Mark It as 18 for XPO’s Ina Daly

People who love the National Truck Driving Championships do so with a quasi-familiarity of its history. In Arizona’s Ina Daly with XPO, NTDC enthusiasts have an individual whose every achievement makes the record books. 

The first woman to win a national title (tanker/2013) as well as the first woman recognized with the Neill Darmstadter Professional Excellence Award (2023), Daly continues to plug away. As one of two women to advance to NTDC’s final runoff round last year, the NTDC living legend won the flatbed division this month at the Grand Canyon state’s tournament qualifier. The blue ribbon performance earned her an 18th trip to the national stage when the annual super bowl of trucking safety convenes in August. 

In a statement to Transport Topics, Daly summarized her reaction: “Having your name called in first place is a thrill that validates your hard work leading up to this one moment when your goal is accomplished.”

“You are now one of Team Arizona going to the NTDC!” she added. 

Reflecting on her lifetime achievement honor from two years ago, she told TTNews at the time: “Safety isn’t just about us getting home at the end of the day, it’s also about making sure the cars and other trucks around me get home safely,” said Daly, a member of American Trucking Associations’ Road Team. “The things we do, on the road, without people noticing is what safety is all about. That’s the professionalism I try to bring to the road.” 

“Sometimes,” Daly continued, “we are saving someone’s life and they don’t even notice it, by the way we drive. We are a lot like the captain on a football team, controlling the situation on the road the best we can.” 

The National Truck Driving Championships and National Step Van Driving Championships will be held in Minneapolis Aug. 20-23. Also winning in Arizona were: 

• Step van: Juan Rodriguez Torres with FedEx Ground
• Straight truck: Adam Sheldon with Shamrock Foods Co.
• 3-axle: Raul Acosta with Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc.
• 4-axle: David Coffel with FedEx Express (grand champion)
• 5-axle: Zachary Joe with Performance Food Service
• Tanker: Greg Ziegler with XPO Logistics, Inc.
• Sleeper: Dale Moyle with Walmart Supply Chain
• Twins: Sam Smith with Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc.