Arkansas truck driving champions travel to Florida for ATA’s national championships

Arkansas Transportation ReportBusiness

by Talk Business & Politics staff ([email protected]) August 8, 2017 9:35 am 171 views 

The 80th annual National Truck Driving Championships and National Step Van Driving Championships of the American Trucking Associations will take place Aug. 9-12 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Fla. The nine winners of the Arkansas Truck Driving Championship in July will compete at the national event and are among the 428 competitors from 50 states, including 35 first-time participants, representing 97 companies.

“Safety and precision will be the focus of these impressive professional truck drivers during this week in Orlando as they compete for honors in the National Truck Driving Championships,” said ATA President and CEO Chris Spear. “Truck drivers work their entire careers and practice for moments like this to showcase their safety skills and compete among friends.”

They will compete to become the National Truck Driving Championships Bendix Grand Champion. Other honors include winners of each vehicle class, awards for the top performing state delegation and rookie of the year.

“These championships are a great spectacle, and I couldn’t be more proud to interact with drivers from all corners of the country,” said ATA Chairman Kevin Burch, president of Jet Express Inc. “The drivers take this event very seriously and practice and study year-round in preparation for the competition. Their dedication to their craft is really remarkable and representative of the trucking industry’s strong commitment to safety.”

The following are the vehicle classes and winners from the Arkansas championship who will compete nationally at the four-day event:

  • Three axle, Robin Sams, FedEx Freight
  • Four axle, Todd Huff, Walmart Transportation
  • Five axle, Wayne Odum, Walmart Transportation
  • Flatbed, Randy Lovell, Walmart Transportation
  • Sleeper, Gary Mars, Walmart Transportation
  • Step van, Samuel Brooks, J.B. Hunt Transport Services
  • Straight truck, Melvin Andrews, YRC Freight
  • Tank, Danny Fuller, XPO Logistics
  • Twins, Larry Rhein, FedEx Freight