How would you respond if you landed one point short of reaching the runoff in your vehicle division at Nationals? Zack Bourque, the two-time reigning Tanker State Champion from New York, was forced to look squarely into that very challenge the moment he got his envelope following the call of the runoff finalists at NTDC 2025. As you’ll hear in this episode of the podcast, Zack refused to get eaten up by disappointment. Instead, he continued to work to make the most of his time onsite with all the driving professionals who were gathered in Minneapolis last summer.

During this interview with PodWheels Executive Producer Greg Thompson, Zack shares how he used the afternoon and evening of 2025’s Championship Day to be a part of group conversations with a number of the runoff participants, including eventual 2025 National Grand Champion David Comings. Zack also talks to us about the important mentoring role that Jim Kohr, a TDC and NTDC stalwart from New York, continues to play in Zack’s development as a professional driver and NTDC competitor.

While Zack is counting the days to New York’s TDC in June, he knows that, in order to compete, he has to maintain his safety-first focus on the job as a driver for Wegmans Food Markets. And, when it comes to this winter, staying safe has included driving through many snow-filled days.

OUR FRIEND OF THE PODCAST SPONSOR: Founded in 2007, the St. Christopher Truckers Relief Fund is the only nationwide nonprofit that provides short-term relief to Class A OTR drivers suffering from an illness or injury that took them out of work within the last 365 days. The St. Christopher Truckers Development and Relief Fund also provides several free prevention health and wellness programs for OTR drivers in an effort to keep them on the road, including nicotine and smoking cessation, diabetes prevention, chronic disease management, at-home cancer screenings, and vaccine vouchers. To learn more about the St. Christopher Truckers Relief Fund and all of the offerings available from SCF, including how you can support their important work to help professional drivers and their families, visit TruckersFund.org.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed