Meridian, Miss., Resident Is State Truck Driving Champion

Charles Lucas, of Meridian, Miss., was named the best professional truck driver in Mississippi after winning the three-axle competition and receiving the highest overall score in the eight competing categories at the 2006 Mississippi Truck Driving Championships. The annual event is sponsored by the Mississippi Trucking Association.

Lucas, who works for Roadway Express, now qualifies to compete in the American Trucking Associations' (ATA) National Truck Driving Championships Aug. 15 – 19, in New Orleans -- the "Super Bowl of Safety." The winners from each of the eight categories are also eligible to compete in the national championship.

The national competition includes the individual champions from each of the 50 states. The nearly 400 top professional truck drivers will travel to New Orleans to compete in their respective classes. From 18-wheeler five axle sleepers to tank trucks to twin trailers -- they will drive a course that recreates situations truck drivers face daily. These maneuvers will include: an ally dock, a rear line stop, a side park, a scale stop, a right turn, a front line stop and straight line driving through a diminishing clearance.

On Saturday night, Aug. 19, the contestant with the most points drives away as the National Grand Champion Truck Driver.

Mississippi winners for each category included:

-- Donald Glover, Wal-Mart Transportation, Straight Truck

-- Charles Lucas, Roadway Express, Three-Axle

-- Paul Brownlee, KLLM Transportation Services, Four-Axle

-- Steven Jones, KLLM Transport Services, Five-Axle

-- Willie Wallace, Wal-Mart Transportation, Five-Axle Sleeper

-- John Maddox, Con-way Inc., Tankers

-- John Smith Jr., FedEx Ground, Flatbed

-- Marcus Byrd, FedEx Freight, Twins