One of the most anticipated moments of Championship Day at the National Truck Driving & National Step Van Driving Championships is the announcement of the five finalists in each of the nine vehicle divisions. On the morning of August 14, the brackets for Finals Friday was filled out as the names of those who earned spots in the runoff were called.

PodWheels Executive Producer Greg Thompson was on the floor at NTDC 2026 in Pittsburgh as five finalists for each vehicle class exited the stage and had their group pictures taken by the NTDC Organizing Committee. Greg jumped in and got shots of each group as well, sending the photos to Linda Garner-Bunch, the Managing Editor of TheTrucker.com. Greg and Linda then collaborated on putting together a deadline story that Linda placed on the front page of TheTrucker.com.

The story featured below offers a look at the pictures of the finalists grouped by their vehicle class. It also shares the list of those State Champions who reached the runoff stage of the competition, putting each of them one step closer to a national championship.