FedEx Freight professional driver earned the prestigious Grand Champion title
Minneapolis, Minnesota – Today, the Ӱɴý 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.
“Congratulations to David on his extraordinary achievement,” said Ӱɴý President & CEO Chris Spear. “Over the course of three decades and 3.1 million accident-free miles, David has proven his driving prowess and commitment to safety. This week, David put on a master class of precision and professionalism that define NTDC, emerging from an elite field of highly skilled competitors. Here in Minneapolis, the best of the best of the nation’s truck drivers showed the world what our industry is all about. Each one is a champion in his or her own right, leading with safety and setting the bar high.”
Ӱɴý’s National Truck Driving & Step Van Championships took place from August 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.
Over the past few days, the 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.
“For nearly nine decades, NTDC has been an inspiring exhibition of passion and skill, and this year was no exception,” said Dennis Dellinger, Chairman of Ӱɴý and President & CEO of Cargo Transporters Inc. “On behalf of all Ӱɴý members, I extend heartfelt congratulations to David—and to all of this year’s champions—for an incredible performance at the NTDC. I also want to thank the countless volunteers who make the truck driving championships so special, from the state-level competitions all the way to the crowning of the Grand Champion.”
At tonight’s closing ceremonies, Ӱɴý 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.
Ӱɴý 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 is below.
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 generous 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