'The Great Food Truck Race' heads south for summer beach battle in new season of fan-favorite series

Host Tyler Florence hits road with brand-new cast of food truck hopefuls on Sunday, June 9

Digital companion series, ‘The Great Food Truck Race: The Extra Mile’ explores route's best eats outside race

“The Great Food Truck Race” celebrates summer with a Tyler Florence-hosted culinary beach battle along the Atlantic coast, with nine teams of aspiring food truck owners with unique concepts competing for a $50,000 grand prize. Each week, the caravan of competitors hits a different seaside town for high-stakes food challenges that test their cooking chops, business skills and selling strategies and the least successful truck is sent home – until the one team left standing is awarded $50,000.

“The Great Food Truck Race” kicks off in Myrtle Beach on Sunday, June 9 (9 p.m. all times), and then hits Hilton Head, Daytona Beach, Tampa, Fort Myers, Fort Lauderdale and Miami, culminating in a Key West finale on Sunday, July 28.

" ‘The Great Food Truck Race’ is the perfect mix of fast-paced food competition, scenic road trip and big personalities," said Courtney White, president, Food Network. "This season's brand-new route along the Atlantic coast brings out the beach crowds in each city, who can't wait to sample the innovative eats these teams create every week."

This season's competing teams are: Baby Got Mac (Los Angeles); Brunch Babes (Grand Rapids, Michigan); Frank N Slides (Boise, Idaho); Madea Made (Virginia Beach, Virginia); Make It Maple (Montpelier, Vermont); NOLA Creations (Atlanta); People's Fry (Nashville); Rolling Indulgence (Dayton, Ohio) and Sol Food Collective (Los Angeles).

In the season premiere, Tyler greets the teams and their trucks in Myrtle Beach for an action-packed kickoff to the race with boardwalk bites and signature crab dish challenges. After the least successful team is eliminated, the trucks head to their next stop in Hilton Head for golf and boiled peanut-themed battles.

Digital companion series “The Great Food Truck Race: The Extra Mile” kicks off Sunday, June 9, at www.FoodNetwork.com. In the series, Tyler explores each city on the race route and takes viewers the extra mile to find the best foods the town has to offer. Viewers can also meet the teams and browse photo highlights of the competition at FoodNetwork.com/FoodTrucks and share on social who they think should take home the grand prize using the hashtag #GreatFoodTruckRace.