Name: Neal and Barbara
Holsomback
Home: Sugar Valley, Ga.
Truck: 1988 Peterbilt
Award(s):
1999 GATS Pride & Polish (Dallas)
Best of Show-Combination: tie
Conventional-Combination ’88-’96
Interior-Excluding Sleeper: 2nd
Engine: 3rd
Peterbilt Award
1999 ITS Pride & Polish (Las Vegas)
Best of Show-Combination
Participants Choice Award: tie
Conventional-Combination ’84-’93
Interior-Excluding Sleeper: 2nd
1999 MATS Pride & Polish (Louisville)
Best of Show-Combination
Conventional-Combination ’80-’92: 2nd
Interior-Excluding Sleeper: 2nd
Peterbilt Award
1998 Southern Trucking Show (Atlanta)
Conventional-Combination ’75-’92
Interior: 3rd
Participants Choice Award
1997 Southern Trucking Show (Atlanta)
Conventional-Combination ’82-’91
In
the beginning:
We had gone to shows just to look and then realized that our truck was just
as pretty as the others. Never did I imagine that I would be cleaning the
truck with a toothbrush and Q-Tips. We cleaned the truck for our first show
in Louisville, and it rained, but we learned a lot
Advice
to beginners:
You’ll get the fever once you get started. The most important thing is to
have pride in your truck. It has to be clean. Everything is judged by cleanliness,
and you should put your original ideas into it. Remember, everybody can’t
win.
Most exciting Pride & Polish moment: When
we won Best of Show-Combination in Louisville last year. Our first show
was in Atlanta in 1997. That was exciting. We won first place in our class.
I guess that’s when we got the fever.
Biggest show disaster: We were on our way
to the Vegas show in 1999 when we got a bad truck wash in Arizona. We spent
three days oxidizing and polishing to remove the water spots from our stainless
steel trailer, which we had already polished. We had to go back and polish
every inch again.
Favorite part of competing in Pride & Polish: After
“rags down,” you have two days to see all the trucks, visit with your friends
and have fun. Really, that’s what it’s all about. It’s just like family.
When we have to leave, everyone has tears in their eyes, and we just hang
around because no one wants to leave.
“We’ve been really lucky. Maybe the good Lord
takes care of you when you’re having good clean fun.”
