Conceived by FedEx Chairman of the Board Frederick W. Smith, the Chairman’s Challenge is a call to drivers from all operating companies to represent FedEx in the annual American Trucking Associations’ National Truck Driving Championships (NTDC). In 2024, the event will be held in Indianapolis, Ind., Aug. 21-24.

The key purpose of this corporate-wide initiative is to reinforce the FedEx commitment to the safety of its drivers, contracted service providers and couriers – and the motoring public. In addition, NTDC offers an excellent opportunity for our drivers to demonstrate their skills and professionalism while promoting the importance of safe driving at all FedEx companies.

With eight National Grand Champion, 76 National Champion and 11 National Rookie of the Year titles in the past 20 years, Team FedEx has established a reputation for excellence at the NTDC.

In 2003, the first year for the Chairman's Challenge, 902 drivers and contractors from FedEx operating companies competed in state-level competitions from which FedEx registered 58 state champions. In 2024, more than 150 professional drivers represented FedEx at the NTDC for the eighth consecutive year the championships have been competed. Each driver qualified by winning their respective state's competition and driving accident-free for at least one year.

FedEx Corp. announced that five drivers representing the global transportation company were recognized with top honors at the 2024 National Truck Driving Championships (NTDC) and National Step Van Driving Championships (NSVDC) held Aug. 21-24 in Indianapolis.

FedEx Freight driver Jackie Reed (Collinsville, Miss.) won the Tank Truck class and took home the Bendix NTDC Grand Champion Award for the best overall performance by a competitor.

At the NTDC, drivers completed a written examination that covered material found in the American Trucking Associations’ Facts for Drivers book, were scored on a pre-trip inspection of equipment, and collected points for their skills on a driving course. To be eligible to compete at the state level to qualify and advance to Nationals, competitors had to be accident-free for at least one year prior to the championships.

In addition to winning five National Championships, FedEx had 18 total top-three finishes at this year’s championships, representing two-thirds of the driving class awards.

“At FedEx, Safety Above All is one of our founding principles and our greatest priority,” said John A. Smith, Chief Operating Officer, U.S. and Canada Ground Operations at FedEx. “I couldn’t be prouder of the achievements of the FedEx team at this year’s National Championships.”

FedEx has established a reputation for excellence at the NTDC and this year had the privilege of sending a total of 167 drivers from across the country to the championships. Collectively, the team represented 610 state titles, nearly 4,000 years of professional driving experience, and 280 million safe-driving miles.

Drivers who won their respective classes include:

• Connor Dent (Mauston, Wis.) won the Twins National Championship after qualifying for his first NTDC. Dent has accumulated more than 260,000 safe-driving miles during his nearly three years as a professional driver with FedEx Freight.
  
• James Kohr (Rochester, N.Y.) won the Straight Truck National Championship. A nine-time state champion and national qualifier, Kohr has accumulated 1.55 million accident-free miles during his 38 years of professional driving for Federal Express Corporation.
• Dave Mogler (Denver, Colo.) won the 3-Axle National Championship, marking his second national title. He was also the 2015 National Twins Champion. He has now finished in the top five in his class eight times in 18 years competing at NTDC. A 37-year team member with FedEx Freight, Mogler has logged more than 4.9 million safe-driving miles during his 42-year career.
• Logan Montandon (Tyler, Texas) won the Step Van National Championship driving for contracted service provider Grant Leigh Services Inc. Montandon was also the 2024 Texas Grand Champion. He has logged more than 50,000 safe-driving miles in four years providing service to FedEx.
• Reed won the Tank Truck National Championship in his third appearance at NTDC. He was the 2022 Mississippi Grand Champion. Reed is a 34-year professional driver who has logged more than three million miles without an accident. He’s been a FedEx Freight team member for 32 years.

“Jackie demonstrated the precision and professionalism we have come to expect from NTDC champions,” said American Trucking Associations President and CEO Chris Spear. “While all our competitors are champions, he separated himself from even this elite field, showing the skills that have produced three million miles of accident-free driving over his 34-year career. Congratulations to him and to all our NTDC participants.”

In addition to five national champions, 13 drivers representing FedEx were top finishers in their respective driving class at this year’s championships:

• Jeff Cochran, FedEx Freight (Texarkana, Ark.), 3^rd Place, Twins
• Eric Courville, FedEx Freight (Lafayette, La.), 2^nd Place, 5-Axle
• Terry Covey, FedEx Freight (Wichita, Kan.), 3^rd Place, Tank Truck
• Todd Flippin, FedEx Freight (Springfield, Colo.), 2^nd Place, Twins
• Ritch Fundell, FedEx Freight (Joliet, Ill.), 2^nd Place, 3-Axle and Highest Score on the Written Exam (tie)
• Nick Gaudette, FedEx Freight (Denver), 3^rd Place, 5-Axle
• Travis Hutchinson, Service Provider, Blazer Blue Logistics Inc. (Sherwood, Ore.), 3^rd Place, Step Van
• Corey Mitchell, FedEx Freight (Shreveport, La.), 3^rd Place, Straight Truck
• Larry Rhein, FedEx Freight (Harrison, Ark.), 2^nd Place, Flatbed
• Dan Shamrell, FedEx Freight (Portland, Ore.), 3^rd Place, 3-Axle
• Chris Shaw, Federal Express Corporation (Albuquerque, N.M.), 2^nd Place, Straight Truck
• Paul Swan, FedEx Freight (Denver), 3^rd Place, 4-Axle
• Scott Wickstrom, Federal Express Corporation (Bangor, Maine), 2^nd Place, Step Van

Competing in the Twins Class, FedEx Freight Driver Todd Gimpel (Aurora, Neb.) was named the National Rookie of the Year. Also, seven drivers from FedEx were members of Colorado’s Team Champions:

• Dutch Burch, FedEx Freight (Denver), Tank Truck
• Todd Flippin
• Nick Gaudette
• Brian Hoy, FedEx Freight (Denver), Step Van
• Dave Mogler
• Tyler Rogers, FedEx Freight (Grand Junction), Sleeper Berth
• Paul Swan