Overnite Drivers Dominate West Virginia Championships

CHARLESTON, W.Va., May 25 /PRNewswire/ -- Capturing two championship titles, the team trophy and numerous other awards, Overnite Transportation Company drivers dominated the competition at the West Virginia State Truck Driving Championships held here this weekend.

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Winning first-place trophies and tickets to the Nationals later this summer were Charleston, W.Va., drivers Clarence Jenkins and David Maynard. Jenkins, who won a National Championship in 1998, took the winner's trophy in the tanker division. An Overnite veteran for nearly 30 years and a member of the company's 1998 All-Star Road Team, Jenkins also won the competition's pre- trip award for identifying hidden safety defects on a truck. Maynard won his first state championship in the four-axle class.

Together, they led the Overnite crew to win the team trophy, an award presented to the group with the highest average score of all those competing in the championships. As state titleholders, Jenkins and Maynard will join 10 other Overnite drivers who have won state championships to date when they represent the company at the National Truck Driving Championships in Tampa, Fla., in August.

Also delivering strong showings for the company were four other Charleston drivers. Rick Gragg took home a second-place award for his performance in the straight truck class, while Roger Lanham, Ralph Gragg and Craig Warner, each placed third, respectively, in the three-axle, sleeper truck and the five-axle class competitions.

Overnite Parkersburg, W.Va., City Driver Roger Nicholson took home the Rookie of the Year award for earning the best score among all first-time competitors.

At the championships, the West Virginia State Police named nine Overniters to its list of those receiving Outstanding Driver Awards. All Charleston drivers, they are Robert Bryant, Rutherford Burcham, Ralph Gragg, Craig Warner, Allen Jones, Charles Maynard, Chris Morris, Randy Pullen and Ira Queen. Meanwhile, Jenkins, Lanham, Nicholson and fellow Charleston driver Les Eagle, were named by the state as a 2004 Driver of the Month.

Completing a successful weekend, the Great West Casualty Company honored Overnite with a safety award for its outstanding record for carriers that traveled 1.5 to 2 million local and intercity miles in 2004.

On May 16, 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 , 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. More information is available on the company's Web site, http://www.overnite.com/.