Vroom, vroom… into the championships

Finalist alert (UPDATED Aug. 23): Three Illinois based UPSers earn second place spots at the National Truck Driving Championships in their category. Trophies go to:

• Tim Banasiak                    Five-axle category
• Ceth Christensen             Step van category
• Miguel A. Corral, Jr.         Four-axle category

This year’s team of 25 drivers was one of the largest groups to represent UPS at the championships. Congratulations to the entire team.

What’s the story: Indianapolis, the city well known for car racing, is slowing things down for competitors to show off their safe driving skills. Our own Dale Brenaman returns as one of 25 state champions who will represent UPS at the National Truck Driving Championships (NTDC).

At the competition, drivers will undergo a written examination, pre-trip inspection test – where drivers are graded on how accurately they inspect their vehicle before hitting the road - and finally, the most fun to watch … skills test.

The champ returns: Dale is a tractor-trailer driver from Kentucky and one of two UPS drivers to win first place at the national competition. In 2018, he earned first place in the Straight Truck category, so he knows how much time and dedication it takes to compete with the best.

“At first, I wanted to see how my driving skills measured up to others in the industry,” said Dale. “Now, I’m motivated to keep learning and improving while helping others do the same.”

Why it matters: The championships motivate professional truck drivers from all over the U.S. to operate safely because they must be accident-free for at least one year prior to the competition. Many of the competitors have driven millions of accident-free miles.

This year’s UPS team as a combined 453 years of accident-free driving.

Collect them all: It’s tradition at the NTDC for competitors from across the country swap trading cards in the spirit of fellowship. Our UPS team has their own trading cards featuring their photo, name and years of driving safely.

Meet the team: This is the largest team of UPSers that have ever competed at the NTDC.