Monster trucks are a kid and adult favorite and every year the Virginia Giant takes on a new victim crushing the tiny cars below it. The Ride Truck runs all weekend and is always full of smiling faces ¡Vone of them should be yours (oh, your kids can be with you too ƒº)! After each monster truck show the drivers have meet & greets so you and the little ones can get up close to the giant trucks and their drivers with giant personalities. Where else will you get the chance to take a picture of your kid sitting inside the wheel of a monster truck! You and the kids will have a blast while making memories of a great weekend spent together.

• Monster Truck 2008 Video

We know that a lot of people don’t like the walk to the top of the ‘hill’ at the north side of the fairgrounds. But trust me, for this it is totally worth it! Making the trek up the hill gives you the chance to see something truly unique - the crew from Muddy Run Raceway will again be jumping trucks off of dirt piles. From the Observation Deck it doesn’t look like they go very high or far, but on ground level you can see these guys and gals are really launching their trucks. In 2008, they averaged 30’! Good news if you are like me and don’t like standing on the sideline and watching. In This year you can participate! Yes, you, in your truck, can take a few laps on the track. Just as long as you sign our waiver and pass the track-side inspection. It will be an experience you won’t soon forget.

The Carlisle All-Truck Nationals is host to one of the largest pure truck show-n-shine events in the country. There are two show-n-shine competitions; one is for pick-up trucks, which features almost 100 different classes covering EVERYTHING including classics, minis and lifted late-model trucks. The other side of the spectrum is the Meguiar’s Big Rig Competition, which has classes for everything from Bobtail rigs to dump trucks. Judging takes place on Saturday and a winner’s list will be posted Sunday morning. The awards parade will take place in front of the grandstand beginning at approximately 12 PM Sunday.

Pride. Family. Dedication. Those are three words that come to mind when you think of the big rig showfield at Carlisle. The time, effort and lengths the owners of a big rig go through to make it show ready is astonishing and the crew at 4-State Trucks known as the Chrome Shop Mafia know all about it. The Chrome Shop Mafia is the original team behind the hit TV show about tricking out big rigs for deserving owners. The CSM has attended All-Truck for the past three years and 2009 will be no exception. Their fans make them feel very welcome in Carlisle and we thank you for making them feel at home and keeping them coming back!

• Chrome Shop Mafia

Meredith Ochs and Chris T. of Freewheelin' on The Road Dog, Sirius station 147 will be at the show all weekend! In 2008 Meredith did a live remote broadcast from the show and we are hope she’ll be doing it again in 2009. Make sure you stop by and say hi for you chance to be on the radio. Both Meredith and Chris will be our guests MCs for the burnout and beauty contests on Saturday evening and will also help to present the big rig awards during the parade on Sunday.

• Freewheelin' on The Road Dog, Sirius 147
• Sirius Radio

The truck tug-o-war proved to be a huge crowd favorite in 2008! Now that we have the process dialed-in we’re looking forward to it being bigger and better in 2009. The concept is simple: hitch two trucks together and step on the gas! From there it is just like tug-o-war in gym class, whoever pulls the other truck across the line first wins! Last year’s epic battles were fantastic and we learned a lot about how to run the event. This year we’ll have more structured rules to make things as fair as possible. Sign up at Guest Services near the stage during the show to participate. Rules will be available at the show and online soon.

• Liberator vs. Mack Tug-O-War Video

Every year we try to bring new elements to the show and last year we worked with Rausch Creek to add a 9’ concrete wall to the rock pile and this year we’re adding R/C rock crawlers to the mix. That’s right, the big guys will of course have their turn but throughout the weekend the R/C guys will show you how it’s done on a smaller scale. The R/C crawlers are just as custom as the big trucks, SUVs and jeeps, and it takes some serious skill to climb them. R/C rock crawling is the fastest growing R/C sport right now and it is all about slow and steady. It takes a lot more thinking power than horsepower to maneuver over obstacles that are twice the size of your rig. If you have a pick-up or R/C crawler and want to take a whack at the pile, just pay your admission to the show and stop up to the rock pile to fill out the forms and in no time you’ll be piling on the good times.

