The 37th annual Truckin’ For Kids Show & Drags was once again a great time for a good cause. Held October 6-7, 2017 at the Irwindale Event Center in Irwindale, CA, this will be the last TFK show held in Irwindale, as the speedway is set to close for good on January 31, 2018, then be demolished and replaced with an outlet mall. Raising money for the JDRF (Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation) and many other kid’s charities, this event has donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to worthy causes over its almost four-decade run. Time will tell if it finds a new home next year, so we at 10-4 Magazine, like so many others, went all-out this year to make it one of the best shows ever.
With temps in the mid-90s, Saturday was an unseasonably hot day in southern California, but that did not stop the crowds from coming. Rolling in Saturday morning with my smoker trailer in tow, representing not only 10-4 Magazine but also my side hobby meat smoking team known as Rollin’ Coal Smokers, myself and a small army of helpers cooked tirelessly all day to prepare a full dinner for over 200 participants, vendors and attendees at the show. In previous years, we have fed up to 100 or more people at no cost, but this year we wanted to do more for the charities that TFK supports so we decided to feed more people and charge an affordable $5.00 a plate donation, which we would then give back to TFK.
Preparing a meal like this takes months of planning and preparation, and I would like to personally thank Vic Caliva of Caliva’s Polishing & Accessories for not only donating all the meat, but for also encouraging and pushing me for over six months to do it! I would also like to thank my wife, Shannon, who spent over a week preparing all the homemade sides, that also ended up in the smoker, for the meal. Cooking eight briskets and 16 tri-tips, along with macaroni and cheese, baked beans, green beans with stewed tomatoes, bacon and caramelized onions, Hawaiian rolls and drinks, it was a complete meal – and completely homemade (except for the rolls). Getting lots of help cooking from Glenn and Jake Cassity, Vince Jenkins, Louie “Chongo” Favela, Paul Pangburn, Mike Vano and John Testa, folks started lining up before the food was even ready to serve.
With great tunes being spun all day by Julian “Big Daddy” Perez in the background, the meal went off without a hitch, thanks to our team of servers including Jean Osugi, Terri Nay, Connie Begay, Sara Bollinger and Tiffany Cassity, along with our official crowd wrangler, Erik Sieben. When it was all said and done, we raised about $1,300 for TFK, who in turn donated it to one of the charities they support that helps teachers buy supplies for their classrooms. It was a long day, but we had a lot of fun. Now, with all this craziness behind us, it was time to enjoy the show!
Come Sunday, almost 300 trucks filled the lot. Not a record-breaking year, but a great turnout, for sure. And with temps dropping about ten degrees from the day before, down into the mid-80s, the weather was much more pleasant. With so many cool trucks to see, walking the lot was like sensory overload, and with so many past cover truckers, friends and advertisers in attendance, it was more like a family reunion than a truck show. Having missed the entire day on Saturday (cooking), I had to take all of my pictures on Sunday. Thankfully, I got some help from Erik Sieben, John Testa and Frank Strohmyer, who were taking pictures all weekend – I even got a few great night shots from Eric Stroud and a few drone shots from a guy Pete Zamora found. Thanks to everyone for their help.
This show was filled with well-known rigs from names like Lil Ray’s, Maggini, Central Valley Transport, NAVA, Van Dyke, DeFrancesco’s Dairy Transport, Arrowhead Water, Yamko, M & J Transportation Services and so many more, along with a few new favorites from Phil Miller, Brian Rudisell and Kris Gaare. Also, Urrea & Sons had an impressive lineup of several white and blue Peterbilts with end dumps, and Todd Lemke of F.J. Willert brought out a sharp, bright red, heady-duty Peterbilt 389 service truck. Some other standouts included M & R Transport, with several slick green and black rides, Carballo Transport, with two head-turning little 2-axles, and Rodriguez Trucking, who was showing off a long and low Pete 389 with a heavy metallic red paint job.
In memory of Steven Rivera, who passed away on September 19 at just 36 years old, a few of his family members brought out Rivera Trucking’s 1998 Peterbilt 379, which graced our cover way back in November 2002, and parked it right next to our booth. Painted burnt orange and purple, Steven loved this Peterbilt, and it, along with some old pictures, made for a touching tribute to Fred Rivera’s son, who was taken way too soon. Our thanks go out to Anthony for bringing down the truck and representing the Rivera Trucking family in honor of Sweet Steve, and our condolences go out to Fred and his entire family.
