10-4 Magazine / May 2026 47 Someone once wrote that success is but one step removed from failure. I may have been (or not) the original author, however that is not the most important fact here. What is important is I have lived my life believing it’s not how many times you get knocked down but how many times you get back up, as that is a true measure of a person. We often see greatness not in the victories of the parent but in the accomplishments of the child. It’s all the little failures that lead us to the finished product. Our success will live on in the lives of those we inspire. When you light a spark of inspiration, you can never be sure if it’s going to be a small campfire or if it might grow to be a raging wildfire. Again, this year I witnessed many families – mom, dad, and the younger set – walking the show lot, talking to the builders, and soaking up the entire experience. It’s hard to tell at what age the human mind starts comprehending mechanical innovations, but the sooner we start exposing them to “the real world” the faster they will begin to participate in it. It is true what the old folks say, “From the mouth of babes,” because they will repeat what they hear and remember what they see repeatedly when reinforced by a positive, nurturing experience. These following words are not mine, but they are the early thoughts of someone most of our readers are probably very familiar with. YOUNG GUNS LIKE US I was born a trucker, I love Peterbilts. I was raised on Caterpillar, cut my teeth on a 15-speed. Yes, I love 4-wheelers, but I still love Largecars. Jay, me, and Gator were all cut from the same chrome. And they say Truckin’ is a changing, we must all adjust. But I still think there’s lots of room, for Young Guns like us! I’d love to show with the Noble clan, cause “Brutus” was the best. I’ll drive fast just for cash and run with Ed Gore. Yes, I have showed at Mid-America where the truckin’ legends stood. Where you don’t get ties or goodbyes, they don’t do no good, won’t work! Lord I guess that I’ve been blessed, though I too have been left like the rest. But that is not anything new, to my old man’s crew, and Young Guns like us. I drive a stretched cabover and I’m proud to rip the horns. You can talk all day bout “the next Showtime,” but I’ll cast my vote for Dennis, when we’re all through shinning wheels. Though they may have decayed and turned to rust, there will still be a show in Louisville, for Young Guns like us! I don’t have a big old radio to tell what lies ahead. I’ve run my own way, though some folks say, Largecar-in’ is dead! They may call me old fashioned, they may think I’m insane. But the diesel fuels in my blood, and it’s pumpin’ through my veins. I still have some truckin’buddies I know I can trust, who will sell their souls to watch ‘em roll, with Young Guns like us! Yes there’s 5s, 8s, and 4s between the doors, but here’s to all those who love, the Young Guns like us! I’m betting the author of this old poem (my son Steve Mitchell, aka Steve Gringo) has forgotten he wrote it all those years ago, but the lessons he learned working on and talking to the public sowed the seeds of opportunity. He later went on to drive for a few years before he built his first truck – a custom 359 with all the upgrades to make it both profitable and dependable. Along the way he found his real love, which was not driving, but building and designing trucks for others. I have seen so many
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