Neither high fuel prices nor the lack of freight could deter top-class beauty truck competitors from spending as much as a week polishing their trucks for the 2001 Rotella SuperRigs contest.
SuperRigs Best Of Show winner Vladimir Bilik Jr. won with his Harley-themed Peterbilt
SuperRigs Best Of Show winner Vladimir Bilik Jr. won with his Harley-themed Peterbilt

Held last week at the San Antonio TravelCenters of America, the event drew 54 competitors for more than $10,000 in prizes.
In truth, though, many were there for the chance to be featured in the 2002 SuperRigs Calendar. The 13 lucky contenders who get this opportunity are selected from the trucks that turn out for the event, with Best of Show always taking one of the calendar pages.
This year, the top spot went to a new competitor on the show circuit, Vlad Bilik Jr., with an immaculate, black Peterbilt 379 with orange undercarriage and Great Dane reefer.
In a highly unusual occurrence in the 19-year history of the SuperRigs competition, the top three winners were all tractor-trailer combos: Bilik; Tod Job, with his outstanding and understated wine-red Pete 379/Great Dane reefer, this year sporting suicide doors on the tractor; and Rick Torres with a burgundy-colored Pete with pink/purple flashes and exquisitely polished Ravens aluminum flatbed.
In addition to the top three spots, the contest awards prizes for the top five places in three categories: Classic (older than 10 years), Tractor, and Tractor-Trailer. This year's event saw a major increase in the number of combo units entered, with nearly half of all entrants in the category.
The four judges, drawn from the trucking media (including yours truly), assigned points to the trucks in five categories: general appearance, style and execution of the custom paint and chrome, the originality of the overall look and the workmanship. Even with up to 2000 total points for each truck, some winners were separated by only a few points.
Every contestant pulling through the judging line over the course of the three-day event received a $50-value gift bundle that included a gallon of Shell Rotella T 15W-40 multigrade lube, a gallon of Shell's Rotella ELC long-life organic coolant, a tube of Shell Retinax grease, Shell SuperRigs hat and T-shirt, and a Shell Farther Down The Road compact disc. A special plus this year was a container of the just-announced Shell Rotella DFC, a diesel fuel conditioner that is a winter anti-gel and a summer injector cleaner.
While the judging was taking place, staff from Shell's Houston-based advertising agency were around the glamor rigs, selecting the candidates for the calendar. The calendar selection process has little to do with the contest, other than the Best of Show slot. For the most part, the decision is based on the suitability of the truck and the color scheme to a selection of photographic locations that have been scouted months in advance.

Results

Best of Show:Vladimir Bilik Jr., Santa Clarita, Calif. 2001 Peterbilt 379/2001 Great Dane reefer (black and orange, 168,000 miles)
1st Runner-Up, Best of Show: Tod Job, Jefferson City, Mo. 1996 Peterbilt 379/1997 Great Dane reefer (wine red with simple stripe, 625,000 miles)
2nd Runner-Up, Best of Show: Rick Torres, Valley Center, Calif. 1992 Peterbilt 379/1993 Ravens flatbed (burgundy paint with pink/purple flashes, polished aluminum trailer)

Classic
  • First Place: Larry and Kim Dyck, Winnipeg, Manitoba. 1987 Peterbilt 359/tank trailer (green with orange flamed tank, 1 million miles)
  • Second Place: Bill Culver, Ratcliff, Ark. 1990 Peterbilt 379/1997 CMC end dump (yellow with red roof and fenders, 1 million miles)
  • Third Place: Albert Wilbanks, San Antonio, Texas. 1971 Peterbilt 359 (yellow with black fenders and black stylized flames, 800,000 miles)
  • Fourth Place: Andy Van ES, Smithville, Ontario. 1957 Peterbilt/2002 Great Dane (long nose beige ’57 with period radiator and steps)
  • Fifth Place: Ray Barnes, Castroville, Texas. 1991 Peterbilt 379 (red with black fenders, 884,000 miles)


Tractor
  • First Place: Darian Stephens, Hereford, Pa. 1995 Freightliner Classic XL (purple with blue striping, 863,000 miles)
  • Second Place: Chuck Prigge, Valley Center, Calif. 1996 Peterbilt 379 (white with purple/blue flashes)
  • Third Place: Russ and Debbie Brown, Oklahoma City. 1999 Kenworth W900L “Razors Edge” (white with blue fenders, 459,000 miles)
  • Fourth Place: Chris Lewis, Jackson, Mo. 1999 Pete 379 (blue with pink highlights, 291,000 miles)
  • Fifth Place: Steve and Melissa Woodard, Joplin, Mo. 1998 Peterbilt 379 (plain purple with huge sleeper, 581,000 miles)


Tractor-Trailer
  • First Place: David Greer, Fruitvale, Texas. 1998 Peterbilt 379/1998 Utility 2000R “Marooned” (burgundy with island murals, 120,000 miles)
  • Second Place: Victor Verret, New Iberia, La. 1994 Kenworth W900L/1995 Wilson covered wagon flatbed (metallic light blue, full fenders, stainless side kit, 347,000 miles)
  • Third Place: Roger and Heather Hogeland, Bloomington, Calif. 1999 Kenworth W900L/2000 Utility reefer (yellow, orange, purple with white flames, 520,000 miles)
  • Fourth Place: Trev Timblin, West Bend, Wis. 2001 Freightliner XL Classic/2001 Great Dane dry van (blue with red full fenders, multicolored striping, 105,000 miles)
  • Fifth Place: Curtis Christians, Rockport, Mo. 2000 Peterbilt 379/2002 Great Dane reefer (black with orange flames, red fenders, 320,000 miles)
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