After a blistering-hot summer out west and a rain-soaked summer in the Midwest, Mother Nature finally decided to play nice for the Central Valley Commercial Truck Show (CVCTS) held in Fresno, CA on September 3-4. Held at the Fresno Fair Grounds, an all-paved location near downtown Fresno, it might not be the prettiest of spots, but being centrally-located in the state, it always draws a large number of top-notch trucks from all over the west… and beyond.
Held annually on Labor Day weekend for the past seven years, this event is hosted by the folks at A & L Truck Supply and raises money for various local charities, including Fresno Club 435 and the Clovis Lions Club. This time of year in Fresno is almost always unbearably hot, but after a string of 100+ degree days at the end of August, the temps dropped to a nice 90 degrees for the first day of the show, and then another 10 degrees, down to a perfect 80 degrees, for Sunday! And with clear blue California skies, it doesn’t get much better than that for a truck show.
With a total of about 120 trucks on the lot and a handful of vendors, including Valley Chrome Plating, Dynaflex and a few others, it was a laid-back event, for sure. After a day of walking around, talking and taking pictures, it was time for the light show on Saturday night, one of the highlights of this show every year. Starting out with a long burnout from Ray Rodriquez of Lil Ray’s Transport, which resulted in a small fire, the rest of the evening went pretty smooth.
There were several trucks that really stood out during the light show including a white Peterbilt 389 2-axle hay truck from AGT, Goodall Trucking’s blue Peterbilt 379, covered with blue lights, and Nava’s orange W900L Kenworth (which was our cover truck back in March 2014). Other rides sporting a fine glow were Maggini’s “Lucky 13” Pete show truck (our cover truck from March 2003), all four of Lil Ray’s rides (especially “Wicked” and “Uno Mas”), and a red and black car hauler from Pete’s Auto Transport.
After a restful night’s sleep at home (this show is close enough for me to get to stay at home and not in a hotel), it was back to the fairgrounds to enjoy that perfect 80-degree day. Being a California show, there were a lot of really nice aero trucks, mixed in with the newer 389s, and even a few classics. On Sunday, our friend Leon Murillo finally rolled in with his brand new yellow Peterbilt, which he had just picked up in Kansas City a few days before from Clint Moore.
Other trucks that were lookin’ top-notch included Kris Gaare’s “Old School” inspired black Peterbilt 389, R & E Trucking’s slammed red aero Peterbilt, several trucks from HCT, including a nice red 389 hooked to doubles, and Rufino Hernandez’ white and green Pete 389, hooked to a polished end dump.
When the awards were handed out on Sunday afternoon, amid several giveaways and raffle prizes, all donated by the show’s fine sponsors, it was no surprise that Lil Ray walked away with several of the trophies – but not the big one this year. The “Best in Show” trophy, made by Dynaflex, was awarded to Max Mondragon of Mondragon Trucking out of Los Banos, CA for his sweet little silver and black Peterbilt 389 2-axle daycab.
When it was all said and done, the trucks started rolling out of the show in a procession under the Dynaflex inflatable arch, making for some nice last-minute pictures and videos. We hope next year’s weather is as good as this year, but based on history, that probably won’t be the case. If you missed it this year, we hope to see you next year, on Labor Day weekend 2017, for the 8th Annual Central Valley Commercial Truck Show. Big thanks to everyone at A & L Truck Supply for working so hard to make this a fun event. This year’s winners were:
NON-WORKING ANTIQUE (1991 & OLDER): 1st Ernie of H & S Transportation; 2nd Jerry Salinas; 3rd Stan Alles Trucking.
WORKING ANTIQUE (1991 & OLDER): 1st Ray Rodriquez of Lil Ray’s Transport; 2nd Goodall Trucking; 3rd Stan Alles Trucking.
PETERBILT (1992-2002): 1st Suzy Rodriquez of Lil Ray’s Transport; 2nd Robert Campbell; 3rd Mayito Salinas of Salinas Trucking.
PETERBILT (2003-2008): 1st Tim Ponder; 2nd Colton Pounds of Central Valley Trans; 3rd Everardo Lopez of Lopez Trucking.
PETERBILT (2009-2013): 1st Ruben of R & E Trucking; 2nd Antonio Gonzalez of Antonio & Sons Trucking; 3rd Bryan of Vernon Transportation.
PETERBILT (2014 & NEWER): 1st Hermie Montejano of H & M Trucking; 2nd Noe Gonzales of NH Transport; 3rd Ernesto of Segovia Disposal.
VOLVO/MACK/INTERNATIONAL (ALL YEARS): 1st Rick Zuniga of Emerian Trucking; 2nd Rick of Hills Valley Transport.
FREIGHTLINER (1992-2002): 1st OB Trucking.
FREIGHTLINER (2003-2013): 1st Manuel Torres of Gardner Trucking; 2nd Omar of Relgalado Trucking; 3rd Magarito Martinez of Martinez Trucking.
FREIGHTLINER (2014 & NEWER): 1st Russel of HCT; 2nd Juan Magdaleno of HCT; 3rd Mikey Dye of Machado Hay.
KENWORTH (1992-2004): 1st Udo Klien of Klein’s Express.
KENWORTH (2005 & NEWER): 1st Fabian Ortiz of Nava; 2nd Nick Flores of AGT; 3rd Robert Rodriguez of Rodriguez Express.
SPECIALTY: 1st Pete Lora of Pete’s Auto Transport; 2nd Ronnie Garcia of Vandenburg Trucking; 3rd Sam Fey of Sam Fey Trucking.
CABOVER: 1st Stan Alles Trucking.
CONSTRUCTION (BOTTOM DUMPS/END DUMPS/TRANSFERS/ETC): 1st Russel Ray of Kadon Trucking; 2nd Joshua of Ozzie’s Trucking; 3rd Rufino Hernandez of Hernandez Trucking.
LIGHT & MUDIUM DUTY: 1st Jose of R & B Produce; 2nd David Arroyo of Arroyo Custom Rigz; 3rd Michael Katz.
PROFESSIONAL SHOW TRUCK: 1st Ray Rodriquez of Lil Ray’s Transport; 2nd Bubba Texiera of Maggini & Son Trucking.
COMBO (2008 & OLDER): 1st Dewayne Faulkner of Hettinga Trans; 2nd Scott Sakaguwa of Macedo Hay; 3rd Eduardo Lopez of Premier Transport.
COMBO (2009 & NEWER): 1st Squints Flores of AGT; 2nd Jose of Outlaw Express; 3rd Marcus Valenzuela of HCT.
BEST LIGHTS (BOBTAIL): Goodall Trucking’s 1989 Peterbilt 379.
BEST LIGHTS (COMBO): Ray Rodriquez of Lil Ray’s Transport (Wicked).
PARTICIPANT’S CHOICE: Ray Rodriquez of Lil Ray’s Transport (Uno Mas).
BEST SHINE: Jose Vazquez of Outlaw Express.
BEST FLEET: Hanford Commodities.
BEST OF SHOW: Max Mondragon of Mondragon Trucking in Los Banos, CA.