The American Trucking Associations Saturday, Aug. 23, proclaimed David Comings, a professional driver with FedEx Freight from North Dakota, the Bendix Grand Champion at the 2025 National Truck Driving & Step Van Championships.
ATA’s National Truck Driving & Step Van Championships took place from Aug. 20-23 in Minneapolis, bringing together 425 drivers representing 56 companies from 49 states with a combined total of nearly 756 million accident-free miles.
During the contest, drivers competed in a variety of events designed to measure their driving prowess, industry knowledge and dedication to safety. Comings took home the Bendix Grand Champion award, as well as first place in the 5-axle vehicle class.
Comings has been a professional driver for nearly 30 years, accumulating 3.1 million safe driving miles. He has competed three times in the North Dakota Motor Carriers Association state trucking championships and three times in the National Truck Driving Championships. In 2022 and 2023, he took first place in North Dakota’s 4-axle category. Last year, he took first place in North Dakota’s 5-axle category.
“Congratulations to David on his extraordinary achievement,” said American Trucking Associations President & CEO Chris Spear.CCThis week, David put on a master class of precision and professionalism that define NTDC, emerging from an elite field of highly skilled competitors."
At the event's closing ceremonies, ATA honored Jeffrey Reed, a professional driver with UPS from New Mexico, with the 2025 Rookie of the Year Award, and the State of Colorado was crowned the team champion for having the highest collective score.
ATA also honored Leroy Williams, Sr., of XPO with the Neill Darmstadter Professional Excellence Award. Linda Nodland was chosen as the Sam Gillette Lifetime Volunteer Award recipient.
This year’s event included driving competitions across nine vehicle classes, vehicle inspection and a written exam. A full list of award winners includes:
Step Van:
1. Logan Montandon, FedEx, Texas
2. Matthew Futral, FedEx, Georgia
3. Connor Christensen, United Parcel Service, Inc., Illinois
Straight Truck:
1. Mark Carver, FedEx Freight, Missouri
2. Samuel Bryant, FedEx Freight, Tennessee
3. Bryan Reynaud, Walmart Transportation, Mississippi
3-Axle:
1. Daniel Shamrell, FedEx Freight, Oregon
2. Gary Luster, FedEx Freight, Tennessee
3. Brent Darnell, Southeastern Freight Lines, Georgia
4-Axle:
1. Stephen Johnson, FedEx Freight, Mississippi
2. Jeremy Steger, XPO, Wisconsin
3. Robert Crowder, Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc., Virginia
5-Axle:
1. David Comings, FedEx Freight, North Dakota
2. Roland Bolduc, FedEx, Connecticut
3. John Willinger , FedEx Freight, Kentucky
Flatbed:
1. Edward Hill, FedEx Freight, Delaware
2. Adam Heim, FedEx Freight, Idaho
3. Kenneth Rageth, FedEx Freight, Wyoming
Tank Truck:
1. Jeff Langenhahn, XPO, Wisconsin
2. Ernie Budlowski, XPO, Connecticut
3. Glen Kirk, Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc., Indiana
Twins:
1. Miguel Sanchez, United Parcel Service, Inc., Florida
2. David Mogler, FedEx Freight, Colorado
3. David Hall, ABF Freight, Arkansas
Sleeper Berth:
1. Merle Ashbaugh, DHL Supply Chain, Ohio
2. Todd Flippin, FedEx Freight, Colorado
3. Herschel Evans, Aubrey Silvey Enterprises, Inc., Georgia
Vehicle Condition Award:
• Nick Gaudette, FedEx Freight, Colorado
Written Exam:
• David Comings, FedEx Freight, North Dakota
State Team Award:
1. Colorado
2. Illinois
3. Virginia
The 2025 National Truck Driving & Step Van Championships were made possible by the support of a number of corporate sponsors including:
Platinum:
• Fed Ex
• Old Dominion Freight Line
• Walmart
• XPO
Gold:
• ABF Freight
• Boeing
• C.A. Short Company
• DHL
• Samsara
• UPS
Silver:
• PITT OHIO
