Dale L. Duncan, a Con-way Freight professional truck driver based in San Diego, was named the 2009 National Truck Driving Grand Champion last week.


Duncan's driving skills and knowledge of transportation and truck safety information topped those of 415 other professional drivers from all across the United States in the National Truck Driving Championships, held in Pittsburgh, Pa. The 72nd annual "Super Bowl of Safety" is sponsored by the American Trucking Associations.

Duncan has logged 26 accident and injury free years as a driver, with over 1.25 million miles behind the wheel. He began competing in the National Truck Driving Championships in 1995, when he placed sixth in his division.

The contestants were the state champions in nine truck types from all 50 states. Collectively, they have driven 521,946,523 accident-free miles.

In their respective classes, drivers tested their expertise in the driving skills they use daily. The competition course challenged their knowledge of safety, equipment and the industry. The skills course tested drivers' ability to judge distances, maneuver tight spaces, reverse, park, and position their vehicle exactly over scales, before barriers or around curves.

Duncan also won the individual 5-axle truck driving competition. Joining him as champions in their respective classes:

* Straight Truck: Robert (Bob) J. Dolan - Con-way Freight (Catasauqua, Pa.)
* Three-Axle: Don Logan - FedEx Freight (Eskridge, Kan.)
* Four-Axle: Mike Stickley - Con-way Freight (Winchester, Va.)
* Sleeper Berth Class: Troy Swenson - FedEx Freight (Watertown, S.D.)
* Twins: Mark McLean - FedEx Freight (Gardiner, N.Y.)
* Flatbed Class: Mick Simpson - Family Dollar Trucking, Inc. (Rose Hill, N.C.)
* Tank Truck Class: Tony Spero - ABF Freight System (Stratford, Conn.)
* Step Van: David Thompson - FedEx Ground (Alexander, Ark.)

Dale L. Duncan succeeds Dennis Shirar, a professional truck driver with Heritage Transport, LLC, as the National Grand Champion.

Brandon E. Souder, a driver for Con-way Freight from Hamilton, Ohio, was named 2009 Rookie of the Year after competing in the Flatbed division. He has been a professional truck driver for 12 years.

The Texas state truck driving championship team won honors as the highest scoring state team, followed by Minnesota and then New Hampshire.

Meanwhile, in a competition held concurrently with the National Truck Driving Championships,
44 commercial truck inspectors representing nearly every jurisdiction across North America competed in the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance's North American Inspectors Championship. Alex Bugeya, a CVSA-certified North American Standard Level I inspector from Ontario, was awarded the Jimmy K. Ammonds Grand Champion Award for his combined performances in seven competition elements including North American Standard Level I Inspection and North American Standard HAZMAT/Transportation of Dangerous Goods Inspection.