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 is really about: authentic stories, practical lessons, and a deeper appreciation for trucking and the community around it. From the pride of seeing a new truck design on the road, to hard-earned business lessons, to why training and accountability matter, this episode is a quick tour through the best of year one.

In this episode, you will hear memorable moments from guests discussing:

-Building and designing Mack trucks with a focus on simplicity, purpose, and real-world function

-Growing a business the right way, including customer service, relationships, and steady expansion that matches demand

-Safety lessons that protect lives, including driver training, accountability, and the value of tools like dash cams

-The pride, culture, and legacy behind the Bulldog, and why trucking remains a strong career path for the next generation

Thank you for watching, listening, and supporting the show. We are excited for what is next, and we are just getting started. 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/

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 looks right a decade later.

Lukas shares how his passion for design started early, from Hot Wheels and Pinewood Derby cars to transportation design school, and how internships with heritage brands shaped his approach to bringing legacy forward without copying the past. He also describes the constant collaboration between design, engineering, suppliers, and leadership to balance performance, cost, and quality without losing what makes a Mack a Mack.

Lukas discusses:

-What the Chief Designer role covers, how Mack exterior and interior teams work together, and why the guiding light is always function, including visibility, ingress and egress, and cooling performance

-His path into design, from early obsession with anything on wheels to learning the craft through intense design programs and internships that pushed skill, collaboration, and creativity

-How Mack design language is built, including bold, honest surfaces, strong architecture inspired structure, and creating a timeless look that is unmistakable from a distance

-The major challenges behind Granite and Keystone, including designing for extreme vocational versatility, packaging constraints like tire sizes and lighting, integrating sensors and driver aids cleanly, and the moment of seeing a truck you designed finally launch and hit the road

This episode is a look into the mindset and teamwork behind Mack’s newest vocational lineup, and why great truck design is equal parts identity, engineering, and relentless attention to the details drivers touch every day. 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/

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 path into the industry, from learning on the fly in a warehouse environment to building and managing sustainability programs for large manufacturers. Along the way, he lays out a clear mindset: sustainability does not have to be economically painful. In many cases, doing the right thing is also the most profitable option when you design the system correctly.

Alexander discusses:

-What Topia does and why post-industrial waste is the real hidden volume problem, including how a 216,000 square foot facility scales impact and how waste streams can become reusable products

-How he found his way into plastics recycling unintentionally, and how curiosity about process, economics, and employee ownership shaped his approach to building a business

-Why trucking is the biggest cost in a pennies-per-pound industry, how Topia relies on drop trailers, swaps, local partners, and broker relationships, and how just-in-time manufacturing demands fast, reliable service

-Practical sustainability ideas that apply to trucking and beyond, including reusable packaging, reducing disposable habits, maintenance and repair culture, and why mindset and long-term thinking are the foundation of an enduring legacy

This episode connects the dots between manufacturing, recycling, and the trucking networks that make modern logistics possible. It is a conversation about building systems that work financially, reduce waste, and still deliver on speed and reliability. 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/

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 brings a full size tractor trailer and physically shows students and parents what a driver can and cannot see. He puts cars in the blind spots, walks families around the rig, then invites them into the cab so they can see the world from the driver’s seat. His message is simple and serious: the biggest danger is what the truck driver cannot see.

George discusses:

-His start in trucking, how the industry changed with the introduction of the CDL system, and what it took to go from company driver to building a business he hoped to pass on

-Why he volunteers at teen driving events, how the blind spot demonstrations work, and what he wants new drivers and parents to understand about space, stopping distance, and visibility around tractor trailer

-The crash that altered his life, how quickly it happened, what it felt like in the moment, and the long road back to driving again after the trauma

-Safety habits that apply to everyone, including using a dash cam for clarity and protection, checking tires and brakes, learning the normal sounds of your vehicle, and using active vision to stay alert and aware This episode is a reminder that safe driving is not just about rules. It is about awareness, training, and respect for the physics of the road. George’s story and his mission are both hard to hear and important to share. 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/

America has more vehicle safety technology than ever, yet roadway fatalities have climbed sharply over the last decade. Dan Wagner, founder of Teen Driving Solutions School, joins Beyond the Bulldog to explain why he believes the missing piece is driver training and crash prevention skills, not just crash safety.

