Rookie Represents Family’s Third Generation to Compete in ATA’s ‘Super Bowl of Safety’

When Tim Bailey Jr., was a child, he heard all about his father, Tim Sr., a driver for Con-way Inc., qualifying for the National Truck Driving Championships. And like a typical child who lacks appreciation for a parent’s profession, the younger Bailey said recently, “I told myself I would never drive a truck.”

But now, Tim Jr. is one of 428 drivers who will compete this year in the National Truck Driving Championships and National Step Van Driving Championships in Orlando, Fla., on Aug 9-13. And the 28-year-old, who is a contender in the step van competition, will be the third generation of Baileys representing West Virginia in the event, which is sponsored by American Trucking Associations.

Kenny Bailey, Tim Jr.’s 72-year-old grandfather, won the state’s Straight Truck championship five times for Cook Motor Lines and five times for Con-way. Tim Sr., 50, has been to NTDC five times. This year, he is competing in the three-axle class.

And for the youngest Bailey, what was once disdain has turned into delight.

“My dad and grandpa did this,” Tim Jr. said. “It’s kind of cool to carry on a tradition.”

To qualify for what is known as the “Super Bowl of Safety,” drivers must be accident-free for 12 months before the competitions. They also must place first in their truck class at one of the 50 state truck driving championships, which are sometimes called rodeos.

“These drivers represent the best our industry to offer,” said Ira Rosenfeld, director of media relations in Richmond, Va., for UPS Freight, the less-than-truckload subsidiary of UPS Inc., the top-ranked company on the Transport Topics Top 100 list of the largest U.S. and Canadian for-hire carriers.

“Their commitment to safety and their driving skills are unmatched,” Rosenfeld said. “To say the best of the best professional drivers in America will be in Orlando this week is not an exaggeration.”

But the competition is not just designed to find the best and safest driver. It’s also a chance for drivers and their families to mingle with one another for a week while the competitors pursue coast-to-coast recognition.

“It is very humbling to be recognized nationally,” said Carl Krites, NTDC’s 2010 Grand Champion, who drives for Con-way out of Sidney, Ohio. “I go down the road in my Freightliner and guys will yell hello to me on the radio. Even Canadian drivers.”

Krites, who drives for the No. 3 carrier on the TT 100 for-hire list, said he and his wife, Renee, have been feted at car shows and even have been in some parades. He said that’s mostly thanks to the new Ford F-150 pickup Con-way awarded him. The pickup has his name and his NTDC achievement emblazoned on its sides.

After playing baseball in college and graduating with a degree in drafting and design engineering, Tim Bailey Jr. found himself working part time for UPS in Clarksburg, W.Va. When a full-time step van driver position opened up two years ago, he accepted it. Now he is appearing in his first national driving competition.

Although Tim Sr. is thrilled that his son in competing in Orlando, he said his father is the one whose smile is wider than a tractor grill.

“My father was extremely excited,” said Tim Sr. “He was at a loss for words — and that is not like him.”

When Kenny Bailey retired seven years ago, son Tim Sr. replaced him at Con-way.

“I think Tim [Sr.] is a better driver than I was, and I think his son is going to be a better driver than him,” said Kenny, who worked for Con-way for 16 years and was the carrier’s first driver in Clarksburg.

Tim Sr. said one of the main reasons he wanted to compete was to become a better driver.

“I tried to hang with people who do the job right and learn from guys who’ve been there,” he said. “Talking with other drivers at NTDC helped me get valuable information. It’s made me so much safer on the road.”

Tim Jr. is the only step-van competitor that UPS has in the national championships. In all, UPS Freight and UPS will have 18 drivers competing at NTDC and NSVDC this year, Rosenfeld said.

Ironically, Tim Jr.’s fellow UPS driver, Clarence Jenkins, broke Bailey’s grandfather’s record for NTDC appearances. Jenkins is competing at his 15th NTDC, this time in the Sleeper Berth class.

This is the first year that the step-van competition has become a full-fledged member of the national championships. The previous two years were trial runs for the event.

After the NTDC committee approved the step-van competition’s permanent inclusion last year, committee member Rick Cates, who is also the director of safety and security for the North Carolina Trucking As-sociation, said, “Any time we can promote safety in the trucking industry, we’re going to do it” (12/20&27, p. 4).

FedEx Corp. said it has 115 drivers competing in the championships this year. One of them is Sean Saxon, owner of Berly Q Inc., an independent contractor that works with FedEx Ground and is based at the package deliverer’s Tempe, Ariz., location. Saxon, reigning national champion in the Step Van class, will be competing at his third nationals, this year in the Straight Truck class.

“Competing at the NTDC is like playing in the World Series or Super Bowl,” said Saxon in a statement. “Winning a national title last year was my most rewarding experience as a professional driver because I competed against the safest drivers from the across the country and came out on top. It’s truly an honor to have earned the right to return to the competition again this year.”

Because Con-way has 84 drivers at the championships this year, the number of FedEx drivers should make things interesting, said Krites, the 2010 grand champ.

“There is a huge competition between Con-way and FedEx to see who’s going to pull in the most trophies,” he said. “But the next Monday, we go to work for the same reasons: to provide for our family and to do our jobs the best we can.”

The driving competitions include individual drivers who represent themselves and not trucking companies.