With vendors and displays throughout the lot, in addition to some working contests and drag racing (which was dominated by Harry Cleeland, Mark Pounds and John Murray), there was plenty to see and do all day. In fact, the day went really fast, and before we knew it, they were setting up for the awards ceremony. Scouring the lot for that one rare gem that might be overlooked, we here at 10-4 Magazine chose Tom Lanting’s beautifully-restored metallic gray 1979 Pete 352 cabover as our Sponsor’s Choice winner. This subtle but stunning truck was one of the first trucks to start Lanting Hay, back before the family built Gardner Trucking into a huge operation. We would like to thank Lincoln Chrome and Rockwood Products for making us such a cool trophy for this award.
During the awards, longtime TFK show producers Frank and Diana Pangburn handed out a few Lifetime Achievement awards to some of their devoted volunteers, including Dan Born, Richard “Abe” Abraham, Pete Zamora, John Scruggs, Keith Snyder, Jim Schrein, Greg Algorri and Harm Speerstra, who was part of the original group that started this event in the early 1980s. Congratulations to all these folks, and thank you for helping this event to be so special for all these years. After all the other awards were handed out, the big “Best of Show” trophy went to Robbie Basse of Hinton, OK and his super-clean baby blue and white KW Icon 900.
With fewer and fewer drag strips in and around southern California, the future of this event is uncertain. But, we sincerely hope Frank Pangburn and his crew find a suitable location to continue this long-running event, because there are still plenty of children’s charities that need money and there are still plenty of truckers and trucking-related businesses that want to continue supporting and participating in this fun show – and not for just one more year, but many more! We will keep you posted if and when any new information about next year’s event becomes available, so stay tuned!
SATURDAY NIGHT “LITE THE LOT” (LIGHTS)
BOBTAIL: Juan Henriquez of Yamko.
COMBO: Phil Miller Livestock.
ANTIQUE: Roger Ghidelli of Maggini.
WORKING CONTESTS
FRONT-END LOADING: Jeff Murray.
BACKING: Mark Tarascou.
TRANSFER DUMP: Yates Trucking.
DRAG RACING WINNERS
DIESEL PICKUP: Dan Grant.
PICKUP (WITH SLICKS): John Sapone.
QUICKEST PICKUP: Rene Reyes.
JR. DRAGSTER: Troy Barton.
BIG RIG BRACKET RACE: John Murray.
QUICKEST BIG RIG: Mark Pounds.
SUPER DRAG TRUCK: Harry Cleeland.
SHOW & SHINE AWARDS
SHOW TRUCK: 1st Shawn McClintic of Arrowhead; 2nd Alex Angels of Alex Angels Lowbeds; 3rd Jesus Perez of DDT.
3-AXLE CONV (2016-2017): 1st Ritchie Gutierrez of So Cal Express; 2nd Robbie Basse; 3rd George DeFrancesco of DDT.
3-AXLE CONV (2012-2015): 1st Shawn McClintic of Arrowhead; 2nd Alex Angels of Alex Angels Lowbeds; 3rd Darrol Proctor of Arrowhead.
3-AXLE CONV (2007-2011): 1st Luis Pinon of Arrowhead; 2nd Keith Yazell of Arrowhead; 3rd Colton Pounds of CVT.
3-AXLE CONV (2001-2006): 1st Brian Rudisell of Kuhnle Bros; 2nd Jorge Ballesteros; 3rd Mark Pounds of CVT.
3-AXLE CONV (1993-2000): 1st Steve Rivera of Rivera Trucking; 2nd Darrick Divine of RAM Trucking; 3rd Junior Munguia of Munguia Transport.
2-AXLE CONV (2011-2017): 1st Jesus Perez of DDT; 2nd Ron Lanting of Lanting Hay; 3rd Johnny Cat of Hemme Hay & Feed.
2-AXLE CONV (2006-2010): 1st Adrian Covarrubias of Gardner Trucking; 2nd Scott Sakugawa of Macedo Hay; 3rd Everardo Lopez of Lopez Trucking.
2-AXLE CONV (1993-2005): 1st Mike Maggini of Maggini & Son Trucking; 2nd Robbie Ashton of Gardner Trucking; 3rd Daniel Fuentes of Fuentes Trucking.
CABOVERS (1993-2017): 1st Alex Rodrigues of M & R Transport; 2nd John Murray of M & J; 3rd Jacob Lagomarsino of Lagomarsino Transport & Towing.
