THE GREAT FOOD TRUCK RACE Takes On The Wild West In Return Of Summer Primetime Series

The Great Food Truck Race takes a culinary road battle through THE WILD WEST this summer, with seven teams of food truck hopefuls competing to win a $50,000 grand prize. Hosted by Tyler Florence, the trip hits hot spots in the Southwest to test the competitors' cooking chops, selling skills and business savvy. Each week, the teams hit a new city for fierce food challenges, and the least successful truck heads home - until THE ONE team left standing is awarded $50,000. THE GREAT FOOD TRUCK RACE kicks off Thursday, July 26th at 9pm ET/PT and the winning truck will be named in the season finale on Thursday, August 30th at 9pm ET/PT on Food Network.

"Every summer, our viewers look forward to hitting the highway for a scenic road trip with a brand-new roster of food trucks," said Courtney White, Executive Vice President, Programming, Food Network and HGTV. "These teams bring their food and business A-game to the race, but only one will cross the finish line $50,000 closer to achieving their dreams."

This season's competitors are: Buns N' Thighs - Chicago, Illinois (Marla Nones, Victoria Elena Nones, Ian M. Sherwin); Chops' Shop - Pearland, Texas (Sonia Buckelew, Bryan Soliz, Sandra Soliz); Heroes in a Half Shell - Frederick, Maryland (Clinton Sheron, Danni Sheron, Donna Sheron); Just Wing It - New York, New York (Steven Crowley, Kevin Pettice, Sharon Shvarzman); Mobile Moo Shu - Detroit, Michigan (Michelle Gautier, Chelsea Smith, Marley Vanderbrook); New England Grill - Newport, Rhode Island (Kevin Des Chenes, Christine Hurley, Ed Gallagher) and Sassy Soul - Silver Spring, Maryland and Washington D.C. (Lauren Carson, Paris Henry, Parris Jewel).

In the season premiere, the race kicks off at a cattle ranch outside of Los Angeles, where the teams must hand squeeze orange juice to get the keys to their truck. Later, each team has to create a dish with cuts of beef won in an auction and add it to their menu. Upcoming episodes feature an ultimate shrimp dish challenge in Las Vegas; battle of the beverages in Phoenix; a visit to the historic Territory Prison in Yuma; a date-themed competition in Coachella Valley and a Mexican-flavored return to Los Angeles for the finale where the last truck standing wins $50,000.

Viewers can meet the competing teams and browse photo highlights of the challenges at FoodNetwork.com/FoodTrucks. Tell us who you think should take home the grand prize on social media using the hashtag #GreatFoodTruckRace.

FOOD NETWORK (www.foodnetwork.com) is a unique lifestyle network, website and magazine that connects viewers to the power and joy of food. The network strives to be viewers' best friend in food and is committed to leading by teaching, inspiring, empowering and entertaining through its talent and expertise. Food Network is distributed to nearly 100 million U.S. households and draws over 46 million unique web users monthly. Since launching in 2009, Food Network Magazine's rate base has grown 13 times and is the No. 2 best-selling monthly magazine on the newsstand, with 13.5 million readers. Food Network is owned by Discovery, Inc., a global leader in real life entertainmentwhose portfolio also includes Discovery Channel, HGTV, TLC, Investigation Discovery, and OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network.

Image: Texas Team Chops' Shop (based in Houston) on Food Network's The Great Food Truck Race, Photo Credit: Food Network