Free registration still open for next week’s Great American Trucking Show

Joel Dawes’ 2014 Kenworth T600 will compete in the Working Bobtail class at the Pride & Polish National Championship at GATS.

The Great American Trucking Show is just a week away, and free registrations are still open online up until the day the show begins. The show will be held at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Center in Dallas Aug. 25-27.

Attendees at this year’s show will find new attractions, as well as Overdrive’s Pride & Polish show truck championship, Partners in Business seminars and Trucker Talent Search sing-off finals.

New to the show this year will be the GATS Discovery Pavilion, which will give attendees the opportunity to to test trucking products, view product installations and learn more about products and equipment. Ford’s “Drive the Future of Tough” Tour will be part of the pavilion, giving the opportunity to drive the 2017 Ford Super Duty.

The Landstar Health and Wellness Pavilion returns to the show, but with some new features. New to the pavilion this year will be U.S. Department of Transportation physicals conducted by AccuScreen for $59, as well as free sleep apnea screenings provided by the St. Christopher Truckers Development and Relief Fund, a nonprofit that helps drivers whose medical problems have led to financial hardship. The pavilion also will provide an opportunity for attendees to register as bone marrow donors, give blood and receive a mammogram. Free screenings will include urinalysis, blood pressure, vision, nutrition evaluations and more.

Another health initiative at the show will be the Fit for the Road 5K run/walk Saturday, Aug. 27. Registration includes a T-shirt and is $30 before the race or $40 onsite. Proceeds will benefit the St. Christopher fund. Check-in for the 7 a.m. race will begin at 6:30 a.m. at the TA-Petro Truck Parking Community. Free roundtrip shuttle service will be provided from the convention center.

Also at the TA-Petro Truck Parking Community will be free truck parking provided by TA-Petro. Free roundtrip shuttles will run regularly from the truck parking lot to the convention center and back. The lot also will feature food vendors, showers, restrooms and a worship service on the Sunday after the show.

Returning to GATS this year will be the Overdrive-Red Eye Radio Trucker Talent Search competition, where three finalists – Keith Snyder, Jason Lee Wilson and Will Perry – will compete Friday, Aug. 26, at 3:30 p.m. in the GATS Discovery Pavilion stage. Trucker and recording artist Tony Justice, the event’s emcee, also will perform at the competition.

At the indoor Pride & Polish, show truck winners from the 2015-16 season will compete in the 2016 National Championship Finals. Trophies also will be awarded for the separate GATS competition that will kick off the 2016-17 season.

Overdrive’s Partners in Business seminars will be offered twice daily Friday and Saturday in the Truckstop.com Theater. Company drivers wanting to become owner-operators, or owner-operators looking to get a step ahead in their business, will find helpful information at these free one-hour seminars. ATBS, the nation’s largest owner-operator financial services provider, will present the Friday seminars. Kevin Rutherford, trucking radio host and a former owner-operator accountant, will present the Saturday seminars.

Partners in Business is produced by Overdrive and ATBS and is sponsored by Ryder, Goodyear Smart Fleet and Truckstop.com. Attendees will receive a free copy of the 2017 Partners in Business Manual, which covers a variety of practical financial tips, equipment management strategies and more.

Show info:

Where: Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center (Dallas Convention Center)

When:

Thursday, August 25: Noon to 5 p.m.

Friday, August 26: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Saturday, August 27: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Register: Free online at truckshow.com

Lodging: Hotel information at truckshow.com

Parking: Free truck parking will be available at the TA-Petro Truck Parking Community