Ohio's Scott Woodrome Wins Bendix Grand Champion Honors at National Truck Driving Championships

PITTSBURGH , Aug. 17, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, American Trucking Associations announced Scott Woodrome, a professional truck driver from Middletown, Ohio representing team FedEx Freight, as the Bendix Grand Champion of the 2019 National Truck Driving Championships. This is Woodrome's second consecutive year of winning the Bendix Grand Champion trophy.

"Congratulations to Scott and his great team at FedEx Freight, as well as the entire Ohio trucking industry, for repeating as this year's Bendix Grand Champion Award winner," said ATA President and CEO Chris Spear. "This process began with thousands of drivers competing at the state level, but only one driver can emerge as overall grand champion. It's a true reflection of Scott's commitment to safety and the trucking industry as a whole that he was able to take home top honors again this year."

Woodrome, a longtime competitor in truck driving championships with more than 1.8 million lifetime safe driving miles, competed this week in the Twins division. He has been in the trucking industry for 25 years, spending 13 of those years with his current employer, FedEx Freight. This is the second straight Bendix Grand Champion award for Woodrome, who previously took home the 2018 Bendix Grand Champion Award for his performance in the Tanker class, as well as the 2017 National Champion Award in the Tanker class and six Ohio state championships.

"It's been such an honor to host hundreds of our nation's elite truck drivers this week and showcase their skills as safe professionals," said ATA Chairman Barry Pottle, president of Pottle's Transportation. "From start to finish, Pittsburgh was a great location and we loved to see such enthusiastic support from the families and friends who came out to support these impressive drivers."

Woodrome also took home the Twins class national title. He lives in Middletown, Ohio with his wife, Lorraine.

ATA also recognized John Sanderson as the 2019 Rookie of the Year. Sanderson claimed the title after an outstanding performance in the 3-axle division. To be a "rookie," drivers must be first-time competitors at the state level who advanced to nationals. This year, there were 32 rookies competing at the National Truck Driving Championships. Sanderson was the only rookie who advanced to the championship round of competition.

In addition to the individual awards, the team of drivers from Pennsylvania are going home this week with the Team Championship. Pennsylvania hosted this week's competition and had three drivers advance to the championship round of competition. The state of North Carolina took home 2nd place honors, with Virginia coming in 3rd place.

Several individuals excelled outside the driving course throughout this week's competition, demonstrating their professionalism, knowledge and dedication to the trucking industry. Professional truck driver Robert Dolan of XPO Logistics was recognized with the highly-coveted c Professional Excellence award. Additionally, Jason Imhoff of Walmart Transportation is taking home the Vehicle Condition Award for his outstanding performance during the pre-trip inspections.

Nine drivers achieved perfect scores on the written exam phase of the championships and are receiving the Highest Written Exam Award for their efforts. The nine drivers were: Paul Brandon, Miguel Corral, Ina Daly, Brent Glasenapp, Julie Hjelle, Barry Kraemer, Jottyn Santos, Jimmie Wisley, and Scott Woodrome.

The National Truck Driving Championships are made possible by dozens of NTDC committee members and volunteers who judge the course, serve as liaisons to the drivers, conduct course walk-throughs and perform a number of other key tasks. As such, ATA and ATA's Safety Management Council honor one volunteer each year with the Sam Gillette Volunteer of the Year Award. This year's Sam Gillette Volunteer of the Year Award was presented to James Wilcox.

ACT 1 served as a premier sponsor of the 2019 National Truck Driving Championships and National Step Van Driving Championships.

Since 2011, Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems has been the sole sponsor of the Bendix National Truck Driving Championships Grand Champion.

ATA continues to develop relationships with key industry partners looking to promote the elite, dedicated drivers who lead the trucking workforce. As such, ATA thanks NTDC Corporate Sponsors AAA Cooper Transportation, ABF Freight System, Inc., FedEx, FedEx Express, FedEx Freight, FedEx Ground, Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc., PITT OHIO, PrePass Safety Alliance, UPS Freight, and Walmart Transportation LLC. ATA also recognizes Bendix as the Grand Champion award sponsor and PrePass Safety Alliance as the Breakfast of Champions sponsor.

Champions from each of the 9 vehicle classes were also announced. Joining Woodrome on the list of national champions are:

SOURCE American Trucking Associations