Virginia Crowns Two Grand Champions After Scoring Error
[Stay on top of transportation news: Get TTNews in your inbox.]
FedEx Freight driver Chuck Bird earned co-Grand Champions honors along with Mike Barnes of Walmart Transportation at the 68th annual Virginia Truck Driving Championships June 14-15.
Bird
Bird received a score of 314 in the Twins class, earning a spot at the National Truck Driving Championships in Pittsburgh Aug. 14-17. Due to an error in scoring, Barnes was named as a co-Grand Champion, scoring 400 points in the Sleeper Berth division. They were two of 89 drivers competing at the Blue Ridge Community College CDL Testing Facility in Verona, Va.
VIRGINIA ARCHIVE PAGE: Previews, recaps and more
Bird has been a driver for 27 years, 14 of which he has spent with FedEx Freight. Barnes won top honors in Sleeper Berth back in 2017 and has clinched several other titles during his competition tenure.
Barnes
Both men will be joined at NTDC by FedEx Freight driver Robert Lilly, who clocked the top pre-trip score of 90. Continuing the FedEx Freight success was rookie driver Kyle Clingenpeel of FedEx Freight, who tallied 298 points in the 5-Axle, earning second place for the division but picking up Rookie of the Year honors. He was one of 19 first-time competitors at the Virginia competition.
Walmart Transportation took home the Team Trophy. Driver Mark Barnes of Walmart helped the cause with the highest score on the driving course of 260 points.
All drivers advancing to compete at nationals:
- 3-Axle: Anthony Cottrell, XPO Logistics
- 4-Axle: Randy Ebinger, YRC Freight
- 5-Axle: Jerry Melton, XPO Logistics
- Flatbed: Robert Lilly, FedEx Express
- Sleeper Berth: Mark Barnes, Walmart Transportation
- Tank Truck: Doug Padgett, Robinson Terminal Whse
- Twins: Chuck Bird, FedEx Freight
- Straight Truck: Anthony Newhouse, FedEx Freight
- Step Van: Greg Long, FedEx Express
