National Truck Driving Championships

Despite having won two national championships, multiple state championships and claiming three previous state grand championships, Chris Poynor was not expecting to hear his name called when the Washington Trucking Associations announced its 2025 State Grand Champion in mid-April. As you’ll hear in this super-sized state grand champion edition of the podcast, Chris holds a deep appreciation for hi...

In listening to what Rickey Oliver shared in this edition of the podcast, he was quite surprised to hear his name was called as the Grand Champion of the Mississippi Truck Driving Championships. In fact, despite earning 10 previous berths to compete at the NTDCs, Rickey still had a moment of doubt when the Mississippi Trucking Association officials announced the top three finishers in the 5-Axle C...

The countdown to the New Jersey Truck Driving Championships is down to a matter of days as May 31 approaches. It should be no surprise that five-time Garden State Grand Champion Wilbert Vano has his sights set on making his 14th NTDC trip. The 2023 New Jersey Driver of the Year, Wilbert earned his first National Championship at NTDC 2022, winning the top trophy in the 3-Axle Division. For this epi...

In this State Grand Champion episode, we get to know Chad Rudesill, who claimed the top title at the nation’s first State TDC on the schedule. Chad closed out February with a performance that earned him the honor of becoming the Grand Champion of Louisiana. Chad’s victory in the 3-Axle Division set the stage for his first Grand Champion title. Chad’s father, Patrick, who inspired his son to join t...

Over the past year, David Coffel has experienced a great deal of change as he and his wife welcomed their first child, a son named Salem. One thing that has not changed in the past year is the standard of excellence that David has set as a competitor in the Arizona State TDC. In mid-April with his wife and son in the crowd, David claimed his second consecutive Arizona State Grand Championship. For...

As State TDC season begins to heat up and the Road To Minneapolis gets closer, our podcast takes a moment to look back at two of the more surprising championship runs in the past 20 years. Wayne Crowder’s charge to claim the Grand Champion’s title in 2004 was history-making. Wayne still stands as the only person to win his Grand Champion crown as a rookie competitor at the state level and in the n...

For this episode of the Official Podcast of NTDC 2025, we will be rewinding the clock back to Saturday, March 23rd, when PodWheels Executive Producer Greg Thompson made an onsite visit to the 14th Annual Safety Drive For A Cure, which took place in Atlanta. Led by America’s Road Team Captain and TA Citizen Driver of the Year Herschel Evans, the Safety Drive For A Cure is a fundraising event suppor...

Each year, the NTDC Organizing Committee makes a visit to the host site for the National Championships months ahead of the event taking place. This year, the NTDC Organizing Committee circled mid-March as the date to visit the Minneapolis Convention Center to conduct a “pre-trip” inside the facility, hold planning meetings and tour the immediate area that will be the home for the 2025 National Tru...

Ina Daly has been a fixture at the Arizona Truck Driving Championships for more than 30 years as she heads into this year’s event in the Valley of the Sun. Ina has also served as a consistent presence and a continuing inspiration at the NTDC. Becoming the first woman to win a national championship and as the 2023 recipient of the Neill Darmstadter Professional Excellence Award, Ina has continually...

In this expanded episode of the podcast, we place a spotlight on the work of the volunteers who come together each year from across the country to serve in a variety of capacities. As anyone familiar with NTDC knows, each job and every assignment helps to contribute to the success of the National Truck Driving Championships. As you will hear, Transport Topics Senior Reporter Eugene Mulero sits dow...

Dennis Shirar joins us on this edition of the podcast to reflect on his run that claimed the NTDC Grand Champion’s title back in 2008. Dennis looks back at his career in trucking with Eugene Mulero of Transport Topics. As you’ll hear, Eugene and Dennis discuss what the NTDC and the state competitions have meant to Dennis over the years. Dennis also talks about his plans to return to the Indiana St...

Our guest for this edition of the podcast is Robert Foskey, who is the Chairman of the Organizing Committee for NTDC 2025. As you will hear in his interview with Transport Topics Senior Reporter Eugene Mulero, Foskey brings a wealth of NTDC experience to his leadership role. A former competitor and a long-time volunteer at the NTDC, Foskey has a deep appreciation for what the annual gathering of t...

After a decade of competing at the state level, Rebecca Heck’s first experience at the NTDCs in 2024 has served as added motivation to work on making it all the way back on the Road To Minneapolis and NTDC 2025. In this edition of the podcast, you’ll hear Rebecca discuss her career milestones, which include being one of two women to reach the national finals last year. Rebecca, an owner-operator w...