Dan built his two day program for teens and parents around one idea: you do not learn control in the middle of a crisis, you build it beforehand. Training happens off public roads on private property at a racetrack, in a controlled environment where students can safely experience loss of traction, hard braking, and decision making under pressure. The goal is to mentally and physically connect drivers to the vehicle so they can make better choices long before something goes wrong. Dan discusses:

-The tragedy that shaped his mission, and why watching teens in his own family crash within their first month of driving convinced him something in driver education was broken

-Why he redesigned the school to include parents, how structured “training drives” during permit hours beat random seat time, and how better communication reduces parent teen friction and increases accountability

-The U.S. shift from crash prevention training to crash safety focus, what other countries require to earn a license, and why safety tech can create a false sense of security that enables distraction

-Practical skills every driver should understand, including stopping distance, brake pressure, hydroplaning response, tire condition awareness, and why the real goal of every trip is simple: arrive alive This conversation is a wake up call for parents, teen drivers, and anyone who wants safer roads. Dan makes the case that we cannot outsource responsibility to technology, and that skill development and mindset are the most important safety systems we have.

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/

We sit down with Anna Long, a pickup and delivery driver for a national LTL carrier, to talk about choosing trucking as a career and what the path really looks like from the first day of CDL school to working the dock, running linehaul, and building a stable life behind the wheel.

Anna shares a background that is anything but typical. She grew up in a large blended family, went to an arts based alternative school, started college on an anthropology track, then took a hard turn into hands on work through farming, homesteading, and festival operations. After Covid disrupted everything, she moved back to North Carolina, realized she needed a fast and reliable career path, and committed to earning her CDL.

In this conversation, Anna breaks down the different ways to get licensed, what surprised her most about learning to shift a manual truck, and how she landed an LTL job even though most companies want experience. She also explains why pickup and delivery is the right fit for her, the variety of stops she sees every day, and how trucking has helped her build financial stability quickly. Anna discusses:

-Her path from alternative education and college to farming, homesteading, and event work, and why hands on work always felt like the right direction

-Getting her CDL through a community college program, choosing to avoid an automatic restriction, and what the school structure was really like across classroom, range work, and road time

-How she broke into LTL without experience by working the dock and using forklift skills to get her foot in the door, then learning logistics from the inside out

-What makes pickup and delivery rewarding, from the day to day variety of customers and locations to the challenge of backing in tight places, and how trucking improved her finances and long term stability

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/

Ben Greenberg is back on Beyond the Bulldog for a fast-moving update from the front lines of trucking advocacy. As president and CEO of the North Carolina Trucking Association, and part of the broader ATA federation briefings, Ben breaks down what is changing right now at both the state and national level and what it means for fleets, owner operators, and professional drivers.

This episode focuses on three issues getting major attention across the industry: illegal truck booting and the newer “immobilization” scheme, the crackdown on CDL mills and training integrity, and the tightening spotlight on non domiciled CDLs and English proficiency enforcement. Ben explains what NCTA is pushing in Raleigh, what is being discussed through ATA channels, and why consistency and safety standards matter for protecting the public, protecting good carriers, and protecting the reputation of the industry.

Ben discusses:

-What NCTA does for members across advocacy, education, and promotion, and how ATA level briefings help state associations quickly translate federal shifts into practical guidance

-The evolution of illegal truck booting into truck “immobilization,” why it is still a major problem, and how North Carolina’s law that became effective December 1, 2025 is being enforced and challenged

-CDL integrity efforts, including what “CDL mills” are, why enforcement is ramping up, and what prospective drivers and carriers should look for in legitimate training

-Non domiciled CDLs and English proficiency, why these issues are tied to trust and safety, and how rules and enforcement are shifting in a way drivers and fleets need to track closely 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/

In this episode, we sit down with Heather Heggie, Managing Director of Mack Financial Services in Canada, to talk about the part of trucking that most people only think about when it is time to buy. Financing. Heather explains why commercial truck financing is fundamentally different from automotive lending, and why the best outcomes come from treating it like a relationship, not a transaction.

Heather shares how she grew up around dealerships, built a career rooted in customer service, and spent more than two decades in the transportation finance world. She breaks down how Mack Financial Services works alongside dealers and the brand to tailor solutions that fit real trucking businesses, from first time owner operators buying their first truck to established fleets navigating a freight recession. She also covers practical prep tips for anyone entering a financing conversation, and the flexibility options that matter most when markets get tight.

Heather discusses:

-Why trucking finance is relationship based, and how Mack Financial Services supports both new owner operators and long standing fleet customers with service first, not “money first”

-How a captive finance team works with dealers and the brand as one ecosystem, staying aligned and moving quickly so customers can get trucks on the road sooner

-What to expect when you are financing your first truck, including what information helps most, why deals are not black and white, and how terms, down payment, and collateral depend on the maturity of the business

-Loan versus lease decisions, including ownership, flexibility, equity, residuals, refinance options, and how support products like gap coverage and life event waivers can protect the investment 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/