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Recent Truck Winners Share How Their Lives Have Changed
Landstar has given away brand-new trucks for more than two decades. What happens in the lives –
and businesses – of the lucky BCOs who drive home with one? We followed up with some recent winners to find out.
Landstar BCO Steve Wheeler 2020 Deliver To Win Truck Giveaway Winner Greenville, North Carolina
“I’d never won anything in my life before winning the truck,” says Landstar BCO and truck winner Steve Wheeler. He was just planning to buy a new truck when he won a Freightliner® Cascadia® 126 in Landstar’s virtual 2020 Deliver to Win Truck Giveaway. “I had a plane ticket to go purchase a new truck, but I canceled the ticket to attend the drawing of the giveaway final four,” he says, adding, “I’m glad I did. It truly changed my life!”
With more than two million miles on his truck at that time, Wheeler says he spent a lot of his time juggling between truck repairs and moving freight. “I’d scramble, putting the truck in the shop overnight while I slept,” he recalls. “It has been a blessing. Winning the truck changed everything. I could provide service to my customers without having to constantly worry about what might happen next.”
Despite the win for his business, Wheeler says he never let up on his schedule. “When I won, just about everyone said, ‘Now you don’t have to work as much!’” he recalls. “But forget that. By continuing to work at the same consistent pace, it put my business years ahead of where it would have been. I’m 69 and still running my full route every week. I love working!”
Wheeler says he’s never found anything that works better for his business than the Landstar system. “I’m a businessman who just happens to drive a truck,” Wheeler explains. “I tell anyone who comes on board with Landstar that the secrets to success are to reduce expenses, take care of your customers and curate great relationships with agents and customers.”
Winning changed his personal plans as well. “My wife and I have big life goals. This put us years ahead,” Wheeler says. “I was able to take all the money saved for buying a new truck to put on a beach property that my wife and I hope will become our retirement place. We knew that we eventually wanted to live at the beach, and now we can. We're lucky that we enjoy it now!”
Wheeler says he owes a lot to Landstar. “I wouldn’t have started my own business and bought my own truck unless it was with Landstar,” he admits. “I like that I can run my business, build relationships and have the freedom to haul what and when I want. Topping it off with the truck win – that’s just amazing. Thank you, Landstar!”
Landstar BCO James Johnson 2022 All-Star Truck Giveaway Winner Arlington, Texas
It started with a phone call. “Someone from Landstar asked if I was going to be attending the All-Star Celebration of Million Mile Safe Drivers,” recalls Landstar BCO James Johnson. “I wasn’t sure, but I told her if they were giving away a truck, I’d be there. She said yes, they were holding the 2022 All-Star Truck Giveaway. So, I told her I’d be there – ‘I’m coming to get my truck!’ From then on, whenever someone asked, I said I was going to get my truck.”
And as luck would have it, that’s exactly what happened.
While winning a brand-new 2023 Volvo® VNL860 was fun and exciting, Johnson says it also made a significant positive impact on his business. “I already had a truck, and it wasn’t a bad truck, but I still had a truck note,” says Johnson. “Then, all of a sudden, I had a paid-for truck – no truck note! Everything went smoother after that. I didn’t have worries about the truck breaking down, and there were no repair expenses. It changed my business dramatically for the better.”
Johnson still has his older truck, but no one is currently driving it. “Winning and driving the new truck helped me pay that one off within a year,” he says. “Now it’s just parked at my place, but if anything happens to the new one, I can temporarily switch back to the old one.”
Johnson says he has some advice for BCOs who think it can’t happen to them. “Have faith that no matter what it is, if you want it and you believe in it, it can happen for you,” he says. “I believed I was going to get my new truck. Believe in yourself, call in on the Safety Thursday Conference Calls – it’s a good business practice, and it’s another entry form for you. Anything you can do to get another entry, do it. The next winner could be YOU!”