Shell Rotella is hosting a showcase of the work performed by truckers this weekend at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth. This is the 42nd “SuperRigs” competition.
“This is really our way to be able to get into the community and connect with consumers,” says Shell Rotella’s Julie Wright.
Trucks are competing with each other in categories including creativity, design and detail.
“You really look at every nook, cranny and detail,” says Jami Jones, one of the judges. “You see if they’ve taken their theme all the way through their truck and trailer, see if they’ve executed it to the vision you think they have.”
Jones has been covering the trucking industry since 2000 for Landline Magazine. She says the competition can give commuters a chance to see truck drivers’ personalities.
“I think, going down the road, they build a vision in their head of what they think a truck driver is,” she says. “They don’t realize these are some of the greatest human beings on the planet who will do anything for them.”
Shell Rotella’s Wright says the competition can serve as an “ambassador program” to help people get to know truckers and learn about their work, but she says it can also give truckers who might communicate over radio or cross paths at truck stops a place where they can meet together for several days.
“A lot of them see each other annually at this show and are always looking forward to spending some time together,” she says.
Among trucks competing are tractor/trailers with flames down the side, some have names or slogans, and others have designs that carry significance to the driver.
Teresa DeSantis has won Best in Show twice. Her rig is painted with a Wizard of Oz theme.
“I got called something other than a witch, so I personalized it with Dorothy. I’m the witch looking down,” she says. “Trust me, I’m not a witch.”
She lives in Arizona and has been driving the same truck since 1985. She says she starts her driving year when winter weather clears in March or April.
“I literally stay in my truck for six to eight months. I stop in Massachusetts and do my laundry, I might stop in Indy and do my laundry, but I don’t go to Arizona. I carry all the stuff I need in that truck,” she says.
DeSantis says SuperRigs can introduce people to the schedules truckers keep and the work they perform.
“I’ve been doing this 40 years. It’s changed a lot, and we hear people say that all the time how the industry’s changed,” she says.
She says SuperRigs can also attract kids to a job in trucking.
“We need good drivers, people thinking and having common sense,” she says.
The event is free to attend.
Judging started Thursday, runs through Saturday, and it is open to the public.
Friday, a truck light show runs from 8 to 10 p.m. From 9 to 10 p.m., Brodie Lane plans a concert, and a fireworks show is scheduled.
Saturday, people can view judging from 8 to 11:30 a.m.
More information is available HERE.
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