10-4 Magazine - For Today's Trucker

FUN IN FONTANA
Click here to see the pictures!

It’s not every day that you see a 50-year-old big rig barreling around a modern oval racetrack at full throttle. But on May 27-29, 2004 at California Speedway in Fontana, CA it was a regular sight, as hundreds of trucks and their owners gathered together for the American Truck Historical Society’s (ATHS) 25th Annual National Show & Convention, which they called The 2004 Truck Round Up. Utilizing the infield of the track (and that is a huge area), antique trucks, working and professional show trucks, vendors, dealers and truck manufacturers were spread out from one end of the venue to the other.

Each year, ATHS members get together for an annual show - alternating between East and West Coast locations. There is no competition or judging. Everyone just gets together and talks trucks. Last year’s event in Syracuse, New York, boasted having over 1,000 registered antiques in attendance. This year, although not as large as hoped (soaring fuel prices seemed to be the logical culprit), about 700 antique trucks, 50 Show & Shine rigs and 50 or so registered support vehicles (nice trucks that hauled in some of the old trucks) were on hand to be gawked and marveled at by the estimated 20,000 people that passed through the gates over the three days. Free parking and free admission helped boost the number of visitors strolling the lots.

To try and pick out a favorite from the hundreds of beautiful antique rigs that were on display is hard, but based on crowd response and talk around the show, Van Dyke’s turquoise and blue GMC was popular as well as an outrageous custom creation built by Cliff & Brett Wilkins out of Oklahoma. Beginning with a 1969 Pete 359, they built a custom show truck called “Low-Comotion” that is absolutely awesome. Not much on that truck was “antique” but it still had that “classic” look and feel - and it always had a crowd around it.

Holding the event at a world-class racing venue brought some neat opportunities for participants. Plunking down $75 got you three laps around the oval track and a photo to commemorate the occasion. It was interesting to see all the trucks spinning around the track all day, but most were only doing about 80-90 mph. Apparently there was a speed limit given to the participants, but those that could go faster generally did. Joe Arias took his 2-axle tractor and set of double side dump trailers out and opened it up to just over 100 mph. He slowed down when he looked into his mirror and saw his trailers weaving through the steeply banked turns. Wayne Talkington took his classic KW drag racing truck out on the track and really let her rip, turning speeds of 140-150 mph on the back stretch. We thought for sure someone was going to lose it and hit the wall at some point but nobody ever did (probably because they were all told what it would cost them if they hit the wall and had to pay for the damage). Many who took their truck around the track reported that it was surprisingly frightening to go into a turn at 80 mph - more so than they thought it would be. Everyone agreed that NASCAR drivers (who go through those turns at nearly 200 mph) were nuts!

As fun as it was to watch, it was even more fun to participate. 10-4’s own Erik Sieben got the opportunity to take a few laps around the track in the passenger seat (well, there really isn’t a seat over there) of the infamous “Duel” truck which was on display next to our booth all weekend. Stunt driver and former owner of the truck George Sack showed up at the show on Saturday and “offered” to drive the truck around the track. Topping out at about 65 mph, the rig lumbered around the track three or four times while blared its air horn (which seemed to make an ominously creepy sound). If only we would have had an old red Plymouth Valiant for it to chase, it would have been perfect.

Having been on our May 2004 cover, the “Duel” truck got more attention than any other in the entire place. Several people told us that this was the only truck they saw that folks actually posed in front of. And posed they did! If you remember the movie (or read our cover feature), the rogue truck menaced an unsuspecting motorist on a quiet stretch of highway for no apparent reason at all. With that in mind, people posed for photos by lying in front of the rusty old truck, while others made faces like they were scared or acted as if they were running away from it. Some just stood next to it and smiled, but all thought it was a really neat piece of nostalgia. About once every hour, we fired it up and belched black smoke out of the stack and created some wonderful photo opportunities. We couldn’t believe the response that the public gave this truck and trailer - it even won a trophy in the Show & Shine competition (granted, it was the Ugliest Truck award). We’d like to thank the truck’s owner Neil Lossaso for allowing us to bring it out and have some fun with it.

