10-4 Magazine January 2025

Truck Show Report: By Daniel J. Linss flew out from Illinois and Wisconsin respectively, Shannon’s mom Polly Kasper, our son Parker, and Kris and Angelina Gaare. Later that evening, a few more showed up, including our daughter Paige, her boyfriend Kenan, and their friend Jordyn, who all drove up from San Diego. That night, we had a great dinner at Frugatti’s – a nice Italian restaurant next to our host hotel, which was the Home 2 Suites by Hilton. Big thanks to Denise at the hotel for taking good care of everyone in our group all weekend. Come Friday morning, the trucks started rolling in, and by the end of the day, we had already parked 100. Many of the vendors came in, as well, to set up their spaces for the weekend, along with several of the registered RVs, which were parked by our own Eric Hill, who stepped up and took it upon himself to be in charge of the vendors and RVs. The Kid’s Zone was also set On November 1-3, 2024, 10-4 Magazine hosted the 1st Annual “10-4 Trucker Rodeo & Show” in Bakersfield, CA and the participating truckers really got to show off their skills. Wanting to host a competitive skills competition like the ones held back in the 1980s and 90s, which were very popular, this event featured ten different categories including backing, transfer dump, tire changing, cow loading, hay loading with a squeeze and a boom, a burnout contest, and a loudest stereo competition. In addition to the contests, there was also a competitor-judged Show & Shine, vendors, food, fun games for the kids, and a mechanical bull. Held at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway just west of Bakersfield, all the competitive events took place on the infield of the track’s half-mile oval. Spectators could sit in the grandstands to watch all the fun, or if they wanted to “elevate” their experience, they also had the opportunity to rent a luxury suite for themselves and up to 20 of their closest friends or business associates. It was a cool deal, complete with catered food and drinks (at an additional charge), if desired. And with temperatures in the low 70s in the days and cool nights in the low 50s, we could not have asked for better weather all weekend (besides a small shower on Saturday morning). So, how did all this come about? In October 2023, we got a call from Tim Huddleston, who operates Irwindale Speedway, where we have hosted our last three Truckin’ For Kids events since acquiring the show in 2021. Having a great relationship with Tim and everyone at Irwindale Speedway, Tim told us that he was taking over Kern County Raceway and was wondering if we wanted to host a second event in Bakersfield. At the time, we said, “No, the world does not need another truck show!” However, after a few calls from Tim asking us to reconsider, we decided to do it, but this show would be unlike any other event happening out there right now. After coming up with the rodeo-style skills competitions and theme, we then spent many months researching how these events have run in the past and talking to people “in the know” about how these types of activities should go. It was a ton of work and took a lot of time, but we eventually settled in on the contests we were going to have, how the courses would be set up, and all the rules. We worked on this stuff for over six months, along with having another successful TFK show, continuing to produce 10-4 Magazine each and every month, and attending many other truck shows. In the eight weeks leading up to our rodeo, we attended five shows in three different states! Needless to say, it was a very hectic time. But all the hard work really paid off. Arriving on Thursday to begin setting up, some of our helpers came early, even though it was Halloween night. Those who arrived early included me and my wife Shannon, Tim and April Sieben, Roger and Annette Ghidelli (who also brought out our TFK show trailer for registration and such), Eric Hill and Stephanie Haas, who 20 10-4 Magazine / January 2025 SKILLS ON DISPLAY