Beyond the Bulldog

Mile Marker 41 – Wright Archer III on Bids, Building Roads, and Keeping Highways Safe

We are back with Wright Archer, division engineer with the North Carolina Department of Transportation, to continue our deep dive into how roads really come together. In his first episode, Wright walked through planning and design. This time, he takes us through the next stages: how projects are bid, how construction actually happens in the field, and what it takes to maintain roads and bridges so they stay safe for decades.From traditional bid build contracts to design build and construction manager at risk models, Wright explains how NCDOT chooses the right approach for each job, how risks are shared, and why collaboration between designers, contractors, and the department can save both time and money. Then he shifts to the field, describing what happens once the plans are done: clearing and grubbing, earthwork, bridge construction, pavement design for heavy truck loads, traffic control, and inspections.Wright also digs into long term maintenance, from sealing cracks and repainting beams to managing rutting, deer strikes, cable median barriers, stranded motorists, and even the emerging challenge of electric vehicle fires. Throughout, he connects every step back to one theme: keeping people and freight moving safely.
Wright discusses:
-How different project delivery methods work in practice, including traditional bid build, design build, and construction manager at risk, and why NCDOT uses each one depending on complexity, risk, and schedule.
-The step by step process of building a road, starting with work zone setup and clearing, then moving into earthwork, structure foundations and girders, subgrade preparation, and pavement layers designed for heavy truck traffic.
-How traffic is managed during construction, including phasing, detours, lane closures, traffic control plans, and constant coordination between inspectors and contractors to keep work zones safe and projects on schedule.
-The importance of maintenance, from bridge joint and bearing repairs to pavement overlays, diamond grinding, wildlife crossings, cable median barriers, retroreflective markings, and incident response trucks that help stranded motorists and prevent secondary crashes.
With practical examples and stories from the field, Wright shows that a finished highway is only the midpoint of the journey, and that careful bidding, disciplined construction, and ongoing maintenance all play a critical role in road safety.What’s next?
Tune in weekly for new episodes!
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Mile Marker 40 – Wright Archer III on Road Design, Urban Loops, and Safer Highways

We sit down with Wright Archer III, division engineer with the North Carolina Department of Transportation, to unpack what really goes into the roads we drive every day. Born and raised in Greensboro with more than 35 years at NCDOT, Wright has worked across design, construction, bridge maintenance, and now leads Division 7, responsible for thousands of road miles and hundreds of employees.
In this episode, Wright explains how a geology degree and early work in a testing lab led him into civil engineering, large airport projects, and eventually a career spent shaping highways, beltways, and interstates across North Carolina. From the Greensboro Urban Loop and “Death Valley” on I 40 to roundabouts, diverging diamonds, and hurricane washouts in the western part of the state, he shares how long range planning, funding, safety, and public input all come together before the first orange barrel ever hits the ground.
Wright discusses:
-How NCDOT’s 14 divisions are organized, what Division 7 covers, and what it takes to maintain about 6,000 road miles and 13,000 lane miles across five counties
-The long game behind the Greensboro Urban Loop, why older corridors like “Death Valley” and Business 40 became obsolete, and how loops relieve congestion and support economic growth
-How roads are prioritized and funded through the Strategic Transportation Improvement Program, including safety, congestion, travel time, and the balance between new construction and maintenance
-Why design details like pavement type, roundabouts, diverging diamond interchanges, and real time communication with the public and trucking community are critical to keeping people and freight moving safelyWith clear, practical examples and decades of field experience, Wright shows that every smooth commute and well marked interchange is the result of years of planning, engineering, and collaboration.
What’s next?
Tune in weekly for new episodes!
Visit the Mack Shop to use your discount code:
https://mackshop.com/
Book a virtual truck tour!
https://www.macktrucks.com/live-tour/

Mile Marker 39 – Growing with Purpose: Pat Godwin Jr. on Mergers, Innovation, and the Future of The Godwin Group

In his fourth appearance on Beyond the Bulldog, Pat Godwin Jr., President of The Godwin Group, returns to continue the story of how a small family fabrication shop evolved into the largest family-owned and operated truck equipment manufacturer in the United States. This episode dives deep into the strategic thinking, calculated risk, and people-first leadership behind Godwin’s growth through mergers and acquisitions.
Pat discusses:
-Early custom trailer builds that showcased innovation long before CAD and formal engineering
-How strategic acquisitions like R&S, Galleon, Champion Hoist, and Williamson strengthened the product portfolio
-Why culture, trust, and employee stability matter more than speed during acquisitions
-His father’s practical approach to leadership, lean manufacturing, and accountability
-Carrying the company into the future through innovation, succession planning, and hands-on experienceWith candid stories, humor, and hard-earned wisdom, Pat explains why sustainable growth isn’t about shortcuts — it’s about people, preparation, and doing things the right way over time.
What’s next?
Tune in weekly for new episodes!
Visit the Mack Shop to use your discount code:https://mackshop.com/
Book a virtual truck tour!https://www.macktrucks.com/live-tour/

