Todd Dills:<\/i>\u00a0Hey everybody, thanks for joining us for the 2024 finale of the annual Overdrive<\/i>\u2019s Pride & Polish virtual truck show. I\u2019m Overdrive<\/i> Editor Todd Dills, walking you through our cap on the truck-show season for the year, with plenty pride, plenty polish and no small amount of custom work to celebrate in spite of what\u2019s been another tough year in trucking. We\u2019re showcasing truck owners all across the nation with some of the very best in custom rigs.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s how we came to this point: Over the course of this summer, Overdrive<\/i> readers entered their working and\/or show-ready rigs with photos that we then put up for a round of audience voting. For the competitors watching right now, know that it\u2019s your owner-operator peers who picked these winners.<\/p>\n
We\u2019ve got the champs coming up here in five categories \u2013 two solely for working trucks. There\u2019s a Limited Mileage category for strictly showpiece builds and otherwise low-use rigs. There\u2019s an Antique category open to anything older than 25 years \u2013 so the 1999 model year this time around for the cutoff — and there\u2019s a Best Interior class. So, sit back, and enjoy.<\/p>\n
Here we go.<\/p>\n
We\u2019ll start with the oldest among the trucks, the classics.<\/p>\n
Second runner-up in the Antique class in Overdrive<\/i>\u2019s 2024 Pride & Polish is Idaho-based owner-operator Gary Mackay and this pristine 1998 Peterbilt 379. It qualifies for the Antique class, yet Mackay\u2019s continuing to work the truck. The One Circle Farm Pete pulls farm commodities and\u00a0hauls equipment and lumber as well.<\/p>\n
Mackay\u2019s put in plenty work keeping the 379 efficiently operational, with engine, transmission and axles all upgraded. And on the exterior, brand-new paint. What we can\u2019t see here is the inside, with a complete interior kit upgrade to what is Peterbilt\u2019s Bed and Breakfast Sleeper set-up there, Mackay said.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s a big congrats to second runner-up in the Antique class, Gary Mackay, and this beautiful 1998 Peterbilt 379.<\/p>\n
Next in Antique is first runner-up Charles Thomas, operating out of Vermont. Thomas entered his truly classic 1979 White Western Star, and the voters responded in a big way to the truck\u2019s classic look. It\u2019s powered by a Big Cam Cummins engine with a 13 speed transmission, riding on a 2012 Airliner suspension, with air-ride front axle, too.<\/p>\n
And there\u2019s the interior, of course. Thomas showcased custom work there with this picture.<\/p>\n
Big congrats on the second-place finish for Charles Thomas and this 1979 White Western Star.<\/p>\n
And the winner of the Antique class in Overdrive<\/i>\u2019s 2024 Pride & Polish is \u2026. One beauty of a truck in this 1984-model Peterbilt 359, owned by Rafael Gonzales. The impressive unit\u2019s got long history in the Texas-headquartered owner-operator\u2019s family, too. The 359 was bought by his father in the late 1990s and it worked up through year 2003. It was at that time parked and essentially taken apart, sitting in pieces for a decade and more.<\/p>\n
In 2015, though, Rafael joined his dad to restore the rig to what it is today. The father-son duo spent three months straight working on it, then christened it, simply, Goldie. <\/p>\n
That\u2019s owner-operator Rafael Gonzales and the Goldie 1984 Peterbilt 359, for the win in the Antique class of this year\u2019s Overdrive<\/i>\u2019s Pride & Polish.<\/p>\n
Next category here, with the top three in the Interior class. These feature at least a couple of rigs that might be familiar to longtime Overdrive<\/i> readers and past Pride & Polish competitors, yet the first one is going to be familiar to all of you.<\/p>\n
Coming in second runner-up, a bit of a repeat winner here for third place to add to his Antique second place in this year\u2019s awards. It\u2019s that period-correct custom interior of Charles Thomas\u2019s 1979 White Western Star conventional. Period correct, that is, all the way down to the floor and that loose shag there. Beautiful treatment for the old-school beauty, Charles. Big congrats on third place here. <\/p>\n
And next, for second place in interiors, it\u2019s another 1970s classic, this one the White Freightliner cabover, 1973 model, of David Parmer, which has been a perennial contender in this category and others dating back to the 2022 Overdrive<\/i> Pride & Polish contest. The classic interior, Parmer noted, was entirely restored around year 2020 to what it is today.<\/p>\n
Big congrats to David Parmer.\u00a0 <\/p>\n
Finally, coming out on top in the Interior category, we\u2019ve got a past Pride & Polish working-truck champ in Kentucky-headquartered owner-operator John McCormick and his Bandit 2021 Kenworth W900L. Fans of the classic Smokey & the Bandit 1970s film might recognize the rig as paying homage to the Snowman\u2019s ride in that flick.<\/p>\n
