The inaugural Silverback Show ‘N’ Shine National Championship was an unbridled success – not only in providing a national platform to showcase Australia’s best custom rigs but also the passion and professionalism of their owners and the wider trucking industry.
When you witness judges running their fingers along the corner elbow of the sun-visor bracket to check for dust or inspecting the inside drive tyres to ensure they have been staged with the tyre brand at the top of the arc, you have one of two thoughts: these judges must be hell to live with, especially come Saturday morning family chores; or this truck show is next level.
The truth is, both thoughts hold merit. Firstly, I am sure the judges are a nightmare at home when it comes to the cleanliness of their bathrooms; and secondly, yes, the inaugural Silverback Show ‘N’ Shine National Championship held alongside the 2025 Brisbane Truck Show is on a level not seen before on the Australian truck show circuit.
The idea for a national championship arose in the middle of 2024. Due to the success of the Brisbane Truck Show’s static display on Little Stanley Street in 2023, HVIA decided to chance its arm and scale up the idea for 2025.
A committee was formed and after several ideas were discussed, the concept of a national show ‘n’ shine championship took seed.
The notion was fairly simple, even if the logistics weren’t. Working with eight regional truck shows, HVIA would invite 28 of the best show ‘n’ shine winners from across the country to display their pride and joy and compete for the national championship.
Many of the Show ‘N’ Shine Championship entrants invested thousands of dollars into preparation and customisation, just for this show. Images: Alastair Brook and Daniel Neucom
Yes, there would be a champion crowned but the goal was to acknowledge and celebrate all 28 invitees, providing a national platform for their passion for their rides to be on full display for truck fans and the public alike.
It would also be a way of shining a light on, and supporting, some of the regional truck shows that play a huge role in fuelling the passion Australia has for all things trucking. For 2025 those shows were Alexandra Ute and Truck Show, Casino Truck Show, The Dane Ballinger Memorial Truck Show in Bathurst, the WA Mack Muster and Truck Show, Brisbane Convoy for Kids, Castlemaine Truck Show, Matty Hillcoat’s Truckies Day Out and Koroit Truck Show.
From these shows, the ‘King Rig’ received a golden ticket – automatic qualification for the inaugural Silverback Show ‘N’ Shine National Championship. The committee also invited another truck from each show to attend. Often it was the People’s Choice winner, or the runner up ‘King Rig’. Every show has different awards and trucks were chosen on merit. It also meant that when the final list was confirmed, there was plenty of variation and a wide array of heavy metal to entertain all enthusiasts.
With the shows being spread across the country, it was a huge task for the committee to organise and instruct vehicles from diverse locations stretching from Central Queensland to Tasmania, Perth, Geelong, South Australia and Western Australia.
It was a gigantic enough effort to get these entrants to Brisbane, much less park their pride and joy in the confined streets of an inner-city location like South Bank!
Credit for the success of the inaugural Show ‘N’ Shine National Championship goes to each and every entrant for their outstanding representation of the transport industry. Images: Alastair Brook and Daniel Neucom
Staging began early Wednesday morning and with the choreography of a Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC) performance, 28 amazing rigs assembled from either end of Little Stanley Street, filling it perfectly from top to bottom.
The crowds were already starting to hover as rig after rig rolled in, mixing all the colours of the rainbow, with all the shapes and sizes our industry allows.
Image Gallery: Check out hundreds of epic images captured at the inaugural Silverback Show ‘N’ Shine National Championship
With all the trucks staged up by lunchtime, Little Stanley Street soon became awash with microfibre clothes and cleaning equipment. The drivers and their cleaning cohorts spent the afternoon perfecting their pride and joy, whilst the crowd numbers, and the selfie sticks, increased hour upon hour.
The tough task of judging these pristine prime movers was to begin on Thursday and every entrant was determined to be 10/10 before that began.
I wasn’t joking when I delved into the depths the three judges were having to go to at the start of this breakdown. Checking for dirt inside the chassis rails, counting stone chips and even observing the placement of the valve stems in relation to the tyre branding. It was a standard of judging not previously experienced by any of these entrants; however, it was a necessary requirement when you saw the level to which all the entrants presented for the inaugural championship.
The crowds – and the anticipation – started to build from the moment the 28 trucks arrived on the eve of the show on Wednesday. Images: Alastair Brook and Daniel Neucom
Many of the entrants invested thousands of dollars into preparation and customisation, just for this show.
The three judges, Miles Langley and Jack Wilby from Melbourne, and Kerry Inns from New Zealand, had thorough and specific criteria – spending 30-40 minutes per vehicle as they spoke to the owners and inspected each rig.
It took two full days by the three judges and in the end only two points separated the top two trucks. Public voting saw a slightly more expanded margin, but the winners were chosen and come Sunday morning Cornwill Transport out of Geelong took out the top award – the ‘Champion of Champions’ gong sponsored by Silverback, with Auswide Transport Services picking up the ‘People’s Choice’ award sponsored by Slattery Auctions.
