AVON, Ohio – The 86th American Trucking Associations (ATA) National Truck Driving Championships (NTDC) came to a close after four days of spirited competition among the country’s top professional commercial vehicle drivers, culminating in the naming of the Bendix Grand Champion.
The winner of this year’s competition was James “Gragg” Wilson, a Nevada-based professional driver for United Parcel Service.
The 2023 NTDC was held Aug. 16-19 in Columbus, Ohio. Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems LLC sponsored the Grand Champion Award, presented to the overall top driver, for the 12th-consecutive year.
Wilson has more than 2.5 million safe driving miles in his 37 years in the trucking industry. His driving skills and knowledge of safety, equipment, and the industry earned him the top award in a field of 418 state champion professional truck drivers from 49 states competing in all vehicle classes. This year’s competitors have accumulated more than 643 million combined accident-free miles.
“Bendix congratulates Gragg for earning this year’s Bendix National Truck Driving Championships Grand Champion Award, and commends every driver who competed in the 2023 championships,” said Fred Andersky, director – demos, sales, and service training at Bendix. “We are proud to honor the dedication of these talented professionals, and we know they share our commitment to highway safety.
“The National Truck Driving Championships shine a deserving light on these great drivers, the families who support them, and the critical role they play in keeping roadways safe for everybody.”
During this year’s competition at the Greater Columbus Convention Center, drivers demonstrated their expertise of safety, equipment, and the industry through a written exam, pre-trip inspection test, and – always a crowd favorite – navigating the skills-based driving competition course.
Behind the wheel, drivers were scored on their abilities to handle their trucks, judge distances, and move through tight spaces. The driving course challenged drivers to maneuver, reverse, park, and position their vehicles with precision over scales, before barriers, and around curves.
