The waiting ended at noon Thursday when the doors of the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in Dallas opened to the public and the 2019 Great American Trucking Show got started.
Friday, Aug. 23 is even busier than opening day. Here are a few of the highlights of what’s happening:
Pride & Polish judges chat with Bret ChastaineRay Martinez, head of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration will be at the show to hear from truckers about what they think of his agency’s proposed hours of service changes. That listening session will be at 10 a.m. Friday, Aug. 23, in the lower “C” meeting rooms, room number C146.
Truckers News will announce the winner of the 2019 Mike O’Connell Trucking’s Top Rookie Award Friday at 2 p.m. on the Truckers News Stage in Hall “A”. The winner takes home $10,000 and a slew of prizes from the RoadPro Family of Brands and Rand McNally
GATS features the finals of the Overdrive and Red Eye Radio Trucker Talent Search singing contest. The three finalists compete on Friday at 3:30 p.m. on the Truckers News Stage in Hall “A”
Australian country star and singer/songwriter Jayne Denham will rock GATS with the release of her new single, “Black Coffee and White Lines” at the Red Eye Radio Booth Friday at 5:30 p.m.
Show hours are:
Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Saturday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
There’s still time to register for free online.
To get the most out of GATS, be sure to get the app for your smartphone.
There are no truck parking problems at GATS. The free TA Petro Truck Parking Community not only gives you a space for your rig, it provides a variety of services, programs, food, music, and entertainment. There’s even a dunking booth … no really! There are frequent shuttles to and from the show.
The Methodist Health System mobile mammography bus is on site at Dallas providing mammograms.
Dennis McKay, who with his wife Leslie, make up the McKay Project plays guitar at their booth. The couple is from Columbus, Mississippi.
Smiling swag at the fatj.com booth
The D Day tribute truck at thee Crete Carrier and Shaffer Trucking booth
GATS is all about the custom show trucks entered in Overdrive's Pride & Polish awards
Dan Brubaker's "One Of A Kind" 2003 Peterbilt 379 entry in Overdrive's Pride and Polish
The sidekick of Bret Chastaine's Mack entry in Overdrive's Pride and Polish
Judges take a look at Bret Chastain's Pride and Polish entry "Every Dog Has It's Day", a 2005 Mack CXN 613
Trucking Moves America Forward mascot Safety Sammy was at GATS
