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 (ATA) and the organization’s Safety Management Council, the home for NTDC 2025 will be in Minneapolis. In addition to the competition, the NTDC always features great personal and inspirational stories. PodWheels is proud to share those stories throughout the year – from the State Truck Driving Championships to the Nationals and long after the NTDC has concluded. PodWheels covers it all. PodWheels is honored that our Road To Minneapolis Series has been selected by ATA to serve as the Official Podcast of NTDC 2025.
Latest Episodes
Update On NTDC 2025 Preparations From ATA’s Jacob Pierce As Final Countdown Begins
Seven months and 45 episodes ago, Jacob Pierce from the American Trucking Associations was the first featured guest on this podcast just three days into the start of the New Year. Now, as we stand less than three weeks away from the start of NTDC 2025, Jacob returns...
Massachusetts’ Chris Buswell Travels Full Circle With State Grand Champ Title
When FedEx’s Chris Buswell heard his name called for the first time as the Grand Champion of Massachusetts, it just happened to be the voice of the same person who shared some important advice with Chris several years ago. Brian Singelais, the 2015 National Champ in...
11-Time Oregon Grand Champion Dan Shamrell Ready For His 19th NTDC Trip
How do you become a living legend within the NTDC Community? That’s the one question we did not ask Dan Shamrell, who is our featured guest on this episode of the podcast. First of all, Dan is far too humble to try to attempt to answer that question. As you will hear...
2014 Grand Champion Jeff Langenhahn Part Of Stacked NTDC 2025 Tanker Field
When the competitors in the Tanker Class gather at NTDC 2025 in Minneapolis, this division will feature three National Grand Champions. Tanker includes the past two NTDC Grand Champions with Jackie Reed in 2024 and Gragg Wilson in 2023. The third member of the Grand...
NTDC 2025 Organizing Committee Member Heath Arnold Inspired By Example of Champions
Much in the same way that professional drivers from across the country prepare for their State TDC that will give them a shot at qualifying for the National Championships, Heath Arnold is drawn to serve as a volunteer at the state and national levels of the...
Back-To-Back NY State Grand Champ Mark McLean Continues To Excel
How do you top winning the State Grand Championship in New York in 2024? Mark McLean of FedEx Freight provided that answer in 2025 when he became the back-to-back Grand Champion from the Empire State. For Mark, who is a veteran of TDC competitions dating back some 20...
Florida Grand Champion Miguel Sanchez Dedicated To Staying Prepared
Miguel Sanchez of UPS believes in preparation. Like countless professional drivers on the road today, Miguel stays prepared for the unexpected. In the hours before the Florida Trucking Association held its awards dinner for this year’s Sunshine State Truck Driving...
Family Support Helps To Fuel Ritch Fundell’s Continued Excellence
In early June, Ritch Fundell brought home his fifth Grand Championship for the state of Illinois. One of the many people in the crowd cheering Ritch as he won the Tanker Class Championship en route to the day’s top trophy was his son, who had driven five hours from...
National Championship Driving Course Design: NTDC 2025 Committee Member Frank Ems Takes Us Inside
What goes into developing the driving courses for the National Truck Driving and National Step Van Driving Championships? During this episode of the podcast, we asked that question and touched on a number of related topics with Frank Ems, the member of the NTDC 2025...
‘Rhode Warriors’ Chris Maxwell And Al D’Angelo Celebrate Joe Hicks In TDC Look Back
In the days prior to winning what would be his 7th career Rhode Island State TDC Grand Championship, Joe Hicks of XPO was being honored on the floor of the Rhode Island State House. Joe heard a proclamation from the Rhode Island Speaker of the House being read to...
NTDC 2025 Organizing Committee Chair Bob Foskey Ready For Final Countdown
Recorded on June 20 when the start of NTDC 2025 was just 60 days away, this episode of the podcast gave us the opportunity to catch up with Bob Foskey, who is serving as the Chairman of the Organizing Committee for NTDC 2025. We talked with Bob on a range of topics,...
Picture Perfect Early Birthday Gift: Ramon Guzman Returning To Nationals
Ramon Guzman of FedEx Freight has become a fixture at the California Truck Driving Championships and he is a true testament to perseverance. Until breaking through in 2025 winning the title in the Flatbed Division, Ramon had claimed his first and only state...
MMTA President & CEO Louis Campion Looks Back At Maryland & Delaware TDCs
What does it take to host a pair of State TDCs at the same location for the first time? We asked this question and many more during our recent conversation with Louis Campion, the President & CEO of the Maryland Motor Truck Association. As you’ll hear, Louis and...
Celebrating The Grand Championship 3-Peat of Kentucky’s John Willinger
How do you win three State TDC Grand Championships in a row? That’s the question we asked Kentucky’s John Willinger a few weeks after he took home the top trophy in the Bluegrass State for a third straight year. A proud member of Team FedEx, John will be making his...
