Peterbilt 389 Wins $15K and Best of Show at Shell Rotella SuperRigs
Bill Rethwisch of Tomah, Wis., won this year’s Best of Show honors with his 2016 Peterbilt 389 at the 35th Annual Shell Rotella SuperRigs competition.
Bill Rethwisch's 2016 Peterbilt 389 won Best of Show at this year's SuperRigs competition. Photos: Shell Rotella
Bill Rethwisch of Tomah, Wis., won this year’s Best of Show honors with his 2016 Peterbilt 389 at the 35th Annual Shell Rotella SuperRigs competition.
For winning Best of Show, Rethwisch was awarded $10,000 from Shell Rotella and $5,000 from Mac Trailer. He also won awards for Best Interior and Best Engine.
“My heart was coming out of my chest; I didn’t think we had it,” said Rethwisch, who also took Best of Show in 2014 and 2015. “This is the third time in four years and four times in the SuperRigs calendar out of four tries. I’m ecstatic right now. I’m so proud; I don’t even know which way to think.”
Sam’s Club donated free one-year memberships to the Best of Show winners, the first and second place Tractor/Trailer, Tractor and Classic winners, the People’s Choice winner and Most Hard Working Trucker.
SuperRigs is a truck beauty contest that took place this year from May 18-20 at Expo Square in Tulsa, Okla. Owner-operator truckers from the U.S. and Canada competed for cash and prizes valued at about 25,000. Twelve drivers from the contest were also selected to have their trucks featured in the 2018 Shell Rotella SuperRigs calendar.
J.R. Schleuger of Britt, Iowa won Best of Show first runner-up, $4,000 from Shell Rotella and $3,000 from Mac Trailer for his 1980 Kenworth W900. He also won for Best Chrome. Kenneth Fisher of Muscoda, Wis., was awarded Best of Show second runner-up, $2,000 from Shell Rotella and $2,000 from Mac Trailer for his 1997 Peterbilt 379.
First place winners also included: Brad Garetson from Lake Mills, Wis., in the Tractor/Trailer Division for his 2016 Peterbilt 389 and 2017 Mac flatbed Conestoga trailer; Ray & Suzie Rodriquez of Salinas, Calif., in the Tractor Division with a 1999 Peterbilt 379 extended hood; Jayme and Whitney Snow from Berryville, Ark., won in the Classic Division with their 1999 Classic XL Freightliner. The Most Hard Working Trucker award was presented to Hills Construction of Hempstead, Texas for their 2007 Freightliner Coronado.
The event's highlights also included a concert by trucker and country music artist Tony Justice and a lights show, which went on despite spotty weather. There was also a second concert as well as other entertainment and events throughout the three-day show.
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