YRC Worldwide Inc. announced that 41 of its professional drivers will compete at the 2011 National Truck Driving Championships to be held Aug. 9-13 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Fla. The YRC Worldwide team includes 33 drivers from YRC, five from Holland and three from Reddaway.
“Reaching the NTDC is like making it to the Super Bowl,” says Mike Smid, president of YRC and chief operations officer of YRC Worldwide. “We’re very proud of these drivers and their dedication to safety. Their driving skills reflect well on our company and our industry.”
To qualify for the national championships, drivers must place first in their respective class at state competition. The YRCW drivers will compete against nearly 400 others for national titles in eight different classes of vehicles and for the overall title of National Grand Champion.
Both the state and national competitions include challenging driving skills and maneuvering tests, a pretrip inspection and a written examination covering vehicle operation and federal safety regulations. To participate in the state competitions, drivers must be accident-free for one year.
“This is a great group of drivers, and we’re pleased to have competitors in every class we entered,” says Smid. “Fifteen of our 41 champions this year competed in the NTDC last year, and one, Alphonso Lewis, is the 2007 National Grand Champion. All together, we’re feeling very good about the experience on our team and the opportunity for them to mentor each other and really enjoy the competition.”
