For many, the Big Iron Classic is a trucking family affair

Being a truck driver seems like a lonely profession. There are tons of hours spent on the road traveling from town to town and dock to dock. After millions of miles of asphalt, it doesn’t seem like a driver would have much social interaction.
One look around the Big Iron Classic would change all of that. The event features hundreds of truckers from around the country as they bring their trusty sidekicks to Kasson every September. While it’s neat to see all the well-equipped trucks that roll into town, it’s even more interesting to see how many of the drivers actually know each other.
“It started off as a get together,” said Jim Finn, the man who has organized the event heading into its 16th year. “We all see each other at docks, truck stops and that sort of thing, but we didn’t know each other’s families and their lives off the road.”
The camaraderie spreads throughout truckers the same way word of mouth did for the Big Iron Classic. While it may not be surprising that truckers from the country make a pit stop in Kasson for the weekend, it might be surprising that trucks from overseas areas like London and Japan make the trip just to show off their vehicles.
“This is awesome,” Mark Faciszewski of Pennsylvania proclaimed. “I’ve been trucking for 17 years and I’ve never seen a truck show. Just to see all of the people who put money into their trucks and bring them here. It’s something that makes me definitely want to come back.”
“It’s something we all have in common,” Finn explained. “It’s a hard thing to explain, but just to see all of the older trucks and some of the things people are doing with the newer trucks. It makes for a fun event for us to all catch up.”
Not only does trucking give Finn a chance to catch up with truckers around the globe, but it also gives him a chance to meet up with his family, which has been trucking for three generations.