WORKING ANTIQUE (1970-1992): 1st John Murray of M & J; 2nd Gary Schonne of Hidden Valley; 3rd Hector Barraza of Barraza Refrigerated Transport.
WORKING ANTIQUE (1936-1969): 1st Allen Garmon of Garmon Trucking; 2nd Jeff Corona.
NON-WORKING ANTIQUE: 1st Ruben Cendejas of Arrowhead; 2nd Jerry Salinas; 3rd Paul Cox.
LOCAL DELIVERY: Shawn McClintic of Arrowhead; 2nd Colton Pounds of CVT; 3rd Ernesto Seqoria of Seqoria Disposal.
DUMP TRUCK: 1st Joshua Arroyo of Ozzie’s Trucking; 2nd Butch Wolfinbarger of O.F. Wolfinbarger; 3rd Will Shulenbarger of Arizona Pipeline.
WRECKER: 1st Ruben Cendejas of Arrowhead; 2nd Miguel Martinez of Today’s Towing; 3rd Julio Santana of Smitty’s.
SERVICE TRUCK: 1st Todd Lemke of F.J. Willert; 2nd Alexis Solares of Alexis Trucking; 3rd John Murray of M & J.
SPECIALTY: 1st Ivan Diaz of Brown Bulk Transport; 2nd Shawn McClintic of Arrowhead; 3rd Juan Henriquez of Yamko.
HOBBY TRUCK: 1st Leo Monteon; 2nd Todd Lemke of Lemke Speed & Marine; 3rd Jacob Lagomarsino of Lagomarsino Transport & Towing.
ROCKWOOD INTERIOR: 1st Richie Gutierrez of So Cal Express; 2nd Shawn McClintic of Arrowhead; 3rd Aaron Hoffman of REA Hauling.
SMALL FLEET: 1st Central Valley Transport; 2nd Golden State Foods; 3rd Maggini & Son Trucking.
LARGE FLEET: 1st Liberty Linehaul West; 2nd Arrowhead Water; 3rd DeFrancesco’s Dairy Transport (DDT).
SPECIALTY TRAILER: 1st Luis Pinon of Arrowhead; 2nd Darrol Proctor of Arrowhead; 3rd Phil Miller Livestock.
FLATBED: 1st Jesus Perez of DDT; 2nd Tim Doran of DDT; 3rd Jake Brake of DDT.
HEAVY HAUL: 1st Alex Angel of Alex Angels Lowbeds; 2nd Brett Camarillo of McCarty & Sons; 3rd Scott McCall of Performance Transport.
END DUMPS: 1st Juan Maza of Urrea & Sons; 2nd John Murray of M & J; 3rd Chuck Zornes of Urrea & Sons.
TRANSFER: 1st Aaron Hoffman of REA Hauling; 2nd Bruce Dodds of Mountain Materials; 3rd Matthew Campbell of Bruce Campbell Trucking.
STAINLESS TANKER: 1st Jeremy Wade of Arrowhead; Keith Yazell of Arrowhead; 3rd George DeFrancesco of DDT.
ALUM. TANKER: 1st Ryan Golson of Valley Bulk; 2nd Francisco Cruz of Xtreme Lights; 3rd Jimmy Rickart of Bonanza.
OTR TRUCK: 1st Robbie Basse; 2nd Darren Friedrichsen of White Trucking; 3rd Eddie Telles of Liberty Linehaul West.
SPECIALTY TROPHIES
BEST ART & GRAPHICS: Ray Rodriquez of Lil Ray’s Transport.
BEST ENGINE: Mike Maggini of Maggini & Son Trucking.
BEST INTERIOR: Shawn McClintic of Arrowhead Water.
BEST SLEEPER: Arlyn & Linda Workman.
LONGEST TOW: Brian Rudisell of Kuhnle Bros. Trucking (Wooster, OH).
UGLIEST TRUCK: Henry Alexander.
BEST FREIGHTLINER: Mark Pounds of Central Valley Transport.
BEST KENWORTH: Charlie Tadema.
BEST INTERNATIONAL: Max Frens of Golden State Foods.
BEST PETE: Kris Gaare of Kriss Trucking.
BEST METAL SHINE: Jeremy Wade of Arrowhead Water.
SPONSOR’S CHOICE: Tom Lanting.
PEOPLE’S CHOICE: Francisco Cruz of Xtreme Lights.
BEST OF SHOW: Robbie Basse.