Mile Marker 38 – Built from the Ground Up: Pat Godwin Jr. on Family, Fabrication, and Doing It the Right Way

In his third appearance on Beyond the Bulldog, Pat Godwin Jr., President of The Godwin Group, returns to continue the story of how a family-run operation in Dunn, North Carolina grew into one of the most respected truck body and manufacturing companies in the region.Picking up where the last conversation left off, Pat shares deeper stories about hands-on leadership, ingenuity, and the discipline required to build something that lasts.
Pat discusses:
-How early lessons in budgeting, responsibility, and problem-solving shaped his leadership style
-Growing Godwin Manufacturing one building, one team, and one decision at a time
-The “A-Team” mentality and why the right people raise the bar for everyone
-Bringing hydraulics, fabrication, and specialty systems in-house to control quality
-Why customer trust, craftsmanship, and accountability matter more than shortcutsWith candid storytelling and hard-earned perspective, Pat shows what it really means to build a business from the ground up — with integrity, resilience, and pride in the work.
What’s next?
Tune in weekly for new episodes!
Visit the Mack Shop to use your discount code:
https://mackshop.com/
Book a virtual truck tour!
https://www.macktrucks.com/live-tour/
 

Mile Marker 37 – Carrying the Bulldog Legacy: Tom Mack on Family, History, and What Endures

In his second appearance on Beyond the Bulldog, Tom Mack, great-grandson of Jack Mack, returns to continue the story of the Mack family after the company’s early years. Recorded at the Mack Experience Center in Allentown, this conversation dives deeper into family history, personal perspective, and what it truly means to carry the Mack name generations later.
Tom discusses:
-The Mack family’s life after selling the company and how history shaped later generations
-The tragic loss of Jack Mack and the ripple effects it had on the family
-How innovation, mechanical instinct, and resilience persisted beyond ownership
-What “Built Like a Mack Truck” means from the inside, not just the brand
-Why legacy is about endurance, not just successWith humility, humor, and firsthand insight, Tom offers a rare, human look at the roots of Mack Trucks, and the people behind the bulldog.
 
What’s next?
Tune in weekly for new episodes!Visit the Mack Shop to use your discount code:https://mackshop.com/Book a virtual truck tour!https://www.macktrucks.com/live-tour/

Mile Marker 36 – Jonathan Randall on Mack’s Momentum, New Trucks, and the Road to 2026

We sit down with Jonathan Randall, "JR", president of Mack Trucks North America, to talk about what it really means to lead a 125-year-old brand through one of the most dynamic periods in trucking. From defining strategy and “what winning looks like” to spending time in the field with dealers, customers, and drivers, JR shares how he sees his role as a steward of the Mack name.
JR looks back on 2025, a year that combined a freight recession, regulatory uncertainty, and tariffs with some of the biggest investments in Mack history: the launch of the new Mack Pioneer, the latest Anthem, expanded medium-duty capacity, a new frame rail supplier, and a new plant in Mexico. Even in a down market, Mack grew share, improved customer satisfaction scores, and climbed the dealer attitude rankings, signaling real momentum behind the Bulldog.
Looking ahead, JR outlines how Mack is preparing for EPA 2027, a stair-step recovery in 2026, and a fully renewed conventional lineup that includes upcoming replacements for the Granite and Pinnacle. He explains why Mack now sells complete solutions rather than just “iron,” why driver comfort and safety sit at the center of product decisions, and why he believes the trades, including truck driving and diesel technician roles, deserve as much respect as any four-year degree.JR discusses:
-Defining his job as setting strategy and targets for North America, then removing obstacles so Mack’s sales and commercial operations teams can deliver for customers in the United States and Canada.
-An unconventional career path that runs from Colorado State communications graduate and country radio DJ to wine sales, truck leasing, and eventually senior leadership roles that led him to Mack’s Greensboro headquarters.
-How billions in recent investments, from the Pioneer and new Anthem to medium-duty expansion and a new Mexico factory, position Mack to grow in long-haul, regional haul, and core vocational segments even as the market shifts.
-Why he spends time at truck stops leaving Mack hats on mirrors, listening to drivers’ stories, and making sure the brand stays connected to the people who actually live in the trucks and keep freight moving.With a mix of realism about market headwinds and optimism about Mack’s trajectory, JR makes the case that there has never been a better time to be part of the Bulldog brand, whether you are a dealer, customer, employee, or driver.What’s next?Tune in weekly for new episodes!Visit the Mack Shop to use your discount code:https://mackshop.com/Book a virtual truck tour!https://www.macktrucks.com/live-tour/

