Truckin’ to a new world’s record

An unusual record rumbled its way into the Guinness Book of World Records – blasting the competition to smithereens – when approximately 300 tow trucks chugged across Queens and Brooklyn in a parade of goliaths that ended its roar at historic Floyd Bennett Field. Escorted by police, 292 50-ton rotators and medium-duty trucks shared the spotlight with flat-beds and wreckers in the four-mile-long procession along the city’s highways, organized by the Metropolitan NY Towing, Auto Body & Salvage Association in a bid to outdo the previous record of 83. At Floyd Bennett Field, the flotilla parked itself, spelling out “New York” on the 5,000-foot historic runway where Wiley Post began his record-setting solo flight around the world. Aside from landing in Guinness, the event served to pay tribute to emergency responders who have died in the line of duty in the past year, in addition to raising money for the Shriners Hospitals for Children.