Finalists Announced at 2016 National Truck Driving Championships

Last Phase of Competition Kicks Off in Indianapolis

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Aug 13, 2016, 09:00 ET

INDIANAPOLIS, Aug. 13, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today, American Trucking Associations announced the finalists for the 79th annual National Truck Driving Championships currently underway in Indianapolis.

American Trucking Associations is the largest national trade association for the trucking industry. Through a federation of 50 affiliated state trucking associations and industry-related conferences and councils, ATA is the voice of the industry America depends on most to move our nation's freight.Trucking Moves America Forward.

"These finalists have proven themselves to be among the finest professional truck drivers in the country. I want to congratulate them for making it to the final round and thank them for their commitment to safety," said ATA President and CEO Chris Spear. "I also want to recognize all of the drivers who competed here in Indianapolis – our industry truly appreciates your dedication to safe driving."

The National Truck Driving Championships began with a field of more than 430 professional truck drivers from all 50 states. Over the past two days, drivers competed in one of eight different classes and aimed for high scores in the three segments of the competition: a pre-trip inspection, a written test and the driving course where drivers made tight turns and avoided obstacles.

The trucking industry's "Super Bowl of Safety" is down to five finalists in five of the eight classes of competition, plus the step van class. Before the final runs can begin, runoffs will occur in the 4-axle, sleeper berth, straight truck and step van classes to settle tied scores from the first two days of competition. The remaining competitors are now set to navigate a specially designed championship course to determine the top driver.

The field of drivers participating in the 2016 National Truck Driving Championships have compiled more than 600 million safe-driving miles, which is equal to 1,255 trips to the moon and back.

Competition concludes this evening with the crowning of the 2016 Bendix National Truck Driving Championships Grand Champion, as well as with awards for drivers in every vehicle class, rookie of the year and top state delegation.

ACT 1 is a premier sponsor of the 2016 National Truck Driving Championships and National Step Van Driving Championships, taking place Aug. 10-13 at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis.

Finalists are vying for the 2016 Bendix National Truck Driving Championships Grand Champion Award. Since 2011, Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems has been the sole sponsor of the National Truck Driving Championships Grand Champion.

Finalists for the 2016 National Truck Driving and National Step Van Driving Championships are listed below:

Class	Place	State	Name	Employer
3-Axle
	1	Kansas	Jimmie Wisley	YRC Freight
	2	Arkansas	Robin Sams	FedEx Freight
	3	Maine	Robert Fernald	Wal-Mart Transportation, LLC
	4	Washington	Cedric Pack	FedEx Freight
	5	Indiana	Charles White	Walmart Transportation, LLC
4-Axle
	1	Texas	Eduardo Camacho	H-E-B Grocery Co.
	2	Iowa	Allen Sohn	FedEx Freight
	3	Oregon	Aslaiyi Wilkes	Reddaway
	4	Michigan	Ronald Metternick	FedEx Freight
	5	Arizona	Andres Orozco	FedEx Freight
	5	Utah	Glenn Springer	FedEx Freight
5-Axle
	1	New Mexico	Daniel Bruch	FedEx Freight
	2	Nebraska	Toby Kort	FedEx Freight
	3	Florida	Larry Warr	Wal-Mart Transportation, LLC
	4	Vermont	Christopher Novak	FedEx Express
	5	Kansas	Darren Bogart	Wal-Mart Transportation, LLC
Flatbed
	1	South Dakota	Jay Love	FedEx Freight
	2	Idaho	William Hill	Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc.
	3	Kansas	Donald Logan	FedEx Freight
	4	Louisiana	Curtis McMellon	XPO Logistics, Inc.
	5	Washington	Robert Dean	XPO Logistics, Inc.
Sleeper Berth
	1	Ohio	Bryan Elges	FedEx Freight
	2	Florida	Larry Breen	Walmart Transportation, LLC
	3	Indiana	Ron Marker	Walmart Transportation, LLC
	4	California	Rollie Fugate	Wal-Mart Transportation, LLC
	5	Massachusetts	Roland Bolduc	FedEx Express
	5	Utah	Barry Geck	Wal-Mart Transportation, LLC
Straight Truck
	1	West Virginia	Charles Randolph	PITT OHIO
	2	Maine	Glendon Buzzell	Wal-Mart Transportation, LLC
	3	Kentucky	Jesse Benkert	Fedex Ground
	4	Kansas	Dennis Cole	Holland
	5	Florida	Wilbur Johnson	FedEx Freight
	5	Maryland	James Carver	Safeway, Inc.
Tank Truck
	1	West Virginia	Nickolas Backes	PITT OHIO
	2	Montana	Kenneth Painter	XPO Logistics, Inc.
	3	Wisconsin	Jeffrey Langenhahn	XPO Logistics, Inc.
	4	Michigan	Steve Elliston	Wal-Mart Transportation, LLC
	5	Utah	Allen Byrne	Wal-Mart Transportation, LLC
Twins
	1	Washington	Chris Poynor	XPO Logistics, Inc.
	2	Wyoming	Andrew Kelly	ABF Freight Systems, Inc.
	3	South Carolina	James Luckadoo	UPS Freight
	4	New York	Stephen Black	Golub Corp / PriceChopper Supermarkets
	5	Mississippi	James McNeill	FedEx Freight
Step Van
	1	New York	Jeff Evans	FedEx Ground
	2	Virginia	Frank Woods	FedEx Express
	3	Ohio	Jason Imhoff	Wal-Mart Transportation, LLC
	4	Oklahoma	Curtis Harpole	FedEx Ground
	5	Colorado	Matthew Allison	FedEx Ground
	5	Illinois	James Wilson	FedEx Freight

American Trucking Associations is the largest national trade association for the trucking industry. Through a federation of 50 affiliated state trucking associations and industry-related conferences and councils, ATA is the voice of the industry America depends on most to move our nation's freight. Follow ATA on Twitter or on Facebook. Trucking Moves America Forward.

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SOURCE American Trucking Associations