For a second consecutive year, a driver from Con-Way Transportation Services Inc. has won the National Champion title in the four-axle class at the National Truck Driving Championship.

A total of 17 Con-Way drivers captured Top 10 honors at last weekend's competition in Salt Lake City. The company operates a national network of three less-than-truckload regional trucking companies.
Edward Romero, a 21-year trucking veteran, placed first out of 46 competitors in the four-axle class to become the national champion. Romero works for Con-way Western Express in the company's Tucson service center and has been a consistent top-five finisher in the Arizona state driving competition.
The competition included a personal interview, timed written exam, pre-trip inspection test and a driving skills test. In one part of the driving test, Romero successfully parallel parked a 53-foot trailer in a space with only a foot of total clearance.
The company sent 61 drivers to the competition, which was more than any single LTL company.
To celebrate Romero's achievement Con-Way will create a custom decaled tractor for him to drive that will display his name and national title. The company will also give Romero a new Ford F150 4x4 stretch cab pickup truck. This will be the fifth truck given to a Con-Way national driving champion since 1999.
Other Con-Way Top 10 finishers were:

-- Gene Leary, Chicopee, Mass
-- Doug Hall, Cincinnati, Ohio
-- Ron Gasper, Watertown, S.D.
-- David James, Rock Falls, Ill.
-- Eddie Coulbourn, Seaford, Del.
-- Sammy Davis, Anderson, S.C.
-- Mick Galbraith, Knoxville, Tenn.
-- Larry Murphy, Oklahoma City, Okla.
-- T. Dale Williams, Knoxville, Tenn.
-- Robbie Cottrell, Roanoke, Va.
-- Lawrence Law, Lawrenceville, Ga.
-- Scott Ruth, Butte, Mont.
-- Jeff Halford, Boise, Idaho
-- Ed Boe, Sparks, Nev.
-- Dale Duncan, Chula Vista, Calif.
-- Morris Matthews, Salt Lake City, Utah
Each Con-Way driver qualified to compete at the national competition by being a state champion in one of nine equipment classes and by having an accident-free safety record for the past year. More than 6,000 professional drivers competed at the state level with only 367 going to Salt Lake City. The ATA sponsors the annual competition to promote highway safety.