10-4 Magazine - For Today's Trucker

FIESTA DE CAMIONEROS
TRUCK SHOW LATINO GROWS AND IMPROVES

The Truck Show Latino, the first truck show specifically targeting the Latino truck driver, drew in large crowds – nearly 5,000 visitors – for the 2nd annual two-day show. Held on October 21 & 22, in conjunction with the Construction Truck and Equipment Expo, the two combined shows had over 150 exhibitors that displayed products and services for the trucking/construction industry in two buildings at the Fairplex in Pomona, California. Outside, dozens of shiny show trucks lined two sides of the street and competed for trophies and prizes.

Many changes were made to the show this year, including changing the three-day format of Thursday through Saturday as it was last year, to a two-day event held on a Saturday and Sunday this year. Also, a full-blown Stars & Stripes truck competition took place just outside of the main building, attracting 25 of the finest rigs (which was the maximum amount of trucks allowed for the space they had). Next year, show management hopes to acquire a greater amount of space to allow even more working and show trucks the opportunity to compete.

All of the changes made this year were designed to attract more truckers to the show. And based on the crowds we saw, we’d say their campaign was a success. “While the main focus of the show is business, we also wanted the crowds to have fun,” said Roger Sherrard, president of Independent Trade Show Management, the show’s producer. “We had musicians wandering the halls, entertaining the crowds during the show and a live concert after the show closed Saturday night.”

The crowds may have been entertained by the music, but the big event was the drawing for a new Ford F150 pickup. “We are very grateful for having Ford Commercial Truck sponsor the show this year,” Sherrard said. “Ford’s commitment to the Latino market and The Truck Show Latino enabled us to give the truck away to a lucky winner Sunday afternoon.” That shocked and excited winner was Jaime Avila, who, with his family (photo 5), claimed the shiny red pickup truck amid loud cheers from the hundreds of entrants that had crowded around the Ford booth waiting to hear the winning name announced (photo 1).

In addition to the Ford F150 pickup truck giveaway, drawings were held during the show for Werner 17-foot Telescoping Ladders, Arcan Two Ton Service Jacks, Leatherman Multi-Tool & Folding Knife Packs, Zenith 7-inch DVD Players, 195-piece Crescent Professional Tool Sets and a Sony CD Radio Cassette Recorder. RJ Taylor of Ol’ Blue, USA (photo 2) and CHP officer Luis Parada gave safety lectures to attendees throughout the show, and also handed out free prizes to anyone who could identify deliberately-placed safety violations on RJ’s 1951 Kenworth.

Some of the standout rigs in the Stars & Stripes competition outside included some old favorites and a couple new ones as well. Sandvik Trucking brought out about five of their Peterbilts and took home a total of eleven trophies, including Best of Show Limited Mileage. Ford Trucking was represented with one of their signature green Super Dumps; the Pounds Brothers, Mark & Keith, of Central Valley Transport, brought out two of their rigs; and Enrique Vanegas showed off his unique, black Pete with suicide doors and shaved headlights. Some of the new names and trucks that did well included Joe Gomez and his bright red Pete (photo 6), Alex Fimbres and his teal-colored Pete and Paul Lima and his black KW wrecker with orange and yellow flames and murals (photo 4).

Julian “Big Daddy” Perez took third place with his green Freightliner FLD, and he sure was proud. “Big Daddy” is one of the only guys out there bold enough to put his hard-working FLD up against perfect Petes and killer KW’s, and still stand tall with the best of them. Not really new to the show scene but looking better at every event, Hector Santos and his baby blue and white Pete (featured on our March 2006 cover) earned four trophies, including Best of Show in the working class (photo 3).

The Truck Show Latino is a joint venture of Newport Communications and Independent Trade Show Management. The 2007 show is scheduled for October 20 & 21 at the Fairplex in Pomona, CA. For further information about The Truck Show Latino and The Construction Truck and Equipment Expo, call (800) 227-5992 or just stay tuned to 10-4 Magazine. We look forward to seeing this show get bigger and better, year after year.

BEST PAINT: Mark Pounds, Central Valley Transport, 2001 Purple Freightliner Classic XL.
BEST GRAPHICS: Bill Sandvik, Sandvik Trucking, 1998 White & Blue Peterbilt 379.
BEST MURAL: Paul Lima Jr, Lima Towing, 1999 Black KW T800 Wrecker.
BEST THEME: Chuck Prigge, Sandvik Trucking, 1996 White & Purple Peterbilt 379.
ENGINE: 1st Richard Jiminez, Sandvik Trucking, 1994 Purple Peterbilt 379; 2nd (tie) Joe Gomez, 1993 Viper Red Peterbilt 379 & Hector Santos, 1999 Blue & White Peterbilt 379; 3rd Memo Lopez, Sandvik Trucking, 1994 White & Red Peterbilt 379.
INTERIOR (CAB ONLY): 1st Enrique Vanegas, 1988 Black Peterbilt 379; 2nd Joe Gomez, 1993 Viper Red Peterbilt 379; 3rd (tie) Rudy Tule, Blandino Trucking, 1994 Black Pearl Peterbilt 379 & Paul Lima Jr, Lima Towing, 1999 Black KW T800 Wrecker.
INTERIOR (OEM SLEEPER): 1st Hector Santos, 1999 Blue & White Peterbilt 379; 2nd Richard Jiminez, Sandvik Trucking, 1994 Purple Peterbilt 379; 3rd Marcos Cervantes, Sandvik Trucking, 2003 Blue & Grey Peterbilt 379.
MOST HEAD-TURNING USE OF CHROME: Joe Gomez, 1993 Viper Red Peterbilt 379.
FIRST SHOW: 1st Rudy Tule, Blandino Trucking, 1994 Black Pearl Peterbilt 379; 2nd Rolando Nava, 1988 White & Blue KW T600; 3rd Alberto Caballero, Betuco Trucking, 1999 Blue Freightliner Classic.
SPECIALIZED: 1st Paul Lima Jr, 1999 Black KW T800 Wrecker; 2nd Joe Olivas, 2005 Green Peterbilt 379 Super Dump; 3rd Derrick Payton, 2006 White Peterbilt 379 Super Dump.
1999 & OLDER: 1st Hector Santos, 1999 Blue & White Peterbilt 379; 2nd Richard Jimenez, Sandvik Trucking, 1994 Purple Peterbilt 379; 3rd Memo Lopez, Sandvik Trucking, 1994 White & Red Peterbilt 379.
2000 & NEWER: 1st Marcos Cervantes, Sandvik Trucking, 2003 Blue & Grey Peterbilt 379; 2nd Alex Fimbres III, 2005 Teal Peterbilt 379; 3rd Julian “Big Daddy” Perez, 2002 Green Freightliner FLD120.
LIMITED MILEAGE: 1st Bill Sandvik, Sandvik Trucking, 1998 White & Blue Peterbilt 379; 2nd Chuck Prigge, Sandvik Trucking, 1996 White & Purple Peterbilt 379; 3rd Mark Pounds, Central Valley Transport, 2001 Purple Freightliner Classic XL.
BEST OF SHOW: Hector Santos, 1999 Blue & White Peterbilt 379.