After almost three decades in the running, there was something new at this year's PKY Truck Beauty Championship in Louisville — something a bit wicked, and with a real attitude problem. Not only were there rat rods among the shiny custom trucks, but at least one of the "normal" show trucks was hauling witches' brew, we're pretty sure.
The Rat Rod category was a first this year at the Mid-America Trucking Show, and we spotted four entries from that bunch in our walkthrough including Randy Grubb's raucous "Piss'd Off Pete" built from a 1960 Peterbilt Model 351. Meanwhile, Theresa DeSantis' entry in the championship, a 1985 Peterbilt 359 called "The Witches Inn", reappeared this year with some new custom touches not to be missed.
There was also a U.S. Army Mack M123 10-ton truck among the custom show rigs, and this beast — that's actually its name, "Big Beast", owned by driver Scott E. Smithler — can't be left out of this lot. Weighing in at 32,490 lbs., it's one of only five such trucks still known to exist with a gasoline engine, according to Smithler; all the rest are diesels.
Get a little dirty with the darker, louder, grittier side of the 2018 PKY Truck Beauty Championship. You know you want to.
