Super family takes Best of Show honors

OOIDA member Eric Turner, Sr. took home Best of Show at the 36th annual Shell Rotella SuperRigs, with his 2015 Peterbilt 389. A 2018, chromed out, Wally-Mo 8-car hauler completed the tractor-trailer combo, which also won Best Interior.

Pictures don’t even do this parking lot justice. There’s more chrome than anyone could polish in a day, and a cleaner interior could not be found at White’s Travel Center in Raphine, Va., where the event was held this past weekend.

The Turner family earned their wins. This tractor-trailer combo screams American pride, dedication, and hard work.

The Ellenwood, Ga., native was overcome when accepting his awards on Saturday. Turner thanked his father, who passed away a year ago, for having a vision Eric never saw for himself.

He explained the reason for his raw emotion in a phone interview following the event.

“My daddy had a garage, repair shop. I only saw two calendars my whole life – one was the Shell Rotella SuperRigs calendar and the other was the Snap-On tools calendar,” he said. “Daddy used to point to the SuperRigs calendar and say, ‘You’re going to have a truck in this calendar one day.’ I just shrugged it off, I never really saw that for myself.”

Self-described as one who “never liked to get greasy much,” Eric helped out in the shop but never felt a love for the wrenching side of things. When he graduated from high school, he decided the money his parents would help him go to college with would be better spent elsewhere.

In 1996, his dad helped him get a two-car roll-back, which he soon parlayed into a four-car roll-back.

In 1999, Eric purchased a 97 Kenworth W9 and a brand, spanking new seven-car Wally-Mo car hauler, and started his trucking business for real. Eric says, “I didn’t know anything about how to load cars properly, you couldn’t get training back then. I went up to the railhead and stayed up there about a week, just loading cars, to figure it out.”

Turner ran big through the early 2000s, and increased business capacity to a four-truck Peterbilt fleet of 10-car haulers. The business experienced trials and tribulations during the economic bust in 2008. Eric’s drivers took a pay cut but believed in the business enough to stick with the company. Turner Transport scaled back, and kept grinding.

Eric attributes much of his success to Stacy, who he describes as the “driving force behind everything.” It’s clear that every aspect of the business revolves around family involvement and support. Not once in conversation was the word “employee” ever used. Eric and Stacy both refer to their drivers as “family.”

Tears of joy, astonishment, and appreciation for his dad’s vision of achievement being recognized were abundant as the Turner family accepted Saturday’s top awards. Eric lost his father last year, and his mother only four months ago.

“When we won it was like having my dad tell me I’m doing what he said I would. Something I didn’t see in myself, he saw. He knew.”

Congratulations to a super family, for winning SuperRigs 2018.

The following is the complete list of winners:

SuperRigs Best of Show

Eric Turner, Sr., Ellenwood, Ga.
2015 Peterbilt 389; 2018 Wally-Mo 8 Car Hauler
$10,000 from Shell ROTELLA, 50,000 My Miles Matter Reward Points
Place in the 2018 Rotella SuperRigs® Calendar

Best of Show 1st Runner Up
Matt Brune, Caldwell, Texas
1999 Peterbilt 379
$4,000 from Shell ROTELLA, 40,000 My Miles Matter Reward Points

Best of Show 2nd Runner Up
Jay Blackbourn, Fennimore, Wis.
2016 Peterbilt 389; 2008 MAC LTT ATE 9700
$2,000 from Shell ROTELLA, 30,000 My Miles Matter Reward Points

Working Truck – Limited Mileage

1. Kaleb Hammett, Dodd City, Texas
   2017 Peterbilt 389
   $1,500 and 10,000 My Miles Matter Reward Points
2. John T. Barker III, Malvern, Pa.
   1997 Peterbilt 379; 1997 Streamliner Deluxe for Horses
   $1,000 and 8,000 My Miles Matter Reward Points
3. Richard Shrout, Augusta, W. Va.
   2018 Peterbilt 389
   $750 and 7,000 My Miles Matter Reward Points
4. James R. Pearce, Zebulon, N.C.
   2001 Kenworth w900
   $500 and 6,000 My Miles Matter Reward Points
5. Cody McKenzie, Broadway, Va.
   2018 Kenworth T800
   $250 and 5,000 My Miles Matter Reward Points

