Liner Notes

With the State TDC Season officially underway, our podcast wanted to share a recent conversation we had with the previous NTDC Grand Champions from the past two years. PodWheels Executive Producer Greg Thompson had the unique opportunity to visit in person with 2024 Grand Champion Jackie Reed and 2025 Grand Champion David Comings in person while they were both at this year’s Safety Drive For A Cure.

As you will hear, both Jackie and David share a mutual respect for doing the work and following the process to be prepared for competition while staying safe with ev...

With this episode, Grawe Group Founder & CEO Doug Grawe examines the U.S. Department of Labor’s February 26th release of the proposed rule that addresses the classification of independent contractors. Doug highlights the key components of the proposed rule that would rescind the Department of Labor’s 2024 rule related to Independent Contractor status that was issued by the Biden Administration.

While looking at what the new independent contractor rule means for trucking operations, Doug also provides historical context regarding the rule, including what’s changing from the existing Biden-era rule to the update that has be...

This Friday (March 27th), Long Haul Paul Marhoefer will see the fulfillment of a dream that has been 39 years in the making when steps on the Freedom Hall stage at the 2026 Mid-America Truck Show. For this edition of Destinations, PodWheels Executive Producer Greg Thompson caught up with Long Haul Paul to discuss the honor of serving as the opening performer on the main stage that will be headlined by Frank Foster on Friday night. Long Haul Paul also takes us inside his journey to reach this special moment in a career that has combined working as a...

As we continue to share our collection of interviews from Safety Drive For A Cure, we wanted to highlight one noticeable arrival that was new to Safety Drive this year. That was none other than the red, white and blue covering the ATA’s Image Trailer, complete with its Big Rig Driving simulator inside. The Image Trailer, which has been a presence at NTDC for many years now, was onsite for the first time at Safety Drive, and it proved to be a perfect fit for the day.

Regular listeners to the NTDC Podcast know th...

How did UPS send 40 State Champions to Minneapolis to compete at NTDC 2025? One of the building blocks in last year’s run can be traced back to the annual Safety Drive For A Cure charity event. And while the 2026 State TDC season is just beginning, Team UPS capped off the NTDC “pre-season” by assembling another large group to participate in this year’s Safety Drive, which was once again held at the UPS Smart Hub in Atlanta.

In this edition of the podcast, PodWheels Executive Producer Greg Thompson wrapped up his day onsite by chatting with Eri...

Seeing both Tim Blair from Tennessee and Mark McLean from New York at Safety Drive 2026 is perfect confirmation that TDC Champions and National Title holders make the trip to Atlanta from near and far to sharpen their competitive driving skills at Safety Drive. In this episode of the podcast (at the 19:20 mark), we’ll hear from Tim and Mark, who are part of a FedEx Freight Team that brought another large contingent from across the country to the NTDCs last year.

For Mark, his trip from the Empire State represented his first visit to Safety Dr...

While Safety Drive 2026 featured a collection of past National Champions, State TDC Champions and no less than four past NTDC Grand Champions testing their knowledge and skills, the competition that took place at the UPS Smart Hub in Atlanta was a distant second to the primary mission of Safety Drive. The record field of competitors, with over 250 professional drivers, joined with the volunteers, the sponsors and other friends of Safety Drive to raise $75,548 that goes directly to support the work of the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation. The money raised to date for Safety Drive 2026 represents a single-year...

The countdown to the 2026 edition of the Mid-America Trucking Show is in its final days, and the team at the St. Christopher Truckers Relief Fund is ready to make the most of their time onsite, March 26-28. SCF’s Director of Philanthropy Diane Hutsell joins the Highway To Hope to talk about the plans that SCF has for MATS 2026.

As Diane shares with us, SCF will once again be hosting its Silent Auction event on Thursday, March 26. Diane also gives us a preview of what will be happening at the SCF booth throughout the run of...

Safety Drive For A Cure 2026 became a memorable trip to Atlanta for Paul Barnes of UPS. The reigning Illinois State Sleeper Division Champion who finished sixth at NTDC 2025, Paul was part of a record field of over 250 professional drivers who helped Safety Drive exceed the organizers’ fundraising goal by delivering $75,548 to the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation. Now, in its 15th year, Safety Drive For A Cure has raised over $491,000 with a charity-benefit driving competition modeled after the NTDC that regularly draws State and National champions from across the country.

With his combined efforts on the co...

In honor of International Women’s Day that was celebrated on March 8th, our podcast shines the spotlight on Ina Daly, the veteran XPO driver and the only woman to win a National Championship in the history of NTDC. With the Arizona State TDC just around the corner on March 28th, the timing is perfect to look back at Ina’s career accomplishments as she has become a regular at NTDC over the past two decades. In 2023, the NTDC Organizing Committee honored Ina with the Neill Darmstadter Professional Excellence Award.

For this episode, we will be f...

When the 15th edition of Safety Drive For A Cure opens its NTDC-style competition this Saturday, Brent and Laura Darnell will have already been onsite at the UPS Smart Hub in Atlanta before the sun rises. For Brent and Laura, along with a legion of volunteers led by chief organizer Herschel Evans, Saturday’s charity benefit for the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation, will represent a coordinated effort that has been almost a year in the planning and execution.

In this edition of the podcast, we talk with Brent and Laura as they entered the final we...