Episodes

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 following that company’s closure. In addition, Dan had to qualify for the competition once again with his new carrier, XPO. It was a test of perseverance for Dan to get back the state TDC for a 24th time and to qualify for his 8th NTDC tr...

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. Tim put himself in contention for the gold of the Silver State’s Grand Championship by first winning the 4-Axle Vehicle Class State Title. In this episode, Tim shares his recent memories on his day at the Nevada TDC with Transport T...

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 honors all the competitors seeking to be a part of NTDC 2025, but the evening is also reserved to spotlight the state’s Driver of the Year. With nearly three million safe driving miles compiled over a career that spans some four decades...

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 each year. To kick off this series, we caught up with Jason Wing, who has been involved with NTDC since 2010. Jason served as the Organizing Committee’s Chairman in 2022, and Jason is most well known for being the author of the “NTDC ...

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 fact that the Georgia Trucking Community had lost a champion and a friend with the passing of Matt Awbrey following the first day of the competition. Matt and Herschel had been friends and TDC training partners for many years, and...

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 as a State Champion. At this year’s South Carolina TDC, Steve was on the top of his game, winning the 3-Axle Division title before hearing his name called as the Grand Champion of the Palmetto State. In this episode of the podcast, y...

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 slated to be a part of the field at the Tri-State as the TDCs for Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts will decide who qualifies from those respective states to go on the Road To Minneapolis for NTDC 2025. As you’ll hear, Roland ...

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 already in the books on the Road To Minneapolis. Recorded on May 30th, Greg and Eugene discuss the fact the NTDC 2025 field will feature four previous National Grand Champions with the prospect of even more legends joining an all-sta...

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 in mid-April. As you’ll hear in this super-sized state grand champion edition of the podcast, Chris holds a deep appreciation for his victories in the 2025 Washington State TDC. Chris, who recently surpassed two million safe drivin...

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, Rickey still had a moment of doubt when the Mississippi Trucking Association officials announced the top three finishers in the 5-Axle Class. The announcement of Rickey as the 5-axle champion erased any doubts as the veteran Walmart dri...

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 of the Year, Wilbert earned his first National Championship at NTDC 2022, winning the top trophy in the 3-Axle Division. For this episode of the podcast, Transport Topics Senior Reporter Eugene Mulero had an opportunity to talk to Wi...

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 victory in the 3-Axle Division set the stage for his first Grand Champion title. Chad’s father, Patrick, who inspired his son to join the trucking industry and eventually enter the TDC arena, brought home the third-place trophy this ye...

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 State TDC. In mid-April with his wife and son in the crowd, David claimed his second consecutive Arizona State Grand Championship. For this episode, Transport Topics Senior Reporter Eugene Mulero caught up with David to talk about the...

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 history-making. Wayne still stands as the only person to win his Grand Champion crown as a rookie competitor at the state level and in the nationals. In 2015, Ron Emenheiser finished second in his class at the Pennsylvania TDC. The champion...

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 America’s Road Team Captain and TA Citizen Driver of the Year Herschel Evans, the Safety Drive For A Cure is a fundraising event supporting the mission of the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation. The Safety Drive annually brings together ...

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 a “pre-trip” inside the facility, hold planning meetings and tour the immediate area that will be the home for the 2025 National Truck Driving and National Step Van Driving Championships. Transport Topics Senior Reporter Eugene Mule...

Ina Daly has been a fixture at the Arizona Truck Driving Championships for more than 30 years as she heads into this year’s event in the Valley of the Sun. Ina has also served as a consistent presence and a continuing inspiration at the NTDC. Becoming the first woman to win a national championship and as the 2023 recipient of the Neill Darmstadter Professional Excellence Award, Ina has continually sought to raise the bar at NTDC and throughout her distinguished career as a professional driver, w...

In this expanded episode of the podcast, we place a spotlight on the work of the volunteers who come together each year from across the country to serve in a variety of capacities. As anyone familiar with NTDC knows, each job and every assignment helps to contribute to the success of the National Truck Driving Championships. As you will hear, Transport Topics Senior Reporter Eugene Mulero sits down with two recent recipients of the Sam Gillette Lifetime Volunteer Award. David Wiechers, a vetera...

Dennis Shirar joins us on this edition of the podcast to reflect on his run that claimed the NTDC Grand Champion’s title back in 2008. Dennis looks back at his career in trucking with Eugene Mulero of Transport Topics. As you’ll hear, Eugene and Dennis discuss what the NTDC and the state competitions have meant to Dennis over the years. Dennis also talks about his plans to return to the Indiana State TDC this summer. For Dennis, the state TDCs and the Nationals provide opportunities to pursue dr...

Our guest for this edition of the podcast is Robert Foskey, who is the Chairman of the Organizing Committee for NTDC 2025. As you will hear in his interview with Transport Topics Senior Reporter Eugene Mulero, Foskey brings a wealth of NTDC experience to his leadership role. A former competitor and a long-time volunteer at the NTDC, Foskey has a deep appreciation for what the annual gathering of the nation’s top professionals on the road today means to the competitors, their companies and especi...

After a decade of competing at the state level, Rebecca Heck’s first experience at the NTDCs in 2024 has served as added motivation to work on making it all the way back on the Road To Minneapolis and NTDC 2025. In this edition of the podcast, you’ll hear Rebecca discuss her career milestones, which include being one of two women to reach the national finals last year. Rebecca, an owner-operator who runs as part of the Landstar fleet, made special note of the encouragement the team at Landstar p...

What happens when the NTDC Grand Champion from 2022 sits down to chat with the NTDC Grand Champion for 2023? You’ll be able to hear the answer in this fascinating Rollin’ With Roland episode of the podcast. Two-Time NTDC Grand Champion Roland Bolduc talks with Gragg Wilson, who earned his NTDC Grand Championship in 2023. The conversation goes deep while looking at Gragg’s career, his perseverance over the years at the state and national levels and what it meant to him break through with his firs...

On March 22nd in Atlanta, the 14th edition of the Safety Drive For A Cure will take place, and Herschel Evans, who is the driving force behind this annual charity event, is our guest on this episode of the podcast. Built around a TDC-style competition, the Safety Drive For A Cure supports the mission of the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation. For veterans of state TDCs and the NTDC, the Safety Drive For A Cure provides the opportunity to gauge where you are in your preparation for making a run on ...

In this episode of the podcast, we place a well-deserved spotlight on Rick Cates, a Lifetime Member of the NTDC Organizing Committee who has logged more than 50 years of service with the National Truck Driving & National Step Van Driving Championships. As Eugene Mulero shares with us, Mr. Cates was given the honorific title of “Senator” by his NTDC friends and colleagues because of the respect they have for his dedication to the NTDC and the trucking industry. As part of Eugene’s interview with ...