10-4 Magazine October 2022

Truck Show Report: By Daniel J. Linss After ten long days in the Midwest, attending two trucks shows and doing photo shoots in Nebraska, Illinois, and Iowa, we ended our Summer Tour at the Top Gun Largecar Shootout. Held again at the decommissioned Chanute Air Force Base in Rantoul, IL on July 29-31, 2022, this show had a record number of trucks thanks to some perfect weather, fantastic sponsors and vendors, and some special tributes in honor of some of our recently fallen trucking friends. Arriving at the show on Friday morning, the weather was absolutely perfect. Temps were in the mid-70s, the humidity was low, and the blue sky was filled with light, fluffy clouds. We could not have asked for better conditions! Our friend and contributor Stephanie Haas was on her way to Utah to cover a truck show, so she made a detour through Rantoul and was able to hang out with us there on Friday and Saturday. Since we don’t get to do this with her very often, we made great use of the time, and had a lot of fun. She was so excited to be at a truck show and not have to work – she was just there to spend time with us and enjoy the event – and she did! With 235 trucks in attendance, that number narrowly beat out the show’s previous record. And coming home with over 420 pictures in my two cameras, it was hard to choose just a handful for this report (I will put more on our website when this story gets posted there). With a handful of vendors onsite that included Diesel Pride Apparel, OOIDA, Timpte Trailers, CIT Trucks, Lincoln Chrome, California Custom Polish, Dickerson Custom Trucks, and RoadWorks, there was plenty to see and do during the day. Friday night featured the Parade of Lights through Rantoul, which is always well-received by the community. Once the trucks got back from the rolling light parade and parked, a static light show proceeded until late into the night. Saturday was a little bit warmer, but still really amazing weather for the Midwest in July. In addition to the vendors and truck show, Saturday also featured a motorcycle show, which had about 60 cool bikes, a kid’s pedal pull contest, a Jake Brake competition, and another light show at night. In honor of Troy Huddleston, who passed away on June 7, 2022, his blood family and his trucking family at RoadWorks brought out his 1991 Freightliner FLC “Roll With The Changes” to display. Seeing his truck was a touching sight, and many were sad, but glad it was there. Walking around and looking at all the trucks, there was some truly amazing iron out there in Rantoul. One truck that really stood out to us – and obviously the judges – was the latest build from J&L 20 10-4 Magazine / October 2022 SUMMER TOUR 2022