American Trucking Associations announced Scott Woodrome of FedEx Freight as the Bendix Grand Champion of the 2018 National Truck Driving Championships.
FedEx dominated this year’s competition which featured nine vehicle categories and took place August 15-18 at the Greater Columbus Convention Center in Columbus, Ohio. (Winners listed below).
“Congratulations to Scott Woodrome and his team at FedEx Freight for winning this year’s Bendix Grand Champion Award,” 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, and it’s a testament to Scott’s commitment to safety and his craft that he was able to take home top honors this year.”
Woodrome, a longtime competitor in truck driving championships with more than 1.8 million lifetime safe driving miles, competed in the Tank Truck division. He has been in the trucking industry for 25 years, spending 12 of those years with FedEx Freight. This is the first Bendix Grand Champion award for Woodrome, who has won his state championship a dozen times.
“What an honor it’s been to host hundreds of the nation’s elite truck drivers this week and showcase their skills as safe professionals,” said ATA COO and EVP of Industry Affairs Elisabeth Barna. “From start to finish, Columbus was a great location and we were excited to see such great support from the families and friends who came out to support these drivers.”
Woodrome, an America’s Road Team Captain, also took home the Tank Truck class national title. He lives in Middletown, Ohio with his wife Lorraine.
ATA also recognized Ronald Zieser as the 2018 Rookie of the Year. Zeiser claimed the title after performing in the 3-Axle division. To qualify as a rookie drivers must be first-time competitors at the state level who advanced to nationals. This year, there were 28 rookies competing at the National Truck Driving Championships.
In addition to the individual awards, the team of drivers from Nevada, went home with the Team Championship. The State of Pennsylvania took home 2nd place honors, with Colorado coming in third.
“Several individuals excelled outside the driving course throughout this week’s competition, demonstrating their professionalism, knowledge and dedication to the trucking industry,”ATA’s press release states.
Professional truck driver Neil Nogues of YRC Freight was recognized with the highly-coveted Neill Darmstadter Professional Excellence award. Michael Flippin and Eric Courville of FedEx Freight and Tony Spero of ABF Freight achieved perfect scores on the written exam phase of the championships and are receiving the Highest Written Exam Award for their efforts. Additionally, Michael Whitehead of FedEx Freight is taking home the Vehicle Condition Award for his performance during the pre-trip inspections.
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 Jerry Waddell of Cargo Transporters.
ACT 1 served as a premier sponsor of the 2018 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. Bendix Director of Government Affairs and Marketing, Fred Andersky, presented the Grand Champion Award.
Champions from each of the 9 vehicle classes were also announced. Joining Scott Woodrome on the list of national champions are:
3-Axle: Eric Courville, FedEx Freight, Louisiana
4-Axle: Nick Arnold, FedEx Freight, Oklahoma
5-Axle: Duane Staveness, FedEx Freight, Wisconsin
Flatbed: Steven Newsome, UPS Freight, South Carolina
Sleeper Berth: Artur Lesniowski, FedEx Ground, New Jersey
Straight Truck: Dale Brenaman, UPS, Kentucky
Tank Truck: Scott Woodrome, FedEx Freight, Ohio
Twins: Miguel Corral, FedEx Freight, Illinois
Step Van: Eric Damon, FedEx Express, Colorado
Other Awards
Rookie of the Year: Ronald Zieser, FedEx Freight, Oregon
Team Champions: Nevada
Vehicle Condition: Michael Whitehead, FedEx Freight in the 3-Axle division
Highest Written Exam Award: Three perfect scores: Michael Flippin, FedEx Freight in the Twins division; Tony Spero, ABF Freight in the Tank Truck division; and Eric Courville, FedEx Freight in the 3-Axle division
Neill Darmstadter Professional Excellence: Neil P. Nogues, YRC Freight, New Hampshire in the Straight Truck division
Sam Gillette Volunteer of the Year Award: Jerry Waddell, Cargo Transporters
Full results from the final competition below:
| Final Standings | ||||
| Class | Place | Name | Employer | State |
| 3-Axle | ||||
| 1 | Eric Courville | FedEx Freight | Louisiana | |
| 2 | David Mogler | FedEx Freight | Colorado | |
| 3 | Brian Singelais | Frito-Lay, Inc. | Massachusetts | |
| 4-Axle | ||||
| 1 | Nick Arnold | FedEx Freight | Oklahoma | |
| 2 | Andrew Rynearson | XPO Logistics | Wisconsin | |
| 3 | Heladio Fernandez | FedEx Freight | Oregon | |
| 5-Axle | ||||
| 1 | Duane Staveness | FedEx Freight | Wisconsin | |
| 2 | Jack Hargett | AAA Cooper | Texas | |
| 3 | Bryan Krol | The Martin-Brower Company | Pennsylvania | |
| Flatbed | ||||
| 1 | Steven Newsome | UPS Freight | South Carolina | |
| 2 | Thomas Garner | FedEx Freight | Alabama | |
| 3 | Gary Mars | Walmart Transportation | Arkansas | |
| Sleeper Berth | ||||
| 1 | Artur Lesniowski | FedEx Ground | New Jersey | |
| 2 | Brian Hall | Old Dominion Freight Line | Tennessee | |
| 3 | Edward Pennington | FedEx Freight | Florida | |
| Straight Truck | ||||
| 1 | Dale Brenaman | UPS | Kentucky | |
| 2 | Michael Bills | FedEx Express | North Carolina | |
| 3 | James Sheehan | FedEx Ground | Tennessee | |
| Tank Truck | ||||
| 1 | Scott Woodrome | FedEx Freight | Ohio | |
| 2 | Don Logan | FedEx Freight | Kansas | |
| 3 | Dave Miller | UPS Freight | Illinois | |
| Twins | ||||
| 1 | Miguel Corral | FedEx Freight | Illinois | |
| 2 | Wilbert Vano | XPO Logistics | New Jersey | |
| 3 | Darrell Shelton | FedEx Freight | Washington | |
| Step Van | ||||
| 1 | Eric Damon | FedEx Express | Colorado | |
| 2 | Robert Ledoux | FedEx Express | Massachusetts | |
| 3 | Gregory Long | FedEx Express | Virginia |
The North America Inspectors Championship was held in conjunction with NTDC. The 2019 National Truck Driving Championships will be held at The David L. Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, August 14-17.