• Rausch Creek Off Road Park

Women's Oasis Hey ladies, the Women's Oasis is just for you! We hope all the ladies that attended the show in 2008 stopped by the Women’s Oasis area and visited our selection of vendors selling great items just for women. If not, the good news is that we’re bringing it back for the 2009 show. You’ll find everything from jewelry and accessories to handmade crafts and beauty products., It is a great place to find just what you were looking for and it’s our way of pampering the ones we love (yeah, I’m talking about the women, not our trucks!). (Read More)

Building R is our little kid’s paradise. We have all kinds of fun games and activities they can take part in throughout the weekend. For the brave little truckers’ and princess’ Advance Auto Parts, the preferred auto parts store of Carlisle Events, brought the Grave Digger ride simulator to the show. Kids and adults lined up by their display on the Manufacturer Midway to take a virtual ride in one of the most famous monster trucks of all time. We hope the Grave Digger simulator returns for 2009.

The Carlisle Elite is an award from Carlisle Events that was introduced in 2008. It was overwhelmingly well received and this year we are adding it to the truck show. The Carlisle Elite was so popular in 2008 because of the recognition that the cars received and the microphone time, which gives owners a chance to share stories about their vehicles. Make sure you are here early on Friday to be eligible for this great award and prize pack.

With trucks likes like The Beast, Mayhem and The Punisher on display in 2008 it was easy to see why the crew at ETC is a highly renowned custom rig shop. We cannot wait to see what new creation they bring out in 2009.

Over the past three years we have taken six brand new trucks and transformed them into slick machines that some lucky owner was able to purchase new from the dealer with a warranty. Think about that…a custom lifted or lowered truck that didn’t void the warranty…that is great! We will be doing it all over again in 2009. Skyjacker, Ground Force and More That Tires are all ready to get working on the next project. Stay tuned to see what trucks we’ll have this year.

Do you think you’re putting 400hp to the wheels? Don’t question it, find out on the dyno. The dyno is a Carlisle staple and is constantly drawing a crowd of people and a line of trucks to show off the performance mods they’ve performed. See what you’ve got!

No Carlisle show would be complete without the burnout contest. We will have 10 competitors trying to smoke’em till they pop to win the “Carlisle King of the Hill” bragging rights. And just for fun we’ll have Russ from the Carlisle maintenance staff show off his skills with our Honda CBR powered golf cart – yeah, we like to build fun stuff in the off-season!

Like the song says, we know and we deliver! So we’ll put the beautiful ladies on the stage Saturday evening in the time-honored car show tradition. Ladies, compete for a cash purse and guys, cheer on your favorite because crowd response is what determines the winner.

One of the most popular parts of the All-Truck Nationals has become the Neon Contest Saturday night. As the sun sets and the beauty contest ends, the trucks flip their switches on to light up the night with a colorful glow. Make sure you don’t miss it.

Another popular nighttime activity at All-Truck is the drag session. Throwin’ sparks will always be a part of the truck culture and we embrace it here at Carlisle. Saturday night the skies light up with white sparks from the titanium blocks and amber sparks from the guys and gals doing it the all natural way. If you like’em low and laying out you should definitely plan to stick around Saturday evening to check this out.

The High/Low contest is always an All-Truck favorite because it matches the highest of the lifted world with the lowest of the dropped world. Last year’s event was so close and exciting that we’ve changed the rules up a bit. Check out the link below to read about what happened and what the rules for ’09 will be. (Read Details)

If you’re like most of us you probably have a garage full of parts you don’t need any more. Why not bring them to the show and sell them? Our vending spaces are only $75 and who knows, what you might think is junk could be that one piece someone else is looking for. Don’t have anything to sell? In that case make sure you meander your way through the vendors to look for the parts you need. You never know what you’ll find. And if you don’t find it in the swap meet, you’ll find plenty of new parts on the Manufacturers Midway.

One of the things that Carlisle prides itself on is the selection of food at the Fairgrounds. If you’re hungry when you leave here it’s your own fault. With Big Smokies, funnel cake, fries, pizza, soft pretzels, chicken fingers and much more at reasonable prices, it is impossible not to find something you like and you can wash it all down with an ice cold soda. Oh, I didn’t even mention if you skip breakfast at the crappy fast food joint not only will you beat the traffic coming to the show, but you’ll find some great breakfast options at the Fairgrounds too. We hope you enjoy!

I am throwing a personal challenge out to car clubs to beat ME. Not with a stick, but I will put together a Carlisle team to play volleyball on Saturday afternoon and we’ll be looking for challengers. Gather your team of 5 people and sign up at Guest Services (next to the stage) and we’ll play. The winner’s will get prizes and we’ll all have some fun! In addition to volleyball we’re working on some other good games to participate in. If you have suggestions let me hear them on the truck section of the Carlisle Forum.