Tech Rodeo 2016: This year's best of the best

Dec. 19, 2016

Capping off the Rush Truck Centers Tech Skills Rodeo last week was an awards gala featuring famed NASCAR driver Tony Stewart that showcased 38 winning technicians from around the country. This year's all-around champ was Lucas Manlief of Rush Truck Center - Indianapolis.

Aaron Marsh

Capping off the Rush Truck Centers Tech Skills Rodeo last week was an awards gala featuring famed NASCAR driver Tony Stewart that showcased 38 winning technicians from around the country. This year marked especially tough competition among the techs, since more tried out to qualify and margins separating winners and placement were often razor-thin.

W.M. "Rusty" Rush, chairman, CEO and president of Rush Truck Centers, stressed that a lot has changed in trucking in recent years, but one thing that hasn't is the relationships you build and rely on in this industry.

And on that note, he said the service, parts and body shop technicians help the dealership forge those relationships — they not only help sell the truck "the second time," such as after a smooth repair experience, but indeed the first time as well because of the reputation technicians help establish.

About the Author

Aaron Marsh

Before computerization had fully taken hold and automotive work took someone who speaks engine, Aaron grew up in Upstate New York taking cars apart and fixing and rewiring them, keeping more than a few great jalopies (classics) on the road that probably didn't deserve to be. He spent a decade inside the Beltway covering Congress and the intricacies of the health care system before a stint in local New England news, picking up awards for both pen and camera.

He wrote about you-name-it, from transportation and law and the courts to events of all kinds and telecommunications, and landed in trucking when he joined FleetOwner in July 2015. Long an editorial leader, he was a keeper of knowledge at FleetOwner ready to dive in on the technical and the topical inside and all-around trucking—and still turned a wrench or two. Or three.

Aaron previously wrote for FleetOwner.