The special touches on Poulsen’s 1998 Pete 379 include a custom grille with the Poulsen Trailer Sales brand cut into it as a pattern. (Photo by Brian Bourke)Nineteen finalists made it to Dallas last year to compete in the national Pride & Polish championship, including Travis Poulsen and his 1998 Peterbilt 379.
“This is our first show truck we’ve done,” says Poulsen, of Poulsen Trailer Sales, in Logan, Utah. “We showed it for first time at PDI last October.” Winning in Limited Mileage Bobtail at that 2014 Performance Diesel Inc. Pride & Polish competition in Utah qualified the truck for the national competition at the 2015 Great American Trucking Show.
Poulsen’s Pete didn’t emerge as one of the four national grand champs, but it did get the honor of serving as a backdrop for a photo of Overdrive’s Most Beautiful winner, Joanne Fatta.
Fatta was announced as the Most Beautiful winner only a few months before coming to GATS.
Joanne Fatta of Lancaster, Pa., drives for Sunrise Transport. (Photo by Max Heine)“You have to make sacrifices to get what you want,” she said. “I made the choice that I wanted to own my home, secure my finances and take care of my daughter. Trucking was a path toward financial independence.”
For more on the customization Poulsen did to bring his Pete to its award-winning status, see this video:
