Cover Feature
RUNNIN' LATE
2003  379  Peterbilt

The truck selected for the cover feature in the 2013 Chrome & Elegance calendar is the one and only…”Runnin’ Late.”  However, no longer owned by Carl Carstens of Rockwood Products, it will always have a special place in the heart of Carl & the employees of Rockwood Products. The truck started out as your typical 379 being used to haul band equipment from one concert to another for a prominent music star. Carl made the purchase in 2008 with the intentions of turning it into a display truck for his company's products; he had no idea of the reputation it would gain over the next few years. The project was started back in October of 2008 and with Carl’s imagination running wild “Runnin’ Late” was born. Where did the name come from you ask? Well, if you know Carl you wouldn’t be asking that question; let’s just say Carl isn’t known for being ON TIME for much of anything!  The name started as nothing but a joke and before long…it stuck. 

Runnin’ Late” was originally built as a display truck for Rockwood and quickly gained a reputation for having one of the most beautiful interiors in the industry! In 2009 Carl took “Runnin Late” to the Mid-America Truck Show in Louisville, KY and parked it on the P.K.Y. Truck Show lot as a display.  From there Carl took the truck on a truck show tour with stops at shows such as the Great American Truck Show, Wildwood Truck Show, Big Iron Classic, Truckin’ For Kids, and many more.  Along the way Carl teamed up with Alex Debogorski from the reality show “Ice Road Truckers” shown on the History channel.  Alex liked the truck...and Carl, and decided it would be a good opportunity to promote his character so he hopped on board for the remainder of the summer. “Runnin Late” was now the official tour truck of “Alex Debogorski, The original ice road trucker”.

After three years of truck show tours it was time for the truck and Carl to part ways.  This past fall Carl and “Runnin Late” departed from Manitowoc, WI for the last time and headed down to Amarillo, TX to meet with Mike Urton of Tascosa Truck Sales.  [Side Note: I think I need to mention here that Carl had absolutely no plans as to how he would return home. After dropping off the truck he quickly realized that flights were going to be super expensive and his only other option was to purchase a vehicle in Texas, drive it to Wisconsin, and sell it as soon as he returned…needless to say Carl now has a 2007 Yukon FOR SALE in his driveway! Haha] Carl did however receive some good news on his drive home; before he reached the state line the truck had SOLD!  A truck collector by the name of Del Peoples had purchased the truck from Tascosa Truck Sales the same day.  Runnin Late” will rest comfortably in a display room for years to come.