Purcell excels at 19th Rush Rodeo competition

SAN ANTONIO—This week, Rush Enterprises held its 19^th Tech Skills Rodeo at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center. Nearly 900 competitors attended with other Rush Truck Centers employees and guests, but only one could claim the title of All-Around Rodeo Champion. This year that honor went to Christopher Purcell, a technician based out of Rush Truck Centers – Atlanta.

He will return home with $18,500 in prizes and cash as well as custom spurs and a hefty trophy.

This may be Purcell’s best rodeo, but not his first. He’s competed in the skills competition seven times, and even won the virtual competition in 2021. He followed that win with second place in 2023 for the Medium-International Category, and now his first-place win in the same division as well as the All-Around championship.

For Purcell, his passion for his work helps him push through the inevitable anxiety that comes with competing.

“The curveball for me was nerves,” Purcell explained. “Even though I’ve done this numerous times, the nerves still get to me.”

Of course, his 25 years of working with heavy- and medium-duty trucks helps, too. To prepare for the rodeo, he said it helps to be familiar with the product you’re working with, its construction, as well as where to find the necessary service information. After that, it’s just a matter of grit, and the courage for technicians to shoot their shot in the first place.

“I'm just going to tell [technicians looking to follow my example that] you can't do it if you don't try, you’ve got to take those entry tests or qualifying tests,” Purcell emphasized. “Stick with your training, follow your mentors, and always strive to be the best.”

Rodeo roundup

First began in 2006, this year's Rush Rodeo saw various employees competing over the course of three days to win $300,000 in cash and prizes in seven divisions. These divisions included Parts, Leasing, Body, Medium-Duty Supplier, Heavy-Duty Supplier, Truck Sales and the Rising Star category. But if that number seems daunting, consider that 3,200 employees took 4,000 tests to make it to San Antonio in the first place, with the running so tight that even last year’s Tech Skills Rodeo champion, Michael French, barely missed out on making it to the semi-finals.

But according to Rush Enterprises CEO and President W.M. “Rusty” Rush, the Rodeo’s intensity in both stakes and rewards is just one way to honor their critical workforce.

“I truly feel that I understand and respect the technicians,” Rush said. “For me, this is just showing that respect for what I believe drives [the company].”

The rodeo also serves as a networking and training event to help technicians learn from peers, share knowledge, and bounce ideas off one another.

A focus on continuous education and improvment is vital to succeeding in the competetion and one's career, noted Jeffrey Metcalf, the Heavy-Duty Grand Champion from Truck Truck Centres of Canada – Kemptville

“Keep learning, especially with a lot more electronics coming out,” Metcalf said. “Definitely strive to learn, not only the basics with the mechanical side of things, also work towards the electronic side of things.”

Metcalf brought home $14,500 in prizes and money for his mastery in the Navistar Engine Heavy-Duty Division. He’s competed in the rodeo two other times, and served as a technician for Rush Enterprises for about 13 years. But even after over a decade of experience, he emphasized that he still enjoys learning on the job and collaborating on the job. And he credits his success with knowing his diagnostic processes to the letter.

“Follow the diagnostic procedures,” he advised. “That's what helps here, following the diagnostic troubleshooting step by step. Don't go off the beaten path.”

Maintaining a thorough process

Indeed, that’s what many of the Tech Skills judges were looking for, both in their Rising Star competitors, who’ve worked in a Rush Shop for two years or less, and from long-term techs. For instance, at the Heavy-Duty International category, Tommy Powers, district service manager for the company who’s been in the industry for 25 years, wanted to see technicians find two faults, which they were more likely to do by using the proper processes and software.

“It was really to drive them into our different platforms and software, to make sure that they understood where to go to pinpoint the issue and come up with a solution,” Powers explained.

Specifically, the scenario at Powers’ station was that the truck was ‘towed in’ and would not start. Technicians needed to discover a ‘No communication to the ECM’ fault first, which was caused by the ECM having no voltage. Then they had to isolate this problem and work backwards to find that the fuse was bad. Only then could they discover the second fault of resistance in the low-pressure fuel pump.

“It was reading voltage, but it was incorrect by spec, so they had to find out where that was and correct that issue,” Powers stated. In the field, if these problems hadn’t been caught and fixed, or if technicians didn’t follow through after figuring out how to make the truck start, this would’ve likely placed the truck at the roadside, he said.

In a similar instance, Mike Friel, service manager for Rush Truck Leasing in San Antonio and judge at the Preventative Maintenance station for the Rising Star competition, wanted his technicians to be safe and follow the same processes across each location.

“We try to emphasize seeing what your fingers, you have to touch to find a defect,” Friel said. “And a lot of the guys we see go around and they do a visual, and they miss a lot of things, and then when they see what they missed, they'll never forget it.”

Such little things include a loose lug nut or an air leak on a brake hose.

It’s these learning experiences, along with a sense of pride in their expertise, that helps push technicians to reach the Tech Skills Rodeo every year.

Read more: How Rush’s Rodeo helps recruit and retain technicians

“It [gives] a sense of satisfaction. I’m doing something right,” said JR Hartz of Rush Truck Centers – Denver and the Medium‐Duty, Isuzu Champion. “The rodeo is well worth what it takes to put on, and it's nice to be recognized.”

