12 Oregon Trucking Association, Inc. Oregon Truck Dispatch What made you want to compete in the Oregon Truck Driving Championships? I initially decided to compete because my young children wanted to see their dad driving a truck. I’m also very competitive by nature. The Truck Driving Championships is a great opportunity to showcase your skills as a driver, and it’s a great way to challenge yourself. The process helps you become Q&A with 2023 Oregon TDC Grand Champion: Dan Shamrell a better and safer driver. These days, my grandchildren love to cheer me on! What is the most challenging part of the competition? The skills course is definitely the most challenging part of the competition. It gives you the opportunity to maneuver the truck through tight areas and stretches your skills to their limits. I also enjoy the pre-trip inspection as it’s a great challenge to find planted defects on a truck in a set amount of time. Why do you think this event is important to the industry? The Truck Driving Championships showcases the best drivers and gives them the opportunity to come together to celebrate and promote safety in the industry. The winners of each state competition class move onto a national competition against the best of each state. This gathering of state champions is aweinspiring when you think of how many safe miles they have driven on America’s roads. What would you tell other drivers interested in competing? Driving safe for a full year should be celebrated. The Truck Driving Championships is a family event that allows you to celebrate safety with your family, friends, and coworkers. Through the process, you can grow both as a driver and a person. Plus, you can meet some of the best people in this country and be very proud of the industry you represent. I always tell drivers to take a chance on the TDC. You won’t regret it, and I bet you’ll love it. What are you most looking forward to at the National Truck Driving Championships (NTDC)? The NTDC is a reunion of our trucking family. It’s a representation of the best from across the country. This will be my 17th national competition. I have met literally hundreds of wonderful people who live across this country and do the same thing I do every day, drive safe on America’s roads. We are all passionate about safety and it brings us together. I am also still very competitive and look forward to the challenge of competing at the highest level. Is there anything else you’d like to add about your experience with TDC? TDC helps drivers to maintain an intense focus on safety. At the end of the day, we all want to come home safe to our families. The Truck Driving Championship is a fantastic tool to help drivers achieve this high level of safety.
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