"Maximum Homerdrive" is the seventeenth episode of the tenth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It first aired on Fox in the United States on March 28, 1999. In the episode, Homer challenges trucker Red Barclay to a meat eating contest, of which Barclay is the long-standing champion. Barclay wins but quickly dies of "beef poisoning", marking the first time he will miss a delivery at his job. Feeling bad for him, Homer (alongside his son Bart) take on the duty of transporting Barclay's cargo from Springfield to Atlanta. "Maximum Homerdrive" was written by John Swartzwelder and directed by Swinton O. Scott III. Although the episode's first draft was written by Swartzwelder, the writing staff was split into two groups in order to focus on both the A-story and the B-story. The episode features references to comedian Tony Randall, model Bettie Page, and science fiction film 2001: A Space Odyssey, among other things. In its original broadcast, the episode received a 7.8 Nielsen rating among adults between ages 18 and 49, the highest such rating for the series since "Wild Barts Can't Be Broken". The ratings boost was credited by Variety to the first episode of Futurama, which premiered after "Maximum Homerdrive". In the years since, it has received mixed reviews from critics. Plot The Simpsons go out to dinner at a new steakhouse, whose existence Lisa is protesting. Homer accepts a challenge from truck driver Red Barclay to see who can finish an entire 16-pound steak first. Red wins the challenge, but immediately dies from beef poisoning, as diagnosed by Dr. Hibbert. Homer decides to finish Red's last delivery and brings Bart along with him. During the trip, Homer falls asleep at the wheel due to taking a combination of pep pills and sleeping pills that he bought at a general store. He awakes to discover that the truck has piloted itself safely to a gas station due to an onboard automated driving system. Other truck drivers at the station have the system installed as well and warn Homer not to reveal its existence, as it would put all truckers out of work. However, Homer tells a busload of people about the device and incurs the wrath of a mob of truckers. Although the system ejects itself from Homer's truck, he and Bart manage to escape from the mob and deliver the shipment (artichokes and migrant