Tech Skills Rodeo 2024 winner wrap-up

All-Around Rodeo Champion

• Christopher Purcell, Rush Truck Centers – Atlanta ($18,500)

Rodeo Grand Champions

• Heavy-Duty Service: Jeffrey Metcalf, Rush Truck Centres of Canada – Kemptville (Total winnings: $14,500)
• Medium-Duty Service: Christopher Purcell, Rush Truck Centers – Atlanta (Total winnings: $14,500)
• Parts : Eric Valenzuela, Rush Truck Centers – Joliet (Total winnings: $13,000)
• Aftermarket: Tony Carranza, Rush Bus Centers – Corpus Christi (Total winnings: $9,500)
• Truck Sales: Carlos Perez, Rush Truck Centers – Ceres (Total winnings: $10,000)

Rodeo Reserve Champions

• Aftermarket: Richard Zambrano, Rush Truck Centers – Fontana (Total winnings: $6,500)
• Parts: Kory Sangster, Rush Truck Centers – Dallas Light- and Medium-Duty (Total winnings: $10,500)
• Medium-Duty Service: Timothy Kelley, Rush Truck Centers – Smyrna (Total winnings: $9,000)
• Heavy-Duty Service: Shannon Smallman, Rush Truck Centres of Canada – Ottawa East (Total winnings: $8,000)

Parts division ($5,000 each)

• Ford: Kory Sangster, Rush Truck Centers – Dallas Light- and Medium-Duty
• Hino: Aaron Van Straten, Rush Truck Centers – Houston Northwest
• Isuzu: John O’Brien, Rush Truck Centers – Orlando South
• International: Eric Valenzuela, Rush Truck Centers – Joliet
• Peterbilt: Kelly Caddell, Rush Truck Centers – Amarillo

Collision Center

Body Paint

• 1st Jose Torres, Rush Truck Centers – Houston ($5,500)
• 2^nd Daniel Garcia-Gonzalez, Rush Bus Centers – Salt Lake City ($3,000)

Body Repair

• 1^st Luis Gonzalez, Rush Truck Centers – Dallas ($5,500)
• 2^nd Richard Uzialko, Rush Truck Centers – Haines City ($3,000)

Specialty Division

Leasing

• 1^st Jorge Manjarrez, Rush Truck Leasing – Carol Stream Idealease ($6,500)
• 2^nd Cameron Gross, Rush Truck Leasing – Tyler ($3,500)

Rising Star

• 1^st Riley Doyle, Rush Truck Leasing – Houston Northwest ($11,500)
• 2^nd Richard Clothier, Rush Truck Centers – Dallas ($6,000)
• 3^rd Ramses Martinez, Rush Truck Centers – Greeley ($3,000)

Medium-Duty Service Division

Allison Transmission

• Spencer Tucker, Rush Truck Centers – Champaign ($6,500)

Bus

• Joseph Behrend, Rush Bus Centers – Idaho Falls ($6,500)

Ford

• Scott Schlarf, Rush Truck Centers – Orlando Light- and Medium-Duty ($6,500)

Hino

• 1^st Billy Stanley, Rush Truck Centers – Houston Northwest ($6,500)
• 2^nd Jose Pablo-Francisco, Rush Truck Centers – Houston Medium-Duty ($3,500)

Isuzu

• 1^st Michael Hartz, Rush Truck Centers – Denver ($6,500)
• 2^nd Anthony Parrilli, Rush Truck Centers – Elk Grove ($3,500)

International

• 1^st Christopher Purcell, Rush Truck Centers – Atlanta ($6,500)
• 2^nd Timothy Kelley, Rush Truck Centers – Smyrna ($3,500)
• 3^rd Terry Truman, Rush Truck Centres of Canada – Mississauga ($2,500)

Peterbilt

• 1^st Angel Iniguez, Rush Truck Centers – Las Vegas ($6,500)
• 2^nd Sean Grier, Rush Truck Centers – Las Vegas ($3,500)
• 3^rd Travis Graham, Rush Truck Centers – Orlando ($2,500)

Heavy-Duty Service Division

Alternative Fuels

• 1^st William Marcy, Rush Truck Centers – Fontana Vocational Services ($6,500)
• 2^nd Charles Marine, Rush Truck Centers – Houston ($3,500)

Vocational

• 1^st Carl Trevino, Custom Vehicle Solutions – Denton ($6,500)
• 2^nd Travis Webster, Rush Truck Centers – Houston ($3,500)

Cummins

• 1^st Wesley Appleton, Rush Truck Centers – Odessa ($6,500)
• 2^nd Walter Hobbs, Rush Truck Centers – Fort Worth ($3,500)
• 3^rd Ivan Ramirez, Rush Truck Centers – Lubbock ($2,500)

Eaton

• 1^st John Malone, Rush Truck Centers – Lake City ($6,500)
• 2^nd Matthew Lowrie, Rush Truck Centers – Phoenix ($3,500)
• 3^rd Reuben Handy, Rush Truck Centers – Oklahoma City ($2,500)

Navistar

• 1^st Jeffrey Metcalf, Rush Truck Centres of Canada – Kemptville ($6,500)
• 2^nd Lance Hoffman, Rush Truck Centers – Cape Giradeau ($3,500)
• 3^rd Shannon Smallman, Rush Truck Centres of Canada – Ottawa East ($2,500)

PACCAR MX

• 1st Alexander Bergstrom, Rush Truck Centers – Phoenix ($6,500)
• 2^nd Luis Dukes, Rush Truck Centers – Yuma ($3,500)
• 3^rd Daniel Madrigales, Rush Truck Centers – Cotulla ($2,500)

Truck Sales Division Champions ($2,500 each)

• Medium-Duty Ford, Hino, Izuzu: Carlos Perez, Rush Truck Ceres
• Medium-Duty Peterbilt, International: Sun Hester, Rush Truck Centers – Austin
• Heavy-Duty Peterbilt, International: Andrew Hirsch, Rush Truck Centers – Charlotte