LEXINGTON, VA. Overnite Transportation Companys Dennis Kendrick, a Richmond, Va., city driver, stepped into the winners circle once again at the Virginia Truck Driving Championships held here this weekend.
Kendrick, a 32-year company veteran, took the top prize for the three-axle competition. This victory marks his fifth state championship title. Kendrick will join 16 other Overnite drivers in representing the company at the National Truck Driving Championships this summer in Tampa, Fla. Coming in second in their competition class, a pair of Roanoke, Va., drivers also gave a strong showing at the event. Eddie Meadows, a 2004 Virginia state champ, was the three-axle divisions runner-up, while Ed Hurley came in second place in the five-axle class.
Three additional Overnite drivers also delivered a solid performance for the company. Roanoke Road Driver Marty Hogan, a 2004 National Champion, came in third in the straight truck competition. Richmond drivers George Doug Johnson and Charles Skip Goodrich, Jr., came in third, respectively, in the tanker class and the sleeper truck division.
At its awards banquet following the state championships competition, the Virginia Trucking Association also honored Goodrich at with a special achievement award for his work as a member of Americas Road Team, an elite group of the nations best professional drivers selected by the American Trucking Associations to represent the trucking industry and promote highway safety.
On May 16, UPS (NYSE: UPS) announced a definitive agreement to acquire Overnite Corporation for $1.25 billion.
Overnite Transportation Company, which provides a complete menu of regional, interregional and long-haul services, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Overnite Corporation (NASDAQ: OVNT), which also owns Motor Cargo Industries.
Together, they form one of the largest less-than-truckload carriers in the United States with more than 200 service centers and a fleet of over 6,000 tractors and more than 22,000 trailers, covering all 50 states and providing customers with direct access to more than 45,000 cities in the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Mexico.