Liner Notes

When the 15th edition of Safety Drive For A Cure opens its NTDC-style competition this Saturday, Brent and Laura Darnell will have already been onsite at the UPS Smart Hub in Atlanta before the sun rises. For Brent and Laura, along with a legion of volunteers led by chief organizer Herschel Evans, Saturday’s charity benefit for the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation, will represent a coordinated effort that has been almost a year in the planning and execution.

In this edition of the podcast, we talk with Brent and Laura as they entered the final week of preparations. We also spend some time learning about how deep trucking’s roots are a part of their family traditions, with Brent being a fourth-generation professional driver. In addition, Brent and Laura shared how their family has become involved in Brent’s preparations for the Georgia TDC over years, and they share their memories of Brent’s third-place finish in the 3-Axle Division last summer at NTDC 2025.

SAFETY DRIVE NOTES: There are still some openings for volunteers to help onsite in the Atlanta area on March 13-14. If you are going to be in the Atlanta area this weekend and are interested, you can sign up to become a volunteer by clicking here. You can also support the drivers who have entered the competition or the cause in general by making a donation. You can learn more by visiting Safety Drive event page by clicking here. To stay updated on what’s happening with Safety Drive you can visit the Safety Drive’s Facebook Page, by clicking here.

NEW FRIEND OF THE PODCAST SPONSOR: PodWheels is honored to welcome the Lutzie 43 Foundation as a Friend of the NTDC 2026 Podcast Series. Founded to honor the legacy of Philip Lutzenkirchen, the Lutzie 43 Foundation is dedicated to make sure that the tragedy that took his life would never have to be repeated. Philip was a standout athlete, a beloved teammate, and a man of tremendous character. Today, the foundation that carries his name is working to change the driving culture across the Southeast and beyond by tackling distracted driving, impaired driving, and unsafe habits behind the wheel. To learn more about the Lutzie 43 Foundation and how you can use 43 Key Seconds to run through an important safety checklist before starting your vehicle, visit Lutzie43.org.

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For Atlanta-based XPO veteran driver Tim Vogt, the 15th edition of the Safety Drive For A Cure Benefit scheduled to run this coming Saturday is one of the most important dates on the calendar. In addition to getting a highly competitive test of his TDC skills ahead of Georgia’s Championship this April, Tim is part of the lead group of volunteers who will be working to ensure the Safety Drive record field of 265 professional drivers, their families, friends, supporters and Star Families will have a memorable time at Safety Drive 2026. This NTDC-style competition benefits the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation, and the Star Families attending the event are families who have a child impacted by brain cancer. All the money raised through Safety Drive goes to support research to find a cure for pediatric brain cancer.

During this edition of the podcast, we talk with Tim about his career in trucking, which includes serving as an America’s Road Team Captain since 2015 along with being a constant presence at the Georgia TDC and being a part of past NTDC fields. Tim, who has more than 1.5 million miles as a local driver in one of the country’s busiest metro areas, serves as a trainer and mentor to drivers who are entering the industry with XPO. As you will hear, Safety Drive is one of the many opportunities to make a difference that Tim has discovered during his 27-year career in the trucking industry.

FINAL WEEK SAFETY DRIVE UPDATE : There are still some openings for volunteers to help onsite in the Atlanta area on March 13-14. If you are going to be in the Atlanta area this weekend and are interested, you can sign up to become a volunteer by clicking here. You can also support the drivers who have entered the competition or the cause in general by making a donation. You can learn more by visiting Safety Drive event page by clicking here. To stay updated on what’s happening with Safety Drive you can visit the Safety Drive’s Facebook Page, by clicking here.

OUR FRIEND OF THE PODCAST SPONSOR: Founded in 2007, the St. Christopher Truckers Relief Fund is the only nationwide nonprofit that provides short-term relief to Class A OTR drivers suffering from an illness or injury that took them out of work within the last 365 days. The St. Christopher Truckers Development and Relief Fund also provides several free prevention health and wellness programs for OTR drivers in an effort to keep them on the road, including nicotine and smoking cessation, diabetes prevention, chronic disease management, at-home cancer screenings, and vaccine vouchers. To learn more about the St. Christopher Truckers Relief Fund and all of the offerings available from SCF, including how you can support their important work to help professional drivers and their families, visit TruckersFund.org.

