David Crocker, the 2025 Tanker Champ from the state of Maine, already knew the importance of striving for excellence even before he began his professional driving career or first attempted to compete at a State TDC. Prior to entering the trucking industry, David had to meet the challenge of providing the perfect finish on custom-made guitars for a list of clients who included Rock & Roll Hall of Fame members Carlos Santana, Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck and Paul McCartney.
At the 14:42 mark of this episode, PodWheels Executive Producer Greg Thompson welcomes David back to the podcast to talk about the career David mastered before getting behind the wheel, looking back at the days when he handled the custom finishing work during a decade with Paul Reed Smith Guitars in Maryland. David, as he shares during the interview, earned the assignment of placing custom paint designs on guitars, including instruments from some of the greatest recording artists in music history.
As you’ll hear, Greg talks to David about how he has taken the skills he developed in the precision work he did in crafting the final look of a special guitar to what David does on the road as well as the driving course. This May, David will be seeking to make an encore appearance at the NTDCs after making it to Nationals for the first time in 2025.
This super-sized edition of the podcast includes a fun discussion at the 49:00 minute mark with an initial look at the results from the TDC in Arizona. NTDC Historian Eugene Mulero joins Greg to run through the list of the first-in-the-nation qualifiers for NTDC 2026.
FRIEND OF THE PODCAST SPONSOR: The Lutzie 43 Foundation is our Friend of the Podcast for this episode of the NTDC 2026 Series. Founded to honor the legacy of Philip Lutzenkirchen, the Lutzie 43 Foundation is dedicated to make sure that the tragedy that took his life would never have to be repeated. Philip was a standout athlete, a beloved teammate, and a man of tremendous character. Today, the foundation that carries his name is working to change the driving culture across the Southeast and beyond by tackling distracted driving, impaired driving, and unsafe habits behind the wheel. To learn more about the Lutzie 43 Foundation and how you can use 43 Key Seconds to run through an important safety checklist before starting your vehicle, visit Lutzie43.org.
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