Back-to-Back and Still Hungry: Don’s Drive to Compete at the Highest Level

CDLLife Contributor Polly Trotter interviewed Don Wood for the Stars, Stripes, and White Lines Truck Show at EchoPark Speedway in Hampton, Georgia, in November 2025.

For Don, trucking has never been just a career—it’s been a way of life. He jokes that he’s been riding in a truck since he was six weeks old, and that early start shaped everything that followed. Trucks aren’t simply what he does; they’re part of who he is.

That lifelong passion has now carried him to the top of the national show circuit—twice. When Don rolled into Atlanta to defend his 2025 national championship title, he didn’t come in expecting a repeat. If anything, he braced himself for a fight.

“Honestly, I was very surprised this year,” he said. “I was more than happy to come and defend the title, but when you see the trucks you’re up against—the ones that qualified throughout the year—you know it’s going to be a tough hill to climb.”

These weren’t trucks that simply paid an entry fee and showed up. Every competitor had earned their spot through a qualifier. They had proven themselves across the country before ever pulling into the championship lot. Don understood that, and he respected it.

“I would have been totally pumped with a top three,” he admitted.

The journey to his second championship looked different from the first. In 2024, he had extra help prepping and detailing the truck. In 2025, it was just Don and his wife, Crystal. His driver, Si, helped with the initial wash while preparing his own truck for the working division, but after that, they were on their own.

“In ’24 we had four people helping us clean. In ’25, it was two,” Don said. “Same amount of work.” They didn’t overhaul the truck. There were no major custom upgrades or dramatic changes. Instead, they focused on refinement—cleaner lines, tighter details, and a stronger presentation. A new blue carpet under the truck elevated the display and helped the truck stand out visually. Their goal was simple: make it cleaner, make it sharper, make it count.

When third place was announced and his name wasn’t called, Don assumed he’d landed in second. When second place was announced and it still wasn’t him, he prepared himself to congratulate the winner.

“I thought, well, thanks for coming,” he said with a laugh. “The other builds were all fresh, new builds. That always brings excitement.”

Then they called his name.

“I was blown away,” he said. “The competition was stacked. Nobody had an easy street to victory.”

In many ways, this second win meant more to him than the first. The 2024 championship had been a relaunch year as the format was rebuilt. By 2025, the full qualifier system was in place, and every truck in the lineup had fought its way there.

“To win it in the actual format—where trucks qualified through shows—I honestly feel like it meant more,” Don explained. “You had the best trucks from across the country. Everybody there had gone through the process.”

That structure matters deeply to him. While he appreciates the value of open-entry shows—and is quick to say they are vital to the industry—he believes a national championship should carry a higher standard.

“There are truck shows every weekend somewhere in the United States,” he said. “That’s great for the industry. But if you want to say you have one of the best trucks in the country, you need to compete where the best has qualified in.”

One of the elements he respects most about the championship series is its transparency in judging.

“You don’t like your results? I understand that” he said. “But here’s your judging sheets. Here’s why you scored the way you did.”

For Don, those sheets aren’t just documentation, they’re a roadmap.

He keeps them. He studies them.

During judging in 2025, a judge he greatly respects ran a finger across a spot Don believed was flawless.

The judge looked at the smudge, then looked at him and shook his head.

“I was crushed,” Don admitted. “You think you’ve got it perfect. But at this level, they must nitpick. They have no choice. All these trucks are amazing.”

That moment stuck.

“I don’t care if that’s the first and last place I clean next time,” he said. “They will never knock a point for that spot again.”

He believes transparency benefits everyone—not just competitors, but builders, painters, Polishers, and detail crews.

“If you’re planning to build a show truck for 2027, look at a score sheet before you start spending money,” he said. “Spend money where it matters for points.”

Understanding how trucks are judged, may change how they’re built. It shifts the focus from flash alone to balance—cleanliness, presentation, craftsmanship, and consistency across every category.

Despite back-to-back titles, Don hasn’t made a final decision about 2026. He’s leaning toward judging, which would open a competition spot for someone else.

“I feel like it opens up an additional spot for someone who deserves it,” he said. “People don’t always want to see the same truck win over and over.”

Still, the competitor in him hasn’t faded.

That competitive drive is also fueling a new project. Through a complicated situation involving a partially started build, Don stepped in and acquired another truck. Rather than see a project stall or relationships strained, he took it on himself.

“I like trucks,” he said simply. “They’re my work, and they’re my hobby.”

The new build won’t carry the familiar blue-and-yellow scheme fans associate with his championship truck. This one will head in a completely different direction. New ideas. A new look. A fresh statement. For someone who doesn’t sit still easily and doesn’t vacation well, it’s the perfect outlet.

“I don’t want another choice,” he said of the trucking life. “This is what I know. This is what I enjoy.” He remembers being a teenager and looking up to the top-tier trucks of the time, dreaming of competing at that level. Now, he hopes someone else might be looking at his truck with that same spark.

“If ten years from now somebody says they took ideas from my truck and built their own, that would be an honor,” he said.

Back-to-back championships are impressive, but for Don, the trophies aren’t the end goal. The real reward is pushing the standard higher, refining the process, and helping elevate the industry he loves. Whether he returns to defend, or steps into a judge’s role, one thing is clear:

He’s still chasing excellence—and he’s not done yet.