Nearly 400 top professional truck drivers from all across the U.S. will soon be heading for Tampa, Florida and the 2005 National Truck Driving Championships (NTDC), to be held Aug. 16-20 in the Tampa Convention Center.

The “Super Bowl of Safety” is sponsored annually by the American Trucking Assns.
NTDC contestants are state champions in eight truck classes from all 50 states. In their respective classes -- from 18-wheeled five-axle sleepers to tank trucks to twin trailers to straight trucks and more -- they will compete for four days, challenging their driving skills, and knowledge of safety, equipment and the industry.
The test course includes an alley dock, a rear and/or front line stop, a scales stop, a right or left turn, parallel parking, and straight line driving through a diminishing clearance. When it is all over on Saturday, Aug. 20, the U.S. will have a new National Grand Champion Truck Driver, individual champions in each class and a state champion team.
The NTDC annually attracts more than 2,000 friends, family, colleagues and interested spectators. Sponsors include ABF Freight System Inc.; Boeing Co.; Con-Way Transportation Services; FedEx Corp.; Jevic Transportation Inc.; Old Dominion Freight Line Inc.; Overnite Transportation Co.; Red Wing Shoe Co.; Roadway Express Inc.; Wal-Mart Transportation LLC; Watkins Motor Lines Inc.; Yellow Roadway Corp.; as well as C and S Wholesale Services; Frito-Lay Inc.; Herzig Hauling; J.J. Keller & Associates Inc.; McKee Foods Corp.; Publix Supermarkets Inc. and the Safety Management Council of the Florida Trucking Assn.