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For this Safety Matters edition of the podcast, we will be focusing on the Controlled Substances and Alcohol BASIC as we continue our series exploring each of the Seven Basics that are part of the FMCSA’s Compliance, Safety and Accountability Enforcement Program. Mark Barlar and Daniel Vega from the Reliance Partners Safety Impact Team will serve as our subject-matter experts as we look at the critical aspects of rules related to controlled substances and alcohol regulations, including how these violations are weighted and scored by FMCSA.

In addition to walking through the rules and regulations found within the Controlled Substances and Alcohol BASIC, we will discuss driver education related to this BASIC and we will cover best practices for managing violations, including Data Qs, dismissals and legal considerations. Thom Albrecht, the Chief Revenue Officer at Reliance Partners, serves as your host and moderator for this episode of Trucking Matters. A live version of this episode was originally shared on February 12th as part of the Reliance Partners webinar series on the Seven Basics.

SIGN UP FOR MARCH’S LIVE WEBINAR: Reliance Partners will be holding its next live webinar covering the Seven BASICS Series on Thursday, March 19th at 3:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. The March webinar will feature a discussion of the Driver Fitness BASIC. You can register for the Reliance Partners’ March 19th webinar by clicking here.

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How would you respond if you landed one point short of reaching the runoff in your vehicle division at Nationals? Zack Bourque, the two-time reigning Tanker State Champion from New York, was forced to look squarely into that very challenge the moment he got his envelope following the call of the runoff finalists at NTDC 2025. As you’ll hear in this episode of the podcast, Zack refused to get eaten up by disappointment. Instead, he continued to work to make the most of his time onsite with all the driving professionals who were gathered in Minneapolis last summer.

During this interview with PodWheels Executive Producer Greg Thompson, Zack shares how he used the afternoon and evening of 2025’s Championship Day to be a part of group conversations with a number of the runoff participants, including eventual 2025 National Grand Champion David Comings. Zack also talks to us about the important mentoring role that Jim Kohr, a TDC and NTDC stalwart from New York, continues to play in Zack’s development as a professional driver and NTDC competitor.

While Zack is counting the days to New York’s TDC in June, he knows that, in order to compete, he has to maintain his safety-first focus on the job as a driver for Wegmans Food Markets. And, when it comes to this winter, staying safe has included driving through many snow-filled days.

OUR FRIEND OF THE PODCAST SPONSOR: Founded in 2007, the St. Christopher Truckers Relief Fund is the only nationwide nonprofit that provides short-term relief to Class A OTR drivers suffering from an illness or injury that took them out of work within the last 365 days. The St. Christopher Truckers Development and Relief Fund also provides several free prevention health and wellness programs for OTR drivers in an effort to keep them on the road, including nicotine and smoking cessation, diabetes prevention, chronic disease management, at-home cancer screenings, and vaccine vouchers. To learn more about the St. Christopher Truckers Relief Fund and all of the offerings available from SCF, including how you can support their important work to help professional drivers and their families, visit TruckersFund.org.

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With a record that was highlighted by five National Championships, one Grand Championship and the Professional Excellence Award during his NTDC days, Bob Dolan put together a hall-of-fame driving career and remains a legend in his home state of Pennsylvania. In this edition of the podcast, we will be featuring Eugene Mulero’s 2025 interview with Bob that was part of Eugene’s work on the second edition of the NTDC History Book that he co-authored with Jacob Pierce. As you will hear, Bob closed out his NTDC career in 2019 in Pittsburgh by helping Pennsylvania secure the State Team Trophy.

In the closing section of this episode, PodWheels Executive Producer Greg Thompson and Eugene send out a huge note of thanks to our listeners while touching on a number of topics. Greg shares that the news that the series has seen a steady rise in listenership during the first two months of this year in comparison to the solid January and February numbers the show yielded in 2025. As you will hear, Greg takes a moment to invite listeners to submit their feedback and share their ideas for future episodes by sending a message to the following email address: [email protected].

