t is something to be said to take a premier truck show in the south and move it four hours away to one of the most iconic places in racing history without skipping a beat. When we heard Craig Rowley and his team were moving Battle in Bama from Mobile, Alabama, to Talladega Motor Speedway in Lincoln, Alabama, it made the hair stand up on my neck knowing the potential that would unfold for future events.

When we think about Talladega, we think NASCAR. What better way to kick off the summer than hanging with your buddies and badass trucks while quoting Talladega Nights all weekend? The event was split into two separate days: Day 1: Battle in Bama and Day 2: OBS Nationals. The hardest decision faced during the entire show was simply what to start looking at first, and that isn’t intended lightly. Million-dollar row perhaps … filled with top-tier classic trucks? OBS Nationals section packed with any-style OBS you could dream of? Blown hot rods? More like blown mafia! Classic one-off mini-trucks? Top-tier quality, from all over—with over 1,600 registered participants, there was no shortage of variety.

For several years now, Battle in Bama has proven to be a show in which participants truly look forward to, planning for months in advance. Not only did this venue give the show the much-needed space it deserved, it opened the door to target new vendors to be able to reach a larger audience.

When it came time for awards, it was more like a community pulling together as one. The room filled as the charity auction began, raising over $70,000 for local young man named Aiden battling brain cancer. If that doesn’t make you love the truck scene even more, I don’t know what will.

We can’t quite put our finger on the main ingredient of what made this event so special, but one thing is that without a doubt this show is destined to grow and prove that it is possible to bring every aspect of the automotive industry together, assemble them on one common ground, and make a weekend that dreams are made of. To say we are excited for what 2025 has to offer would be an understatement. When I asked Rowley how he felt about the weekend, he was truly humbled and with very little to say, he looked at us and simply said, “This is Talladega, baby!”