an you believe it?! This, the June issue, marks Classic Truck Performance’s second anniversary! It was tough enough making it through our first year, as it coincided with the onset of COVID-19—and 2021-2022 hasn’t been any easier … but we made it, and I couldn’t be prouder of the success CTP has achieved! Our growth as a print media entity has been mirrored by our developing social media presence as well as our website, which has seen an increase of over 300 percent in the last year alone—all of which are telling me one thing: we must be doing something right!

It’s crazy to think that in March of 2020, my good friend Tim Sutton and I headed out to beautiful Prescott, Arizona, to visit our recently transplanted (from Burbank) old friend Del Uschenko to photograph our first feature and subsequent cover of our premiere issue of CTP (and, ironically, the Instagram video that propelled our IG like a supercharged LSX!). Besides the obvious “bro bonding” that went down over the course of that weekend, it was honestly the most amazing feeling knowing that we were creating something all new yet something I’ve been doing day in, day out for the last quarter century. This time, however, there was no corporate umbrella or what have you adding any sense of security … if we failed, it was all on us. (I did have a Home Depot application at the ready, just in case!) But there was a part of me that knew, deep down inside, failure was not an option, and as it turns out, it was never something we would have to worry about.

Last year’s Business of the Year honors presented to In The Garage Media by the Hot Rod Industry Alliance at the 2021 SEMA Show proved that last statement beyond true. It showed us that our peers fully recognized—and greatly appreciated—what we (Classic Truck Performance, Modern Rodding, and All Chevy Performance) were doing to support this great aftermarket industry of ours. While we’ve been doing that for decades (and when I say “we,” I mean the ITGM collective of Yasmin Fajatin, Sarah Gonzales, Nick Licata, Brian Brennan, Tim Foss, and Rob Munoz), there probably hasn’t been a time in history where that support has been more important than right now. And I feel more than honored to be carrying the torch for print media and all its electronic affiliations into an era of the unknown!

But really, the thanks go to all of you, the ones who’ve supported our magazines (mostly mine, but the other two as well!) for the last two years. We’re still growing, and I know the sky’s the limit to where we go from here—I hope you’re all here for the entire ride!

Circling back to that inaugural bro trip, it only seemed fitting that Tim Sutton revisit Delmo’s to capture that other C10 many of you have been asking about: James King’s tribute-to-his-dad ’71 Stepside. Enjoy!