June Triple Header

June is always the busiest month on the truck show schedule, and this year was no exception. The Burl's Creek All Canadian Truck Nationals show has been around for a few years, and its popularity continues to grow, while two younger shows showed signs of significant growth. Stirling Ont.'s Eastern Ontario Big Rig Truck Show and Shine celebrated its second year by virtually doubling attendance and participation. Same with the Festival du Routier de Donnacona in Quebec.

The mood seems decidedly optimistic in trucking these days, though there was evidence that truckers were reluctant to travel long distances to attend the shows. Seems the cost of the fuel to get to the show is becoming more of a concern.

Up On Burl's Creek
At a measly $10 for a weekend pass, visitors got the eardrum-numbing roar of a monster tractor pull, the eardrum-soothing sounds of trucker-turned-singer GM Paterson (as well as his opening act Southern Comfort), great poutine, a beer tent to wash off the dust, and - the star attraction - an array of some of the prettiest iron in Southern Ontario.

It wasn't hard to see why the Burl's Creek annual Big Rig Show & Shine was once again a great success.

Held an hour and change north of Toronto, just off Highway 11 at Burl's Creek Campground - between Barrie and Orillia - this late June event is one laid-back truck show. Participants agreed that the pace is more casual, more family-oriented than some of its glitzier kin. One particularly nice addition to the usual vintage truck show was a memorabilia display that hearkened back to the day before anyone ever heard of mission control, much less emission control.

More than a score of trophies were doled out after a weekend of judging, and first prize - "Best in Show" - was awarded to Warren Gibson's 1991 canary yellow Pete. Meanwhile, members of the public also expressed the vox populi by naming Henry Tourigny's '95 International 4700 "People's Choice."

One of the chief attributes of the show is the generous space it affords exhibitors. As Lisa Groves of Burl's Creek says "if the guys spend the amount of time and money to shine their trucks and take them off the road to attend a show, it is our responsibility to provide enough room for them to be viewed by admirers and peers."

Three Times Lucky
You may recall reading about the Festival du routier de Donnacona in our May issue. The event figured prominently in our story about Jean-François Foy, the 2007 Highway Star of the Year. He's the principle organizer of the combination show and shine and truck race event that takes place about 30 miles west of Quebec City in the town of Donnaconna.

This was the third year of the event, which began as a fund raising venture for the foundation, Les Amis de Paméla - named after Foy's daughter, Paméla.
Foy called the show a great success. Thirty-one trucks were entered in the drag race competition, which sees trucks pulling flat-deck trailers loaded with 50,000 lb of two-by-fours up a 750-ft long, 7-percent grade.

Grand-champion, Eric Bouchard of Lac-au-Saumon, Que., - competing in the 460 hp and higher category - was clocked at 124 km/h at the top of the hill. His Cat engine is said to be cranking out something in excess of 1,500 hp. Bouchard won't confirm or deny that figure.

There were 155 trucks in Donnaconna on the June 16-17 weekend - racers and show and shiners included - who all rolled through town in a two-km-long parade. Last year, 91 trucks participated.

All accounts have yet to be settled, but Foy is optimistic that the profits given to Les Amis de Paméla foundation will be around $50,000.
Stirling's Still Buzzing

Visitors to the Eastern Ontario Big Rig Show and Shine weren't left wondering what to do after they'd seen all 88 show trucks. The Stirling and District Lions Club organized the show, and made sure everyone's curiosity would be peaked somewhere.

Visitors even had a chance to drive a big truck around a track; that was popular. Poor Randy Scott of Transport Safety and Compliance - the in-cab tour guide - is probably only now unwinding from making so many circles around the track; a clever idea letting civilians drive a truck on a track, in complete safety. I'll bet that opened a few eyes.

And if that wasn't enough, Bison Transport had its truck training simulator on site, and Benson brought a NASCAR racer simulator. Both were going full-bore all weekend.

Ray Wellman brought the Canadian Big Rig Build-Off to Stirling, much to the delight of the crowd. Some of the best custom-built Class 8s in Canada were there. Phil Langevin and his two chrome trucks, and Frank Perkins of FRP Transportation and his highly stylized Peterbilt customized with the assistance of Lee Howard of Inferno Kustom Werks took home the gold.

The Pit Crew Challenge saw teams of licensed technicians ganging up on a trailer to complete a brake job in the shortest time, while drivers had a chance to put their powers of observation to the test in a vehicle inspection competition, organized and judged by the good people at MorTrans.

The crew from Benson Truck and Trailer - Steve McDougall, Lynn Allen, and Justin Hoskin - won the Pit Crew Challenge, while James Robinson, Richard Weltz, and Mark Rodgers finished first, second, and third respectively in the trip inspection competition.

Organizer Dave Potts of the Lions Club says they tried to get a variety of events and activities that would appeal to as broad an audience as possible, and his crew succeeded handily. It was the second running of the show, and they managed to draw in 2,500-3,000 visitors, and about 90 show and shine participants. Mark that one on the calendar for next year.

The winner's lists are a little long, so we'll post them to the highwaySTAR website, along with a photo gallery of some
of the photos we collect at the shows. Check it out:

www.highwaystar.ca. In the meantime, we'll be out and about at various shows throughout the summer with the cameras a-clickin'. Watch for us.

Currently Online @ highwaySTAR

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