Doug Nickles Repeats as TMCSuperTech Grand Champion
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RALEIGH, N.C. — During the TMCSuperTech awards ceremony at American Trucking Associations’ Technology & Maintenance Council Fall Meeting on Sept. 17, FedEx Freight’s Doug Nickles received his first of five professional track station awards, Coolants & DEF.
Before he could get back to his seat, TMCSuperTech Competition Chairman Randy Patterson called him back to the stage for his second station award for Electronic Engine Diagnostics.
“As soon as I got a couple under my belt, I was rolling,” said Nickles, who repeated as 2024 TMCSuperTech grand champion. Nickles is the seventh multiyear champion — the last was Phillip Pinter in 2022 — and latest consecutive winner since Eric Vos in 2016.
“I felt I had two great days of competition, so I felt good. But there’s always that unknown. Somebody comes here and could have two stellar days,” Nickles told Transport Topics. “If I have one bad move, that’s it. So, as soon as I got a couple [station awards], I was confident.”
Congrats to Doug Nickles of FedEx Freight for winning the #TMCSuperTech24 Grand Champion title at last night’s TMCSuperTech 2024 & TMCFutureTech 2024 Awards Banquet in Raleigh!🎉👏 Let’s give him a round of applause and congratulate all the winners and everyone who competed! pic.twitter.com/am5XOGRrxD — Technology & Maintenance Council (TMC) of ATA (@TMC4Trucks) September 18, 2024
Nickles, from East Moline, Ill., said he prepared for the two-day technician skills competition for the last two months, even leaning on the advice of last year’s trailer track winner, fellow FedEx Freight technician Cory Westfall.
“I know trailers, but I didn’t know it in a test form too well,” he said. “I was glad to have [Cory] in my phone book. I was able to call him and he gave me his pointers.”
Westfall, Nickles recalled, provided tips on various procedures to look for in the trailer category and how to maneuver in the station during the competition. “All praises to Cory,” Nickles proclaimed, crediting Westfall for his help.
Transwest Truck’s Jonathan Cecil placed second and Hogan Truck Leasing’s Carl Diehl placed third. Hogan Truck Leasing won the team competition with Diehl and Clyde Weathers.
“I felt I had two great days of competition," Nickles said. (Blake Franko/American Trucking Associations)
“Being named grand champion at TMC’s National Technicians Skills Competitions is a tremendous honor,” said TMC Executive Director Robert Braswell. “Doug demonstrated the kinds of skills, technical knowledge and professionalism we have come to expect from our members. Congratulations to him, and to all our competitors who displayed extraordinary talent during this competition.”
Nickles beat a pool of more than 90 technicians during the competition. This year’s TMCSuperTech was revamped from last year, which included two separate tracks, Professional and Student categories. David Pena, technician for Best Specialized who was a first-time professional competitor, and was in the TMCFutureTech student competition in 2019, noticed the difference when competing.
“A lot has changed,” said Pena, who finished 86th this year. “When I was a student there were 15-17 stations, and now I’m competing in 33 as a pro.”
He humbly stated he could have done better in several categories including Tire, Suspension and Trailers. Despite his performance, Pena was grateful to grow and learn as a technician.
“You shoot high, but you have to be realistic,” said Pena, who finished in the top 20 in his home state of North Carolina’s tech competition. “There are lots of smart people here. I have always been good with mechanics. This is a good way to improve your skills and meet a lot of people and get the knowledge.”
For some competitors, like Nate Hinman, certified fleet maintenance technician at Publix Super Markets Inc., the skills contest served as an introduction to TMC. Like this year’s grand champion, he studied for months for the contest, readying for a whirlwind of information.
“With this being my first year, I expected to take in a lot,” he said during the first day of competition. “It was not as bad as I thought it would be. For the most part, it was quiet. That gave me time to actually think and go through the material.”
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His Publix teammate Kevin DaCosta, fleet maintenance lead technician, also competed and won two professional track stations, Lubricants & Fuels and Hydraulics. Hinman, who ranked 47th overall, said that he is going to use his first year in competition as a primer for future TMCSuperTechs.
“I’m going to see what the judges are looking for, then I’ll have a year to study,” he said. “Next year, I’ll hit the ground running and figure it out.”
Elsewhere in the competition, Maxwell Chatman, a student at Ferris State University, won the TMCFutureTech National Student Technician Skills Competition. John Connor, Des Moines Area Community College, finished second and Jack Lorenz, University of Northwestern Ohio, placed third.
