Nine Drivers Continue on to National Competition in Pittsburgh

CAMP HILL, Pa., Aug. 5 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Paul Waite, Jr., of Wolf, was named the best professional truck driver in Pennsylvania after winning the five axle competition and receiving the highest overall score in the nine competing categories at the 2009 Pennsylvania Truck Driving Championships. The annual event is sponsored by the Pennsylvania Motor Truck Association.

Waite, who drives for Friendly's Ice Cream Corp., now qualifies to compete in the American Trucking Associations' National Truck Driving Championships August 18-22, 2009 in Pittsburgh, Penn. -- also known as the "Super Bowl of Safety." The winners from each of the eight other categories are also eligible to compete in the national championship.

Nearly 400 drivers from all 50 states will compete in Pittsburgh for four days, challenging their driving skills, and knowledge of safety, equipment and the industry. From 18-wheeler five axle sleepers to tank trucks to twin trailers -- they will drive a course that recreates situations truck drivers face daily. These maneuvers may include: an alley dock, a rear line stop, a side park, a scale stop, a right turn, a front line stop, and straight line driving through a diminishing clearance.

On Saturday night, August 22, one contestant will drive away as the 2009 National Grand Champion Truck Driver.

"The Truck Driving Championships represent the culmination of the industry's dedication to safety," said Pennsylvania Motor Truck Association President & CEO James Runk. "I congratulate all the contestants and I hope Pennsylvania cheers for our drivers as they move on to Nationals in Pittsburgh."

Pennsylvania participants at Nationals for each category include:

Robert Dolan, Con-way Freight, Catasauqua, Pa. (Straight Truck)

Samuel Leaper, FedEx Ground, Etters, Pa. (Three-Axle)

William Chrvala, New Penn, Whitehall, Pa. (Four-Axle)

Paul Waite, Jr., Friendly's Ice Cream Corp., Wolf, Pa. (Five-Axle)

Ronald Emenheiser, Friendly's Ice Cream Corp., Windsor, Pa. (Five-Axle Sleeper)

Dale Knox, Con-way Freight, E. Springfield, Pa. (Tankers)

Richard Walton, New Penn, Willow Street, Pa. (Twins)

Lee Mengel, ABF Freight System, Kutztown, Pa. (Flatbed)

John Nash, FedEx Ground, Carlisle, Pa. (Step Van)

Pennsylvania media outlets are encouraged to come to the National Truck Driving Championships media day held Tuesday, Aug. 18 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Reporters can get behind the wheel of a tractor-trailer to navigate through a simulated NTDC obstacle course and see what it is like to take part in the competition.

ATA's Truck Driving Championships include top professional truck drivers from around the nation competing at state and regional levels to make it to the national competition Aug. 18-22 in Pittsburgh, Pa. The NTDC annually attracts over 2,000 cheering friends, family, colleagues and spectators. For more information, visit the 2009 National Truck Driving Championships website: www.truckline.com/Federation/Councils/slpmc/NTDC/Pages/Default.aspx

The American Trucking Associations is the largest national trade association for the trucking industry. Through a federation of other trucking groups, industry-related conferences, and its 50 affiliated state trucking associations, ATA represents more than 37,000 members covering every type of motor carrier in the United States.

The American Trucking Associations leads the effort for safer highways, focusing on greater education, enforcement and enhancement of traffic safety laws for all drivers. ATA also supports slowing down traffic through a reinstatement of a national maximum speed limit of 65 mph for all vehicles and limiting truck speeds at the time of manufacture. www.truckline.com

SOURCE American Trucking Associations

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