Mile Marker 35 – Doug Maney on Mack Bulldogs, Archives, and the Future of the Museum

We return to the Mack Trucks Historical Museum in Allentown, Pennsylvania, with curator and self-described caretaker of Mack history, Doug Maney. Surrounded by sound-absorbing cones in the semi-anechoic chamber, Doug explains how this former test lab became one of the most unique gallery spaces in trucking, and why every truck in it still starts, runs, and moves under its own power.Doug opens the doors to a behind-the-scenes world of 50 million pages of records, half a million photos, and shelves of film, slides, and microfiche that document more than a century of Mack innovation. From the vision of former president Zenon Hansen and the first small museum in Macungie to today’s expanded collection at the Mack Experience Center, he shows how preserving, digitizing, and protecting this material keeps Mack history available for engineers, marketers, restorers, dealers, and fans around the world.Doug discusses:-What it means to “keep Mack history safe” day to day, from scanning every new document before it hits a filing cabinet to maintaining an offline local network that protects irreplaceable films and records from hacks and ransomware.-The origins of the museum under Zenon C.R. Hansen, the return of the bulldog as a core symbol of the brand, and how a small municipal garage in Macungie grew into today’s independent 501(c)(3) Mack Trucks Historical Museum.-Keeping roughly two dozen vintage trucks, buses, and fire engines in running condition on site, rotating displays, leaning on volunteers, and why “it does not do them well to sit” if you want history to stay alive instead of collecting dust.-How trucks and archives “find” the museum through dealers, families, and collectors, the careful process of adding rare vehicles to a limited storage footprint, and Doug’s dream of a larger “Mack Main Street” style museum that would recreate dealerships from different eras.With stories of pallets from dealers, boxes from retirees, and long-sought documents discovered in drawers that have not been opened in decades, Doug shows that Mack history keeps expanding, and that every new artifact adds another piece to the story of how Bulldogs helped build the modern world.
 
What’s next?Tune in weekly for new episodes!Visit the Mack Shop to use your discount code:https://mackshop.com/Book a virtual truck tour!https://www.macktrucks.com/live-tour/

Mile Marker 34 – Creating Mack Memories: Christa Tam on Customer Tours, Quality, and the Experience Center

Our podcast team heads to the Mack Trucks Experience Center in Allentown, Pennsylvania, to sit down with Brand Experience Specialist Christa Tam. What started as a dream of becoming an elementary school teacher turned into a 20-year Mack career that touches almost every part of the business: aftermarket, engineering, manufacturing, forecasting, quality, and now customer experience.In this episode, Christa talks about learning trucks the hard way in parts specifications, moving through roles that kept her close to product change, factory operations, and forecasting, and eventually leading a product quality team at Lehigh Valley Operations. Today, she brings all that knowledge together at the Experience Center, hosting tours, ride-and-drive events, and museum visits that help customers see, feel, and drive the difference behind the bulldog.Christa discusses:-Starting in parts specifications at world headquarters, learning to support dealers with microfilm, blueprints, and decades of truck records, and realizing how much there is to know about vehicles that stay on the road for millions of miles.-Moving into engineering and factory roles, coordinating design changes, material planning, service cab builds, and acting as a single point of contact between the plant and the sales side to keep customers informed about their trucks.-Managing product quality at Lehigh Valley Operations, leading auditors and specialists who investigate campaigns, misbuilds, and warranty trends, and feeding data back to the line so customers receive the trucks they expect.-Stepping into the Brand Experience Specialist role, organizing factory and Hagerstown tours, hosting customers on the test track and off-road course, showcasing new products like the Pioneer alongside heritage trucks, and inviting Mack fans to work with their dealer to plan a visit.With a teacher’s mindset and a deep respect for the people who build and drive Mack trucks, Christa shows how a great customer visit is built on real factory experience and genuine pride in the brand.What’s next?Tune in weekly for new episodes!Visit the Mack Shop to use your discount code:https://mackshop.com/Book a virtual truck tour!https://www.macktrucks.com/live-tour/

