ATLANTA — If there was anyone that was happy to be in the skin they are in, or in this case, the truck, it is Raiko Graveran.
That happiness showed in his jubilant face and his audible outburst when it was announced in late May that he had won First Runner-up in the Best of Show category at the 2025 Shell Rotella Super Rigs in Atlanta.
After the awards ceremony it was also evident how much his fellow drivers loved Raiko.
The line to greet and congratulate Raiko took nearly a half hour to navigate as he walked through the crowd to accept accolades from his fellow drivers as well as deliver a few himself to other award winners.
“I feel happy. A bunch of emotion come together at the same time, Raiko said. “To win that award means the world to me. This is a huge honor.”
While everyone that encountered the the high-energy space that Raiko occupied as he fought back emotions of the honor he had just received told him how happy they were for his victory, no one expressed any sort of surprise.
That is because Raiko is dedicated to his truck and his profession, and it shows in everything he does.
The truck that is responsible for his victory is a 1995 Frieghtliner that he has had for his entire 16-year trucking career.
Raiko stripped the truck in 2020 and took an entire year to rebuild it.
He got into the trucking business at a very young age. A friend of his father told him if he got a CDL, he would give Raiko a job.
That man taught Raiko the ins and outs of trucking. Six months after he started working, Raiko bought the truck — that very Frieghtliner — for $6,000.
He bought the truck within a couple of months, started as a flatbed before going over the road.
Raiko won one of the highest honors in his first try at Super Rigs. And while 16 years is a long time to be in the trucking business, neither Raiko nor his rig seem to be slowing down any time soon.
Bruce Guthrie is an award-winning journalist who has lived in three states including Arkansas, Missouri and Georgia. During his nearly 20-year career, Bruce has served as managing editor and sports editor for numerous publications. He and his wife, Dana, who is also a journalist, are based in Carrollton, Georgia.
