“At FedEx, Safety Above All guides everything we do,” said John A. Smith, chief operating officer, U.S. & Canada. “I’m proud of our team’s outstanding performance at this year’s National Truck Driving Championships. Their dedication to safety and outstanding service is clear in every mile they drive.”
This year, FedEx sent 174 drivers from across the country to compete at NTDC. Together, these drivers brought with them 674 state titles, over 4,000 years of professional driving experience, and had logged a combined total of 296 million safe-driving miles.
The following drivers won their respective classes:
Mark Carver (Kearney, Missouri) won the Straight Truck National Championship. Carver is a FedEx Freight Road Team captain with more than 3.5 million safe-driving miles during his 27-year career and is based out of Kansas City.
Ed Hill (Dover, Delaware) took home the Flatbed National Championship after accumulating over 1.1 million accident-free miles during his 19-year professional driving career—including six years with FedEx Freight in Maryland.
Stephen Johnson (Moselle, Mississippi), who has been part of FedEx Freight for over fifteen years based in Hattiesburg and driven more than two million accident-free miles, won the 4-Axle National Championship.
Logan Montandon (Overton, Texas), representing Grant Leigh Services Inc., claimed his second consecutive Step Van National Championship after amassing more than 490,000 safe-driving miles.
Dan Shamrell (Battle Ground, Washington) secured victory in the 3-Axle category; he previously won this championship in 2006 and has earned other recognitions such as two Vehicle Condition Awards (1997 and 2006) and was honored with the Neill Darmstadter Professional Excellence Award in 2017. Shamrell is a veteran driver with nearly four decades behind the wheel and over one-and-three-quarter million accident-free miles.
Comings made his fourth straight appearance at NTDC after winning both North Dakota’s state title for his class as well as its Grand Championship this year. He serves as a FedEx Freight Road Team captain; across nearly three decades he has driven more than three million accident-free miles while residing with his family in Wahpeton.
“Over the course of three decades and 3.1 million accident-free miles, David has proven his driving prowess and commitment to safety,” said American Trucking Associations President & CEO Chris Spear. “This week, David put on a master class of precision and professionalism that define NTDC, emerging from an elite field of highly skilled competitors.”
In addition to these national champions from FedEx teams:
Roland Bolduc placed second in the Five-Axle category;
Andy Bryant finished second among Straight Trucks;
Todd Flippin came second among Sleeper Berths;
Matt Futral finished runner-up among Step Vans;
Adam Heim was awarded second place among Flatbeds;
Gary Luster finished second among Three-Axles;
Dave Mogler came second among Twins;
Kenny Rageth Jr., third place Flatbed finisher;
John Willinger took third place among Five-Axles.
Nick Gaudette not only competed but also received recognition by earning perfect marks on vehicle inspection—the Vehicle Condition Award—in addition to being part of Colorado's highest-scoring team alongside Nik Dodig (Step Van), Todd Flippin (Sleeper Berth), Dave Mogler (Twins), Josh Mogler (Tank Truck), Tyler Rogers (Five-Axle), Paul Swan (Four-Axle).
FedEx continues its tradition of strong showings at these annual competitions through participation by experienced professionals who have collectively accumulated millions of safe-driving miles nationwide.
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