Most truck shows are relaxing events that include a lot of sitting around and talking with fellow drivers, business associates, and friends – not a bad thing at all, and something we enjoy doing immensely as we travel the country each year attending, participating, and being on display as vendors at trucking events. But the “10-4 Trucker Rodeo & Show” is a different kind of event, featuring fun (and sometimes silly) trucker skills competitions throughout the weekend, keeping the participants and attendees both busy and entertained. Now in its second year, the 2025 event, held again at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway in Bakersfield, CA on November 7-9, 2025, grew exponentially this year.
After a successful first-ever event in 2024, we learned a lot and made a few adjustments and improvements for the 2025 event, which included introducing new competition classes and modifying some of the existing classes, expanding the size of the show lot to accommodate more vendors and trucks, and adding a few new fun events, including Trucker Karaoke on Saturday night, which was a lot of fun and a huge hit. Last year the show brought in about 150 trucks, but this year we saw that number increase to around 275. And since about 95% of those trucks were full combinations, you can imagine the space it took to accommodate them all. We basically ran out of space at the perfect time and did not have to turn anyone away.
Friday, November 7, was the “load in” day for vendors to get set up and trucks to begin getting parked – and it was a busy day, as our amazing team of helpers and volunteers parked 175 trucks that day. Not expecting Saturday to be very busy at the truck gate, we were blown away when another 100 trucks rolled in to get parked! We also offered golf carts for rent this year, and that turned out to be a very popular thing (the carts sold out for the weekend pretty quickly). The official show shirts and hoodies went fast, too. After getting delivered to us a little late on Saturday morning, even though we ordered more than last year, they were all sold out by early Sunday morning, as well.
Kern Raceway is a great facility, sitting on 125 acres, with a high-banked half-mile oval racetrack and grandstand seating (and luxury suites) for thousands of fans. There is even a tunnel going to the track’s infield, which is where all the trucker skills competitions are held. And with 12 events including four classes of backing, a transfer dump competition, equipment loading, tire changing, loudest stereo, cow loading, hay loading and unloading with a squeeze and a boom, and a burnout contest, we were very busy both days – but especially Saturday. Competitions began at around 11:00 AM Saturday morning and didn’t finish until about 7:00 PM that night.
For most of the backing contests, to make it harder, we decreased the width of the “chute” by six inches and made it ten feet longer, which proved to be much more difficult. Last year, drivers were backing hammer-down through the chutes without hitting any of the cones, but this year they were knocking down and running over tons of them – so many, in fact, we almost ran out of “straight” cones to use. I think next year we will increase the chutes back to their original width and decrease the length, making them 10 feet wide x 30 feet long. We also might modify the rules to allow the cones to be “touched” as long as they are not knocked over. Stay tuned.
One of our new classes this year was Heavy Equipment Loading, which turned out to be a great success, and a lot of fun. Obviously, we want trucker skills to be highlighted in these contests, but we also don’t want to take it too seriously, because this is all just for fun (well, there are amazing custom belt buckles at stake, too)! So, in this case, our “heavy equipment” were little John Deere pedal tractors with trailers attached. Drivers were required to back up around a curve and then through two cones spaced 10 feet apart. Once their front bumper cleared the cones, they had to shut off their truck, exit the cab, run to their awaiting pedal tractor, ride it back to their trailer, and then load and strap it on their deck. If you haven’t seen any of the videos of these big strapping truck drivers riding those little pedal tractors, you really need to, because it was hilarious.
Once the competitions were done for the day, we headed out to the parking lot where the light show, held this year in honor of the late Harm Speerstra and Jack Miles, was already glowing in full display – and what a display it was. I’ve been to a lot of truck shows over the past 30 years, and I have to say (even if it sounds biased) this was one of the most amazing sights I’ve ever seen at a truck show. All the photos and videos are awesome, but they don’t even do it justice. Then, at about 8:30 that night, the Trucker Karaoke party started, and I think that was my favorite part of the weekend. Everyone was just having fun, hanging out, laughing and singing – it was exactly what we wanted it to be. At the end of the night (at about 11:30 PM), the coveted Karaoke Champion trophy was awarded to our resident cowboy crooner and friend Marty Miles.
