National Truck Driving Championships
Podcast
Earning the name “the Super Bowl of Safety,” National Truck Driving and National Step Van Driving Championships features a collection of the best and most accomplished professional drivers in the country from nine different classifications. To qualify to be a part of the championship, each of the competitors had to win their respective state championship within one of those categories. Plus, they had to also stay accident-free for the past 12 months.
Hosted by the American Trucking Associations and the organization’s Safety Management Council, the home for NTDC 2024 will be Indianapolis. In addition to the competition, the NTDC always features great personal and inspirational stories. PodWheels Powered By RadioNemo is proud to share those stories throughout the state competitions, and we’re thrilled to be onsite for the Nationals in August.
Latest Episodes
Richard Sweeney Returning To NTDC As Model Of Quiet Consistency & Excellence
Richard Sweeney, the 2024 Grand Champion from the state of Massachusetts, joins the podcast as we enter our final countdown to NTDC 2024. During this episode, you’ll hear how Richard followed in the footsteps of his father to enter the trucking industry. In his...
New Jersey’s Wilbert Vano Reflects On His Return To NTDC
A National Champion in 2022, Wilbert Vano is grateful and thrilled for the opportunity to return to Indianapolis and to once again be among the nation’s elite professional drivers coming together for NTDC 2024. As you will hear in his interview with Eugene Mulero from...
Tyler Rogers On His Climb To Colorado’s Summit As Grand Champion
While Tyler Rogers will be making his fifth career trip to the Nationals in Indianapolis, his rise to become the 2024 Grand Champion from the state of Colorado even surprised Tyler. As you will hear him share in another great interview by Transport Topics Senior...
Kentucky Grand Champion John Willinger Enjoying Every Moment While Keeping It All In Perspective
In this episode of the podcast, we’ll meet John Willinger, who will be returning to Indianapolis and NTDC 2024 after now winning back-to-back Grand Champion titles in the state of Kentucky. As Transport Topics Senior Reporter Eugene Mulero shares with us, John has...
ATA’s Jacob Pierce Discusses 2024 NTDC Driving Course & Many Other Topics
We are thrilled to welcome Jacob Pierce from the American Trucking Associations to a special edition of the podcast. Jacob is an Executive Director for ATA overseeing the Safety Management Council and the Transportation Security Council. As you will hear during the...
Eugene Mulero Looks Back At NTDC’s History With Radio Legend Dave Nemo
In this special episode of the podcast, we will be bringing you a segment from the Dave Nemo Weekends radio show that originally aired during Father’s Day Weekend. Trucking Radio Pioneer and legendary broadcaster Dave Nemo had asked Eugene Mulero from Transport Topics...
Dedication, Training & Heart: Going Inside Roland Bolduc’s Drive To Achieve Championship Excellence
As we enter July and begin the final countdown to NTDC 2024, we wanted to take you inside the national competition preparations of Roland Bolduc, one of the most accomplished champions in the long history of the NTDC. This year, Roland is the only returning National...
Driving Competitions & National Championships Part of Long Tradition and Love of Trucking For The Lewis Family
We have a father-son story to share with you in this edition of the podcast. Eugene Mulero, Senior Reporter for Transport Topics, brings us his interviews with the father-son duo of Nate and Andrew Lewis. Nate, who is a past National Champion, has been a member of the...
Onsite Coverage From State Championship Tripleheader In New England
In this edition of the podcast, we hear the onsite interviews from the road trip that Eugene Mulero made as part of his coverage for Transport Topics of the NTDC state qualifying rounds. Eugene traveled to Windsor Locks, Connecticut, to be a part of the New England...
Grand Champion Of Arizona, David Coffel Returns To NTDC In New Vehicle Class
We’re turning back the pages of the state truck driving championships to a result happened earlier this year when David Coffel brought home the grand champion’s title at the Arizona Trucking Association’s State Championships. Eugene Mulero, Senior Reporter from...
Georgia’s Chris Moore Continues To Build Upon Family’s Championship Traditions
In this episode of the podcast, the state of Georgia is on our mind and in focus as we highlight the Grand Championship claimed by Chris Moore. As you will hear, it was at an early age that Chris gained an appreciation for trucking and the skills it takes to compete...
Spotlighting FedEx’s Dan Shamrell & Tim Blair On Road Back To NTDC
As we close out May and begin the final countdown to NTDC 2024, we will spend some time talking with Dan Shamrell from Oregon and Tim Blair from Tennessee. In addition to being members of the FedEx Team who have earned a spot in this year’s Nationals in Indianapolis,...
Special Delivery From Virginia: Our Onsite TDC Report
In this episode of the podcast, we are delivering a “Virginia Special,” as we’ll have onsite interviews conducted by Eugene Mulero, Senior Reporter from Transport Topics. You’ll hear Eugene’s conversation with David Price, who ran the table at the competition to win...
