spends time with each food truck in Miami, Fla. Challenges to make a crowd-pleasing pork dish and an innovative coffee creation keep all the cooks on their toes, and with the $50,000 prize so close, tensions flare like never before.
7.82 #19 - Mistake by the Lake?
Season 3 - Episode 6 - Aired Sep 23, 2012
7.82 #20 - Pocatello Is All About Potatoes, You Dig?
Season 4 - Episode 3 - Aired Sep 1, 2013
The six teams remaining enter the mountains of Pocatello, Idaho. For their Speed Bump challenge, they have to rework their dishes to get rid of all starches on their menus. On day two, they're given their Truck Stop challenge: they have to dig up the potatoes they need at a nearby farm, and they'll need a lot, as the potatoes must be the main ingredient in all menu items. After reaching their sales goal, they race to a vista high above the city, where the first three teams to arrive win a reward, and the team who sold the least over the weekend is eliminated.
7.82 #21 - Midnight Truck to Georgia
Season 2 - Episode 6 - Aired Sep 18, 2011
7.80 #22 - Baby Got Razorback
Season 3 - Episode 4 - Aired Sep 9, 2012
7.75 #23 - Hustle in the Heat
Season 12 - Episode 3 - Aired Apr 2, 2020
Things are getting hot in Palm Springs, Calif., where the food truck teams have to conquer the extreme heat as well as their fears to tackle an unprecedented aerial challenge from Tyler Florence. A mystery ingredient enhances all the teams' dishes, and the locals show the trucks big love. After two days of selling, however, one food truck will have to shut its doors forever.
7.75 #24 - A Food Truck Kind of Town, Chicago Is
Season 4 - Episode 6 - Aired Sep 22, 2013
Tyler starts the finalists off with a Chicago-style pizza challenge judged by Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel. After the mayor chooses the winner, the teams get ready to sell and are given their Speed Bump. The teams must keep a minimum of five dishes on their menu for the rest of the race. On day two, the teams must use another famed Chicago food in all their dishes — polish sausage. Once the teams sell 300 sausages, they race to Mike Ditka's restaurant, where he himself awards the prize and punishment. The winning team will get a five-hour head start to the next city.
7.73 #25 - Shake Showdown
Season 10 - Episode 6 - Aired Jul 14, 2019
Tyler Florence makes the four remaining food truck teams throw javelins to determine their protein in a skewer challenge, and the winner gets to choose the team to pair up with for the day of selling in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. A Sonic Drive-In shake challenge puts everyone's sweet skills to the test, and a thrilling elimination twist has the power to change everything.
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