MT- 'Sup, fool?
Darrell- Nothin'. 'Sup with you?
MT- How about we shed a little light on the title of this story? You should tell the world what happened to your truck because the comeback it has made is pretty remarkable.
Darrell- You already know what happened.
MT- Yeah, but our readers don't.
Darrell- A couple months ago, I had just exited the freeway and was stopped at the bottom of the offramp. All of a sudden, I heard a screech and then BAM! The police report said the guy was doing 60 mph and hit three cars behind me and then they ran into me. So I had to rebuild my truck again so you could shoot it for the cover today.
MT- So how bad was the carnage?
Darrell- The car hit directly in the center of the tailgate. The rear bed bolts broke and flipped the bed upward into the extended cab of the truck. It creased the cab and bowed the bed. The bedrails looked similar to a roller coaster going up and down, and the driver side of the bed caved inward. The truck was hit so hard that the radio mounting kit broke and the radio flew out of the dash.
MT- Were you hurt?
Darrell- It messed up my arm and neck a bit. Typical whiplash-type stuff. What sucked was that when it happened, I had the ragtop open and heard it coming. So I tensed up and turned my head back to look, then it hit me. If I had been relaxed, it probably wouldn't have hurt as bad.
MT- I can't believe that your insurance company didn't total out your truck with all that damage.
Darrell- They didn't because it only had 27,000 miles on it. I just took their check, bought a new bed for a couple hundred bucks, purchased a new roll pan and taillights from Brand X Customs, and went home and fixed it myself. My friend Eric Kessler fixed the cab and sprayed the paint for me. I ended up coming out ahead and paying the truck off.
MT- Well I'm glad it worked out for you. You gotta love insurance companies. How long have you been a mini-trucker and how did you get into it?
Darrell- Probably since 1996. Eric and my brother went to shows and I hung out with them. This is my first mini though.
MT- What color yellow is your truck anyway?
Darrell- I don't know, the brightest possible yellow I could find. I call it toner-boner yellow.
MT- What's the craziest show you've ever been to and what was the most memorable moment for you?
Darrell- Half the time I'm so busy partying, I don't remember most shows. I do remember the 2000 Laughlin Run where Brent Vann ran around with a tiki torch like on Survivor. That guy is a nut!
MT- Proudest moment ever with your truck?
Darrell- When I beat your Tacoma at the Art of Noize show this summer right after you had just repainted it. I beat you with only half the body mods you have. Ha Ha Ha.
MT- Trophy that you most want to score at a show?
Darrell- The ladies. They are cool. I like to take at least one home from each show I attend.
MT- What's your favorite place to cruise?
Darrell- I like to cruise to the nearest bar. Orange County has a bunch of good cruise spots, too.
MT- All-time favorite joint to cruise to?
Darrell- Ice Ice, Baby. That's the shiznittle bang-bang right there.
MT- Fo' Sheezny! Got another project in mind now that the S-10 has made the cover?
Darrell- Something old like a '59 El Camino.
MT- I'm sure that your next project, whatever it is, will take as many trophies as your S-10 does. Good luck with it and we'll see you at the next run.
Darrell- Thanks!