National Truck Driving Championships

Wayne Crowder, who won the 2004 NTDC Grand Championship in his first-ever trip to the nationals, looks back with Jimmy Mac on how he was encouraged to enter the Kentucky State Championships in 19 years ago, which was also his first entry at the state level. Wayne and Jimmy also discuss Wayne’s career and his selection to serve as a Captain on America’s Road Team. Wayne and Jimmy are joined in the...

On the first day of NTDC 2023, we spent some time with Charity Marsh, who serves as the Den Mother for the Step Van Division at the National Championships. A trucking industry veteran who has worked at previous NTDC events, Charity provides insights on not only what a Den Mother does at the championships, but she also discusses what the feelings she gets each year while spending a few days in her...

Alex Ayala started making the trip the National Championships in 1965. On the first day of NTDC 2023, Alex was the first in the line of folks who had lined up to hang banners inside the arena in support of their drivers. While Alex has been retired from as a safety pro with the H-E-B Supermarket chain, he still does some safety consulting for the company. One of his biggest contributions is workin...

Jimmy Mac catches up with the 2022 Grand Champion Roland Bolduc as he prepares to return to NTDC 2023 to seek his third career Grand Championship. Roland reflects back on his personal history with the event and how sharpening his skills for the competition made him a better professional driver on the road. The post NTDC Defending Grand Champion Roland Bolduc Reflects On His Career & Dedi...

Jimmy Mac spends some time with Robert Foskey, who began his career behind the wheel and today serves as the Global Health and Safety Manager from UPS. As you’ll hear, Robert is the Second Vice Chairman of the organizing committee for NTDC 2023 and he is also a past competitor in the Truck Driving Championships at both the state and national levels. The post Robert Fosky Shares Perspective Of Form...

Jimmy Mac chats with Transport Topics Report Eugene Mulero about the National Truck Driving Championships and how Eugene has develop a deep admiration for the event since he first began covering the NTDCs in 2017. The post Eugene Mulero From Transport Topics Shares Why The NTDC Has Become A Must-See Event appeared first on PodWheels .

As we get set to bring you the stories and take you behind the scenes with podcasts detailing the 2023 Championships, we wanted to take some time to set the stage for the event.  In this first episode of our 2023 series, Jimmy Mac talks with Rodney Myers from FedEx Freight, who is the Chairman overseeing this year’s National Truck Driving Championships The post NTDC Chairman Rodney Myers Disc...

To mark the six-month anniversary since we launched the PodWheels Powered By RadioNemo platform, we are taking an exit ramp that will roll us back to mid-August when we were onsite at the National Truck Driving & National Step Van Driving Championships. Roland Bolduc earned his second career Grand Champion title at NTDC 2022. As we look forward to an exciting road ahead for PodWheels, we spent...

In our first post-event episode for this podcast series covering the National Truck Driving & National Step Van Driving Championships, Elisabeth Barna from the American Trucking Associations takes some time with us to look back at a very memorable NTDC 2022. Elisabeth, who is the Executive Vice President of Industry Affairs and Senior Advisor to ATA President and CEO Chris Spear, discusses the...

On the first day of the competition, PodWheels Executive Producer Greg Thompson had the opportunity to spend some time at NTDC 2022 with four captains from America’s Road Team. While Captain Rhonda Hartman provided Greg with a view of the road course problems the competitors encounter during a ride-along in a truck on the media course, Captain Wayne Crowder, who is the 2004 NTDC Grand Champion, to...

Dan Van Alstine, the current Vice Chairman of the American Trucking Associations, talked with Greg Thompson on the day of his eight-year-anniversary as President of Ruan. Dan, who will become the Chairman of ATA in October, shares his thoughts on just why this year’s NTDC event is so important and poignant. He also discusses how he will approach the next year at the helm of ATA. As you will hear,...

In this episode, you’ll meet Antoine Sadler who never really expected to be at NTDC 2022 when he responded to a request from his team at Wal-Mart to enter the North Carolina State Championship. Antoine took a no-pressure approach when he went to state, and he claimed the championship. Greg Thompson talked to Antoine about his route to the nationals and his experience as a rookie at NTDC 2022. Anto...

Shortly after finishing up two days of onsite broadcasting the Dave Nemo Show from NTDC 2022 in Indianapolis, Jimmy Mac, the host of Dave Nemo Weekends, sat down with Greg Thompson of PodWheels to get Jimmy’s immediate impressions of his first-ever trip to the National Truck Driving and National Step Van Driving Championships. While he touched on several different highlights that stood out for him...

