QUALITY OVER QUANTITY!
VEGAS SHOW IS SMALL BUT PRODUCTIVE & FUN
The bigger the better – right? Well, not always. The 2009 Great West Truck Show, held in Las Vegas, Nevada on June 25-27 at the Las Vegas Convention Center, was the smallest we had ever experienced but the quality (not quantity) of attendees made up for that. In the 15 years that we have been attending the show in Las Vegas, this one had the least amount of square footage and big-name exhibitors that we have ever seen. But, talking to other exhibitors and considering our own experience, it was still a pretty productive event. I guess bigger isn’t always better!
Alan Sims and his crew of workers from the Randall-Reilly Events Group, the owners and producers of the show, are safe from blame here – chalk this one up to the economy and the general public’s fear of the future. Making due with what they had, the show’s producers did a good job of setting up the show and promoting it well. All of the show’s this year have been down, so nobody was surprised to see this one shrink a bit, as well. But that did not stop many people from coming out and taking advantage of the event. The aisles were never “jammed” with people, but a steady flow of visitors kept exhibitors busy most of the day. It was kind of nice not to be overwhelmed for once.
Walking around the show and talking to other vendors, most of them had positive things to say about the business being conducted at the show. In our booth, we ran out of magazines on the second day and had to bring in a few extra bundles to get through the last day. We also ran out of posters and sold many placemats (laminated centerfolds) and T-shirts. We certainly can’t complain. The show producers were also kind enough to move our booth at the last minute and allow us to bring in our July 2009 cover truck (Bounty Hunter) to be on display just across the aisle. Owners Jeff Suer and Tom Trautman were on-hand to answer questions and give away some free centerfolds – they even signed a few autographs. We’d like to thank the guys for coming out to the show and making our booth even better!
Over on the other side of the show, RJ Taylor and his old Kenworth, along with law enforcement officers from Nevada (Trp. Elmer Johnson) and Texas (Lt. Monty Kea and Trp. Monty Dial), answered questions and gave short seminars about rules and regulations in the Ol’ Blue, USA Safety Center. RJ and his crew are always informative and entertaining, and at this show it was no different. We also had nice conversations with our longtime friends Bill & Dan of Accident Photo Pak, as well as Bruce & Pete of Pittsburgh Power, Kent & the crew from Valley Chrome, and Frank & Diana Pangburn of Truckin’ for Kids, who were in the booth next to ours. It was also good to see Jim of Axle Surgeons, Klaus from Frigette Truck Climate Systems and Lee & Jeff of Swertfeger’s Equipment.
We’d like to thank ALL of the exhibitors who came out to participate in the show. In these trying times, we need to stick together – and truck shows are one place where we can (and should) do that. We were disappointed in the companies, especially the big OEMs, which opted out of this and several other shows this year. It just doesn’t seem right. We need to continue to support these shows, the best we can, or they won’t be around when times get better and everyone wants to return. Downsize, if you must, but at least show up!
The perimeter of the show was lined with about 30 trucks competing in the Pride & Polish truck beauty competition. Many of the usual “suspects” and their trucks were in attendance like Jeff Botelho, Bill & Marie Sandvik, Michael Most and Outlaw Customs, but there were a few lesser-known trucks that made a big splash, as well. The red Arrowhead Water Freightliner Columbia and polished Brenner tanker trailer was looking perfect – and good enough for it and its driver Michael Salcido to earn a Best of Show in the Working Combo class. Another standout was our very own cover truck this month – a dark blue 1993 Peterbilt wrecker owned by Homer Schultz. After winning Best of Show Working Bobtail in Louisville, KY earlier this year, Homer added another BOS trophy to his ever-growing collection.
Some other trucks that earned high honors were Marcel Pontbriand’s “Little Train” Peterbilt which won the coveted People’s Choice trophy, and Andy Zary’s beautiful 1959 purple Mack “Touch of Class” which took the Best of Show Limited Mileage Bobtail award. Wes & Bruce Malmgren brought out two clean Peterbilts – one that featured a flashy green and black paint job and another that was silver with dark blue fenders. The silver truck took a first place in its class (Working Bobtail 2005 & Newer), while the green one earned a third place trophy in its class (Working Bobtail 2004 & Older) and a second place trophy for its paint and graphics. Although it did not take any trophies, Mike Harrah’s red “Budweiser” Peterbilt, featuring a huge sleeper with an enclosed garage for his motorcycle, got a lot of attention.
One of the biggest surprises came in the Working Combo (1998 & Older) class, when Jeremy Smith of First Class Transportation (leased to Ram Transportation) and his 1994 lime green Peterbilt and 2007 Wilson flatbed took first place. Jeremy has been working (and showing) this truck for almost five years, and this was his very first win. Unfortunately, his grandfather passed away on Friday, so Jeremy had to catch a flight home Saturday morning and missed the award ceremony that day. Jeff Botelho accepted the trophy on his behalf. Our condolences and congratulations both go out to Jeremy.
During the award ceremony, a moment of silence was observed in memory of Bobby Lindamood, who was killed just a few days before the show when his ATV overturned on his property in Irving, Texas. His son Jake had just flown in to help prepare his dad’s “King Ranch” Peterbilt and matching end dump, which was already at the show, when he got the tragic phone call. He immediately flew home and had the truck driven back to Texas, where it was used to haul Bobby in his casket, on a drop-deck trailer, from the funeral service to the cemetery. This is the second trucking convention in a row that has been tarnished by a tragic death – let’s hope that there aren’t any more anytime soon.
