Despite never having driven a real truck before, Connor Hudziak beat out professional drivers on the Western Star’s Star Nation Road Challenge Course.
Like millions of American kids, Chicago’s Connor Hudziak loved playing computer games after school and work.
His choice of game was a little unusual, however.
Unlike other kids playing superhero, fantasy or first-person shooters, Connor fell in love with a game called American Truck Simulator.
And that was odd. Because no one in his family had any tangible connection to the trucking industry.
A Realistic Trucking Simulator
But even as a small child, Connor was fascinated by big trucks.
“You know – the power,” he says. “The was they look and how they drive on the road. It was just something that always kind of caught my eye when I was young.”
When he was 12 years old, Connor and his older brother stumbled across American Truck Simulator by SCS Software. Before they knew it, they were fully immersed in a realistic world that mirrors the daily lives of both fleet managers and drivers.
Western Star is Connor’s go-to truck OEM when he plays American Truck Simulator.
Players start the game as a newly minted CDL holder and get put to work delivering loads and making a little bit of money, Connor explains.
“As you progress, you build up more money and get access to loans you can take out from the bank,” he says. “Then you can buy a truck. And you have to pay back the loans to the bank against that truck. It’s you kind of building your own trucking empire, where you can have your own fleet of trucks.”
Connor has a gaming setup dedicated to the game, including floor pedals, a steering wheel, a shifter and a control box for the ignition switch and other vehicle controls. He also hosts a YouTube channel, showcasing his American Truck Simulator skills.
And the game is amazingly realistic, too. The virtual trucks in the game behave just like their real-world counterparts do. Drivers must learn to handle their virtual rigs on the road – including backing maneuvers. They must follow DOT regulations. They have to roll over scales at weigh stations. And they can get busted for speeding or put out of service for maintenance infractions.
Western Star Steps Up
The immersive and educational aspects of the game have impressed trucking OEMs, as well.
Every single North America truck OEM is represented in the game complete with faithful, digital reproductions of hard-working trucks used by fleets every day in real-world operations.
And that includes Western Star.
According to Alex Martin-Banzer, product manager, Western Star, the OEM has three models available to play in the game – including its 5700XE, 57X and 49X Class 8 models.
“We actually launched our 57X model in the game the same day we unveiled it in real life,” Martin-Banzer says. “We’ve been working with SCS Software for a couple of years now. And what they’re doing with this game is absolutely awesome. We hear so many stories from people who started out in the gaming community who went on to get their CDL because of this game.”
According to Martin-Banzer, Western Star really sees the American Truck Simulator community as an untapped source for a new generation of drivers.
Western Star has fostered a close relationship with SCS Software, developers of American Truck Simulator.
Which is why Western Star decided to invite some players to its Star Nation Customer Experience, at its Madras Customer Center near Bend, Oregon, earlier this year.
Working together, Western Star and SCS Studios created a sweepstakes that would see two lucky gamers win an all-expense-paid trip to Bend. There, they’d be able to hang out with real truckers – and actually drive Western Star’s latest trucks in real life.
And much to his surprise, Connor was one of those lucky winners.
Despite some anxiety heading into the event, he soon found himself feeling right at home with the other attendees. Conner found himself chatting with trucking professionals from all over the country, including a social influencer named Casey LaDelle.
LaDelle has a YouTube channel that boasts over 400,000 subscribers. He uses the channel to document his trucking company, which specializes in towing and recovery, not far from Bend, Oregon.
LaDelle and the other fleet operators at the event took the time to talk to the young gamers. They made them feel welcome and talked to them about the industry that they love.
By the end of the first evening, Connor felt like he’d found his community.
A Day at the Track
The next morning, it was time for the rubber to hit the road.
Connor Hudziak hangs out with a local at Western Star’s Customer Center in Bend, Oregon.
In American Truck Simulator, Connor’s go-to rig is a candy-apple red Western Star 57X model. And to his delight, the Star Experience staff had a real-life version of his virtual truck gleaming in the morning sunlight, just waiting for him to climb up into the cab.
“I was at a loss for words sitting in that truck,” Connor says. “And when I drove it around the test track, it was weird. Because – like I told everyone there – I felt so comfortable sitting in it. Because I’d never driven a real truck before. I’d never even sat in one.”
After some track time, things moved on to the events portion of the day at Madras. The Western Star team set up a series of challenges for drivers to compete in – including a tricky, uphill backing challenge in a dump truck.
To the surprise of everyone at the event – including Casey LaDelle – Connor stopped his Western Star closer to the target line than anyone else competing.
“This was probably the second time I was in a real truck,” Connor recalls now. “I was using my mirrors and just making sure I didn’t run of the road or a hit anyone. And I ended up being the closest to the final line – which was really awesome.”
The day was a whirlwind for Connor – albeit a memorable on. But thanks to Casey LaDelle and Western Star, the best was yet to come.
An Unexpected Surprise
LaDelle had been impressed with Connor since sitting down and talking to him the previous evening. And that impression only grew as he watched the enthusiastic young man behind the wheel on the truck during the day.
He had been filming his time at the Star Nation Event for his YouTube channel, as well. And before the final dinner and awards ceremony that evening, LaDelle and the Western Star team huddled up to plan a little something extra that would transform Connor’s life.
Which was something that was also on Connor’s mind.
“As we spent a couple of days in Bend, I was like, ‘I’ve got to talk to my boss and see if the company I work for would help pay for me to get my CDL,” he says. “And then, after dinner, our hosts suddenly announced they had a surprise for me.”
Casey LaDelle, the other attendees, and Western Star had all kicked in to contribute funds that would go toward Connor earning his CDL.
“It was definitely a career highlight for me,” she says. “Just to see the excitement on Connor’s face was incredible.”
And although she gives full credit to LaDelle for spearheading Connor’s surprise gift, she is proud of the role Western Star played in that event, as well.
Connor (right) hugs Casey LaDelle after his surprise gift of funds to go to CDL school.
“The fact that we brought this group of people together – American Truck Simulator gamers and real operators – and create this network of mentorship is really incredible,” she says. “To me, it was a beautiful moment of operators welcoming the next generation of truckers into the family.”
Since that memorable evening, Connor has been working diligently on his CDL. And he is excited about the future he’s been gifted. In the short term, he hopes to start driving for the company he works for as a part-time, or fill-in driver. But he does sense that a whole new future has now been opened up for him.
“I’m very thankful to Casey and Western Star for his incredible gift,” he says. “It’s so thoughtful. But then to also give me that enjoyment of being able to kind of live out this passion that I have… I’m honestly very thankful to all of them.”
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