FORT SMITH, Ark. - ABF Freight®, an ArcBestsm company (Nasdaq: ARCB), congratulates A.J. Kelly, an ABF Freight road driver from Cheyenne, Wyoming, for earning second place in the Twins class at the National Truck Driving Championships, held August 10-13, 2016, in Indianapolis.
To earn the right to compete in the national competition, drivers must win first place in their class during state competitions. The drivers also must maintain an accident-free driving record for the preceding 12 months.
“A.J. not only earned the right to compete in the nationals by winning first place in the Wyoming Twins class, he scored the highest on Wyoming’s written examination,” said ABF Freight President Tim Thorne. “His record with ABF Freight includes driving 16 years and 2 million miles with no accidents. A.J. is a true professional.”
Kelly has been driving professionally for 37 years. He is a two-time winner of the Wyoming Trucking Association’s Larry E. Meredith Award, which honors a driver’s professionalism. He has earned numerous awards at the state level, including two-time Grand Champion, five Team Trophies, Highest Written Score, Best Personal Interview, Rookie of the Year and the Kim Fife Award. Since he joined ABF Freight in 2000, Kelly has earned a Two Million Mile Award, a 16-year Safe Driving Certificate and a 15-year Safety Performance Award. He and his wife, Susie, have five children.
The National Truck Driving Championships is a competition of professional truck drivers hosted each year by the American Trucking Associations. The drivers undergo a written examination, pre-trip inspection test and finally, the driving skills test. The championships are a great incentive for professional truck drivers to operate safely. Many of the competitors have millions of accident-free driving miles to their credit.