We’d like to congratulate all of the winners – especially those that overcame great challenges, like Michael Most and Alex Fimbres. Michael had an incident just before the show and had to find and install new rear fiberglass fenders in a matter of hours, and Alex just finished having his truck completely rebuilt (by Jeff Botelho) after it was wrecked by a drunk driver a few months back. Alex has had several challenges throughout the year, so we commend him for getting out to the show. Maybe there should be a new award given for those who overcame the worst odds! If there was, one of these guys would have surely earned it. Next year’s show is scheduled for June 17-19, 2010. We’ll be there – will you?
WORKING BOBTAIL (2004 & OLDER): 1st Homer Schultz III, 1993 Peterbilt 379 Wrecker; 2nd Michael Most, 1998 Freightliner Classic; 3rd Wes Malmgren, 2004 Peterbilt 379.
WORKING BOBTAIL (2005 & NEWER): 1st Bruce Malmgren, 2006 Peterbilt 379; 2nd Jeff Botelho, 2007 Peterbilt 379; 3rd Alex Fimbres III, 2005 Peterbilt 379.
WORKING BOBTAIL (NEW): 1st John Gonzalez, 2009 Peterbilt 388; 2nd Michael Winburn, 2009 Peterbilt 335 Hybrid.
LIMITED MILEAGE BOBTAIL: 1st Andy Zary, 1959 Mack B61; 2nd Isaac Aguilar, 1992 Peterbilt 379; 3rd Bill Sandvik, 1998 Peterbilt 379.
WORKING COMBO (1998 & OLDER): 1st Jeremy Smith, 1994 Peterbilt 379 with 2007 Wilson Flatbed; 2nd (tie) Scooby Meltcher, 1994 Freightliner FL80 with 2007 McClendon Wedge Car Hauler AND Marcel Pontbriand, 1989 Peterbilt with 1993 Stoughton Van; 3rd Kris Gaare, 1998 Peterbilt 379 with 2001 Great Dane Reefer.
WORKING COMBO (2000 & NEWER): 1st Michael Salcido, 2007 Freightliner Columbia with 1991 Brenner Tanker; 2nd Cliff King, 2007 Peterbilt 386 with 2007 Wabash Van; 3rd Stephen Ashburn, 2005 Peterbilt 379 with 2006 Boydston 9100ST Car Hauler.
HOT ROD TRUCK: 1st Randy Grubb, 1960 hot rod Peterbilt 361; 2nd Jeff Botelho, convertible Peterbilt; 3rd Mike Harrah, 1964 custom racing Peterbilt.
NON-WORKING ANTIQUE: 1st Ruben Cendejas, 1931 Ford A Cab; 2nd Juan Gonzalez, 1957 Peterbilt 350.
INTERIOR (CAB ONLY): 1st Stephen Ashburn, 2005 Peterbilt; 2nd Michael Salcido, 2007 Freightliner; 3rd Scooby Meltcher, 1994 Freightliner.
INTERIOR (OEM SLEEPER): 1st Michael Most, 1998 Freightliner; 2nd Marcel Pontbriand, 1989 Peterbilt; 3rd Homer Schultz III, 1993 Peterbilt.
INTERIOR (CUSTOM SLEEPER): 1st Cliff King, 2007 Peterbilt.
INTERIOR (LIMITED MILEAGE): 1st Andy Zary, 1959 Mack.
ENGINE (WORKING TRUCK): 1st Michael Most, 1998 Freightliner; 2nd Marcel Pontbriand, 1989 Peterbilt; 3rd Homer Schultz III, 1993 Peterbilt.
ENGINE (LIMITED MILEAGE): 1st Bill Sandvik, 1998 Peterbilt.
PAINT (WORKING BOBTAIL): 1st Michael Most, 1998 Corvette Yellow Freightliner Classic; 2nd Wes Malmgren, 2004 Green & Black Peterbilt 379; 3rd Jeff Botelho, 2007 Blue & Green Flamed Peterbilt 379.
PAINT (WORKING COMBO): 1st Marcel Pontbriand, 1989 Midnight Blue Muralled Peterbilt with 1993 Stoughton Van; 2nd Ray Rodriguez Jr., 2000 Purple & Lavender Peterbilt 379 with 2006 Transcraft Flatbed; 3rd Michael Salcido, 2007 Red Freightliner Columbia with 1991 Brenner Tanker.
PAINT (LIMITED MILEAGE): 1st Isaac Aguilar, 1992 Burgundy Peterbilt 379.
ROADWORK’S BEST USE OF CHROME: Juan Gonzalez, 1957 Peterbilt 350.
TRUK-RODZ BEST THEME: Andy Zary, 1959 Mack B61.
BEST OF SHOW WORKING BOBTAIL: Homer Schultz III, Homer’s Towing & Service, 1993 Blue Peterbilt 379 Wrecker.
BEST OF SHOW WORKING COMBO: Michael Salcido, Arrowhead/Nestle Water, 2007 Red Freightliner Columbia with 1991 Brenner Tanker.
PEOPLE’S CHOICE: Marcel Pontbriand, TLC Systems, 1989 Midnight Blue Muralled Peterbilt with 1993 Stoughton Dry Van.