Semifinal-round judging wrapped up this week, and the field narrows to four finalists shown above, two in each category to battle it out for the title of Overdrive's Small Fleet Champ for 2026.
All four will travel October 29, 2026, to Nashville, where winners will emerge at the annual conference of the championship sponsor, the National Association of Small Trucking Companies.
Here's thanks to all of you who entered to compete this year, and you can read about all the semi-finalists via this link. Without further ado, help us send up congrats to these four fleets, practicing the trucking-biz fine arts in a variety of ways -- oversize-haul, general flatbed and step deck, pole trailers, extendables, you name it. A pretty specialized group, no doubt, and the team here at Overdrive looks forward to hosting them with NASTC a few weeks from now, and bringing more insight to you in the coming weeks.
Small Fleet Champ finalists, 3-10-truck division
KST Logistics, Manteca, California. Shannon Sanders, owner of Manteca, California-based KST Logistics, has been on a journey of stabilization the last couple years. In 2024, KST's founding owner-operator and Shannon's husband, Ken Sanders, died during a tragic accident on a load site, hit by falling pipe, throwing the business the Sanders' had built into turmoil. Shannon's laid the groundwork for growth after slight contraction since, with six total drivers operating earlier this year, in efforts to build the team around her.
"Ken used to say, 'Let’s rock and roll,'" she said, and she lets his example guide her drive toward measured growth with open-deck, often-oversize freight. "We’re going to keep rocking and rolling."
KST's done that, and Shannon Sanders and team's efforts were also recently recognized during a brokerage customer's Carrier of the Year honors.
Read about KST Logistics and owner Shannon Sanders (pictured) here.
TruckWise, Tremonton, Utah. Owner Kevin Haderlie started out as a self-described “trucking gypsy,” working load boards for the first six months or so in business with authority after first leasing to another flatbed fleet for his first turn as an owner-operator. A customer's oversize equipment moves led him to invest in the right trailers for the job, and growth has followed for TruckWise to 10 trucks, with a couple more on the way before the year's out.
Haderlie and company strive “to understand our needs," according to a customer, "very flexible when circumstances change." They "genuinely care about the success of our business. We know we can count on them to follow through on their commitments and to provide honest, straightforward communication.”
Read about Kevin Haderlie (pictured) and TruckWise via this link.
Finalists in the 11-30-truck division
McKinney & Sons Transfer, Lexington, Alabama. Owner David McKinney bought his first truck at 22 years old after moving with his family from California to Alabama. He had cousins who drove trucks, but otherwise no real connection to the industry. “I bought my house on a Friday and a Peterbilt on a Saturday,” he said, leasing to a larger outfit at first and growing to four trucks.
His story is one of bounceback, after a 2001 bankruptcy forced him to rethink trucking in significant ways. Bringing his wife full-time into back-office management, McKinney grew to between 15 and 20 trucks, where the fleet of show-quality Petes has ranged consistently for years.
"We’ve come a long way from being just a poor, dumb truck driver,” he joked. “And now we try to run the equipment to show that.”
David McKinney's journey, in the story here. (McKinney's pictured with some among the fleet's show-worthy Petes.)
Otto Transfer, Delano, Minnesota. The Minnesota Trucking Association's executive leader calls Otto Transfer's Kevin and Liz Otto the "dynamic duo." The pair are co-owners of a trucking business that's celebrating 80 years since Kevin's father, Charlie, hauled livestock starting in the 1940s in Delano.
The fleet's at 16 trucks today, about half sleeper tractors and half daycabs with loaders atop the cab as a prime tool for operators (Charlie Otto is shown below in an archival photo using one of those loaders.) It's a significant value-add for one among Otto Transfer's most important customers, a manufacturer of power pole for utilities.
"They are just great people," said that customer of the Ottos and their team. "They will continue to be a vital part of our business for years to come."
Kevin and Liz Otto (top right, with U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar) tell the fleet's story here.
We'll see you in Nashville to kick off what NASTC calls the "best three days in trucking" Oct. 29. Best of luck to the finalists!
Find all the 2026 Small Fleet Champ semi-finalists' stories via this link.
