In early June, Ritch Fundell brought home his fifth Grand Championship for the state of Illinois. One of the many people in the crowd cheering Ritch as he won the Tanker Class Championship en route to the day’s top trophy was his son, who had driven five hours from...
What goes into developing the driving courses for the National Truck Driving and National Step Van Driving Championships? During this episode of the podcast, we asked that question and touched on a number of related topics with Frank Ems, the member of the NTDC 2025...
In the days prior to winning what would be his 7th career Rhode Island State TDC Grand Championship, Joe Hicks of XPO was being honored on the floor of the Rhode Island State House. Joe heard a proclamation from the Rhode Island Speaker of the House being read to...
Would your trucking company be prepared if the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration notified you that FMCSA would be conducting an audit of your operation? In this episode of the podcast, Mark Barlar and Daniel Vega from the Reliance Partners Safety Impact Team...
In our first-ever video edition of the NTDC 2025 Podcast from PodWheels, we talk with California Trucking Association CEO Eric Sauer about his state's Truck Driving Championships, which included a regional competition and concluded with the finals during the last...
Rigs Without Cigs holds the distinction of being the first health and wellness program created by the St. Christopher Truckers Relief Fund. Over the years, SCF has helped nearly 1,000 professional drivers put out smoking for good and kick the habit. In this episode of...
The Eighth Annual Modernization of Cross Border Trade Conference, which is hosted by Reliance Partners, took place in mid-June and it offered a number of valuable insights on what’s happening with cross-border trade between the U.S. and Mexico. Mark Vickers, the...
Recorded on June 20 when the start of NTDC 2025 was just 60 days away, this episode of the podcast gave us the opportunity to catch up with Bob Foskey, who is serving as the Chairman of the Organizing Committee for NTDC 2025. We talked with Bob on a range of topics,...
Ramon Guzman of FedEx Freight has become a fixture at the California Truck Driving Championships and he is a true testament to perseverance. Until breaking through in 2025 winning the title in the Flatbed Division, Ramon had claimed his first and only state...
What does it take to host a pair of State TDCs at the same location for the first time? We asked this question and many more during our recent conversation with Louis Campion, the President & CEO of the Maryland Motor Truck Association. As you’ll hear, Louis and...
How do you win three State TDC Grand Championships in a row? That’s the question we asked Kentucky’s John Willinger a few weeks after he took home the top trophy in the Bluegrass State for a third straight year. A proud member of Team FedEx, John will be making his...
For the decision makers at trucking and logistics companies, the freight market we are experiencing in 2025 requires the ability to be nimble while still staying true to your strengths as a company. And, as we hear in this episode of the Grawe Pod, today’s market...
Over the past 25 years or so, Dan Istre had become a fixture at the Idaho TDC and a regular presence at NTDC, with 23 State TDCs and seven national appearances prior to 2025. Dan was one of the stalwarts on the Yellow Freight Team, but he had to find a new ride...
Reliance Partners Safety Impact Team Members Mark Barlar and Daniel Vega return to the podcast to continue the discussion on the guidance related to the decision by the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance to make English language proficiency an out-of-service...
For 2025 Nevada TDC Grand Champion Tim Stanga, the journey back to the NTDC took a little more than a decade and included a move to Las Vegas. The last time Tim was part of the Nationals field was in 2014 when he qualified as part of Team Arizona as a state champion....
