Episodes

As the second day of the driving competition began rolling, ATA Chairman Dan Van Alstine sat down with Jimmy Mac. Dan, who is the President and Chief Operating Officer at Ruan Transportation Management Systems, will be concluding his one-year term as ATA Chairman in October. While celebrating the accomplishments and driving excellence of all the competitors at NTDC 2023, Dan took this opportunity to look back at his time and his travels in his work on behalf of ATA for the past year. The post D...

For more than 50 years now, Rick Cates has been involved in working on the National Truck Driving & National Step Van Driving Championships. Known as the “Senator,” because of this long tenure with the NTDCs, Rick takes some time with Jimmy Mac to look back at his involvement with the national championships over the years. The post Rick Cates Looks Back at His 51 Years Of NTDC Work appeared first on PodWheels.

Byron and Bob Bramwell are one of the greatest father-and-son acts in the trucking industry. Not only did Bob follow in his father’s footsteps as a multiple state champion to join Byron as a competitor at the NTDCs over the years, but Bob also joined his dad as an industry ambassador when he became the second America’s Road Team Captain in the family. Byron. who is no longer competing in the NTDCs made the trip to Columbus to support Bob at the national championships. Byron and Bob catch up with...

Considered by his fellow competitors as one of the greats in the history of NTDCs, Tony Spero talks with Jimmy Mac about his upcoming retirement from truck driving and the emotional ride he has experienced on his road back to the NTDCs. While looking back at his time in the industry, Tony also tells Jimmy about the opportunity to spend time with his family after his retirement. The post Connecticut Grand Champion Tony Spero Looks Back At His Long Run At The NTDCs appeared first on PodWheels.

Eugene Mulero, who co-authored a book on the history of the National Truck Driving & National Step Van Driving Championships, took a few minutes to step away from his reporter’s position in a safe area within the driving course to give Jimmy Mac and our listeners the scoop on what took place during the event’s preliminary rounds. Jimmy also talks to Eugene about the storied history of the event and how it has continued to evolve over the years. The post Transport Topics Reporter Eugene Mulero T...

As he looked out over the road course one day before he would be driving on it, Tim Blair, a State Champion from Tennessee, was all smiles. Tim, who first competed at the state level in 2019, tells Greg Thompson from PodWheels about his journey to reach the NTDCs. Tim, who also became a Captain for the Tennessee Road Team this year, also shares his thoughts on the opportunity to be a part of what has become a celebration of safety. The post NTDC Rookie Tim Blair Taking The Time To Savor His Fir...

A trailblazer who became the first woman to claim a National Title at the NTDCs with her trophy run in 2013, Ina Daly talks with Jimmy Mac about her trucking career that now spans more than 40 years. As you’ll hear, Ina shares the important role her father played to get her to pursue a career behind the wheel. The post Ina Daly Looks Back At Her 40-Plus Years In Trucking With Jimmy Mac appeared first on PodWheels.

On the day before he would get behind wheel at NTDC 2023, defending Grand Champion Roland Bolduc talks with Jimmy Mac on what he observed during the competition’s walkthrough of this year’s road course. Roland and Jimmy also touch on other topics related to the week and the journey that all the competitors have made to reach the Super Bowl of Safety. The post Defending NTDC Grand Champ Roland Bolduc Talks About This Year’s Road Course appeared first on PodWheels.

Richard Gillespie is considered by most who know the history of the NTDCs as the G-O-A-T, the Greatest of All Time. From his first NTDC trip in 1965 through 1991, Richard claimed two Grand Championships and he won National Championships in seven different divisions during his long run at the NTDCs. Following his retirement from competition when he won his second Grand Championship in 1991, Richard has continued to return each year to serve as volunteer. Jimmy Mac talks to Richard about his amazi...

While ATA President & CEO Chris Spear joins Jimmy Mac in the celebration of safety and driving excellence that are seen through the annual NTDC event, Chris also shares how the national championships have become a yearly trip that he has taken with his son, Thomas. During this episode, Jimmy also talks to Chris about what’s happening with the industry’s efforts to secure more truck parking nationwide. The post The NTDCs Have Become A Family Tradition For ATA President & CEO Chris Spear appeared...

Some 22 years after Eddie Pennington began his trucking career in 1976, he won his first of 12 State Championships in Florida. The 2023 edition of the NTDCs will be his last run at the nationals as Eddie plans to retire at some point in the next year. Tim Taylor, a Captain with America’s Road Team and a friend of Eddie’s, asked PodWheels to spend some time talking with Eddie and looking back a career that includes four million safe driving miles. Tim, who is a course announcer at NTDC 2023, join...

Dan Horvath, Vice President of Safety Policy at ATA, discusses the deep roots that he has established through the years serving as a volunteer at the NTDCs. Dan tells Jimmy Mac how he got involved with the NTDC event, and he also shares how the excellence displayed by the professional drivers who compete annually at the state level and at the NTDCs continue to serve as an inspiration with their dedication to safety. The post ATA Vice President of Safety Policy Dan Horvath Continues To Draw Insp...

