It’s All OK In OKC!

Year two of the American Truck Show Circuit (ATSC) is in full swing, and the second stop this year took me to the Oklahoma State Fair Park in Oklahoma City, OK on July 27-29, 2018. The show was hosted by Bells & Whistles Chrome Shop, which is also located in Oklahoma City. This event brought out plenty of beautiful working (and non-working) trucks to be judged in both their cumulative “National Championship Series” (NCS) and the more relaxed “Wash and Show” contest.

[Show slideshow]

Though I was not able to be at the show when the trucks started showing up, I arrived when the trucks were already parked. As a photographer, I can’t begin to explain how nice it is to have the trucks nicely spaced apart from each other. Before I arrived, on Thursday, July 26, the trucks began to be parked, staged and cleaned – the cleaning extended through Friday, as well. By Friday evening, all the trucks were registered, and the mandatory competitor light show was fully-ablaze from 9:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.

I arrived late morning on Saturday, July 28, to an already-hot Oklahoma day, and found some amazing trucks, all clean and polished-up. I honestly wasn’t sure what to expect, as I haven’t attended one of the ATSC shows before, but it was nice to see some familiar faces and trucks. In attendance, to name a few, Kaleb Hammett of Hammett Excavating with his 2017 Pete 389, Robbie Basse of Basse LLC out of Hinton, OK with his Kenworth W900 Icon, Colton and Lauren Chase with their “American Outlaw” 2002 Peterbilt 379 pulling a 2014 MAC LTT, and Doug Jameson of J&L Contracting, who brought out their red and black “Contender” 2015 Peterbilt 389 from Springfield, MO.

Another friend who I saw there was Aaron Spiniolas of Ridgecrest Trucking, who took the show scene by storm in 2017 (and landed on the October 2017 cover of 10-4 Magazine) with his “Cream of the Crop” 2001 Peterbilt 379. However, Aaron left the show trucks at home this year and instead took a place as one of the judges.

After saying hello to everyone, I made a couple laps around the parking lot taking photos. Judging had already started prior to my arrival, and by the time it was completed, everyone had made their way to cooler locations, as the temperature climbed to 100 degrees (which felt a lot hotter on the asphalt parking lot). Anyone remember SuperRigs 2016 in Joplin? Yes, it was that kind of hot!

On Saturday night, I joined a group of people for dinner prior to returning to the grounds for the Display of Lights and Sounds. A golden glow was cast upon all the trucks, as the sun went down, and then the lights came on. If you’ve ever been to a truck show, you know what the trucks look like all a-glow. The evening came to an abrupt end when the thunder started to roll in from an anticipated storm coming through, so we all called it a night and headed inside.

Sunday morning the grounds showed obvious evidence of what the storm had left behind, with water beaded-up on all the trucks, and several puddles in the parking lot. I took the time to take more photos before the awards and giveaways began at 11:00 a.m.

Some of the highlights from the awards ceremony and big congratulations go to People’s Choice winner Colton Chase, Best of Show Elite Working Bobtail winner Doug Jameson, and Elite Working Combo Best of Show winner Bryan Robers, with his 2019 Peterbilt 389. By 1:30 p.m., everyone was packing up and heading out, including me, as I made my way back home to Missouri.

As a first-time attendee, the show was put together very well and the format used for judging (which was explained to me in great detail) leaves no room for error, which is great. Good luck to all the drivers and owners that are traveling to all the ATSC shows through to the last stop in Ventura, CA, on October 19-21, 2018. As always, to all the drivers out there doing the deal, truck safe. And the winners were:

LIMITED FOR SHOW BOBTAIL / NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES

EXTERIOR:

1st Steven Sontag (2007 Peterbilt 379);

2nd Robert Moneypenny (1998 Peterbilt 379);

3rd Mike Anderson (1995 Peterbilt 379).

ENGINE:

1st Robert Moneypenny (1998 Peterbilt 379);

2nd Steven Sontag (2007 Peterbilt 379);

3rd Mike Anderson (1995 Peterbilt 379).

INTERIOR:

1st Steven Sontag (2007 Peterbilt 379);

2nd Robert Moneypenny (1998 Peterbilt 379);

3rd Mike Anderson (1995 Peterbilt 379).

DRIVER PRESENTATION:

1st Robert Moneypenny (1998 Peterbilt 379);

2nd Steven Sontag (2007 Peterbilt 379);

3rd Mike Anderson (1995 Peterbilt 379).

BEST OF SHOW:

1st Steven Sontag (2007 Peterbilt 379);

2nd Robert Moneypenny (1998 Peterbilt 379);

3rd Mike Anderson (1995 Peterbilt 379).

LIMITED FOR SHOW COMBO / NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES

EXTERIOR:

1st Robbie Basse (2016 Kenworth W900L);

2nd Brian Dreher (2016 Peterbilt 389).

ENGINE:

1st Brian Dreher (2016 Peterbilt 389);

2nd Robbie Basse (2016 Kenworth W900L).

INTERIOR:

1st Brian Dreher (2016 Peterbilt 389);

2nd Robbie Basse (2016 Kenworth W900L).

DRIVER PRESENTATION:

1st Robbie Basse (2016 Kenworth W900L);

2nd Brian Dreher (2016 Peterbilt 389).

BEST OF SHOW:

1st Robbie Basse (2016 Kenworth W900L);

2nd Brian Dreher (2016 Peterbilt 389).

ELITE WORKING BOBTAIL / NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES

EXTERIOR:

1st Kaleb Hammett (2017 Peterbilt 389);

2nd Doug Jameson (2015 Peterbilt 389);

3rd Matthew Strottman (2017 Peterbilt 389).

ENGINE:

1st Doug Jameson (2015 Peterbilt 389);

2nd Kaleb Hammett (2017 Peterbilt 389);

3rd Matthew Strottman (2017 Peterbilt 389).

INTERIOR:

1st Doug Jameson (2015 Peterbilt 389);

2nd Kaleb Hammett (2017 Peterbilt 389);

3rd Matthew Strottman (2017 Peterbilt 389).

DRIVER PRESENTATION:

1st Doug Jameson (2015 Peterbilt 389);

2nd Kaleb Hammett (2017 Peterbilt 389);

3rd Matthew Strottman (2017 Peterbilt 389).

BEST OF SHOW:

1st Doug Jameson (2015 Peterbilt 389);

2nd Kaleb Hammett (2017 Peterbilt 389);

3rd Matthew Strottman (2017 Peterbilt 389).

ELITE WORKING COMBO / NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES

EXTERIOR: