For the 53rd year, the Mid-America Trucking Show (MATS) once again kicked off the truck show season – and this year like the last – the show made some moves. After moving the trucks from the back lot to the front last year and reintroducing the Big Rig Build-Off, show producers made another bold move this year when they took all the vendors that were in the somewhat isolated West Wing and moved them into the South Hall, effectively bringing everyone together. And although it sounds like a good thing, and it probably was, it also brought some new challenges – especially for us at 10-4 Magazine.
Arriving in Kentucky on Tuesday, most of our travel day went pretty smoothly until we arrived at SDF airport in Louisville. Our flight came in a little late, so by the time we arrived, there were no rental cars – none! Even though we had made our reservation two months prior, since we came in an hour or two late, they gave our van away. People were literally sitting there waiting for cars to be returned so they could get them. Never mind what you reserved, you took what you got, and were happy you got anything. We ended up with a small SUV and had to rent a second car to make up for it the next day! Thanks to the guys at HD Shocks for keeping us company at the airport while we waited for a car (they were waiting, too).
Setting up our booth on Wednesday and then walking around and talking to folks, this is my favorite day – the vibe is chill, and it sometimes is the only time you get to talk with people you might only see a few times a year. That night, the judging for the light show happens, and a few of us at 10-4 always volunteer to help take pictures for the MATS show program and awards ceremony slide show. It was a little cold, but I love taking night shots, so it was fun.
Thursday morning came fast, and it was time to start working. Show hours that day were 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM, so it was a long day – but boy did it go fast. I spent most of this day in the booth or walking around inside the show. With over 850 exhibitors stretched out over 1 million square feet of space, there was a lot to see and do. There were also many educational seminars, receptions, and an opening breakfast. After the show closed for the day, we headed out for a quick dinner, then back to the show lot for more light shots, as this was the night of the official light show.
As mentioned in the beginning, the floor plan was changed this year, and it definitely had an impact on the flow of the show. Our booth has been located in the same corner of the North Wing for about ten years, and we have always loved it. It’s near a back door that a lot of people use, it was situated between the South Hall and the West Wing, and it was not too far from the show trucks outside. However, after moving the show trucks to a lot in front of the show last year and now this year switching up the floor plan, we ended up in no-man’s land. As much as we don’t want to move our booth, we are going to be forced to next year.
Walking around the new layout, it was kind of weird, but good. The South Hall was very busy, and almost full. Checking out all the old iron at the far end of the room, we also were able to visit with a few of our advertisers, including Matt and his wife at Sticker Guard, our friends at CRUMS Leasing, Lyndel Martin of Linny Lights, and the folks at Dirks Classic Truck. We also got to see Valley Chrome, WTI, Lifetime Nut Covers, Grand General, National Truck Parts, Dynaflex, Time 2 Shine, Steering Creations, I-29 Custom Truck Parts, Zephyr, 4 State Trucks, Dickerson Custom Trucks, BullSnot and Pittsburgh Power. One booth inside had a Scania cabover truck, which is very popular in other parts of the world, hoping to start selling them here in the States, and Lifetime had a cool hot rod KW in their booth (white with red stripes) that had a powerful gas engine and a digital dash.
Another standout thing at this year’s show was the amount of custom Peterbilt 589s parked both inside and outside. Being the flagship Peterbilt truck now – whether you love them or hate them – they are here, and people and companies are quickly coming up with parts to make them cooler. Some of the bigger companies that had custom 589s in their booth included Trux, Iowa Customs, RoadWorks, and Jade/Shift Products (this green beauty was one of our favorites on the show floor). Outside, there were several, as well, including a blue fuel hauler from Willis, a custom rose-colored 589 built by AMCAN, and many more. Folks are figuring out pretty quickly that it doesn’t take much to make these new trucks look a lot better.
And speaking of the trucks, I got out there on Friday and couldn’t believe the level of craftsmanship on the 150 rigs competing in the PKY Truck Beauty Championships – definitely the best of the best! A few of the standouts for me included Kevin Voigt’s black and white 1998 Freightliner FLB cabover, Chad Ellison’s blue and black 2023 Peterbilt 389 with a matching painted 2026 Wilson livestock trailer, and John Dunnigan’s yellow and white “Afternoon Delight” 1985 Peterbilt 359 (which was awesome). Some other popular trucks were Brandon Smith’s gray and light blue Peterbilt 389, Brant Arnold’s brown 1970 Peterbilt 358 (which won the coveted People’s Choice award), and our past cover trucker Eric Gibbons of EMH and his gray and green 2024 Peterbilt 389, fitted with a cool reproduction Doonan roof cap on the sleeper, which Eric has been developing and will soon offer to the public.
At one point, a few months before the show, there was a large contingency of California trucks slated to come out to MATS. We were so excited to finally have some west coast representation at the most prestigious truck beauty show in the world, but sadly, most ended up canceling. I was hoping they could all be parked together and be in “California Corner” or something, but circumstances for many prevented that from happening. We were bummed, but a few Cali trucks were there, including Cole Barbieri and Tommy Stine of North Coast Wine (they both won a ton of awards), along with our past cover trucker Bruce Campbell in his green and cream Peterbilt 389 dump truck. Last year he brought his transfer setup, but this year he pulled a matching pup trailer out, just to be different.
Of course, the trucks outside getting the most attention were the three classy entrants in the Big Rig Build-Off. There was supposed to be five, but two did not finish their builds (Jordan Henderson of JSH Towing and our old friend Randy Manning). The three that did finish and were there competing included Brian and Tom Davis (Davis Brothers), Luke Rethwisch (Rethwisch Transport), and Bill and Cody Warner (Bill Warner & Son Towing). All these competitors built old trucks – Davis Brothers and Luke Rethwisch both built 1987 Peterbilt 359s and Bill and Cody Warner built a green 1988 Peterbilt 362 cabover.
Show hours on Friday were 10-6 like on Thursday, but before the show closed for the day, we caught Brittnea Barnes of Lady Lines Pinstriping in the Valley Chrome booth striping their show truck right there on the show floor. It was pretty cool, and her work is amazing (see the feature we did on her in the June 2024 edition). After the show closed for the day, there was a free concert that featured Tony Justice and Colt Ford inside Freedom Hall starting at 7:00 PM on the show grounds. Unfortunately, we already had big dinner plans, so we were not able to attend the concert. Instead, we headed over to Mark’s Feed Store, a popular local BBQ joint, with 22 of our contributors, friends, show helpers, and other members of our extended 10-4 Family for a great night of food, fun, and conversation. And with our friend and contributor Miss Flatbed Red also there with a large group of her trucking friends, we pretty much took over the entire upstairs area of the restaurant!
On Saturday the show opened at 9:00 AM and the awards ceremony started at 10:00 – and it was the fastest ever (it was over at 10:50). Then, we headed outside to get some pics of the winners with their trophies, including the winner of the Big Rig Build-Off, Luke Rethwisch. This young man really outdid himself, presenting his dark gray and maroon Peterbilt 359 like the show trucks of the past – with the wheels off (displayed on rotating stands), exposing everything that was chromed, including most of the suspension, the brake drums, the drivelines, and the engine.
Other winners included the maroon 1986 International 9670 hooked to a completely polished Wilson livestock trailer built by our friends at VDZ Customs, Troy Massey’s “Wild Child” Kenworth (black with red stripes), and Cole Johnson’s (STS Transit) turquoise Peterbilt 389 and Muv-All with a tractor on the back. Some other folks who received big awards were Matt Green, Edward Homfeld, and Brian Bourke. One truck that did not win any awards but was getting a lot of attention was a magenta-colored 1997 Peterbilt 379 from Canada with murals and a chromed-out engine that looked like a time capsule, inside and out, from the late 1990s.
While we were outside capturing pictures of some of the winners with their trophies, Miss Flatbed Red was in our booth inside from 12:00 to 1:00 for a meet and greet, and to take pics with her fans who stopped by. After taking our last few pics outside, with lots of help from our friend and photographer Jacob Gunderson, we headed back inside. The show ended at 4:00 PM and then we proceeded to tear our booth down and prepare the pallet that would go back to California (thanks to our friend and past cover trucker Ron Beer for hauling our stuff out and back).
Once we finished our tear-down, we headed downtown to our usual post show destination, Los Aztecas Mexican Restaurant, with our entire show crew. We would like to thank Tim and April Sieben, Eric Hill, Josh, Renee and Carson Reitveld, Gerald “JT” Todd and his son Trey for helping all week in the booth and at the show. Also, thanks to our contributors Mark Harter, John and Kim Jaikes, and Stephanie Haas for spending time with us, as well. Big thanks to our digital guru John Testa for doing live remotes from the show all week, and even bigger thanks to all the sponsors who supported those efforts. The final event at MATS is the PKY Parade, which happens at dusk on Saturday night, and features the competitors taking “victory laps” around the Expo Center loop.
Although bad weather had been predicted almost every day of the show, it never really transpired. Most days saw a mix of sun and some clouds, but besides a few occasional sprinkles here and there, for the most part, the weather was great – until it wasn’t. On Sunday night, at about 8:00 PM, the wind and rain finally came, and let me tell you, it really came. Then, the tornado sirens went off, prompting us to prepare the basement at our AirBNB house for a possible emergency shelter. Being from California, this was new to most of us. Everything went crazy for about an hour, and then it was done, just like that.
Come Monday morning we were back on a plane headed west towards home. It was another good MATS, but I think the current state of the economy and all the instability in the trucking industry had a few negative last-minute effects on the show’s overall success. People are hurting out there, and good changes aren’t coming quickly enough. But I do think they will come – it just might take a little longer than some (me included) expected. Next year’s show is scheduled for March 26-28, 2026. For more information about it, you can visit www.truckingshow.com anytime. We will be there, but you’ll have to find us in our new booth location, wherever that ends up being. I guess it’s time for us to make a few bold moves, too! And this year’s winners were:
ANTIQUE ORIGINAL: 1st Greg Kendall, 1982 Kenworth K100; 2nd Greg Kendall, 2000 Peterbilt 379; 3rd Greg Kendall, 1987 Peterbilt 359.
ANTIQUE CUSTOM BOBTAIL: 1st Kyle Weaver, 1981 Kenworth W900A; 2nd Casey Morden, 1986 Peterbilt 359; 3rd Jonathan Dyck, 1979 Peterbilt 352.
ANTIQUE CUSTOM COMBO: 1st Robbie Johnson, 1983 Kenworth W900 & 2024 MAC Conestoga.
BEST ANTIQUE ENGINE: Kyle Weaver, 1981 Kenworth W900A.
BEST ANTIQUE PAINT: Greg Kendall, 1982 Kenworth K100.
BEST ANTIQUE INTERIOR: Greg Kendall, 2000 Peterbilt 379.
NEW TRUCK BOBTAIL: 1st Brian Harney, 2024 Peterbilt 389X; 2nd Brandon Smith, 2024 Peterbilt 389; 3rd Nick Kimball, 2025 Peterbilt 589.
NEW TRUCK COMBO: 1st Brian Kuhnle, 2024 Kenworth W900 & 2025 MAC Fuel Tanker.
FIRST SHOW BOBTAIL: 1st Gregory Alberalla, 2023 Peterbilt 389; 2nd Dave Koliha, 2018 Peterbilt 389; 3rd Connor Moran, 2022 Peterbilt 389.
FIRST SHOW COMBO: 1st Dekontee Durrette, 2022 Peterbilt 389 & 2023 Great Dane; 2nd Michael Ligas, 2015 Freightliner Argosy & 2025 Trailstar Dump; 3rd Steve Sitts, 2025 Peterbilt 589 & 2025 East Flatbed.
WORKING TRUCK COMPANY OWNED: 1st Sy Kunesh Jr., 2024 Peterbilt 389 & 2014 MAC Curtain; 2nd Levi Turnage, 2005 Peterbilt 379 & 2008 Walker; 3rd Thomas Christoferson, 2011 Peterbilt 389.
WORKING TRUCK BOBTAIL LIGHTS: 1st Brian Harney, 2024 Peterbilt 389X; 2nd Tommy Stine, 2022 Peterbilt 389; 3rd Thomas Christoferson, 2011 Peterbilt 389.
WORKING TRUCK COMBO LIGHTS: 1st Daniel and Phyllis Snow, 1996 Freightliner Classic XL & 2006 Utility; 2nd Cole Johnson, 2019 Peterbilt 389 & 2025 Muv-All; 3rd Sy Kunesh Jr., 2024 Peterbilt 389 & 2014 MAC Curtain.
WORKING TRUCK ENGINE: 1st Josh Reed, 2013 Peterbilt 389; 2nd Raiko Graveran, 1995 Freightliner FLD; 3rd Phillip Couch, 1999 Freightliner Classic.