On the interior, with plenty of bright work for gauge surrounds and so much more, it\u2019s perhaps the floor that\u2019s really caught voters\u2019 attention to deliver the win to McCormick this time out. The floor was done with airbrush work by an artist who\u2019s headquartered nearby to McCormick in Robards, Kentucky, who goes by, simply, Chop, and who immortalized lyrics from the Jerry Reed classic \u201cEastbound and Down\u201d from the film on both driver- and passenger sides of the custom Rockwood floor.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Long time to go, short time to get there.<\/i><\/p>\n
Owner-operator John McCormick\u2019s Interior took second in its class at the 2023 Mid-America Trucking Show, and we can salute the job done here for its first-place win in Interiors in the 2024 Overdrive<\/i>\u2019s Pride & Polish. Great work, John.<\/p>\n
Now we move into the Limited Mileage category \u2013 it\u2019s reserved for builders\u2019 showpieces, for non-working project trucks of all types, for low-mileage rigs with the benefit of lesser wear and tear day-in-day-out. For the Limited Mileage category in Overdrive<\/i>\u2019s 2024 Pride & Polish we\u2019ve got \u2026 <\/p>\n
For the second runner-up, again it\u2019s the past Pride & Polish finalist you saw in the interiors category this year with a beautiful 1973 cabover White Freightliner \u2013none other than Georgia-based David Parmer. Parmer bought this rig from its former owner via eBay, of all places, and out of Michigan. He set to work in 2017 rebuilding the 350 Detroit engine, and 13-speed transmission, with that tasteful, immaculate interior completed as of 2021. He added twin chrome stacks and swapped out for new the brakes and slack adjusters, air lines, suspension, tires and more on the Big Green Mean Machine, as he calls the truck, with 4.33 rears. That mean green paint, he says, is still original for the well-preserved unit. <\/p>\n
Big congrats again to David Parmer. <\/p>\n
And for the first runner-up for the Limited Mileage trophy, we\u2019ve got last year\u2019s Limited Mileage champ coming in second place with the 1985 Kenworth K100 you see here. Owner Matt Bankert of Twin Pine Farm in Seven Valleys, Pennsylvania, pulled the truck out of the weeds in Maryland way back in 2013, restoring it then the next year. Though its miles are limited indeed, the K100 works, pulling local in South Central Pennsylvania hauling the farm\u2019s grain. <\/p>\n
You can catch in-depth coverage of the unit in the feature story we wrote attendant the truck\u2019s\u00a0 win in this Limited Mileage category last year \u2013 it\u2019s shown there, and here, in scenes on Twin Pine Farm connected to the matching 2023 Eby Generation hopper it most often pulls. <\/p>\n
Here\u2019s congrats on to Matt Bankert \u2013 second place in Limited Mileage in Overdrive<\/i>\u2019s 2024 Pride & Polish.\u00a0 <\/p>\n
And for the win this year, we\u2019re turning to the very last model year for the Peterbilt 379 with this 2007 model, owned by Clifford Hay II. This is a special-edition legacy-model 379, number 128 of 1000 legacies built for that model year. It\u2019s powered by a 550-hp Caterpillar with an 18 speed transmission and sits on a 270-inch wheelbase.<\/p>\n
Big congrats to Clifford Hay on the win, with his 2007 Peterbilt legacy 379 looking solidly old-school in styling with the flattop, and great work with the lights. The big winner for Overdrive<\/i>\u2019s Pride & Polish in the Limited Mileage category.<\/p>\n
Now, on to the full-time workers, the big stars of trucking \u00a0\u2013 we\u2019ve got two working classes this year, keeping it simple with bobtail and combo. In Working Bobtail, we\u2019ve got a repeat trophy winner with the second runner-up \u2013 the Antique class first-place finisher Rafael Gonzales and his hardworking 1984 Peterbilt 359, Goldie. Great effort by Gonzalez keeping the family heirloom in tip-top shape now for the better part of a decade. Congrats on third place in Working bobtail, Rafael.<\/p>\n
For second place, too, Working Bobtail in Overdrive<\/i>\u2019s 2024 Pride & Polish, it\u2019s back to the Bandit, owner-operator John McCormick\u2019s 2021 Kenworth W900L working hard leased to Oakley Trucking, pulling a dry bulk tank and running mostly regionally from a Kentucky home base. McCormick\u2019s pulling on a 280-inch wheelbase, and the Kenworth is powered by a 565-hp Cummins X15, with an 18 speed transmission and 3.36 rears.<\/p>\n
Funny story, too, about the Bandit<\/i> name \u2013 calls over the CB certainly played a role. \u201cHey, there goes the bandit,\u201d and \u201cHey, it\u2019s the Snowman,\u201d references to the Smokey and the Bandit movie, of course, that the truck\u2019s paint work is modeled after. But more importantly, the 2021 Kenworth is now a rolling memorial to a former ridealong Yorkie pup McCormick called Bandit when he and his wife ran team years ago. Coloring around the dog\u2019s eyes resembled what you\u2019d see on a raccoon, hence the name.<\/p>\n
