Ohio driver goes back-to-back as Grand Champion at National Truck Driving Championships, first to do so since 1999

By Al Muskewitz

PITTSBURGH, Pa. -- Scott Woodrome of Ohio repeated as National Grand Champion at the National Truck Driving Championship in Pittsburgh tonight.

He is the first repeat National Grand Champion since Pennsylvania driver Marty H. Lawson won it back-to-back in 1998 (Twins) and 1999 (Sleeper Berth). And he's the fifth multiple winner of the top prize since 1987, joining Lawson, Dale Duncan of California, three-time winner Raymond Simon of Minnesota and Richard Gillespie of Minnesota on the elite list.

Woodrome, a former small college football player and a longtime competitor in the NTDC, has logged more than 1.8 million lifetime safe driving miles. He has been in the trucking industry for 25 years, the last 13 with FedEx Freight.

He competed in the Twins division this year for the first time. Moody driver and former Alabama Grand Champion Mark Knight of AAA Cooper Transportation was also a finalist in the division. The Middletown, Ohio, driver won last year in his home state competing in the Tanker division.

Woodrome, 56, was one of nine drivers to post perfect scores on the written exam phase of the championship.

YRC Freight’s Alphonso Lewis, a former national grand champion, finished third in 5-axle; he was the only Alabama driver to place in the top three of the nine divisions.

The FedEx system placed 15 drivers among the top three in the nine divisions, including sweeps in Flatbed (all FedEx Freight) and Step Van (all FedEx Express). Walmart Transportation swept the Sleeper Berth division.

The American Trucking Associations also recognized John Sanderson as the 2019 Rookie of the Year. The Oregon driver competed in 3-axle and was the only rookie advancing to the championship round.

Pennsylvania won the Team Championship, with North Carolina second and Virginia third.

This story will be updated.

Here are the division winners:
3-Axle: Brian Walker, North Carolina
4-Axle: Adam Heim, Idaho
5-Axle: David Hall, Arkansas
Flatbed: Basher Pierce, North Carolina
Sleeper Berth: Mike White, Indiana
Straight Truck: Jason Imhoff, Ohio
Tanker: Paul Brandon, Connecticut
Twins: Scott Woodrome, Ohio-x
Step Van: Adam Stroup, Nebraska
x-National Grand Champion