What happens when the NTDC Grand Champion from 2022 sits down to chat with the NTDC Grand Champion for 2023? You’ll be able to hear the answer in this fascinating Rollin’ With Roland episode of the podcast. Two-Time NTDC Grand Champion Roland Bolduc talks with Gragg Wilson, who earned his NTDC Grand Championship in 2023. The conversation goes deep while looking at Gragg’s career, his perseverance...

On March 22nd in Atlanta, the 14th edition of the Safety Drive For A Cure will take place, and Herschel Evans, who is the driving force behind this annual charity event, is our guest on this episode of the podcast. Built around a TDC-style competition, the Safety Drive For A Cure supports the mission of the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation. For veterans of state TDCs and the NTDC, the Safety Drive...

In this episode of the podcast, we place a well-deserved spotlight on Rick Cates, a Lifetime Member of the NTDC Organizing Committee who has logged more than 50 years of service with the National Truck Driving & National Step Van Driving Championships. As Eugene Mulero shares with us, Mr. Cates was given the honorific title of “Senator” by his NTDC friends and colleagues because of the respect...

In a very special Rollin’ With Roland segment, our podcast catches up with Brian Singelais, a beloved member of the NTDC family. Two-Time NTDC Grand Champion Roland Bolduc recently had the opportunity to visit with Brian, who looked back on a great career in trucking that was highlighted by his 2015 National Championship in the 5-Axle Tanker Division. As you will hear, Brian shares how he go...

In this edition of the podcast, you’ll get to know Greg Ryan as we bring you another segment in our National Champions series from last year’s NTDC in Indianapolis. As you will hear, Greg is the reigning National Champion in the Sleeper Berth Division. Transport Topics Senior Reporter Eugene Mulero spent some time with Greg talking about his long involvement with the competition at both the state...

We are thrilled to introduce a new segment on the podcast with our first Rollin’ With Roland feature interview. As you will hear, two-time NTDC Grand Champion Roland Bolduc sits down to have a competitor-to-competitor conversation with Richard Sweeney. A perennial member of the NTDC field and a model of driving excellence from the state of Massachusetts, Rich was selected as the recipient of the N...

As we begin to look toward the State Truck Driving Championships to begin the first miles on the road to NTDC 2025 in Minneapolis, our podcast thought it would be an ideal time to roll back the clock. This episode will allow us to actually do a rewind to Championship Saturday Morning last year in Indianapolis. At NTDC 2024, we had an opportunity to be on the arena floor during the Parade of Champi...

Our National Champions Series continues on the podcast as we spend time with Brandon Hardy, the reigning NTDC champion in the 5-Axle division. You will hear Eugene Mulero’s in-depth conversation that covers Brandon’s career in trucking and his experiences within precision driving that led to his title run at NTDC 2024 in Indianapolis. Along with hearing Brandon’s reflections on becoming a national...

Joe Hicks, a proud product of Rhode Island, is in the spotlight for this National Champions edition of the podcast. You will hear Joe talk about his title win in the Four-Axle Division at NTDC 2024 with Eugene Mulero, co-host of the podcast and a Senior Reporter with Transport Topics. The episode highlights Joe’s journey from Rookie of the Year in 2010 to his championship win in Indianapolis...

In this National Champions Series Edition of the podcast, we will be spending time with Dave Mogler, who brought home the top trophy in the three-axle division during NTDC 2024. Dave was also the captain of Team Colorado, which earned the State Champion honors at the 2024 NTDC event. You will hear Dave discuss how he was inspired by the sterling example of his father who successfully navigated his...

The time has arrived to officially start our podcast journey toward NTDC 2025 and the road to Minneapolis. The first mile of the trip begins with our interview with Jacob Pierce from the American Trucking Associations. Jacob is an Executive Director for ATA overseeing the Safety Management Council and the Transportation Security Council. For anyone new to the NTDC and new to our podcast, Jacob is...

NTDC Straight Truck title holder Jim Kohr is in the spotlight during this 2024 National Champions edition of the podcast. While Jim is no stranger to the NTDC and the Final Five Run-Off, 2024 marks the first time that Jim claimed a national championship. Ironically, as Jim shares, he claimed his initial national title in his final run within the straight truck division. During our conversation wit...