Cowboy spirit

A former cowhand, U.S. Marine, policeman and firefighter, Prime’s Mike “Mustang” Crawford tames the open road, coaches new drivers and helps his wife care for critters on their Missouri ranch.

Long Lane, Mo., resident Mike Crawford’s gifts as a storyteller and conversationalist have served him well since 1994, when he took the wheel of the new Freightliner FLD he still owns. He set off with his wife, Phyllis, bobtailing in pursuit of the truck’s first load in Columbia, Mo. When Phyllis asked how fast they were going, he wasn’t sure.

Mike Crawford’s leather hat was given to him by friend John Boswell in 1987 when Crawford was a cowboy on the Phantom Canyon Ranch near Livermore, Colo. “I wear it everywhere I go,” he says.

“I’d never been in a truck for anybody that would go faster than 65,” says Crawford, or “Mustang,” as he’s more commonly known. His new rig was so “comfortable and smooth riding” he and Phyllis were surprised to discover he was going 70 mph.

Next thing he knew, a Missouri state patrolman had pulled him over. After a long conversation, ranging from cattle prices to Crawford’s lease-purchase of the FLD with Prime Inc., followed by a brief warning, he was on his way.

Visit OverdriveOnline.com for a video interview with Mike Crawford, conducted at Prime Inc.’s state-of-the-art driver facility in Springfield, Mo.

Crawford, who remains leased to Springfield, Mo.-based Prime, is eager to talk with anyone who’ll listen. But since that day, he’s learned to pay close attention to the speedometer and has logged 2.5 million safe miles behind its wheel.