Prime Teams with Great Dane in Paying Tribute to Racing Legend Dale Earnhardt

Prime Inc., a leading international refrigerated, flatbed and liquid bulk truckload carrier headquartered in Springfield, Missouri, recently teamed with Great Dane Trailers, of Savannah, Georgia, in the transport of a trailer dedicated to the memory of the late Dale Earnhardt, legendary NASCAR driver.

Earnhardt died on the track of the Daytona 500, on February 18 of this year, when his car slammed headfirst into a concrete retaining wall a few hundred yards from the finish line. His friends at Great Dane later decided to honor him with a photo collage on one of their trailers. Earnhardt worked as a mechanic at the company's Charlotte, North Carolina, branch in 1975. "We wanted to pay tribute to a former employee and great race car driver," says Rob Fortney, director of National Accounts at Great Dane.

Transport Graphics, of Springfield, Missouri, designed the trailer graphics, Gregory, Inc., of Buhler, Kansas, printed the design on 3M Scotch print, and Transport Graphics installed it on the trailer. Great Dane then asked Prime to transport the trailer to Louisville, Kentucky, where it was part of Great Dane's exhibit for the Mid America Trucking Show. The show, held March 22-24, is the largest truck expo in North America.

Prime readily accepted Great Dane's offer to haul the trailer. "We have a great relationship with Transport Graphics and Great Dane," says Don Lacy, director of safety and recruiting at Prime. "Great Dane is our primary trailer supplier." Steve and Becky McComb, owner-operators with Prime for a number of years, hauled the trailer. "It was an honor," they say. According to Fortney, the couple "handled the trailer with a lot of TLC."

The McComb's, who reside in Oregon, are heavily involved in the trucking industry. They volunteer for a number of recruiting activities, such as truck shows, and are members of the national "Trucker Buddy" program. Becky has written articles for "Women in Trucking" magazine, including one on home schooling. They hauled the trailer to Louisville, back to Springfield, then on to Savannah, where Great Dane is storing it. The company hopes to donate it to Dale Earnhardt, Inc., pending approval by the corporation and Earnhardt's wife Teresa.

Prime Inc. is strongly committed to community involvement and volunteer activities. For more information call Prime Inc. at 1.800.848.4560.