Eastbound and down: Mississippi’s top truckers headed to national competition
Published 7:20 am Saturday, May 4, 2019
A Mississippi-based Fed-Ex driver, along with eight other Magnolia State truckers, will roll into the 2019 National Truck Driving Championships this summer after earning top marks at the state competition last week.
Scott Osborne, the reigning state trucking champion, reclaimed his title last week at the Mississippi Truck Driving Championships in Gulfport.
Osborne scored 300 points in the flatbed division.
Like Osborne, John Kitchens and Christopher Gaston, both of FedEx Freight, repeated as division champs earning trips to nationals. Kitchens won in 4-Axle, and Gaston claimed top honors in the 5-Axle division.
Last year, Osborne competed in Tank Truck and came in 16th at nationals in his division with a score of 241. Kitchens had a strong showing in Sleeper Berth last year, while Gaston struggled in 5-Axle. This will be Osborneās third trip to nationals since his first time competing in 2016.
No rookie competitors made the cut.
Also advancing to nationals:
Sleeper Berth: Reginald Johnson, Ergon Trucking
3-Axle: Jackie Reed, FedEx Freight
Tank Truck: Jason Matte, Walmart Supply Chain
4-Axle: John Kitchens, FedEx Freight
5-Axle: Christopher Gaston, FedEx Freight
Straight Truck: Kieth Reynaud, Walmart Supply Chain
Step Van: Brandon Lee, FedEx Ground
Twins: Don Nehring, FedEx Ground
The 124 drivers competing in the state event have combined to drive more than 237 million accident-free miles.
NTDC 2019 will be held in Pittsburgh on Aug. 14-17.