Cornwill Transport’s stunning SAR Legend, in deep maroon, was a deserved winner of the inaugural Silverback Show ‘N’ Shine National Championship.
The family-owned company customised the truck themselves and when it comes to truck shows the whole family are under every nut and bolt ensuring their trucks are presented perfectly. The Cornwills had even gone to the extent of colour matching their tyre jack. The round of raucous applause that accompanied the announcement was a reflection of the feeling of all those in attendance.
Auswide Transport Services’ all-black T909 was a deserved winner of the ‘People’s Choice’ award sponsored by Slattery Auctions. Images: Alastair Brook and Daniel Neucom
As for the People’s Choice winner, Auswide Transport Services’ all-black T909 was a deserved winner. The truck features intricate airbrushing along the front, sides and rear wall, a custom gold-fleck painted engine, and one-of-a-kind interior. The truck, which runs around 5-6,000km a week, was a constant subject of selfies and snapshots all week.
Awards and acknowledgements aside, credit for the success of the inaugural Show ‘N’ Shine Championship goes to each and every entrant for their outstanding representation of the transport industry.
The street was a constant wash of people, including many who had no interest in trucks and were just passing by. All the entrants happily interacted, answering questions and enquiries. In doing so they showed the public, and other truck nuts, that the industry is driven by professionalism and passion.
To the general public the idea of who and what a truck driver is, can often be misleading. It was fantastic to see all the entrants representing the industry and sharing their enthusiasm.
The success and popularity also ensures the local eateries and bars were kept on their toes for the week, with supplies running very low at several of the restaurants.
The goal was to acknowledge and celebrate all 28 invitees, providing a national platform for their passion for their rides to be on full display for truck fans and the public alike. Images: Alastair Brook and Daniel Neucom
Mother nature also deserves a little credit. Predictions the week before, as well as the cursed ‘Oh it never rains at the Brisbane Truck Show’ statement from one of the committee members, heightened the pre-show stress levels but, in the end, Queensland turned on a pearler of a week.
The best barometer for the success of the inaugural Show ‘N’ Shine National Championship, though, comes from the entrants. Their appreciation for the invite, their appreciation for the other vehicles on display and the enjoyment from interacting with fellow truck tragics says it all.
To quote one of the entrants, Laurie Williams, “I got my trophy when I got to rock up here on Wednesday morning, just being part of this is cool”.
Well said, mate.
CHAMPION OF CHAMPIONS – WINNER
Passion drives this ‘Dynamite’ truck. The name is a tribute to the legendary TNT SARs that used to fly up and down the Victorian highways, trucks that the Cornwill brothers watched and admired.
Subsequently, when Kenworth released the Legend SAR series, the family company signed up straight away for this 2022 model. The truck is far from standard, with the brothers Troy, Wayne and Rick putting in untold hours to customise their creation, which is pushed along by a 615hp Cummins X-15.
With most of the work being done in-house, this luxurious Legend hasn’t had much time on the road yet but has been built to work. It just happens to look too good to work, but it will.
CHAMPION OF CHAMPIONS – HIGHLY COMMENDED
Trent Schaeffer is a born-and-bred truck nut. He is also a very successful transport operator who thrives on challenges and innovation. Nothing exemplifies that more than his state-of-the-art tri-drive Kenworth K200.
The big Kenworth tows a single trailer and with its 600hp Cummins X15 engine, is capable of hauling a B-double load on a single set-up.
As much effort as there was to get the engineering to satisfy the permits, the design work that resulted in such a stunning rig is also amazing.
Inspired by the classic colours of a VW kombi van, Trent has matched the colours with the chrome and the scrolls with the sign writing to produce a one-of-a-kind Kenworth.
CHAMPION OF CHAMPIONS – HIGHLY COMMENDED
This amazing Value-Liner – powered by a 500hp E9 V8 – is the product of a growing compulsion for Andrew Derham.
Having recently restored an old Kenworth that belonged to his father, Andrew caught the bug for building and purchased a dead-on-its-wheels 1989 Value-Liner for his second project.
Andrew and his mate Thommo tore the old girl down to its last nut and bolt and restored it as close to original as possible, with just a dash of modern bling to snap the heads around.
Through contacts they were able to track down the last roof in Australia for this model, as well as some of the last original interior fit outs. The end build is a sensational tribute to a legendary Mack model.
PEOPLE’S CHOICE
When Melbourne-based Auswide Transport Solutions wanted to acknowledge and celebrate its 150th truck purchase, it decided to go all out.
And with this stunning 2021 T909 – known as ‘Karma’ – it did exactly that. The original design was for a striking black-and-gold truck with a touch of airbrushing. That was until the truck went under the tools of Laurent at Allstyles Customs in Victoria.
Copious layers of clearcoat were added after the airbrushing as this truck is a celebration, but it is also a working rig with a matching B-double set for the east coast work, and matching B-triple set for running across the paddock.
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