Tractor/Trailer Division

1. Bradlee Garetson, Lake Mills, Wis.
   2016 Peterbilt 389; 2017 MAC
   $1,5000 and 10,000 My Miles Matter Reward Points
2. Brandon Smith, Raleigh, N.C.
   1996 Peterbilt 379
   $1,000 and 8,000 My Miles Matter Reward Points
3. Kiegan Nelson, Hartland, Wis.
   2013 Peterbilt 389; 2017 Retneouer flatbed
   $750 and 7,000 My Miles Matter Reward Points
4. Jackie Lewis, Grayson, Ky.
   2007 Peterbilt 379; 2007 Great Dane
   $500 and 6,000 My Miles Matter Reward Points
5. Matt Kanagy, Stevens, Pa.
   2006 Peterbilt
   $250 and 5,000 My Miles Matter Reward Points

Tractor Division

1. Andrew Good, Bethel, Pa.
   2016 Kenworth W900
   $1,500 and 10,000 My Miles Matter Reward Points
2. William Warner, Seneca Rocks, W. Va.
   1997 Peterbilt 379
   $1,000 and 8,000 My Miles Matter Reward Points
3. Cody Warner, Elkins, W. Va
   1987 Peterbilt 359
   $750 and 7,000 My Miles Matter Reward Points
4. Chris Graham, Front Royal, Va.
   2016 Peterbilt 389
   $500 and 6,000 My Miles Matter Reward Points
5. Jeremiah Wolfe, Thaxton, Va.
   2018 Peterbilt 389
   $250 and 5,000 My Miles Matter Reward Points

Classic Division

1. Gerald Arthur Asbury, Sevierville, Tenn.
   1999 Kenworth W900L
   $1,500 and 10,000 My Miles Matter Reward Points
2. Les Brown, Spring Hope, N.C.
   1966 Kenworth W900A
   $1,000 and 8,000 My Miles Matter Reward Points
3. John Byers, Montpelier, Va.
   1988 MAC Superliner
   $750 and 7,000 My Miles Matter Reward Points
4. Daniel and Phyllis Snow, Harrison, Ark.
   1996 Freightliner Classic XL; 2006 Utility
   $500 and 6,000 My Miles Matter Reward Points

Most Hard-Working Trucker

William Warner. Seneca Rocks, W. Va.
1997 Peterbilt 379
$500, 10,000 My Miles Matter Reward Points

 People’s Choice

John George, Fairfield, Pa.
1974 Dodge C950 Bighorn
$250 and 10,000 My Miles Matter Reward Points

 What Matters Is Inside

James A. Rodgers, Peverly. Mo.
2015 Freightliner Cascadia; 2019 Utility
$500, 10,000 My Miles Matter Reward Points

Show Truck

Michael Manuel, Front Royal, Va.
2015 Peterbilt 389
$250 and 10,000 My Miles Matter Reward Points

Mark Hollen, Denver, Pa.
2013 Peterbilt 389
$250

Leon Lloyd, Winchester, Va.
2016 Peterbilt 389
$250

Best Engine

Andrew Good, Bethel, Pa.
2016 Kenworth W900
15,000 My Miles Matter Reward Points

Best Lights

Randy Manning, Cross Junction, Va.
2018 Kenworth W900L
15,000 My Miles matter Reward Points

 Best Chrome

Randy Manning, Cross Junction, Va.
2018 Kenworth W900L
15,000 My Miles matter Reward Points

Best Theme

Andrew Good, Bethel, Pa.
2016 Kenworth W900
15,000 My Miles Matter Reward Points

Best Interior

Eric Turner, Sr., Ellenwood, Ga.
2015 Peterbilt 389; 2018 Wally Mo 8 car hauler
15,000 My Miles Matter Reward Points and a Steering Wheel