The 2011 West Coast Super Show and Drags event was held on Father’s Day, June 19th, at the Toyota Speedway in Irwindale, California. The morning started off with an overcast marine layer that set the tone for a cooler day, which was a welcome relief from the hot work week. With all of the show staff and volunteers in place, the early arrivals were directed to various locations around the main stage to set up their vendor displays and park their working trucks, drag trucks, hot rods, roadsters and more.
The event started at 9:30 a.m. and the crowd was greeted with a Mariachi band that got the show in the swing of things. Throughout the entire day, tons of stuff was happening (maybe too much). There were bands performing live on stage, a pin-up fashion show, a hot dog eating contest, drag racing, a train horn and Jake brake sound off, a tire changing challenge, backing up contests, a “Father of the Year” award, and so much more. With all these activities, attendees were able to mingle around the trucks and cars and, hopefully, find a friendly BBQ and cooler to enjoy old and new friendships.
The judges were in constant patrol on the lot to score points for all of the competitors that brought in some awesome rides. 10-4 Magazine had several cover feature trucks on-hand that received many of the awards. Names like Albert Guzman (June 2011), Andre Bellemare (January 2011), Yamko (February 2011), Lil Ray (April 2011) and Mark Tarascou (July 2007) seemed to come up quite a bit at the awards ceremony.
Some other cool trucks (and owners) that showed up lookin’ good included Sal Alonzo and his green Pete and polished reefer, Jerry Salinas’ nicely-restored 1963 narrow-nose Peterbilt 281, a camouflage-painted dump truck owned by D&A Trucking, Victor Maestaz and his super-low blue and black Pete, and Paul Keeter and his dark blue and white KW combo. We also enjoyed spending time with some old friends (like Vince Jenkins and Sal Vargas), as well getting to know some new folks (the entire Gonzales crew).
The awards ceremony had a somewhat late start and continued well into the evening. By the time it was over, everyone was ready to call it a day. All of the fathers in attendance thought it was the perfect way to celebrate their Father’s Day – a casual day outside that included trucks, racing, great food, fun competitions, family and friends. Who could ask for anything more! We had a great time and are sure that everyone else did, too. And the winners were:
3-AXLE CONV (05-11): Albert Guzman.
3-AXLE CONV (01-04): Sal Alonzo.
3-AXLE CONV (96-00): Lil Ray.
3-AXLE CONV (91-95): Mark Tarascou.
3-AXLE CONV (84-91): Lil Ray.
3-AXLE CABOVER: Andre Bellemare.
WRECKER: Southside Towing.
SPECIALITY RIG: D&A Trucking.
HEAVY EQUIPMENT COMBO: Yamko.
TOW BOY COMBO: Southside Towing.
2-AXLE CONV: Gardner.
TRANSFER DUMP: Mark Tarascou.
TANKER: Miguel Torres.
DUMP TRUCK & PUP: Mark Tarascou.
FLATBED: Albert Guzman.
DOUBLES: Gardner.
CAR CARRIER: Hansen & Adkins.
TRUCK & TRAILER COMBO: Sal Alonzo.
DUMP TRUCK: D&A Trucking.
STRONG ARM TRUCK: A&V.
LIGHT SHOW (COMBO): Andre Bellemare.
LIGHT SHOW (BOBTAIL): Yamko.
BEST FLEET: Yamko.
BEST GRAPHICS: Lil Ray.
BEST INTERIOR: Yamko.
BEST POLISH: Lil Ray.
BEST CHROME: Yamko.
BEST TRAIN HORN: Mark Tarascou.
JAKE BRAKE WINNER: Bryan’s Trucking.
FULL CUSTOM TRUCK: D&A Trucking.
BEST KENWORTH: Paul Keeter.
BEST FREIGHTLINER: Andre Bellemare.
BEST PETERBILT: Albert Guzman.
BEST PAINT: Albert Guzman.
BEST ENGINE: Lil Ray.
TRUCK DRAGS (PRO): Wayne Talkington.
TRUCK DRAGS: Rico Transportation.
BACKING UP (FLAT BED): Lil Ray.
BACKING UP (DOUBLES): Mark Tarascou.
HOT DOG EATING CONTEST: Joe Deaton.
TIRE CHANGING CHALLENGE: Richard Perez.
BEST OF SHOW: Sal Alonzo.
PEOPLE’S CHOICE: D&A Trucking.
2 Comments
Way too go Paul Keeter VERY NICE Kenworth in a sea of peterbuilts.
That IS a nice KW! I’ve seen Andre Bellemare’s crazy-clean Freightliner a couple of times, once in the winter when the sky, the ground and all the trucks were all gray-his cabover was spotless!!