Truck Show Report: By Daniel J. Linss For the third year in a row, our friends at Pickett Custom Trucks (PCT) were the proud sponsors and host of the truck Show-N-Shine competition at the National Hot Rod Diesel Association (NHRDA) “Diesels in the Desert” event. Held again at Firebird Motorsports Park in Chandler, Arizona, this year’s event was moved forward a month to March 7-8, 2025 (the previous year it was held in the middle of April) in hopes of better – or at least cooler – weather. Regarding the weather, the date change was a true success, as it was a lot cooler, but cooler in this case did not mean better. Arriving in Phoenix early on Wednesday, a few days before the show was scheduled to begin on Friday, we spent that first day visiting some family in nearby Wickenburg, AZ. On Thursday, the weather was perfect except for some wind, and we were able to do a great photo shoot for a cool upcoming cover feature (stay tuned for that one). On Friday, as we headed toward the show in Chandler, it was raining pretty hard for almost all of the 1.5-hour drive, and things were not looking good for the show, which was scheduled to officially begin at 3:00 PM on Friday. Arriving at the hotel around 2:00 that afternoon and getting early check in, we could see the show from our room, and what we saw did not make us want to head over too quickly. Enjoying some time with visitors and cocktails in our room, we sat and watched the waves of rain come and go, across the desert, over and over again, for the next few hours. It was really coming down! Every time we thought the storm had passed, more clouds would roll in, and then another wave of sometimes torrential rain would come. So, we just sat and waited it out. The rain finally subsided at around 6:30 PM, so we headed over to the track at about 7:00 for the light show. The preliminary qualifying for the drag racing was supposed to happen that afternoon, but because of the wet weather it was postponed, and everything was pushed to Saturday. However, with all that water on the ground, the wet pavement made the pictures from the light show even better. And the weather did not seem to “dampen” anyone’s spirit, as tons of people were walking around and enjoying the trucks all lit up, even though it was really cold out there (low 40s). Come the next morning, wow, what a difference a day makes! On Saturday, the sun was shining, the temperature was very comfortable, most of the water was dry and gone, and the lot was filled with trucks and vendors. With 30+ sponsors, two rows of vendors, over 100 racing competitors (mostly diesel pickups), an estimated 300 big rigs (we did not count), and thousands of cheering fans, it was a great way to start off both the 2025 truck show season and the NHRDA diesel drags racing series for 2025. The NHRDA portion of the event featured diesel drag racing and a mobile dyno all day, and then after the racing was completed, they moved over to the burnout box where there was a lively “Australian style” burnout competition. With this style of burnout, the vehicle cannot sit stationary – it must keep moving. As you can imagine, it was pretty wild, as these (mostly) modified pickups spun circles until you couldn’t see them through the tire smoke and then, in some cases, they caught fire. For the Big Rig Show-N-Shine part of the event, things were a little tamer, as drivers spent much of the morning wiping down their trucks after all the rain on Friday, and then many settled in a comfortable folding chair and relaxed for the rest of the day, or walked around and checked out everyone’s stuff and talked. Some, including me, did all that and took a bunch of pictures, too. Being the first truck show of the season, except for the Florida Trucking Show held in February, 20 10-4 Magazine / April 2025 DIESELS IN THE DESERT
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjA1MjUy