SAFETY DRIVE 2026 VOLUNTEER SIGN-UP: As we noted in the episode, the organizers for the 15th Annual Safety Drive For A Cure are still looking for volunteers to help onsite in the Atlanta area on March 13-14. You can sign up to become a volunteer by clicking here. There are a wide range of volunteer opportunities to support what will be the largest competitive field in the history of Safety Drive, which benefits the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation. You can also support the drivers who have entered the competition or the cause in general by making a donation. You can learn more by visiting Safety Drive event page by clicking here. To stay updated on what’s happening with Safety Drive you can visit the Safety Drive’s Facebook Page, by clicking here.

OUR FRIEND OF THE PODCAST SPONSOR: Founded in 2007, the St. Christopher Truckers Relief Fund is the only nationwide nonprofit that provides short-term relief to Class A OTR drivers suffering from an illness or injury that took them out of work within the last 365 days. The St. Christopher Truckers Development and Relief Fund also provides several free prevention health and wellness programs for OTR drivers in an effort to keep them on the road, including nicotine and smoking cessation, diabetes prevention, chronic disease management, at-home cancer screenings, and vaccine vouchers. To learn more about the St. Christopher Truckers Relief Fund and all of the offerings available from SCF, including how you can support their important work to help professional drivers and their families, visit TruckersFund.org.

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During this episode of the podcast, Darius Uible takes us behind the scenes with Team UPS. A finalist to serve as an America’s Road Team Captain for 2026-27 and a veteran driver for UPS, Darius has become a fixture at the NTDC in recent years with his video work. Darius, an accomplished videographer who is a regular competitor at the State TDC in Kentucky, was asked by UPS a few years ago to photograph and video the efforts of the members of Team UPS as they compete at the Nationals.

As you will hear, Darius tells PodWheels Executive Producer Greg Thompson how his NTDC video gig came together and what it means to him to be able to record company history while also sharing in the experience of his UPS teammates as they compete at the Nationals. During this episode, you will hear the feature interview that Darius conducted with UPS teammate Jeff Reed, reflecting on earning Rookie of the Year honors at NTDC 2026 while competing in the Twins Division.

In the closing section of the podcast, Greg talks with Darius about his experience this January going to Washington DC as a finalist this January to be a Captain for America’s Road Team. Darius also offers a window into the early preparation by Team UPS for the upcoming State TDC Season. You’ll hear Greg ask Darius about his thoughts on breaking through to become a State Champion in Kentucky this May and qualifying for NTDC 2026 in Pittsburgh.

OUR FRIEND OF THE PODCAST SPONSOR: Founded in 2007, the St. Christopher Truckers Relief Fund is the only nationwide nonprofit that provides short-term relief to Class A OTR drivers suffering from an illness or injury that took them out of work within the last 365 days. The St. Christopher Truckers Development and Relief Fund also provides several free prevention health and wellness programs for OTR drivers in an effort to keep them on the road, including nicotine and smoking cessation, diabetes prevention, chronic disease management, at-home cancer screenings, and vaccine vouchers. To learn more about the St. Christopher Truckers Relief Fund and all of the offerings available from SCF, including how you can support their important work to help professional drivers and their families, visit TruckersFund.org.

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For our February episode of the podcast, we meet McCall Meany, who was recently invited to join the all-volunteer Board of Directors for the St. Christopher Truckers Relief Fund. SCF Highway To Hope Podcast Host Lindsey Bryan introduces our audience to McCall with a feature interview. As you will hear, McCall shares her background as the Marketing Manager at AMBEST, her journey into the marketing field that introduced her to trucking and the importance of storytelling in creating meaningful connections with  professional drivers.

McCall also discusses what inspired her to join the SCF board, her excitement about making a positive impact on the driver community and her vision for engaging a new generation of drivers through innovative marketing strategies. The conversation with Lindsey concludes with McCall sharing personal inspirations while emphasizing the importance of community and support for drivers.

