After a two-year pause due to the pandemic, the National Truck Driving Championships resume Aug. 16-19 in Indianapolis for an 85th gathering. Considered the “Super Bowl of Safety” in the trucking sector, drivers are exhibiting renewed enthusiasm to showcase their elite skills in front of industry peers, friends, and family members.
“It’s great to be part of the family. It’s always great to see good family people, professional people that care about what they do. They care about the industry and they care about being safe,” returning NTDC Grand Champion Scott Woodrome reportedly said. “It’s competitive in any class. These are the best drivers in the nation. We throw that out there, but they really are. And they’re also some of the best people, too, professionally in the nation.”
Woodrome won the 2018 Grand Champion crown and plans to compete in this year’s sleeper birth division. The 2022 championships have attracted more than 400 competitors, consisting of state truck safety tournament winners and truckers who qualified to compete on the national stage.
Drivers can compete in the 3-axle, 4-axle, 5-axle, sleeper berth, twin trailers, tanker truck, flatbed truck, straight truck, and step van classes. To prevail in a given division, truckers are tasked with accumulating top scores in the following three areas.
- An evaluation of industry guidelines from the 2022 Facts for Drivers rulebook
- A pre-trip vehicle inspection
- Maneuvering their specific truck on a safety course
The competition’s top overall points earner secures the title of National Grand Champion, such as Woodrome did in 2018. He’ll face stiff competition heading into Aug. 16 as other former Grand Champions plan to test their mettle as well.
Alphonso Lewis with Yellow plans to compete in the 5-axle class. Hailing from Alabama, Lewis earned a national championship in 2007. Wisconsin’s Jeff Langenhahn, with XPO Logistics, took the title in 2014. He plans to square off in the twin trailers class. Out of Indiana and representing Walmart, Mike White is also expected to compete in the sleeper berth class. He took home a national title in 2016. Connecticut’s Roland Bolduc of FedEx Express plans to make the sleeper birth class the most hotly contested division. He too won overall honors in 2017.
“I think everybody has been waiting for this. Thank goodness we’re getting back on track. It’s something we look forward to doing,” Maryland qualifier Joyce Bain with FedEx Ground reportedly said, noting competitors may be “rusty” after the two-year hiatus. “That should be a little interesting — to see how that all plays out.”
Upwards of two dozen truckers plan to make their national debut in Indianapolis this year. Event organizers such as Patricia Gillette, with the Colorado Motor Carriers Association, fondly refer to the newcomers as “rookies” even though they possess vast truck driving experience.
“I think the rookies are great. Colorado was lucky enough to have a rookie of the year one year. That moment, and that excitement, carries through everything,” Gillette reportedly said. “There’s a lot to absorb. But once you’ve been exposed to the National Truck Driving Championships, you get that bug. And you do everything you can to get back year after year after year.”
Members of the American Trucking Associations, trucking companies, and government officials are expected to attend the event. This year’s sponsors reportedly include ACT 1, ABF Freight, UPS, FedEx, Pitt Ohio, Walmart, Old Dominion, TForce Freight, PrePass, XPO Logistics, Yellow, and Bendix.
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It’s nice to hear them claim to be the best of the industry, but here’s to all those who are truly the best, and never looking for glorification, those who have few miles to those who have millions , those who continue to support there families from the road, as well as the economy, hats off to you, I salute you, stay safe and remember it can happen to you. Slow down and be attentive, knowing the conditions and your surroundings at all time.