When Jay Leno joined Last Man Standing, this was probably a fun addition for the fans, but also for Tim Allen himself. Leno's always been known as a “car guy,” but Allen can hold his own, and now that they are working together, they have been in a bit of a “car duel” of sorts to show off their cool toys on set. This has extended into the ninth and final season of filming Last Man Standing.
The Fox sitcom may have been on hiatus for a while, but now the cast is getting back to work. This week, Tim Allen shared a look at Jay Leno on set (you can see the face shields being used for safety) and asked fans which person they thought drove the faster car into work. Take a look.
That’s not the vehicle Jay seemingly drove in, however, as Tim Allen also took the opportunity to show off a little more about their car duel on the set of Last Man Standing with two looks at their respective vehicles. First, here’s a look at what Jay Leno drove into work.
Then, here’s a look at what Tim Allen drove into work. It’s also a black car -- and a beauty-- but from a whole different era of car manufacturing.
I’m not going to pretend to know enough about cars to identify a slew of background information on either of these beauties, but that’s really not the point. Even if we aren’t a car aficionado website, I do take great joy in the fact Jay Leno and Tim Allen show up to work every day with the express purpose of having a new, different and cooler car solely to one-up one another. It’s become a set tradition, in fact, and we know this thanks to their co-star Nancy Travis.
How Long Have Jay Leno And Tim Allen Been In A Car Duel On Last Man Standing?
Apparently, this “car duel” has basically been going on since Jay Leno joined Last Man Standing back in 2015, popping in for a few episodes each TV season. In an interview this year, Nancy Travis talked about how Jay Leno is a joke machine pretty much all the time… and has taken things to the next level when it comes to his competition with Tim Allen over cars. In fact, she doesn’t even try to compete with the two, as she's always driving a Subaru onto set each day. She noted to Access Hollywood:
Listen, there’s a bit of a car dueling thing that happens, because Tim is no slouch when it comes to cars as well, I don’t know if you know that. But whenever Jay is in an episode some ridiculous car that I never heard of in a bright color with the top down pulls in and then Tim comes along and backs his car in, that’s some other fancy schmancy model. I’m in my Subaru Outback!
Jay Leno's definitely a known car guy already; in fact, after retiring from late night television, he also became the host of his own web series, Jay Leno's Garage. The most recent season of that series ran in 2019 and 2020, with the last episodes airing over the summer.
This season on Last Man Standing, it looks like Jay Leno will be back playing Joe as the series preps to take its final bow on the small screen. Hopefully, Tim Allen will keep us updated in regards to their car duel. Meanwhile, we’ll need to be preparing ourselves for the show to go off of the air, as new details continue emerging about what to expect from the final episodes. At least there's that Home Improvement reunion show to also look forward to. Catch Last Man Standing when it returns on January 3, 2021.
