Overdrive Magazine | Trucking Business News & Owner Operator Info
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/748284
Voices 6 | Overdrive | November 2016 I interviewed Greg Stahl a little more than a year ago after discovering he did the original ghost flames on our truck. Greg owns Top Gun Kustoms in Cambridge, Minnesota, and has been in the paint business for more than 30 years. I couldn't find one sin- gle picture of the artist, but I found scads of images of beautiful show trucks he's done, not to mention vans, pickups and hot rods. I was a little discouraged that I couldn't find much on the guy, so I set my story plans aside for when I had more time to research and possibly meet him. We got that opportunity in September. If I'd had any idea how awesome the whole painting process was, I'd have broken my neck to make it happen a year ago. He works the medium like a master, and his stuff wins at truck shows. Jonathan Eilen's recent Pride and Polish winner, "The Hustler," was painted by Greg. His work is incredible, and his flames are unmistakable. He also puts in a full-time week at the body/paint shop owned by Nuss Truck and Equipment in East Bethel, Minnesota, where he did our paint job – the condo sleeper is too tall for his shop at Top Gun Kustoms. All of this was done on extremely short notice, and I have to give a shout-out to Steve Atchison, manager of the Nuss shop and Greg's longtime friend and coworker. One reason you've never seen a picture of Greg is that he is not a fan of having his picture taken. But after he got into the paint job enough to forget about George's video camera, he turned out mesmerizing. He goes from side to side, gun to gun, spray- ing and masking with the handmade manila envelope cutouts he calls his "box of flames." Greg is too humble to admit his legendary status, but it's all true. People need to know about someone who makes such beautiful art for us to enjoy. Wendy Parker chronicles her journey on the road with her owner-operator husband, George, in the George and Wendy Show blog on OverdriveOnline.com. Scan the QR to read more from her on your phone or tablet. Meet the ghost with the golden gun It appears to me the ATA is supporting the Washington bureaucrats more than the American trucker! Paint-flame-master Greg Stahl (right) with Steve Atchison of Nuss Truck and Equipment, East Bethel, Minnesota. — Barry Bergan, on the American Trucking Associations' his- torical support for mandated use of speed limiters. Bergan was responding to news that ATA says it does not support DOT's proposed speed limiter mandate as published, calling the adminis- tration's forgoing of a set speed and failure to address the safety risk of speed differentials between cars and trucks, among other things, a "dramatic departure" from its initial request. The end result of Stahl's work on George and Wendy Parker's Freightliner Coronado. Noted FL Fred, commenting at OverdriveOnline. com: "Wow! I was one who liked the green [front fenders], but back to red and a more modernized look for the flames is just phenomenal. Congratulations!" George Parker