With daytime temperatures in the mid to upper 70s and nighttime temps in the mid to lower 50s, the weather was perfect all weekend. On Sunday, the competitions began at around 10:30 and started with the always popular cow loading. After backing up to a portable cattle chute and opening all their doors and ramps, contestants have to load three inflated vinyl cows, one at a time, into the nose of their trailer. But this year, to make it a little more difficult (and fun), we put numbers on the cows, in various places, and each driver had to find either the even or odd numbered cows to load. It was fun watching them look for the numbers, as we put some of them in “funny” places (like under their tail).
After the cow loading was done and the buckle was awarded once again to Ronnie DeVries Jr. (now a two-time cow loading champion), it was time for the hay squeeze competition. Again, to make it more challenging, this year we switched from big bales to small bales, and also added a few other obstacles, which proved to make the contest much more difficult. This year, we made the drivers start outside of their squeeze, and also on the back side of the haystack, so when the air horn sounded to start the race, they had to jump in their squeeze, drive around the stack, load and then unload three blocks of hay, then sprint between two cones without hitting them to complete their run. In addition to earning a buckle, this year, the winner also received a certificate for (2) free Pirelli steer tires, compliments of our friends Nick and Dylan at Cost Per Mile Tire in Fresno, CA.
After the squeeze contest ended, it was time to start setting up for the hay boom competition. While this process was happening, we took advantage of the downtime and handed out a few raffle prizes to the participants that registered for the show early. Thanks to Valley Chrome, A&L, Hogebuilt, and Dane Nelson Bugshields for donating some great prizes. Another contest we had this year included our vendors. Attendees were given “Vendor Stamp Cards” and, if they got all the vendors to stamp their card, they were entered to win a cool custom table, made by our friend Tom Donaldson, out of a polished truck wheel, encircled in wood strips (like a barrel), with a glass top. Big thanks to Tom for donating this super cool table, worth about $600!
Once the raffle prizes were handed out and the Vendor Stamp Card winner was announced, it was time to reveal the winners of the Show & Shine trophies. Four of these five awards, which were all determined by a competitor’s choice vote, were made by Rockwood Products. These same four were all sponsored by our friends Troy and Tanya Charboneau of KT Charboneau Trucking. The fifth award, for best engine, which was also determined by a competitor’s choice vote, was sponsored by Chris Rocha of C. Rocha Enterprises and made by our friends at Pickett Custom Trucks. The beautiful custom belt buckles for all the competition winners were, for the second year in a row, sponsored by our friend Jeff Botelho of Botelho Custom Trucks. We would like to thank all these sponsors for helping us have an event we are proud to host and produce.
For the Hay Boom competition, this year we had five teams of two, all running at the same time, competing for the buckles. Having to “boom on” 48 small bales, then jump in the truck and back up about 80 yards, then hand unload and stack them, it was a fierce and fun competition, with the winning team finishing just a few seconds before the second place team. Yes, there was some blood, sweat and tears (literally), along with a puke or two, but these guys put on one hell of a show for the fans. And those old boom trucks, mostly from the 70s and 80s, are just the coolest.
The final event was the burnout contest, and Mark Tarascou in his old Peterbilt 359 transfer proved he is a hard guy to beat. After his burnout, he left a big steaming pile of rubber on the track, and as he did his victory lap, it caught fire, forcing the track’s safety crew to go out and extinguish it. And this was no small fire – the flames were like three feet in diameter and two or three feet high. It was a pretty intense way to end the day and the show, but everyone loved it. And, as an added bonus to the belt buckle, Mark was awarded (4) Pirelli drive tires once again from Nick and Dylan at Cost Per Mile Tire in Fresno, CA. We can’t thank CPM enough for deciding to donate all these tires, and I’m sure Mark will be needing a set after that smokin’ burnout he did!
In addition to all the companies and individuals that sponsored and/or donated the items mentioned before, we also had sponsors for each of our competition events. These sponsors included Double E Trucking, Hettinga Trans, Central Valley Transport, Interstate Truck Sales, Hammett Excavation, Fletcher’s Diesel, Lagomarsino Transport, Silva Trucking, Rollin’ R Enterprises, Maggini & Son Trucking, Kimm Hay, and Ten West Towing. We also had 27 vendors that came out to support the event, and we can’t thank them enough. Ten West Towing also provided the American flag on the edge of the track, as well as a huge American flag out in the parking lot, held up by two of their amazing rotators, and flanked by several of their cool heavy duty wreckers. Thank you!!