Larry Gorby Returns To NTDC As West Virginia Grand Champion
Larry Gorby from West Virginia and Ina Daly from Arizona are in the spotlight during another mega-edition of our NTDC Podcast, which was recorded on May 8. You will hear Eugene Mulero, Senior Reporter from Transport Topics and co-author of “From Roadeo To TDC,” look...
NTDC Nevada Shocker & Our Chat With Georgia’s Herschel Evans
In this supersized edition of the podcast, you will hear an interview with the 2024 Grand Champion from Nevada, Matt Hart. Podcast co-host Eugene Mulero, a Senior Reporter with Transport Topics, talks with Matt about earning the top prize in the Silver State, and...
Road To NTDC 2024: State Championships First Hurdle For Past Champs & All Competitors
Recorded on April 3, the second episode of 2024 edition of our NTDC series takes you inside this year’s first state championship, which was held in Louisiana, and we also discuss the approaches the past two National Grand Champions are taking to prepare for their...
Destination Indy: Road To NTDC 2024 Begins With State Competitions
PodWheels Powered By RadioNemo is thrilled to once again rev up our podcast series dedicated to the National Truck Driving & National Step Van Driving Championships. We plan to have at least one episode per month leading up to NTDC 2024 this August in...
Final NTDC 2023 Rewind: Observations From Eugene Mulero of Transport Topics
As we bring our coverage of NTDC 2023 to a conclusion, we asked Eugene Mulero to give us his final thoughts on this year's national championships. A Senior Reporter with Transport Topics, Eugene is also the co-author of a book covering the 86-year history of the NTDC....
NTDC 2023 Rewind Part 2: Celebrating Professional Excellence
In the second segment of our three-part series with Transport Topics Senior Reporter Eugene Mulero, we discuss the incredible accomplishments and dedication to professional excellence by the competitors who were a part of the National Truck Driving and National Step...
NTDC 2023 Rewind Part 1: Looking Back With Eugene Mulero
Eugene Mulero, Senior Reporter for Transport Topics, joins us for Part 1 of our NTDC Rewind as we look back on the memorable moments and performances during the 2023 National Truck Driving & National Step Van Driving Championships. In this episode, we spend some...
Instant Flashback: Championship Saturday Remains Memorable
As we round the corner toward the final episodes of our NTDC 2023 Series, we wanted to provide our listeners with an episode that takes you inside Championship Saturday, which includes the traditional Walk Of Champions. In this segment, you'll hear from some of the...
Pride of Connecticut: Bolduc & Spero Reflect On NTDC Run
Roland Bolduc and Tony Spero have become living legends with their repeated appearances in the National Truck Driving and National Step Van Driving Championships. Both these veteran professional drivers have collected a truckload of state championships en route to...
NTDC Grand Champion Gragg Wilson Model of Perseverance
Prior to NTDC 2023, Gragg Wilson, a veteran driver from UPS, had made 13 trips to the National Championships as a state champion from Nevada. But, in all those runs to the NTDC, Gragg had never made it beyond the preliminary round of the national competition. NTDC...
Family Remains Key To Barry Kraemer’s Trucking Success
Barry Kraemer knows that all the miles he covers each week as a a professional driver would be much tougher to navigate without the support of his family. Winning his first National Championship this year at NTDC 2023, Barry was thrilled to be able to celebrate his...
Lisa Steed Appreciates Opportunities Delivered By Trucking
Lisa Steed has a unique perspective when it comes to the road and the opportunities that you can find behind the wheel. After spending a decade as a State Trooper in Utah, Lisa took her career in a new direction when she discovered an opportunity to start a Step Van...
Ina Daly Defines Professional Excellence With Her Career In Trucking
Ina Daly is a true pioneer in the trucking industry, hitting the road over 40 years ago at a time when few women were behind the wheel. Ina excelled in her job, striving for the highest levels of professional excellence as she compiled decade-upon-decade of safe...
Mike Barnes Admires Champs, Now Focused On NTDC 2024
Mike Barnes is a 34-year veteran professional driver who has been competing through the state of Arkansas to reach the NTDCs for the past few years. Following a third-place finish in his classification this year at the Arkansas Truck Driving Championships, Mike...
Maine Connection: Ron Round & Ken Duncan Love Competition and the Ability To Serve The Industry
Ron Round and Ken Duncan have made multiple trips to the National Truck Driving and National Step Van Driving Championships, earning State Championships in their respective classifications in the state of Maine. For NTDC 2023, Ron and Ken returned to the national...
Handshakes With State Champs Priceless Moment For Kevin Burch
2023 marks 50 years in the trucking industry for Kevin Burch, and one the highlights of this golden anniversary year for Kevin happened at NTDC 2023. On the final day of the competition, Kevin part of the ATA's dignitary group that shook the hands of the 419 state...
Walmart’s Antoine Sadler & Rickey Oliver Working To Make a Difference
Last year, Antoine Sadler posted the high score on the NTDC 2022 driving course with a 220. At NTDC 2023, Antoine focused his dedication to excellence to champion the important work of Truckers Against Trafficking (TAT). Antoine, who is a member of the Board of...