The Central Valley Commercial Truck Show (CVCTS) was again held in Fresno, CA, but this year it was not held on its typical Labor Day Weekend date in September. Over the years, the Labor Day Weekend has proven itself to be a miserably hot weekend (one year it was 114 degrees), so in an effort to try and avoid some of that excessive heat, they moved the show to June 3-4, 2023. It was a lot better, for sure, but oddly enough, that has still been the hottest weekend of the year so far, with temps in the upper 90s, so the heat is on!
Hosted by the great folks at A & L Truck Supply, who own a small chain of chrome shops in both California and Washington, this event was once again held at the Fresno County Fairgrounds in Fresno, CA. The date change – and the show itself, for that matter – was not highly promoted or advertised, and it was also kinda put together at the last minute, so show attendance and participation suffered a bit. With a handful of vendors and about 50 trucks, it was a pretty laid back event. We did not have a booth this year, opting instead to just hang out and relax with our friends Roger and Annette from Maggini & Sons Trucking, have a few cold ones, and take pictures.
Arriving on Saturday afternoon, trucks were still coming in and getting parked. It was a hot day, so much of the time, everyone was looking for a shady spot to sit. By the time the evening came, all the trucks were parked and set, and the light show began.
Held under a huge, glowing, full Strawberry Moon, it was like the sky was participating in the light show, too. West coast trucks are known for their bright lighting, and this evening display did not disappoint. Rolling out at 10:00 PM, it was time to get some rest and get ready for the next day. Thankfully, we only live 45 minutes away from the fairgrounds, so we got to sleep at home for once.
Getting back to the show grounds on Sunday morning, we walked around and did more talking and more picture taking. The awards ceremony started at around 1:00 PM, and was held inside a climate-controlled building, so it was nice and comfortable. After raffling off many donated items from the sponsors and vendors, it was time to hand out the trophies. Some of the big winners included past cover truckers CG and his son CJ Soza of Soza Trucking, Juan Delgadillo and the folks at Delgadillo Trucking, Billy and all our friends at Double E Trucking, and Stan Alles (Stan’s 1954 Peterbilt and polished van trailers, which graced our cover way back in May 1998, still look as good as ever).
One of the big winners was Kenny Campos of Heet Trucking in Dinuba, CA. Kenny’s metallic gray 2015 Freightliner Cascadia with red stripes earned the People’s Choice award, and his 2014 Peterbilt 386, featuring the same paint scheme and colors as the Freightliner, took 2nd place in its class. Both of these aero trucks were lookin’ really good, and certainly got my attention. Another aero truck that caught my eye, and earned 1st place in its class, was the 2021 Peterbilt 567 owned by Daniel Lopez of Little Star. This black, silver, and purple truck has a lot going on, and it is not often you find a cool and custom Peterbilt 567. Daniel is a really nice guy, too!
Some other folks who were looking on-point (and earned some awards) were Chris Rocha and his fine-looking yellow Peterbilt and polished hopper, Armando Maravilla and his 2019 white and red Freightliner Cascadia, and Roger and Annette Ghidelli and their yellow 1962 Peterbilt with green flames. Annette also gave me a lesson in glitter placement, for around their truck during the light show, and now I will be finding green and silver glitter in my car and everywhere for the next few months. But it sure did look good! I also got a chance to finally meet JR Lopez in person after hearing so much about him (he is a truck driver that is married to one of my wife’s friends), and his red 2014 Kenworth T680 even earned him a 2nd place trophy.
All in all, it was a nice show. It was not a big show, but it was a good show. Hopefully, next year, they will get their dates set early enough to be able to advertise a bit and get the event back up to its 100+ truck numbers.
The event also raised money for the Clovis Lions Club, a non-profit with all of its proceeds going directly back into the local community, and Fresno Club 435, a local charitable organization of California Highway Patrol uniformed and non-uniformed personnel, and their families. Fresno Club 435 holds many yearly events benefiting local charities, public safety agencies, and numerous others in need of assistance.
Thanks to everyone at A & L for their hard work putting the show together, to everyone who was a sponsor or vendor, and to those who came out and supported this fun event. If you missed it, we hope to see you next year. Stay tuned to 10-4 Magazine for dates and details. And the winners were:
NON-WORKING ANTIQUE: 1st Roger Ghidelli of Maggini & Son Trucking – 1962 Peterbilt.