Dan Istre’s Journey Back To NTDC Made Sweeter By Idaho Grand Championship
Over the past 25 years or so, Dan Istre had become a fixture at the Idaho TDC and a regular presence at NTDC, with 23 State TDCs and seven national appearances prior to 2025. Dan was one of the stalwarts on the Yellow Freight Team, but he had to find a new ride...
Tim Stanga Captures Grand Champion’s Gold In Silver State TDC
For 2025 Nevada TDC Grand Champion Tim Stanga, the journey back to the NTDC took a little more than a decade and included a move to Las Vegas. The last time Tim was part of the Nationals field was in 2014 when he qualified as part of Team Arizona as a state champion....
Certain Recognition: TTA TDC Awards Banquet Crowns Champs & Honors Driver of the Year
For this episode of the series, PodWheels went on the road to attend the Tennessee State TDC Awards Banquet that was held on the first Saturday in May, following the two-day competition. Hosted by the Tennessee Trucking Association, the State TDC Banquet not only...
NTDC ‘Oath’ Author Jason Wing Dedicated To Safety & Service To Others
With this episode of the podcast, we are starting a series of features on members of the NTDC Organizing Committee. As we get closer to NTDC 2025 in Minneapolis, we’ll drop in interviews with some of the people who help to make the national championships a reality...
Georgia’s Herschel Evans Pays Tribute To Matt Awbrey With Grand Championship Win
For Herschel Evans and for everyone involved in this year’s Georgia Truck Driving Championships, the event was a true emotional rollercoaster. The cheers for the hard-earned victories that secured championships and positions in the NTDC 2025 field were softened by the...
South Carolina Veteran Competitor Steve Ward Secures His First State Grand Championship
South Carolina’s Steve Ward is no stranger to success at both the State TDC and at the Nationals. Eight years ago, Steve narrowly missed having his name called for a trophy at NTDC 2017. That experience was one of three previous trips Steve has made to the Nationals...
Rollin’ With Roland: Talking With Jimmy Dixon Ahead Of Tri-State TDCs
As the competitors prepare to hit the course this Saturday in the Tri-State TDCs, we saved an interview that two-time National Grand Champion Roland Bolduc recorded with Jimmy Dixon earlier this year for our Rollin' With Roland features. Both Roland and Jimmy are...
Taking Stock Of The Journey So Far On The Road To Minneapolis
Just before the State Trucking Driving Championships got rolling again on May 31, PodWheels Executive Producer Greg Thompson sat down with Transport Topics Senior Reporter Eugene Mulero to dedicate an episode of the podcast to looking back at the state TDCs that are...
Washington’s Chris Poynor Surprised By Fourth State TDC Grand Championship
Despite having won two national championships, multiple state championships and claiming three previous state grand championships, Chris Poynor was not expecting to hear his name called when the Washington Trucking Associations announced its 2025 State Grand Champion...
Rickey Oliver Shines Once Again As The Mississippi TDC Grand Champion
In listening to what Rickey Oliver shared in this edition of the podcast, he was quite surprised to hear his name was called as the Grand Champion of the Mississippi Truck Driving Championships. In fact, despite earning 10 previous berths to compete at the NTDCs,...
New Jersey’s Wilbert Vano Prepares To Take His Shot at 14th Trip To Nationals
The countdown to the New Jersey Truck Driving Championships is down to a matter of days as May 31 approaches. It should be no surprise that five-time Garden State Grand Champion Wilbert Vano has his sights set on making his 14th NTDC trip. The 2023 New Jersey Driver...
Louisiana Grand Champion Chad Rudesill Builds On Family Tradition
In this State Grand Champion episode, we get to know Chad Rudesill, who claimed the top title at the nation’s first State TDC on the schedule. Chad closed out February with a performance that earned him the honor of becoming the Grand Champion of Louisiana. Chad’s...
Arizona Grand Champion Repeat: New Dad David Coffel Delivers For His Son
Over the past year, David Coffel has experienced a great deal of change as he and his wife welcomed their first child, a son named Salem. One thing that has not changed in the past year is the standard of excellence that David has set as a competitor in the Arizona...
NTDC History Time: Looking Back At Two Surprising Grand Championship Runs
As State TDC season begins to heat up and the Road To Minneapolis gets closer, our podcast takes a moment to look back at two of the more surprising championship runs in the past 20 years. Wayne Crowder’s charge to claim the Grand Champion’s title in 2004 was...
Fun, Fundraising & TDC Practice Runs: Looking Back At Safety Drive For A Cure Event
For this episode of the Official Podcast of NTDC 2025, we will be rewinding the clock back to Saturday, March 23rd, when PodWheels Executive Producer Greg Thompson made an onsite visit to the 14th Annual Safety Drive For A Cure, which took place in Atlanta. Led by...
Taking You Inside The NTDC Organizing Committee’s ‘Pre-Trip’ Visit To Minneapolis
Each year, the NTDC Organizing Committee makes a visit to the host site for the National Championships months ahead of the event taking place. This year, the NTDC Organizing Committee circled mid-March as the date to visit the Minneapolis Convention Center to conduct...