In addition to the beautiful antique trucks that were on display, there was also a swap meet area featuring hard-to-find parts and memorabilia, a vendor area where several companies peddled their wares and dealers showed off some of their nicer stock, and an area where some manufacturers set up displays. This was the first time they invited major OEMs to participate and were happy to have Freightliner, Peterbilt, Kenworth, Mack and International involved in the show. The only gripe we heard was that the vendors were off in an area by themselves - so if someone wanted to come to the show and avoid that area, they could. The vendors (who generally fund the event through sponsorships and fees paid for space) didn’t like that fact.

Also, for the first time, an antique truck auction was held on Saturday morning. Organized and conducted by Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers, some 125 pieces were auctioned off. Netting $213,000 in total sales, the auction was a big hit. As planned, 10% of all the proceeds were to go directly to charities, the ATHS or the Hays Antique Truck Museum in Woodland, California, but in the end, as many gave more (some gave 100% of their proceeds), approximately $100,000 was raised. The highest-priced piece sold was a fully restored 1938 REO Speedwagon that fetched $22,500.

Another first at this show was a Show & Shine competition featuring newer working and professional show trucks. Organized and hosted by Truckin’ for Kids (the folks who put on the truck drags each year), Frank Pangburn and his crew had hoped for 200 trucks but only got 50 - but they were 50 fantastic trucks. Friday night featured a “Parade of Lights” around the track and the winners were announced on Saturday afternoon to close out the show. Mike Maggini of Maggini Hay and Johnny Hidalgo of Sandvik Trucking both took home armloads of trophies (as usual) and relatively unknowns Kyle Van Hulzen and Neil Dykman did pretty well too, as did the brothers (Mark and Keith Pounds) from Central Valley Transport. The Show & Shine winners were:

PROFESSIONAL SHOW TRUCK: Johnny Hidalgo; 3-AXLE CONV (1999-2004 with Limited Mileage): Kyle Van Hulzen; 3-AXLE CONV (1999-2004): Johnny Hidalgo; 3-AXLE CONV (1979-1989): Elden Easterday; 2-AXLE CONV (1990-2004): Mark Pounds; 2-AXLE CONV (1979-1998): Mike Maggini; 2-AXLE CABOVER (1990-2004): Gilbert Gonzales; 2-AXLE CABOVER (1979-1989): Keith Pounds; 3-AXLE CABOVER (1990-2004): Robert Dees; 3-AXLE CABOVER (1979-1989): Jimmy Garcia; NON-WORKING ANTIQUE: Frank Merrill; WORKING ANTIQUE: Roel Hofstee; LOCAL DELIVERY: Deven Cummins; TRANSIT MIXER: Bob Gomez; DUMP TRUCK: Jerry Williams; SMALL FLEET: Maggini Hay; SPECIALTY RIG: Maggini’s Hay Squeeze; SPECIALTY TRAILER: Joe Arias; FLATBED: Mike Maggini; HEAVY EQUIPMENT: Mitch Railsback; BOTTOM DUMP: Aaron Hoffman; TRANSFER DUMP: Shawn Westover; TANKER: Robert Doyle; CROSS COUNTRY/OTR: Pat Johnson; LIGHTS (COMBO): Pat Johnson; LIGHTS (BOBTAIL): McKelvney; PAINT: Mike Maggini; BEST-DRESSED CREW: Joe Gula; ENGINE: Mike Maggini; INTERIOR (CAB ONLY): Mike Maggini; SLEEPER (AFTERMARKET): W.C. Evans; SLEEPER (OEM): Johnny Hidalgo; LONGEST TOW: Justin Lang (Parkesburg, PA); PEOPLE’S CHOICE: Pat Johnson; SPONSOR’S CHOICE (PICKED & PRESENTED BY 10-4 MAGAZINE): Kyle Van Hulzen; UGLIEST TRUCK: The “Duel” truck, owned by Neil Losasso; BEST OF SHOW: Neil Dykman of Dykman Trucking out of Butler, Missouri.

Next year, the show is scheduled for June 2-4, 2005 in Auburn, Indiana. For more information about the American Truck Historical Society, visit their website at www.aths.org. The quality of trucks involved with this organization is phenomenal! We salute and thank all the men and women who put their time, energy, enthusiasm and money into preserving trucking’s heritage.