What makes this event so unique, in addition to all the fun trucker skills competitions, is the fact that it is truly a grass roots movement – our sponsors are mostly local trucking companies and friends, and everyone who helps us put it together and run it are all volunteers, friends, and family. And let me tell you, it takes a lot of folks to run an event like this, as we had almost 40 people onsite for the weekend, not counting the track personnel. Special thanks to Tim and Will and their crew at Kern Raceway for all their help and support.
Some final “thank yous” would include Kris and Angelina Gaare for all their help before, during, and after the show, along with “Okie Dan” Jacobson, Marty Miles, and Pierson Gravance. Also, thanks to DeVries Transport for providing the portable cattle chutes, B&G Hay for bringing some of the hay and helping us with the hay squeeze and boom competitions, Chavira & Sons for providing hay and helping with the squeeze contest, West Coast Equipment for providing the trailers for the hay squeeze competition, Jimmy Perry at Fresno Equipment for donating the John Deere pedal tractors and trailers, and Central Valley Transport for providing the trailer and extra tires for the tire changing contest. Lastly, thanks to our new friends at Heavy Power Systems (HPS) and Keep It Running Mobile Truck Repair for stepping up at the last minute and helping us with the tire changing contest. You guys were super awesome and a lot of fun.
Typically, at a truck show, I take my own pictures, but obviously, running this one, I was not able to do that. With a few of our key contributors not able to be at the event, we were forced to hire some outside help, but I am sure glad we did. Bringing in Jimmy Miller of Miller Media and Kara Mathews of Bar M Media, these two were running around all weekend, working their butts off, taking photos and videos of as much as they could. I cannot personally thank them enough for their help, and they get all the credit for the pictures you see here (and the videos you will see later). One more person to mention would be John “JT” Testa, my right-hand man out on the track all weekend, helping emcee and doing the play-by-play during all the trucker skills competitions.
To address the space and dust issue for next year, the track has already begun expanding the parking lot space and is committed to having it paved, to some degree, by next year. Our fingers are crossed for that to happen, and we will keep you posted about that throughout the year. Next year’s dates are set for November 6-8, 2026, once again at the same location, and we are committed to keep learning, growing, and improving this event. If you want to have a good time that is drama-free and reminiscent of the shows of yesteryear, we invite you to come out and attend and/or participate in the 10-4 Trucker Rodeo & Show in 2026 – you will not regret it!
COMPETITION CLASS BUCKLE WINNERS:
CLOSED BODY BACKING:
Levi Dominguez (with a penalty-free time of 30.71 seconds).
OPEN DECK BACKING:
Ryan Feijo (with a penalty-free time of 26.93 seconds).
TRUCK & TRAILER BACKING:
Chris Sotello (with a penalty-free time of 44.95 seconds).
DOUBLES BACKING:
Kenny Maino (1 minute 6 seconds, beating Mike Maggini by 3 seconds).
TRANSFER CONTEST:
Chris Yates (who hustled the most and earned a time of 3 minutes 20 seconds).
EQUIPMENT LOADING:
Stan Silva III (with a time of 1:37.53, which was just 1.05 seconds faster than Colton Pounds’ 2nd place time of 1:38.58).
TIRE CHANGING:
Fernando Garibay (with a time of 7 minutes 28 seconds).
LOUDEST STEREO:
Luis Ruiz of LR Transport (130.60 decibels) – OUCH!!
COW LOADING:
Ronnie DeVries Jr. (2 minutes 15 seconds) – he’s now a 2-time champion.
HAY LOADING (SQUEEZE):
Robert Munoz (with a penalty-free time of 2 minutes 30 seconds).
HAY LOADING (BOOM):
Ross Detweiler and Raymond Juarez (6 minutes 17 seconds).
BURNOUT COMPETITION:
Mark Tarascou in his blue Peterbilt 359 Transfer/Dump Truck.
COMPETITOR’S CHOICE SHOW & SHINE AWARDS:
BEST INTERIOR:
Billy Ezernack/Double E, Light Grey and Purple 2024 Peterbilt 389.
BEST ENGINE:
Stan Silva Jr./Stan Silva Trucking, Turquoise 2024 Peterbilt 389X.
BEST LIGHTS:
Stan Silva Jr./Stan Silva Trucking, Turquoise 2024 Peterbilt 389X.
BEST BOBTAIL:
Dylan Badders/DTB Trucking, Purple and Gold 2005 Kenworth W900L.
BEST COMBINATION:
Andrew Tremper/Andrew Tremper Trucking, Red and Cream 2024 Peterbilt 389 and matching Western drop-deck.