Beyond the Bulldog

We sit down with Harish Kapur, president and co-owner of Across America Insurance, to talk about one of the biggest pressure points facing truckers and fleets today: rising insurance costs. From owner operators to larger carriers, insurance premiums continue to climb, but Harish explains why the conversation should not start and end with price. It should start with coverage, claims support, and the right broker relationship.

Harish...

We sit down with Dan Boeke, secretary and treasurer with Cookie Carriers in Butler, Indiana, to talk about driver recruitment, retention, family business culture, and why professional drivers are the foundation of a reliable trucking company. Dan shares the story of Cookie Carriers, from its unusual name to the company’s work hauling prefab steel buildings, job site deliveries, dry van freight, and even trucks tied to Spangle...

We sit down with Stephanie Davis, also known as Red, a truck driver with SME, to talk about the world of experiential marketing and the trucking that makes major events possible. From NFL activations and racetracks to golf courses, military bases, pop-up structures, and large-scale event builds, Stephanie explains what it takes to deliver more than freight. She delivers experiences.

Stephanie shares how she found her way into truck...

We sit down with Matt Balazs, Director of On-Highway National Accounts at Mack Trucks, to talk about growing Mack’s presence in the highway market, supporting large fleet customers, and answering one of the biggest questions in trucking: Why Mack?

Matt explains how national accounts work with large fleets, why the long haul market matters, and how the Mack Pioneer gives Mack a purpose-built product for customers who need comf...

We sit down with Phillip Atwood, principal of Vessel, a branding and marketing agency, to break down what a brand actually is, why owner-operators need one even if they never set out to build one, and how a consistent brand becomes the engine that drives new business through the door.

Phillip shares how his agency pulls a tagline out of an owner's head with what he calls a "friendly interrogation," why a brand is really just what p...

We sit down with JJ Owen, Executive Director of Skills Jam, a non-profit built to reach Gen Z where they already are and show them what a reaal career in the trades looks like. JJ spent seven years inside a major foundation from 2011 to 2017, learning what storytelling can do when it comes to galvanizing a community, changing hearts and minds, and reframing the trades as a first-choice career, not a fallback.

JJ walks us through wh...

We sit down with Tony O'Connell, vice president of sales and marketing for Mack Trucks Australia, to go behind the scenes of what makes the Australian market fundamentally different from North America, from right-hand-drive manufacturing to road trains, tipper and dog configurations, and the MP11 platform pushing 780 horsepower.

Tony shares his day-to-day leading the Australian Mack business, explains how the Wacol plant in Brisban...

We sit down with Tom Bryant, vice president of racing operations with NASCAR, to go behind the scenes of what it takes to deliver a race weekend. From security and medical support to credentialing, rule enforcement, transportation, catering, and broadcast coordination, Tom explains the massive operation that fans rarely see but every race depends on.

Tom shares how 21 years in the U.S. Army, including time in the special operations...

We sit down with Adam Knight, vice president of sales and marketing at First Gear Inc., to explore how detailed diecast trucks go from full-size CAD data to collectible models that capture the identity, history, and personality of a brand.

Adam shares how he grew up around the family business, pursued a career in art and animation, then returned to First Gear and gradually took on responsibilities across design, production, sales, ...

In this episode, we sit down with Averell Laird, better known as Mr. TrashMan, owner of Mr. TrashMan Dumpster Rental in the Houston area, along with "MackDaddy Mike" Sandifer from Vanguard Truck Centers. This conversation is all about business, hustle, and what happens when the right relationship turns a big dream into real equipment on the street.

Mr. TrashMan shares how he started in 2021 with a trailer and two dumpsters, worked ...

This episode brings a different kind of guest to Beyond the Bulldog. We sit down with Nadine and Walter the Bulldog, the official Mack Trucks mascot, to talk about how a skateboarding bulldog went from weekend workouts to a movie role, then into the Mack family as a fan-favorite part of the show experience.

Nadine shares her lifelong love for bulldogs and the unique personality that makes them feel like “little people.”...

We sit down with Grant Aschenbeck, salesman with Bruckner’s Truck and Equipment in Odessa, Texas, to talk about two sides of the same coin: how owner operators can grow their business through relationships and consistency, and how to show up prepared when it is time to buy a truck.

Grant shares how he went from coaching football with no trucking background to becoming a top-performing salesman, earning recognition through Mac...

This episode is dedicated to helping truckers who are involved in a crash learn how to protect themselves, handle the claims process, and get back to business faster. We sit down with Kelsea Eckert, attorney with Downtime Claims, a firm focused on recovering compensation when a crash was not the trucker’s fault, including lost revenue from downtime, not just repairs.

Kelsea breaks down why many truckers leave money on the tab...

We sit down with Trace Plaugher, owner of Buckeye Floridian Materials in northwest Ohio, to talk about an unexpected career pivot and the real-world grind of building a small fleet in the vocational hauling space. Trace shares how he went from pursuing a future in medicine to hauling asphalt and aggregate, and why hands-on work, freedom, and long-term stability mattered more than spending decades climbing a traditional professional...

We are celebrating one full year of Beyond the Bulldog, and this episode is a highlight reel of the moments that defined the first season. Over the past year, the show has featured 44 guests and more than 38 hours of conversations across trucking, safety, maintenance, business leadership, history, and the people who keep the industry moving.

Mile Marker 52 is a compilation of standout clips and quotes that capture what the podcast ...

Following the launch of the all new Mack Granite and Mack Keystone, we sit down with Lukas Yates, Chief Designer at Mack Trucks, to go behind the scenes of what it takes to design a truck from the ground up. Lukas explains how Mack design is built around real world function, not styling for styling’s sake, and how every exterior decision has to deliver on visibility, durability, cooling performance, and a truck that still loo...

We sit down with Alexander Long, CEO and co-founder of Topia, a post-industrial plastics recycling company building a major operation in Burlington, North Carolina. Alexander explains what post-industrial recycling really means, why manufacturing waste is far larger than most people realize, and how Topia helps companies turn material that used to go to a landfill into something valuable again.

Alexander shares his unconventional p...

We sit down with George Quigley, a veteran truck driver with decades of experience across North America as both a company driver and owner operator. George shares the personal story that continues to shape how he drives today, and why he has made it a mission to help everyday drivers understand what it really means to share the road with an 80,000 lb truck.

George is also a dedicated volunteer with a teen driving program, where he ...