National Truck Driving Championships
Podcast
With a tradition and history that is now approaching nearly 90 years, the 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 2025 will be Minneapolis. 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
Bob & Byron Bramwell: Celebrating A Father-Son Legacy At NTDC
During this interview by Jimmy Mac of the Dave Nemo Show, we catch up with Bob and Byron Bramwell, whose family traditions speak to not only the career opportunities that trucking provides, but to the dedication to safety and service that stand at the heart of the...
Kirk Weiss Looks Back On His Start In Trucking, The Importance of Safety & Staying Fit on the Road
Kirk Weiss of ABF Freight discusses his journey to find the trucking industry with Jimmy Mac of the Dave Nemo Show. As Kirk shares with us, his trucking career began after being laid off from a factory job. Kirk was pleasantly surprised by being allowed to practice...
Catching Up With Herschel Evans, A True Knight of the Road
At NTDC 2024, Herschel Evans got an opportunity to look back on what has been an amazing career in the trucking industry. A two-time National Champion at NTDC, Herschel’s many great works both inside and outside the industry, including organizing an annual precision...
2023 Grand Champ Gragg Wilson Looks Back At An Eventful Year
Gragg Wilson opened NTDC 2024 with a speech to all of this year’s competitors that reminded the field of 400-plus professional drivers just how special a journey they made to Indianapolis. In this conversation with Jimmy Mac of the Dave Nemo Show, Gragg looks back at...
First-Time Visit To NTDC Is Memorable For Dennis Dellinger
NTDC 2024 marked the first time that Dennis Dellinger had made the trip to watch the national competition. Serving as First Vice Chairman of the American Trucking Associations, Dennis had the opportunity to welcome the 400-plus competitors on the opening day of NTDC...
Meet Ritch Fundell: From Dock Worker to Champion Driver
In this episode, we get to know Ritch Fundell, who earned National Runner-Up honors in the Three-Axle Division during NTDC 2024. Ritch is now in his 26th year as a professional behind the wheel, with 20 of those being a part of the FedEx Freight fleet. Speaking with...
Ina Daly’s Trailblazing Journey in Trucking
With this episode, we catch up with Ina Daly, the only woman to win a National Championship in the history of the NTDC. At this year’s competition, Ina was once again a standout, reaching the finals in the Flatbed Division. Jimmy Mac of the Dave Nemo leads Ina on a...
Mic’d Up: Roland Bolduc Leads Fun Q&A Session With Grand Champion Group
One of the true highlights of NTDC 2024 took place just off the driving course during the competition’s third day when the organizing committee brought together nine of the NTDC Legends who have won the title of Grand Champion. Our NTDC Podcast was on hand as some of...
NTDC Competitors Hit The Driving Course: An Inside Look
As the competitors from five of the driving classifications hit the driving course, our podcast team of PodWheels Executive Producer Greg Thompson and Transport Topics Senior Reporter Eugene Mulero worked to take our listeners inside the happenings at NTDC 2024....
Day One of NTDC 2024: Going Behind The Scenes In Indianapolis
As we hit the ground in Indianapolis for the NTDC 2024, our podcast was on hand for the orientation and welcome for this year’s field of competitors. In this episode of the podcast, Transport Topics Senior Reporter Eugene Mulero and PodWheels Executive Producer Greg...
NTDC Legend Ray Simon: Looks Back At Record Three Grand Championships
As NTDC 2024 gets underway in Indianapolis, our podcast presents the interview Transport Topics Senior Reporter Eugene Mulero had earlier this year with NTDC Legend Ray Simon, the only competitor in the history of the event to win three National Grand Championships....
Celebrating NTDC 2024 Eve With State Grand Champion Triple Feature
With NTDC 2024 set to open on August 24, our podcast brings you three of the State Grand Champions who will be in Indianapolis representing FedEx. You will hear interviews with Hobie Eirich from Tennessee, Mike Light from Pennsylvania and Matthew Boenisch from...
NTDC 2024 Organizing Committee Chair Patti Gillette Is Ready For Indianapolis
On August 9, our podcast had the privilege of welcoming special guest Patti Gillette, who is the Chairwoman of the NTDC Organizing Committee for the 2024 event. Patti was very generous with her time as we covered a number of topics of interest for the participants who...
The Final Countdown Is Underway To NTDC 2024
Question: Where can you find the reigning National Grand Champion, a history-making National Champion and a Lifetime Member of the NTDC Organizing Committee in one place? The answer is this episode of the NTDC 2024 Podcast. Transport Topics Senior Reporter Eugene...
Going Inside Old Dominion’s State Success In 2024
Old Dominion is one of the handful of companies that has continued to place an increased focus in the past few years on encouraging and supporting drivers in their efforts to compete in state truck driving championships across the country. Over the past three years,...
Connecticut Grand Champion Ernie Budlowski Talks NTDC Team Title Defense
Connecticut’s Ernie Budlowski is in the spotlight as we count down the final days until the start of NTDC 2024 in Indianapolis. Securing his third State Grand Championship earlier this year, Ernie will be making his 13th trip to the national championships when they...
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...