Overdrive Magazine | Trucking Business News & Owner Operator Info
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/723417
84 | Overdrive | September 2016 ReaRview W orkhorses increas- ingly became show horses in the late 1980s and early 1990s, with style-minded owner- operators turning to aftermarket lights, chrome, graphics, paint and more to convert their rigs into things of beauty. Overdrive began covering the trend and started the first major truck beauty show, Overdrive's Pride & Polish, in 1991. It's since expanded into a nationwide circuit, giving proud owner- operators the chance to put their custom equipment on display for thousands of fellow truckers and their families. That expansion continued in 2011 with the introduction of the Pride & Polish National Champion- ship. It crowns the nation's best-looking working and limited- mileage bobtails and combination trucks in an annual competition. See the Custom Rigs section starting on page 56 for coverage of last month's event at the Great American Trucking Show. In recent years, Overdrive has built a catalog of more than 100 videos of the country's top custom rigs at youtube.com/ OverdriveMag. Covering custom BY JAMES JAILLET One of the biggest repeat winners in Pride & Polish's early years was Darian Stephens, who showed a bevy of trucks in the 1990s and early 2000s. His 1995 Freightliner Classic XL, shown here, won Best of Show, Bobtail, at the 1998 Mid- America Trucking Show. Overdrive's May 1997 cover highlighted that year's Mid-America Trucking Show Pride & Polish event. Overdrive's Custom Rigs was distributed quar- terly to chrome shops and truck stops from 2008 to 2012, when Overdrive converted it to a monthly section in each issue. Since the turn of the century, one of the most award-winning trucks – and a perennial favorite with truck show attendees – has been Bob and Shelley Brinker's 2000 Freightliner Classic XL. Named Legend of the Black Pearl, the truck boasts graphics and accessories reflect- ing the "Pirates of the Caribbean" film series theme. Brian Bourke