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September 7-9 brought almost 200 trucks to the Bristol Dragway in Bristol, TN to compete in the Lucas Oil Big Rig Nationals. With some 28 Show 'n Shine award categories and over $10,000 in cash and prizes in working competitions, a truck beauty contest and drag races, everyone found a fun way
to participate in the event.
Being a "east coast" show, many categories, as well as the trucks, were very different from the ones we are used to. It seems the trucks to beat on the drag strip (dubbed "Thunder Valley"), were the infamous "Twin Tornados" - a pair of Petes owned by Smith Transportation. The flyer for the event even went so far as to ask, "Can anything stop the Smith Transports Twin Tornados?" But it was a whole different story when the smoke in the "valley" cleared.
Called the "Junkyard Truck" because of the fact that it was put together with old parts from around their yard in Fontana, CA, John and Wayne Talkington's 1964 KW (below on left) not only beat the Twin Tornados (one blew an engine and the other a tranny trying to catch them) and CFI's Red Racer (below on right), but also set a track record on one of their runs reaching 110.52 mph with a time of 12.47 seconds. CFI's Red Racer did get up to 111 mph but couldn't beat the Talkington's time. Because they were bracket racing, Wayne found himself racing Allen Boles of Weaverville, NC in the final race. Wayne, who was handicapped by 7 seconds, had to sit on the line for what seemed like eternity before he could chase after Alan's 1993 Pete. Boles just barely beat Wayne with a .600 reaction time and an elapsed time of 20.192 at 69.78 mph. Wayne came off the line in .932 with a 13.977 ET at 102.98 mph.
In other drag racing action, Ron Saris of Leamington, Ontario drove his Kenworth machine to the win over Michael Teague of Lenoir, NC. Saris had a 8.09 reaction time with an ET of 20.492 at 73.78 mph to beat out Teague and his 1979 Kenworth which came off the line in 1.324 with a 20.441 ET at 73.72 mph. Mike Lucas of English, IN, claimed the top prize in the Diesel Powered Pick-Up class, driving his 1990 Dodge to the win over Genny Lucas, also of English, IN. Mike Lucas had a .640 reaction time and an elapsed time of 18.110 at 73.88 mph while Genny Lucas had a .774 reaction time with an ET of 21.255 at 63.19 mph. Todd Matney of Vansant, VA, won the Gasoline Powered Pick-Up title in his 1999 Ford over Jeffrey Wolford of Woodlawn, VA, who was driving a 1999 F-150. Matney had a .586 reaction time with a 17.742 elapsed time at 78.33 mph while Wolford redlighted.
One thing's for sure - those east coast draggers won't soon forget the boys from out west and
their junkyard truck. But what Smith's "Tornados" lacked on the strip, their other trucks made up for in the beauty contest. Here is a partial list of the first place winners in the Show 'n Shine competition:
- BEST TRUCK: W.A. Baker Trucking (Billy Baker), St. Catharines, Ont, Canada.
- CREW: Smith Transport (Todd Ryan/George Butler), Roaring Spr, PA.
- CHROME: Smith Transport (Todd Ryan/George Butler), Roaring Spr, PA.
- SPECIAL EFFECT: Asbury Trucking (Jerry & Allen Asbury), Dayton, OH.
- PAINT: Everhart Transportation (Cline Everhart), Midway, TN.
- BEST FLEET: Smith Transport (Todd Ryan/George Butler), Roaring Spr, PA.
- LARGEST FLEET: Gary Kiser Trucking (John Yates), Bristol, TN.
- SM. WRECKER: Mike Aldridge Trucking (Charles Burleson), Newland, NC.
- ROLL-OFF: Smith Transport (Brian Tank), Remington, IN.
- MIXER: Smith Transport (David A. White), Roaring Spr, PA.
- STRAIGHT TRUCK: Smoky Mountain Frtlnr/Lester’s Road Serv, Kingsport, TN.
- CABOVER: Henry R. Good (Henry R. Good), Nicholson, PA.
- ANTIQUE: Mike Aldridge Trucking (Charles Burleson), Newland, NC.
- LONG DISTANCE AWARD: D&S Trucking (Danny Spencer), Bassett, VA.
- 3-AXLE CONV: Asbury Trucking (Jerry & Allen Asbury), Dayton, OH.
- 3-AXLE TRACTOR: Everhart Transport (Carter Everhart), Johnson City, TN.
- OLDEST FLEET: Larry Dotson Trucking (Larry Dotson), Pounds Mill, VA.
- LG. WRECKER: Smoky Mountain Frtlnr/Lester’s Road Serv, Kingsport, TN.
- DUMP: M.C. Brown (Matt Brown), Baltimore, MD. (pictured above)
- 2-AXLE TRACTOR: Ronnie Reed Trucking (Ronnie Reed), Magnolia, DE.
- CUSTOM INTERIOR: Asbury Trucking (Jerry & Allan Asbury), Dayton, OH.
- NOVELTY: John & Brenda Nance's Handcrafted "Nancear", Blue Creek, OH.
- MOST LIVABLE CAB: Lux Corporation (Otis Shearer), Balyrus, OH.
- DETAIL: Central Transport (Claude & Patty Earhart), High Point, NC.
- BEST ENGINEERED: Down To Earth (Michael M. Moody), Kingsport, TN.
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