Source: http://firstwefeast.com/eat/guy-fieri-ca...

The Nor-Cal native burst onto the scene in 2006 after crushing The Next Food Network Star challenge. But it was his follow-up series—Diners Drive-ins and Dives, in which he traversed the country in a vintage Chevy Camaro convertible to track down the mom-and-pop restaurants America—that minted him as a household name. In Fieri’s estimation, he’s visited close to 900 restaurants.

Fieri says that seeing the TV cameras roll up “felt like winning the lottery” for the independent, small-time joints featured on “Triple-D,” but he also realized the broader influence of the show—and his own on-screen persona—as it went on. “I just remember pulling into a town, and a lady brought her three kids [to where we were filming],” he says. “They all had their hair spiked and sunglasses and were wearing shorts. And I’m like, wait a second. I always wanted to be the Six Million Dollar Man. Now you’ve got kids wanting to be the Diners, Drive-ins and Dives guy.”