WORKING TRUCK INTERIOR (AFTERMARKET SLEEPER): 1st Daniel and Phyllis Snow, 1996 Freightliner Classic XL & 2006 Utility.
WORKING TRUCK INTERIOR (CAB ONLY): 1st Cole Johnson, 2019 Peterbilt 389 & 2025 Muv-All; 2nd Ryan Moore, 2016 Peterbilt 389 & 2025 Tremcar; 3rd Tommy Stine, 2022 Peterbilt 389.
WORKING TRUCK INTERIOR (OEM SLEEPER): 1st Brian Pete, 2023 Peterbilt 389; 2nd Sy Kunesh Jr., 2024 Peterbilt 389 & 2014 MAC Curtain; 3rd Robert Gonzales, 2024 Peterbilt 579.
WORKING TRUCK BOBTAIL PAINT: 1st Eric Gibbons, 2024 Peterbilt 389; 2nd Thomas Christoferson, 2011 Peterbilt 389; 3rd Brian Pete, 2023 Peterbilt 389.
WORKING TRUCK COMBO PAINT: 1st Josh Reed, 2013 Peterbilt 389 & 2025 MAC Conestoga; 2nd Tarik Al-Amin II, 2023 Kenworth W900L & 2023 Great Dane; 3rd Cole Johnson, 2019 Peterbilt 389 & 2025 Muv-All.
WORKING TRUCK BOBTAIL: 1st Tommy Stine, 2022 Peterbilt 389; 2nd Raiko Graveran, 1995 Freightliner FLD; 3rd Eric Gibbons, 2024 Peterbilt 389.
WORKING TRUCK COMBO: 1st Cole Johnson, 2019 Pete 389 & 2025 Muv-All; 2nd Josh Reed, 2013 Pete 389 & 2025 MAC; 3rd Daniel and Phyllis Snow, 1996 FL Classic & 2006 Utility.
LIMITED MILEAGE BOBTAIL: 1st Matt Green, 1965 Peterbilt 351; 2nd Kevin Voigt, 1998 Freightliner FLB; 3rd Ken Daughters, 2001 Peterbilt 379.
BOBTAIL (NO MILES): 1st Troy Massey, 2022 Kenworth W900; 2nd Brian Bourke, 2023 Peterbilt 389; 3rd John Dunnigan, 1985 Peterbilt 359.
LIMITED MILEAGE COMBO: 1st Tyler Van Der Zwaag, 1986 International 9670 & 2025 Wilson; 2nd Cole Barbieri, 2023 Peterbilt 389 & 2014 Western; 3rd Chad Ellison, 2023 Peterbilt 389 & 2026 Wilson.
LIMITED MILEAGE BOBTAIL LIGHTS: Ken Daughters, 2001 Peterbilt 379.
BOBTAIL LIGHTS (NO MILES): Edward Homfeld, 2024 Peterbilt 389.
LIMITED MILEAGE COMBO LIGHTS: Cole Barbieri, 2023 Peterbilt 389 & 2014 Western Stepdeck.
LIMITED MILEAGE BOBTAIL PAINT: Brian Bourke, 2023 Peterbilt 389.
LIMITED MILEAGE COMBO PAINT: Cole Barbieri, 2023 Peterbilt 389 & 2014 Western Stepdeck.
LIMITED MILEAGE INTERIOR: Edward Homfeld, 2024 Peterbilt 389.
LIMITED MILEAGE ENGINE: John Dunnigan, 1985 Peterbilt 359.
BEST USE OF CHROME BOBTAIL: John Dunnigan, 1985 Peterbilt 359.
BEST USE OF CHROME COMBO: Cole Barbieri, 2023 Peterbilt 389 & 2014 Western Stepdeck.
TROY HUDDLESTON MEMORIAL AWARD: Tarik Al-Amin, 1995 Freightliner FLD & 2021 Great Dane.
ROCKWOOD’S RUNNIN’ LATE AWARD: Hugo Torres, 2001 Peterbilt 379 & 2018 Utility.
PEOPLE’S CHOICE: Brant Arnold, 1970 Peterbilt 358.
BIG RIG BUILD-OFF CHAMPION: Luke Rethwisch/Rethwisch Transport, 1987 Peterbilt 359.