Episodes

The trip to be a part of NTDC 2024 stood as another highlight for both Bernie Wanyo and Mike Whitehead. Earlier this year, Bernie and Mike, along with 22 other top professional drivers, were named to serve as Captains on America’s Road Team. In this chat with Jimmy Mac of the Dave Nemo Show, Bernie and Mike talk about their careers in trucking, becoming part of the Road Team and being onsite at the NTDC competition. The Dave Nemo Show can be heard every weekend morning from 7:00 to 11 a.m. on S...

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 industry. As you will hear, the conversation explores their shared experiences in national driving championships, the evolution of their careers and the invaluable lessons learned. Their chat with Jimmy also touches on the family bonds...

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 driving in Yellow Freight Systems’ yard back in the day. Discussing the annual NTDC event, Kirk looks back on his competitive experience in the truck driving championships and his dedication to maintaining safety both on and off the r...

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 driving charity event that has raised over $300,000 for pediatric brain cancer research, have placed him among the greatest Knights of the Road. Herschel is a TA Citizen Driver Award Winner and a Captain on America’s Road Team. At NT...

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 an eventful year that saw him become a Captain on America’s Road Team. Gragg also talks about the importance of safety in trucking, his daily routines on the road, and how he maintains his health. From his early days in his father’s...

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 2024. In this interview with Jimmy Mac of the Dave Nemo Show, Dennis talks about his first visit to the NTDC and he looks back on his long career in the trucking industry. Dennis also touches on the value of savoring the moment and h...

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 Jimmy Mac of the Dave Nemo Show, Ritch shares his journey from Tonica, Illinois, where he grew up, to becoming a seasoned driver. He describes his start in the industry in 1996, inspired by his brothers, and explains the rigorous tra...

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 quick look back at her more than 40 years of experience and 3.9 million accident-free miles on the road. It has been a remarkable journey for Ina, who began her time behind the wheel by learning to drive on her family’s farm. Ina talk...

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 the greatest to ever compete in the 87-year history of the national championships gathered for a group photo. The nine Grand Champions who will be featured in the photo session set up by the ATA and Transport Topics are Richard Gill...

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. Eugene caught up with two-time Grand Champion Roland Bolduc, and Greg sat down with Ben Atkinson, who shares the amazing story of how he reached the nationals this year. As you will hear, Ben’s third-place finish in Twins at the Florida ...

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 Thompson take you behind the scenes of Day One. You will hear welcoming presentations from Senator Mike Braun from Indiana and Gragg Wilson, the 2023 NTDC Grand Champion. We close out our look behind the scenes by listening to Jason ...

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. As you’ll hear, what makes Simon’s accomplishment shine even greater is the fact the pride of Minnesota qualified for the nationals three times in his driving career. Simon made the most of his three trips to NTDC, winning a National...

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 Wisconsin. All three of these State Grand Champions share their thoughts on being part of the NTDC 2024 field with Transport Topics Senior Report Eugene Mulero. We would also like to invite you to read the latest NTDC coverage from Eugene...

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 have reached the nationals, their families and the fans of the event. Transport Topics Senior Reporter Eugene Mulero and PodWheels Executive Producer Greg Thompson conduct an interview you don’t want to miss ahead of the start of N...

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 Mulero will be talking to Ina Daly, who became the first woman to win a National Championship in one of the nine classifications back in 2023. We’ll also bring you Eugene’s interview with Rick Cates, who is now in his 52nd year of worki...

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, Old Dominion has steadily seen its number of national qualifiers on the rise. This year, Old Dominion will be sending a company-record 41 drivers to NTDC 2024. In this episode of the podcast, Transport Topics Senior Reporter Eugene M...

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 get underway August 21st. Ernie will also be leading a Connecticut team that won the NTDC Team trophy in 2023. In his feature interview with Transport Topics Senior Reporter Eugene Mulero, Ernie talks about winning the state Grand Cha...

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 interview with Eugene Mulero from Transport Topics, Richard also shares how he first learned about the state precision driving competitions, which has now led to 15 state championships. In addition, you’ll hear how Richard’s desire to str...

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 Transport Topics, Wilbert’s dedication to preparation placed him on a path to the 2024 Grand Championship in the state of New Jersey. In this episode, Wilbert discusses his year away from the competition with Eugene, and you will a...

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 Reporter Eugene Mulero, Tyler simply kept his focus on the driving course at the state. Taking home the competition’s top trophy was an unexpected benefit for Tyler during the Colorado TDC. Tyler also tells us about his approach to the c...

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 been a constant presence at the NTDC event, with 2024 marking the 14th time in his career that he has qualified for the nationals. Through the conversation that Eugene has with John, you’ll discover a very humble and easy-going approac...

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 podcast, Jacob is the point person on staff at ATA serving as the liaison for the National Truck Driving & National Step Van Driving Championships. In addition to responding to questions regarding the course layout and the overall pr...

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 to join him on Dave Nemo Weekends, which airs every Saturday and Sunday from 7:00 to 11:00 Eastern Time on SiriusXM’s Road Dog Trucking Radio Channel 146. For this episode of Dave Nemo Weekends, Dave had asked PodWheels Executive ...

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 Grand Champion in the field, and, as he shares with us, the state results from across the country this year have inspired him to train even harder. You will also hear the dedication that Roland has to the championships and everyone w...