The Nebraska Trucking Association is pleased to announce the winners of the 2014 Nebraska Truck Driving Championships, held recently in Grand Island, NE. Sixty-nine drivers participated in this year’s Championships competition in nine classes: straight truck, three-axle, four-axle, five-axle, five axle sleeper, tank, flatbed, twin trailer, and step van. Additional awards are presented based on scores in the four separate test areas, including written examination, personal interview, pre-trip inspection, and the driving test. Team awards are also given to the company with three or more drivers competing with the highest overall score.
The 2014 overall Grand Champion is Kenneth Cooper of Old Dominion. The Professional Excellence Award goes to the individual with the highest score on the written test, and was awarded to Timothy Dean, Werner Enterprises. The Bucky Buchholtz Top Driver Award goes to the driver with the highest score on the driving course, and went to Kenneth Cooper, Old Dominion. The Vehicle Condition Award, which goes to the person with the highest score on the pre-trip inspection, was awarded to Larry Derr, Werner Enterprises. The Jerry Wessel Award, named in honor of a long-time committee member, went to David Kuscher, Crete Carrier Corp. This year, the Championships had 25 rookies competing for the Rookie of the Year Award and Garet Poland, Bosselman Carriers, received the award.
For more information about the Nebraska Trucking Association, please call (402) 476-8504 or visit www.nebtrucking.com.