Three hundred and seventy professional truck drivers from all 50 states will arrive in Salt Lake City, Utah, next week for the 2004 National Truck Driving Championships (NTDC).
The competition begins Wednesday, Aug. 18, in the Salt Palace Convention Center.
The "Super Bowl of Safety" is sponsored annually by the American Trucking Assns.
The nearly 400 NTDC contestants are the state champions in nine truck classes. Collectively, they have driven 448,738,512 accident-free miles and are still standing after having competed against 7,005 of their truck driving peers to win a chance to compete in Salt Lake City.
In their respective trucks 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, professionalism and knowledge of safety, equipment and the trucking industry.
The test course generally 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's all over Saturday evening, Aug. 21, the U.S. will have a new National Grand Champion Truck Driver, along with individual champions in each truck class. The state team with the highest score will also be honored.
As the competition gets down to the wire, the NTDC takes on the atmosphere of a small college football game, with more than 2,000 friends, family, colleagues and spectators cheering for their favorite drivers.
NTDC sponsors include: ABF Freight System; Con-Way Transportation Services; FedEx Corp.; Jevic Transportation; Old Dominion Freight Line; Overnite Transportation Co.; Roadway Express; Wal-Mart Transportation; Watkins Motor Lines; and Yellow Roadway Corp.; as well as Bi-Lo; Frito-Lay; Herzig Hauling; J.J. Keller & Associates; and Publix Supermarkets.
