Can YOU say that you’ve logged 25-plus accident and injury free years as a truck driving professional, as well as over 1.25 million miles behind the wheel?

Trucker Dale L. Duncan of San Diego, Calif. can. Duncan is to be congratulated for winning the National Grand Champion title at the 2009 National Truck Driving Championship, which took place in Pittsburgh on August 18.

Duncan, a Con-way Freight truck driver, bested 415 other professional drivers from across the country at the 72nd annual event presented by the American Trucking Associations, known as the "Super Bowl of Safety." To qualify for state and national competition, drivers must have a clean, accident-free safety record for the year prior.

Facing off were state champs in nine different truck types (3-Axle, 4-Axle, 5-Axle, 5-Axle Flatbed, 5-Axle Sleeper, Step Van, Straight Truck, Tankers and Twins). Contestants put their driving abilities to the test on a competition course located in the Steel City’s David L. Lawrence Convention Center. They showed off their knowledge of trucking safety, equipment, and the industry overall, while taking to the course to demonstrate their ability to gauge distances and navigate narrow spaces and curves, and around barriers and on scales.

Con-way gave Duncan, who also took first place in the 5-Axle competition, a cash prize for winning the Grand Champion honor. This is actually Duncan’s second Grand Champion title (he won first in 2006), making the win all the more impressive and well-deserved!

Competitions like these give commercial drivers and trucking industry pros a chance to recognize their professionalism and commitment to safety on the highway, while at the same time cheer, encourage, and celebrate their fellow trucking comrades for another yearly job well done. So congrats to Duncan and all of the other competitors!