Mile Marker 33 – Tony Justice on Trucking, Country Music, and Keeping the Tradition Alive

We are joined by trucker, country music singer, and songwriter Tony Justice, whose life has always run on two parallel highways: hauling freight and writing songs about the people who do it. Growing up around coal trucks in eastern Kentucky with a truck driver dad and a gospel-singing mom, Tony learned early how closely the road, family, and music are tied together.
In this episode, Tony talks about chasing two childhood dreams at once, turning an independent music side hustle into a full-time business, and how faith, grit, and the trucking community carried his family through financial disaster, his wife’s breast cancer diagnosis, and the uncertainty of Covid. From viral hits like “Last of the Cowboys” to Facebook Live merch marathons and packed truck shows, he shows how old-school trucking songs can still move people, pay the bills, and inspire the next generation to grab a CDL.Tony discusses:
-Growing up in coal country, riding in Mack coal trucks with his dad, washing and greasing equipment on weekends, and playing bass in his mom’s gospel group by age eight, with trucking and music shaping his earliest memories.-Balancing life as an over-the-road driver and working musician, booking loads around truck shows, cramming guitars and merch into the sleeper, and putting in 2,300 to 2,400 mile weeks before working the stage all weekend.-The dominoes of adversity: a distributor bankruptcy that wiped out payment on thousands of CDs, his wife’s breast cancer diagnosis, and then Covid canceling Mid-America Truck Show, and how a viral “Last of the Cowboys” video and creative Facebook Live sales kept the business and their family afloat.-Using his platform to give back, from Operation Teddy Bear for a young boy on hospice to Joy Ride school events and the Large Cars and Guitars show that has raised around $200,000 for Susan G. Komen, all while inspiring new drivers who say his songs made them want to get behind the wheel.With stories that run from hand-me-down CB radios to 60,000 pound tour buses, Tony shows how trucking songs still matter, giving voice to a brotherhood on the road and connecting generations of drivers and their families.
 
What’s next?Tune in weekly for new episodes!Visit the Mack Shop to use your discount code:https://mackshop.com/Book a virtual truck tour!https://www.macktrucks.com/live-tour/

Mile Marker 32 – The Last Mack at Mack Trucks: Tom Mack on Family Legacy, Quality, and a 1957 Fire Truck

We’re back at the Mack Trucks Historical Museum in Allentown, PA. This time with Tom Mack, great grandson of founder John “Jack” Mack and the last Mack family member to work at Mack Trucks. From childhood road trips spotting bulldogs on the highway to years in military intelligence and global electronics, Tom’s winding path eventually led him to the Macungie production line, where he quietly proved himself long before anyone realized his last name matched the badge on the hood.In this episode, Tom shares how centuries of wagon-making, a Titanic-era wireless set, and a deep “fix-anything” streak shaped both his life and the Mack brand. He talks about life as a flex technician and product quality auditor—test-driving brand-new trucks, chasing down rattles and brake issues, and protecting his family’s name by making sure customers get the truck they were promised. And in retirement, he’s still wrenching: resurrecting a 1957 open-cab B-model fire truck and volunteering at the museum to keep history not just polished, but running.Tom discusses:-Growing up “just a normal kid” in a very not-normal family. Playing spot-the-truck on road trips instead of punch buggy and realizing later how deep the Mack driving and mechanical instincts run.-How a Marconi wireless radio, similar to the Titanic’s set, pulled his grandfather into ham radio and Tom into electronics, leading to work on high-power vacuum tubes and radio stages for Air Force One and global semiconductor supply chains.-Coming to Mack via a job fair after a layoff. Starting on the line installing visor labels and speakers, then stepping into the “flex technician” role, filling in across the cab line and learning how an entire truck really goes together.-Moving into product quality auditing: bringing trucks back from the yard, road-testing them, chasing down odd noises and brake behavior, and using data on repeat defects to drive continuous improvement while safeguarding the Mack name.With a mix of humility, technical depth, and genuine pride, Tom shows that Mack heritage isn’t just a family story, it’s baked into how the trucks are built, audited, driven, and preserved for the next generation.
What’s next?Tune in weekly for new episodes!Visit the Mack Shop to use your discount code:https://mackshop.com/Book a virtual truck tour!https://www.macktrucks.com/live-tour/