Maverick Transportation driver Ben Eby of Caldwell, Ohio, was named Grand Champion in the Arkansas Truck Driving Championship recently held at the Northwest Arkansas Convention Center in Springdale, Ark. Another Maverick driver, Keith Graham of Statesville, N.C., also qualified for the national championship during the Arkansas competition.
Eby scored the most cumulative points in the four categories, including pre-trip inspection, written exam, personal interview and the driving skills test, in which he placed first in the straight truck class. As first-place winner and Grand Champion, he will represent Arkansas, along with eight other drivers, in the National Trucking Driving Championships in New Orleans in August.
A professional truck driver for more than 30 years and a Maverick driver for more than 11 years, Eby previously has qualified for the National Truck Driving Championship in 1998, 2000 and 2002. He has logged more than 3.7 million safe driving miles in his career.
Graham, a rookie in this year’s state competition, placed first in his class. He has been a professional truck driver for five years and has logged more than 500,000 safe driving miles.
