Holland announced that professional drivers and safety champions, Herschel Evans, Russ Simpson, “RB” Robert Wolford and Tom Carlson and have won division titles at their state truck driving competitions qualifying them to compete at the 2017 National Truck Driving Championships (NTDC). The annual safety competition will be held August 9-12 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Fla.
Herschel Evans earned first place in the Sleeper category at the Georgia Truck Driving Championships (TDC). He was part of the winning Holland team presented with the 2017 Clifford Williams Award for Small Team along with Holland drivers Todd Singleton and Scott Donaldson.
Evans is a two-time 5-Axle national driving champion (2011, 2008), a professional Holland driver/trainer/mentor and an ATA America’s Road Team Captain. He has driven for Holland 23 of his 30 years as a city driver in Atlanta, Georgia. Named 2012 Georgia Driver of the Year, Evans placed first in the 5-axle category in the 2012, 2011, 2008 and 2006 Georgia TDCs. He was “Rookie of the Year” in 2006. Evans has been the driving force behind the Safety Drive for a Cure for the past five years. This is his fifth trip to Nationals.
Holland driver Russ Simpson earned first in the Flatbed category at the 2017 Ohio State Truck Driving Championships. He is a professional Holland city driver/trainer/mentor and an ATA America’s Road Team Captain. Simpson finished first in 5-Axle, was named “Rookie of the Year,” and was presented with the Off-Course Scoring award for the highest score on Pre-Trip and Written Test at his first Ohio TDC in 2008. He earned first place in the Tanker category (2016, 2015) and first in the 5-Axle category in 2013. Simpson, domiciled in Columbus, Ohio, has driven for Holland during 24 of his 31 years as a professional driver. This is his fifth trip to Nationals.
Robert “RB” Wolford earned first place in the Flatbed category at the 2017 Michigan TDC. Wolford is a linehaul driver domiciled at the Holland Detroit, Mich. facility. He has driven for Holland 26 of his 45 years as a professional driver. This will be his second time to compete at NTDC. Wolford earned first in Straight Truck and was named “Rookie of the Year” at his first Michigan TDC in 2008.
Tom Carlson earned first place in the Straight Truck category at the 2017 Minnesota TDC. Carlson is a city driver domiciled at the Holland Minneapolis, Minn. facility. He has driven for Holland 22 of the 32 years he has been a professional driver. He first began competing at TDCs in 2011 and has been in the top three winners group every year in the Straight Truck category. This will be his first time to compete at NTDC.
“Greatness can only be reached by those who strive for continuous improvement,” said Scott Ware, president of Holland. “Herschel, Russ, Robert and Tom–drivers with this level of skill, dedication and safety focus–make Holland the industry-leader it is today. I congratulate and thank them, as well as all of our hard-working Holland professional drivers, for their strong commitment and focus on safety. Their efforts and dedication to safety help to make our nation’s highways safer for everyone.”
The National Truck Driving Championships (Nationals) are held annually and are sponsored by the American Trucking Association (ATA). Competition consists of a driven skills challenge, pre-trip inspection, and a written exam on subjects such as laws, regulations and vehicle maintenance. This year’s event will include over 420 competitors, representing dozens of carriers, from across the United States.
