20 10-4 Magazine / December 2025 In the world of truck shows, each one typically has something unique to help it stand out from all the rest. And although truck and tractor pulls are a regular occurrence in the Midwest and back east, they are not nearly as common out west, but the Soza Memorial Truck Show & Tractor Pulls, which raises money for a good cause that is near and dear to the show founders, featured not one but two nights of exciting truck and tractor pulls right here in the heart of California’s Central Valley. The 5th annual event was held at the Stanislaus County Fairgrounds in Turlock, CA on September 26-28, 2025, and in addition to the tractor pulls, it also featured a truck show and shine, vendors, food, live music, raffles, giveaways and more. Rolling into Turlock on Thursday afternoon to get our vendor space set up, which again featured the bright yellow and green Maggini & Son “Godfather” 1962 Peterbilt, piloted by our friends Roger and Annette Ghidelli, pulling our TFK show trailer. The trailer, which has two side doors and a set of stairs at the center of the trailer, was flanked with several canopies. The 10-4 Magazine booth, with magazines, posters, and shirts, was set up to the right of the stairs, while the “10-4 Lounge” was located on the left side, which provided shade, tables and chairs, music, snacks and drinks, and a fun place for folks to just hang out during the show. Truck shows are all about spending time with friends and making new ones, and the “lounge” helps give us that opportunity. With our booth situated in a great central location, as it always is, we enjoyed the show and all it had to offer. But, before things really got kicked off on Friday afternoon, we had scheduled a photo shoot for Friday morning, so Miss Shannon and I were out and about getting that done first thing. As most of you now know, “Cabover Kev” (Kevin Young) of Waxahachie, TX brought his classically styled 1981 Freightliner cabover, fitted with a 12V-71 Detroit and a set of sticks, all the way out to the show for this photo shoot. Taking photographs all over the fairgrounds that morning, we were proud to feature Kevin’s cabover on our November 2025 cover. The show officially opened at 3:00 PM on Friday and we were ready. With near perfect weather in the mid to upper 80s, 115 beautiful trucks were parked (mostly) on the grass. This show drew in some of the finest fleets from California’s Central Valley including Hildebrand’s Black Market Express, Silva Trucking, and Double E Trucking. Each of these fleets had several units on display, among all the other big rides, brought out by their proud owners and/or drivers. And, based on the awards, it would be fair to say that Billy Ezernack and his crew at Double E dominated at this event. Truck Show Report: By Daniel J. Linss Along with all the trucks, DJ Dan Utica spun tunes all weekend while several food vendors served up some of the finest treats including Mid-Valley BBQ, Promix 559, The Soda Parlor, El Comalon, Squeezed, Mexibites, Ro’s Shaved Ice and Churrocks Churros. The “dirty sodas” seemed to be a big hit this year, but I did not try one. Along with all the food vendors there were about 20 trucking related vendor booths with everything from bumpers to mattresses, cleaners to cargo control products, and trucks to trucking apparel – there was something for everyone at this show. This year, to help grow and promote the event, show producers Ashleigh and C.G. Soza hired Josh Mendoza and his team at Centered Marketing in Madera, CA to help get the word out – and a lot more. In the months prior to the show, they redid the show’s website, created unique and engaging content for their social media channels, and took part in much of the show coordinating and planning. Ashleigh said it was a great investment for the future of the event. PULLIN’ FOR CHARITY
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjA1MjUy