Dion Saiz from FedEx Express joins Jimmy Mac to discuss what it’s like to represent FedEx as a Road Team Captain for the ATA. Dion got his start 26 years ago following in his father’s footsteps. His now-retired dad was a Road Captain, as well. The two were the first father-and-son duo to compete in the nationals in the same year. Dion tells Jimmy that competing at the NTDC makes you a better drive...

What does a truck driver do upon retiring? If you are Greg Nauertz, an America’s Road Team Captain, you hop in an RV with wife Caroljane and you zip around the country visiting family, attending class reunions and simply enjoy life on the road. Jimmy Mac gets the 411 from Greg on life as a retired professional driver. Greg also talks about what it was like being a Road Team Captain. Looking at the...

Gary Langston, President and CEO of the Indiana Motor Truck Association, tells Jimmy Mac about how important trucking and the interstate system is to the state of Indiana. Indiana specializes in moving stuff on wheels, but, as Gary shares with Jimmy, the trucking industry is about the drivers. The post IMTA’s Gary Langston Talks Indiana, Trucking & The NTDC appeared first on PodWheels .

ATA President and CEO Chris Spear joins Jimmy Mac to take a look at why Indianapolis, with the numerous highways that criss-cross through it, but also the plethora of activities going each day, was an ideal choice to host the NTDC event. Chris takes this opportunity to recall the amazing work by the men and women of the trucking industry during the COVID pandemic and beyond – once again demonstrat...

In this podcast, we hear from one of the most experienced professional drivers who earned the honor of making the trip to the National Truck Driving & National Step Van Championships. With 42 years behind the wheel and now 22 visits to the NTDC in his career driving log, ABF’s Ralph Garcia talks with Jimmy Mac about the dedication involved with being a part of the national championships. He al...

Beyond the opportunity to compete for national title honors, there are a number of reasons that make the NTDC an event that calls to drivers across the country every year. And while numerous drivers will note the camaraderie, family, community and focus on safety, veteran driver Steve Fields tells Jimmy Mac that he also comes to NTDC to learn about the new equipment that the industry introduces. S...

Jimmy Mac gets an opportunity to catch up with Alphonso Lewis, a veteran driver for Yellow with 30 years of experience. As Jimmy notes, Alphonso has been involved with Wreaths Across America for a number of years. An NTDC Grand Champion in 2007, Alphonso has been to the national championships 10 times. As he tells Jimmy, every NTDC trip is special, but the 2022 championships have a very refreshing...

America’s Road Team Captain Tina Peterson is enjoying the honor of serving as a course announcer at NTDC 2022. In this chat with Jimmy Mac, Tina shares how she discovered the trucking industry at the age of seven while growing up in Wyoming. As a Road Team Captain these days, Tina understands the importance of being an inspiration to young girls and teens as part of the Share the Road program. She...

Jimmy Mac is joined by John Brownawell from Yellow Freight Systems, his fiance Cindy Spinella and their son, Raylan. John tells Jimmy that the NTDC weekend is filled with camaraderie and family fun, but it is also one of stress and nervousness because all 50 competitors are champions. It’s the same for Cindy, who tells Jimmy watching from the stands is just as nerve-wracking. John shares what it i...

In this episode, Jimmy Mac visits with industry veteran Steve Smalley, who is volunteering at NTDC 2020. This year, Steve, who has been to many NTDCs over the years as a competitor, is working as an equipment handler at the event. Steve is part of the team making sure that all of the trucks and equipment are in great working order so that all of the competitors have an equal chance to do their bes...

In her visit with Jimmy Mac, America’s Road Team Captain April Coolidge talks about the career path that brought her to trucking. April is a North Carolina-based professional driver for Walmart who is volunteering at NTDC. Prior to trucking, April was a real estate broker and when the market collapsed she followed her father’s footsteps and became a professional truck driver. She continues to do r...

In this podcast, Jimmy Mac spends some time chatting with Rhonda Hartman. She is a 40-year veteran of the trucking industry, and she is also a Captain on America’s Road Team. Rhonda is an Iowa-based professional driver for Old Dominion Freight Line and she is part of ATA’s volunteer group at NTDC 2022. As you’ll hear, Rhonda is a trainer for Old Dominion who has developed ways to communicate and t...