This episode of the Highway To Hope closes by paying tribute to Dr. John McElligott, the physician and Vietnam-era Navy veteran who co-founded the St. Christopher Truckers Relief Fund, serving as a true advocate for professional drivers and their families. Dr. John passed away on Feb. 15 at the age of 80, and our podcast shares a portion of the interview he did with us in July of 2022. To hear the full July 2022 episode featuring Dr. John and fellow SCF co-founder Dave Nemo, please click here. To learn more about SCF and you can support their important mission, please visit TruckersFund.org.

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Grawe Group Founder & CEO Doug Grawe takes a look inside four topics that have come up quite often in the first weeks of 2026 during conversations with clients and professionals within the trucking and logistics industries. As you’ll hear, Doug opens the podcast by discussing the latest happenings related to broker liability. He notes an upcoming Supreme Court ruling that is expected to address whether or not brokers should be held liable or should face the potential for liability in motor vehicle accidents.

The second topic covered by Doug in this episode offers an update on the recent news that the Independent Contractor Rule from the U.S. Department of Labor could be on its way to the Office of Management and Budget, which means that we should expect the U.S. Department of Labor to issue its proposed rule for what it means to be an independent contractor.

The evolving role of AI and the considerations for trucking and logistics decision-makers around the implementation of TMS and HRIS infrastructure serves as the third topic covered in the episode. Doug closes the podcast by touching on considerations related to mergers and acquisitions in today’s market, noting key points for those “kicking the tires” on either buying or selling. To learn more about the Grawe Group, visit the firm’s website, TheGraweGroup.com.

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This episode of the series is highlighted by our feature interview with Heath Arnold, the Chairman of the Organizing Committee for NTDC 2026. Heath joins the podcast about 26 minutes into the episode, providing us an update on the onsite visit that the NTDC Organizing Committee made earlier this month to Pittsburgh’s David L. Lawrence Convention Center.

Heath talks to us about the meticulous planning and hundreds of details that must be covered in preparation for this August and NTDC 2026. For instance, the committee measures the distance between the bullpens and the driving course as part of working to keep things running in a timely fashion during NTDC week. Heath also shares with us how the Organizing Committee works with the feedback they received from participants and attendees at NTDC 2025. It’s all part of the work that goes into seeking to enhance the experience for those who are a part of NTDC 2026. During the course of the interview, Heath breaks some news for us, noting that both the driving course and pre-trip segments of the competition in Pittsburgh will each have a new sub-committee chairman this year.

During this episode, PodWheels Executive Producer Greg Thompson also talks with Eugene Mulero about his first blog post for 2026 in the RoadToNTDC.com section of the PodWheels website. Eugene will be sharing some notes and the inspiration behind his column that he is calling At The Top.

OUR FRIEND OF THE PODCAST SPONSOR: Founded in 2007, the St. Christopher Truckers Relief Fund is the only nationwide nonprofit that provides short-term relief to Class A OTR drivers suffering from an illness or injury that took them out of work within the last 365 days. The St. Christopher Truckers Development and Relief Fund also provides several free prevention health and wellness programs for OTR drivers in an effort to keep them on the road, including nicotine and smoking cessation, diabetes prevention, chronic disease management, at-home cancer screenings, and vaccine vouchers. To learn more about the St. Christopher Truckers Relief Fund and all of the offerings available from SCF, including how you can support their important work to help professional drivers and their families, visit TruckersFund.org.

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Recorded shortly after the conclusion of the CTA’s Annual Membership Conference, Tim Pollock sat down to talk with Inside The Cab about what he sees on the horizon for his term as the President of the California Trucking Association in 2026. Tim addresses some of the current challenges facing the industry and CTA members, including regulatory concerns and other top issues.

Along with discussing his approach for being engaged with CTA members throughout this year, Tim looks back at his journey in the trucking industry and how he initially got involved with the CTA. Leading the conversation is Eric Sauer, the CEO of the California Trucking Association and your host for Inside The Cab. For the latest on what’s happening with the California Trucking Association, visit Caltrux.org.

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