I had the great pleasure of meeting Jay Leno just before the Winternationals when Don Schumacher Racing took Gary Scelzi’s Oakley Funny Car over to Jay’s Garage in Burbank,” said Paul “Torch” Le Sage, who grew to prominence as the exclusive welder of the National Hot Rod Association before he created Torch Wear (www.torchwear.com) safety equipment.

Leno has an extensive collection of classic cars and motorcycles and loves to work on his various machines.

“Afterwards, he gave us a tour of his collection and along the way I noticed he had a pretty nasty burn mark on his arm,” Le Sage said. “I told him I could fix that problem for him with the gear we make and he was really interested. Anyone that’s ever been burned can understand why.”

Le Sage set up a meeting with Leno so the comedian/ mechanic could try out various Torch Wear products. Leno’s staff was so intrigued with Le Sage’s approach to safety that they summoned the video department and filmed the entire segment, including Le Sage’s television boast where he holds a 2,000-degree torch to his head with only a thin, protective headsock in place. The difference this time was that Leno himself held the flame to Le Sage’s head.

“It was crazy, but a lot of fun,” Le Sage said. “In all seriousness, there are lots of things on cars that can burn you. For instance, Jay has these Stanley Steamers from the turn of the century, and you have to light a boiler to get the thing going. Well, as you might imagine, it gets extremely hot and it’s hard not to get burned. But, with the right safety gear, he’ll be fine.”

To view the entire Le Sage segment on www.JayLenosGarage.com, click on the “Video” button and then the “Video Extras” button.