Wayne Crowder, who won the 2004 NTDC Grand Championship in his first-ever trip to the nationals, looks back with Jimmy Mac on how he was encouraged to enter the Kentucky State Championships in 19 years ago, which was also his first entry at the state level. Wayne and Jimmy also discuss Wayne’s career and his selection to serve as a Captain on America’s Road Team. Wayne and Jimmy are joined in the final portion of the episode by Virginia Bulger, who heads up the America’s Road Team program as par...

On the first day of NTDC 2023, we spent some time with Charity Marsh, who serves as the Den Mother for the Step Van Division at the National Championships. A trucking industry veteran who has worked at previous NTDC events, Charity provides insights on not only what a Den Mother does at the championships, but she also discusses what the feelings she gets each year while spending a few days in her den with a collection of champions who hold tightly to their dedication to safety. The post Highlig...

Alex Ayala started making the trip the National Championships in 1965. On the first day of NTDC 2023, Alex was the first in the line of folks who had lined up to hang banners inside the arena in support of their drivers. While Alex has been retired from as a safety pro with the H-E-B Supermarket chain, he still does some safety consulting for the company. One of his biggest contributions is working with H-E-B drivers who have their sights set on competing in the NTDCs. As you’ll hear in this epi...

Jimmy Mac catches up with the 2022 Grand Champion Roland Bolduc as he prepares to return to NTDC 2023 to seek his third career Grand Championship. Roland reflects back on his personal history with the event and how sharpening his skills for the competition made him a better professional driver on the road. The post NTDC Defending Grand Champion Roland Bolduc Reflects On His Career & Dedication To Excellence appeared first on PodWheels.

Jimmy Mac spends some time with Robert Foskey, who began his career behind the wheel and today serves as the Global Health and Safety Manager from UPS. As you’ll hear, Robert is the Second Vice Chairman of the organizing committee for NTDC 2023 and he is also a past competitor in the Truck Driving Championships at both the state and national levels. The post Robert Fosky Shares Perspective Of Former NTDC Competitor & Current Event Committee Member appeared first on PodWheels.

Jimmy Mac chats with Transport Topics Report Eugene Mulero about the National Truck Driving Championships and how Eugene has develop a deep admiration for the event since he first began covering the NTDCs in 2017. The post Eugene Mulero From Transport Topics Shares Why The NTDC Has Become A Must-See Event appeared first on PodWheels.

As we get set to bring you the stories and take you behind the scenes with podcasts detailing the 2023 Championships, we wanted to take some time to set the stage for the event. In this first episode of our 2023 series, Jimmy Mac talks with Rodney Myers from FedEx Freight, who is the Chairman overseeing this year’s National Truck Driving Championships The post NTDC Chairman Rodney Myers Discusses Importance of National Truck Driving Championships appeared first on PodWheels.

To mark the six-month anniversary since we launched the PodWheels Powered By RadioNemo platform, we are taking an exit ramp that will roll us back to mid-August when we were onsite at the National Truck Driving & National Step Van Driving Championships. Roland Bolduc earned his second career Grand Champion title at NTDC 2022. As we look forward to an exciting road ahead for PodWheels, we spent some time with Roland, who we asked to look back at his dedication to excellence and the road that brou...

In our first post-event episode for this podcast series covering the National Truck Driving & National Step Van Driving Championships, Elisabeth Barna from the American Trucking Associations takes some time with us to look back at a very memorable NTDC 2022. Elisabeth, who is the Executive Vice President of Industry Affairs and Senior Advisor to ATA President and CEO Chris Spear, discusses the total team effort that came together to hold the first NTDC since 2019 and how the event had been impac...

On the first day of the competition, PodWheels Executive Producer Greg Thompson had the opportunity to spend some time at NTDC 2022 with four captains from America’s Road Team. While Captain Rhonda Hartman provided Greg with a view of the road course problems the competitors encounter during a ride-along in a truck on the media course, Captain Wayne Crowder, who is the 2004 NTDC Grand Champion, took us for a guided tour of the actual road course from a golf cart. The combination of the two ride-...

Dan Van Alstine, the current Vice Chairman of the American Trucking Associations, talked with Greg Thompson on the day of his eight-year-anniversary as President of Ruan. Dan, who will become the Chairman of ATA in October, shares his thoughts on just why this year’s NTDC event is so important and poignant. He also discusses how he will approach the next year at the helm of ATA. As you will hear, Dan believes that it’s important to focus on issues at the state level. Dan also shares his thoughts...

In this episode, you’ll meet Antoine Sadler who never really expected to be at NTDC 2022 when he responded to a request from his team at Wal-Mart to enter the North Carolina State Championship. Antoine took a no-pressure approach when he went to state, and he claimed the championship. Greg Thompson talked to Antoine about his route to the nationals and his experience as a rookie at NTDC 2022. Antoine, who is part of Wal-Mart’s Road Team and a Board Member for Truckers Against Trafficking, also d...