Overdrive Magazine | Trucking Business News & Owner Operator Info
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/472327
Custom Rigs 52 | Overdrive | March 2015 A llen Boles has been rac- ing his black and green Peterbilt 359 for years at diesel drags, tractor pulls and anywhere else he can get his rac- ing fix, including trips to the far north of Canada to take a turn in the Rodeo Du Cameon (truck rodeo) races. "I love big trucks, and I love racing trucks," says Boles, a Weaverville, N.C.-based 15-truck fleet owner and truck operator. In the last year and a half, Boles has stripped the 359 down, ending its tenure as a drag racer and building it up for a new venture: 100-mph road- course truck races at some of the top U.S. speedways. The new ChampTruck World Series, which will bring a true big-rig racing circuit back to the United States for the first time in nearly 30 years, will pit 12 trucks, including two racers from Boles, in 10 races nationwide. The first race takes place April 24- 26 at the New Jersey Motorsports Park. The series will conclude Oct. 30-Nov. 1 at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The Aug. 28-29 races at the Texas Mo- tor Speedway in Dallas will coincide with the Great American Trucking Show, Aug. 27-29, also in Dallas. Series creator and promoter John Condren says ChampTruck was designed to be inclusive. Competi- tors don't need to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to build a high- end race truck, he says. In fact, ChampTruck's rules are designed to prohibit deep-pocket spending and level the playing field, allowing enthusiasts like Boles and Mack tech Mike Morgan of Nash- ville, Tenn., to compete. "It's not about the guy with the most amount of money," Morgan says. "I have a real good shot, and I'm the truck-stop Joe that turns a wrench. Here I am going to be racing in the big leagues." Truckers, sTArT your engines The ChampTruck World Series brings truck racing back to the U.S. with 100- mph road course action that kicks off next month. By James Jaillet Trucks line up to race in the European Truck Race Organization finale held in October at the Le Mans race track (the Circuit de la Sarthe) in Le Mans, France. The ChampTruck World Series will take cues from the TRO series.