Chris Moore Wins Georgia, Readies for NTDC Competition
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INDIANAPOLIS — Chris Moore will step onto the industry’s biggest stage in front of thousands of supporters to be a contender for a national title in the sleeper berth class at Indiana Convention Center on Aug. 22.
The Georgia grand champion from Walmart, here for his sixth appearance, has a job to do: help pave the way for his teammates to turn the National Truck Driving Championships into a coronation for Walmart.
Sixty-one elite precision drivers proudly wearing the Walmart uniform are competing at the 87th annual “Super Bowl of Safety.” The figure is a relatively recent high mark for the Bentonville, Ark.-based company.
After winning Walmart’s in-house trucking competition earlier this year, Moore has taken on an ambassadorial role.
2024 National Truck Driving Championships
Who: Winners from nine categories at the state level who have advanced to the national competition, where a Grand Champion will be crowned
What: Contestants are judged on a written exam, pre-trip inspection and driving skills
When: Aug. 21-24
Where: Indianapolis
“My objective is [to] go in and give it all I got. You know, perform the best I can and hopefully bring home the gold for Walmart,” he recently told Transport Topics. “We have 61 drivers competing this year in the NTDC. I watched them practice and prepare, and they’re ready. They are ready.”
The mysteries of competition, with its curious turns, always have captivated the women and men who celebrate this summer classic. Each year, a few drivers are lucky to come away with trophies. Moore, runner-up in the sleeper class last year, strives to perform at a high level. This mindset was instilled as a young man by his father, Ben, a national title winner in sleeper in 2002. (The elder Moore also took gold in the flatbed class in 2008.)
“You have the best drivers in the U.S. competing at the ‘Super Bowl of Safety.’ [They] take pride in what they do each and every day. And it’s your time to shine and show your skills of what you’ve done throughout the year, [and] that ... continues all the way to the NTDC,” Chris Moore said. “And it don’t stop there. It goes back to the following year. You know, and it just keeps getting better and better. That’s what you want to do.”
Getting to Know You
Name: Chris Moore
Age: 44
From: Douglas, Ga.
Vehicle: Sleeper Berth
Music: Classic country
Hobby: Golfing
Favorite movie: Smokey and the Bandit
Last place visited: Bentonville, Ark.
Most memorable NTDC moment: Last year, being called out in the top five in the runoff.
The last word: “Engage in what you do. Be the best you can be.”
The top three scorers in their classes are recognized with awards, and NTDC’s best-in-show is named grand champion.
Jason Ahten, senior director of fleet safety with Walmart Transportation, has contributed to the company’s advancement of precision-driving opportunities.
RELATED: Walmart’s First Class of Homegrown Truck Drivers Graduates
“I’m very excited about the development here,” he explained. “One of the things that I got to see the past couple of years here is that the Walmart drivers have got this great camaraderie. It’s a culture that was started before I got here. And it’s just been fun to observe it there.
“Drivers like Chris, something I got to observe is that when Chris would practice, one of the things that he does is he’s willing to give as much information as he knows to these other drivers.”
“As we continue to raise the standard for what it means to win the National Truck Driving Championships — I think it makes the entire industry better,” Ahten, a member of NTDC’s organizing committee, further emphasized. “Because when we continue to get better at this skill and watch drivers hone their skills, it makes the entire industry better.”
Other Georgia winners:
3-Axle: Clay Rollins, UPS
4-Axle: Jimmy Gomez, Walmart
5-Axle: David Price, Publix
Flatbed: Joe Bertini, FedEx Freight
Step Van: Ron Gerrell, UPS
Straight Truck: James Wright, Publix
Tank Truck: Tim Vogt, XPO
Twins: Jerry Williams, FedEx
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