YRC, a subsidiary of YRC Worldwide is proud to announce that two of its drivers have captured top awards at this year's National Truck Driving Championships from Aug. 18–22 in Pittsburgh.
Jesse Ballard, a Portland, Ore., YRC city driver, won third place in the 5-Axle Class. Shreveport, La., YRC City Driver Stacy Sansom, won third place in the Twin Trailers class.
Ballard has worked for YRC for 16 years and has been in the industry for 17 years. He has competed at the state level for 4 years and at nationals twice. Ballard is a member of the Oregon and National Highway Watch organizations.
Sansom has worked for YRC for 9 years and has been in the industry for 16 years, having an injury-free career. Sansom competed at the state level in 2001, 2003 and 2007 and has competed at nationals for the past two years. At the Louisiana State Truck Driving Competition, Sansom was named Driver of the Year and had the highest pre-trip score. Sansom is a Trucker Buddy participant, and assists with training and educating other drivers in state competitions.
In addition to Ballard and Sansom, 55 other professional drivers representing YRC Worldwide subsidiaries across the United States competed at the championships.
"We are proud that 57 YRC Worldwide drivers, through their professionalism and commitment to safety, won their state competitions and the right to compete at the National Truck Driving Championships," said Mike Smid, president of YRC Inc. and chief operations officer of YRC Worldwide. "We congratulate these drivers on a job well done. They are examples of the dedication to safety and quality we strive for at YRC Worldwide."
The American Trucking Associations (ATA) sponsors the event, also known as the "Super Bowl of Safety," where more than 400 drivers compete for national titles in eight vehicle classes and the coveted National Grand Champion title. The drivers accumulate points through a written examination, pre-trip inspection test and skills test.
To compete at the national competition, drivers must be accident-free for the 12 months leading up to the event and place first in their state driving championship.