WORKING ANTIQUE: 1st Louie Castro III of Castro & Castro – 1985 Peterbilt 359.
PETERBILT (1995-2008): 1st Chris Martinez of Lanic Transport – 1999 Peterbilt 379; 2nd Esteban Moreno of Moreno Transport – 2001 Peterbilt 379.
PETERBILT (2009-2018): 1st Danny Valdez of Double E Trucking – 2012 Peterbilt 389; 2nd Kenneth Campos of Heet Trucking – 2014 Peterbilt 386; 3rd Steve Hettinga of Hettinga Transportation – 2016 Peterbilt 389.
PETERBILT (2019 & NEWER): 1st Daniel Lopez of Little Star – 2021 Peterbilt 567; 2nd Lupe Diaz of Allensworth Trucking – 2019 Peterbilt 389; 3rd (tie) Louie Castro of C. Castro Trucking – 2022 Peterbilt 389 AND Mario Moreno of Pro Freight – 2022 Peterbilt 389.
FREIGHTLINER (2009-2018): 1st Juan Delgadillo of Delgadillo Trucking – 2011 Freightliner Cascadia; 2nd Kenneth Campos of Heet Trucking – 2015 Freightliner Cascadia; 3rd Mingo Perez of C. Castro Trucking – 2012 Freightliner Cascadia.
FREIGHTLINER (2019 & NEWER): 1st Armando Maravilla of A. Maravilla Transport – 2019 Freightliner Cascadia.
KENWORTH (1995-2015): 1st Danny Figueroa of Figueroa Trucking – 2015 Kenworth T680; 2nd JR Lopez of JR Exchange Corp. – 2014 Kenworth T680.
KENWORTH (2016 & NEWER): 1st Jay Singh of Specific Transport – 2023 Kenworth T680.
VOLVO (ALL YEARS): 1st Rolando Cortez of RGS Express – 2015 Volvo VNL 780.
SPECIALTY: 1st Chris Rocha of C. Rocha Enterprises – 2023 Peterbilt 567 and 2023 Western Trailer.
CONSTRUCTION: 1st David Toro of Rosenbalm Rockery – 2016 Peterbilt 389 and 1993 Trail-Eze.
PROFESSIONAL SHOW TRUCK: 1st Richard Ceja of Double E Trucking – 2019 Peterbilt 389.
COMBO (2017 & OLDER): 1st CJ Soza of Soza Trucking – 2016 Kenworth W900L and 2001 Cotrell Car Hauler; 2nd Sunny Arredondo of Allensworth Trucking – 2016 Peterbilt 389 and 2006 Utility; 3rd Ismael Cubillos of Cubillos Trucking – 2017 Peterbilt 389 and 2017 Great Dane.
COMBO (2018 & NEWER): 1st Ryan Schakel of KPB Trans – 2022 Peterbilt 567 and 2022 Westmark Tanker; 2nd Ricardo Martinez of JR Trucking – 2019 Peterbilt 389 and 2018 Fontaine; 3rd Phillip Daniels of Phillip Daniels Trucking, LLC – 2023 Kenworth T880 and 2008 Cozad.
LOCAL DELIVERY: 1st Stan Alles – 1954 Peterbilt and a pair of 1955 Trailmobiles; 2nd Josh Vasquez of Vasquez Transport – 2016 Kenworth T270.
BEST LIGHTS (BOBTAIL): Juan Delgadillo of Delgadillo Trucking – 2011 Freightliner Cascadia.
BEST LIGHTS (COMBO): CG Soza of Soza Trucking – 2022 Kenworth W900L and 2022 Cotrell Car Hauler.
BEST FLEET: Allensworth Trucking.
VENDOR’S CHOICE: Richard Ceja of Double E Trucking – 2019 Peterbilt 389.
PARTICIPANT’S CHOICE: Juan Delgadillo of Delgadillo Trucking – 2011 Freightliner Cascadia.
PEOPLE’S CHOICE: Kenneth Campos of Heet Trucking – 2015 Freightliner Cascadia.
BEST OF SHOW: CG Soza of Soza Trucking – 2022 Kenworth W900L and 2022 Cotrell Car Hauler.
