Jerry Kissinger receives Shell award.Owner-operator Jerry Kissinger has been awarded the first Hall of Fame membership in the newly formed Shell Rotella Million Mile Hall of Fame, Shell Lubricants announced Friday, April 1. Kissinger’s 1991 Mack Superliner, dubbed “Thumper,” has a million-mile-plus engine, run exclusively on Shell Rotella. Read more about Kissinger at Overdrive Senior Editor Todd Dill’s Channel 19 entry for April 1.
Shell Lubricants’ Dave Waterman said, “Shell created the Million Mile Hall of Fame to recognize drivers who have put one million miles on their engine, with no major service, running on Shell Rotella. Some people think oil is just oil, but there is some unique chemistry in Shell Rotella.
“Jerry is a very safe driver. He helps out his fellow drivers,” Waterman said of Kissinger, one of Overdrive‘s 2008 Truckers of the Month. He said Waterman contributes his time to the Special Olympics and Make a Wish Foundation. “He does all that, and he still runs a business,” he said. Kissinger also received a leather jacket from Shell.
Waterman said the program originated in Canada as the Million Miler Program. He added that Shell created the program partly so to spotlight the “level of detail required to run a successful trucking business.”
The Million Mile Hall of Fame announcement was preceded by a skit emceed by Eric Harley of the Midnight Trucking Radio Network. Harley introduced “Bob Scrugg and his 10-million-mile truck.” As the curtain rose, Scrugg’s dirty, ugly truck was revealed and parts like exhaust mufflers, pipes and a door began to fall off, as the radiator appeared to boil over. Scrugg turned out to be a comic actor, making humorous remarks about DOT regulations he had no time for, before Harley proclaimed, “April fool!”
Waterman also announced this year’s Super Rigs contest will be at the Kenly 95 Petro in Kenly, N.C., June 2-4. Waterman said, “We’ve tried to turn Super Rigs into a true community event. We want truckers to come and feel they are particularly welcome and aren’t just stopping for a bite to eat and a beverage at a truckstop.”
Waterman concluded with a preliminary announcement about a warranty program the company will be introducing in the spring.