Big congrats again to John McCormick, for the second place Working Bobtail finish in Overdrive<\/i>\u2019s 2024 Pride & Polish. <\/p>\n
And the winner, finally, in the Working Bobtail class is owner-Scott Huber\u2019s beautiful 2006 Peterbilt 379 \u2013 the owner-operator\u2019s pulled out all the stops on mods to the working rig. The frame on the truck is stretched out to 300 inches, and he\u2019s added 12 Gauge Customs\u2019 air drop steer axle up front. In the rear, Talladega Fiberglass fenders carry the stripe of a fully custom paint job all the way to the back of the last hump. All over the rig, the owner-operator\u2019s outfitted accents with Dual Revolution lighting, and inside the truck a powerful audio system pushes 10,000 watts through six subwoofers and more. <\/p>\n
Just in case you don\u2019t see him coming, keep your ears on and you might just hear that audio system. <\/p>\n
Beautiful truck, Scott. And a huge congrats on the big Working Bobtail win. <\/p>\n
In the final category we\u2019ve got the working combos, with the trailer included in the evaluation by Pride & Polish voters.<\/p>\n
For Second Runner-up I\u2019ve got this beautiful Walker tanker of owner Kyle Bellcock, hooked to his 06 Peterbilt 379, which he calls “One Bad Buggy.” Bellcock bought the tractor about five years ago when it was as “plain Jane as could be,” as he put it. He put in new lighting, stacks, and fenders, and painted the interior himself. <\/p>\n
To date, the truck\u2019s got about 2.2 million miles on it, as noted now pulling that Walker tank. <\/p>\n
Congrats to Kyle Bellcock, second runner-up in our final, Working Combo class for Overdrive<\/i>\u2019s 2024 Pride & Polish. <\/p>\n
For first runner-up, it\u2019s another Pride & Polish veteran of recent history with the \u201cjoke\u2019s on you\u201d\u00a0Always a head-turner with its color combo of a Mountain Dew Green and Omaha Orange. Those are of the flagship colors of owner Rob Hallahan\u2019s Wisconsin-headquartered Hallahan Transport small fleet. This 2022 389 won this category back in 2022, and it features a Cummins X15 with an 18-speed transmission and 3.36 rears. Custom parts from 12 Gauge Customs and Rockwood Products complete the truck with an EZ Pete interior package, and search around on OverdriveOnline.com for a closer look at this truck from shortly after its build.<\/p>\n
It’s a beauty, and here\u2019s a big shout to Hallahan and company in Wisconsin, second place in Working Combo this year. <\/p>\n
And finally, the winner of the Working Combo class in Overdrive<\/i>\u2019s 2024 Pride and Polish is owner-operator Michael Castaldi with this absolutely stunning matched pair of a 2003 Pete 379 and a 2010 Utility 3000R Reefer trailer \u2013 \u201cParadise Express,\u201d Castaldi calls the unit, I\u2019d say fittingly. <\/p>\n
He bought the Pete new way back in August 2002 originally with a factory 63-inch sleeper sitting on a 260-inch wheelbase. Almost a decade later, owner-operator Castaldi stretched the frame five feet to 320 inches to accommodate what\u2019s now there, the 132-inch ARI Legacy sleeper you see in these photos. At once, the truck was repainted with an old Peterbilt design and matched to the 2010 Utility trailer, giving the combo an old-school look. <\/p>\n
And how about the lights? Between truck and trailer together, there\u2019s more than 200 all told, the owner noted, accenting the rig at night over more than 3.3 million miles now. The drivetrain here features a 500-horse Detroit Series 60 engine, a 13-speed Eaton transmission, and 3.58 Spicer rears.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a head-turner, that\u2019s certain, and a well-deserved win this year after Castaldi placed second in last year\u2019s competition in his working class. Here\u2019s to all the work put into it, and a congrats to owner-operator Michael Castaldi, champ in Working Combo for this year\u2019s Pride & Polish competition. <\/p>\n
And that\u2019s a wrap for this year\u2019s final awards event, but not the end of line for Overdrive<\/i>\u2019s Pride and Polish by any stretch. We\u2019ll have feature stories in the weeks to come about all of the winners, and you can keep an eye out for that at OverdriveOnline.com via the Custom Rigs section of the website. That\u2019s OverdriveOnline.com\/custom-rigs.<\/p>\n
To all the finalists, know that award plaques are on their way to you, so keep an eye out for the mail, and here\u2019s a big thanks to all the owner-operators who competed, entering their rigs in the field this year. <\/p>\n
For the rest of you, thanks for joining us for another year of Overdrive\u2019<\/i>s Pride & Polish. Keep tuned for the entry period for next year via OverdriveOnline.com\/pride-polish. I hope to see your truck there. Over and out.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n