PITTSBURGH, Pa. — Long before David Comings realized the dream of becoming the Grand Champion of the National Truck Driving and National Step Van Driving Championships (NTDC) last year in Minneapolis, the FedEx Freight veteran had mastered two of the key components necessary for maintaining a superb safety record.
Comings, who will be joining 428 other state champions here this week inside the David L. Lawrence Center for NTDC 2026, has long known that maintaining your powers of observation at all times while behind the wheel and staying forever curious about the miles ahead are both parts of a winning formula for staying safe mile after mile and year after year.
Seven years ago, Comings used those same powers of observation and curiosity upon spotting several orange cones spread out in a pattern he didn’t recognize at the FedEx Freight facility in Fargo, North Dakota. Comings, who was pulling into the facility having finished his driving run, was immediately curious — and he had questions when he met Scott Meyers.
Little did Meyers know that the initial answers he provided Comings would ignite a new set of goals and a dream for an already highly accomplished professional driver. The fact that Comings encountered Meyers at that moment could be considered a bit of NTDC Destiny. Even in 2019, Meyers was on his way to becoming a State TDC legend in North Dakota, having multiple vehicle division titles since 2007 and just weeks away from winning his first of three State Grand Championship titles in 2019.
“It was a Saturday morning. One of our night drivers had come into the terminal, and he was wondering why there were cones out in his way,” recalled Meyers of the chance meeting. “That driver was David Comings. So, I told him, ‘This is what we do on the weekend.’ I could see he was in awe because, at that point, I don’t think he’d ever heard of the Truck Driving Championships.”
“They were getting ready to practice that day and I got out of my truck to ask Scott about what they were doing,” remembered Comings. “Scott walked me around the course, and he took the time to show me what everything was. I quickly learned that is Scott’s style. Going forward, anytime I had a question Scott always gave me detailed answers.”
Instantly bonding with excellent mentors
Meyers and his fellow FedEx Freight teammate from Fargo, Chris Scholand, never missed an opportunity to teach in the early days with Comings. In fact, that first time Comings happened upon a practice he took their encouragement to test his skills at one of the scoring stations they had set up.
“I remember they had a bullseye set up out there. And I was like, ‘Let me give this a try,’” said Comings. “I pulled up to it like I felt I should. Then I got out of the truck and walked up there to check out what I had done. I was like 2 feet to the left and 4 feet short or something. I learned very quickly this is a lot harder than it looks — but that day definitely lit the fire.”
Comings’ desire to join Meyers and Scholand as FedEx Freight teammates grew even more intense when he made the trip to watch them compete in the North Dakota State Truck Driving Championships for 2019. The first-place finishers in the nine vehicle divisions would earn berths in the National Championships, which were held in Pittsburgh seven years ago.
Going into 2019, Scholand had won the North Dakota State Grand Championship for the three previous years. Meanwhile, Meyers, who had won his first vehicle division state title in 2007, was carving out his own legendary status. Meyers also has three State Grand Champion titles for his career; by 2019, he was moving closer to earning state titles in the eight vehicle divisions offered by NTDC that require a CDL.
Ready to compete following COVID
After watching Meyers win one of his three State Grand Championships in 2019, Comings began counting the days until the 2020 State TDC. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic placed the State TDCs and the NTDC program on break until 2022.
To his credit, Comings used that gap to learn the full scope of the competition, which includes a written test and pre-trip segment in addition to the driving skills course.
“With Dave, you couldn’t ask for a better guy. He and Chris were always there to set up,” Meyers recalled about the work done on the practice courses. “Dave was all in. He was always asking me about practicing. Then, in 2022, we got the ‘Facts For Drivers’ books. We told Dave, ‘You have to read this book!’”
Published by the American Trucking Associations (ATA), the ‘Facts For Drivers’ is the study guide for the written test, which is worth 100 points at the state and national competition. Championships have been won and lost due to the results coming out written test scores and the 80 points that are available in the pre-trip portion of the competition.
As veterans of the State TDCs and Nationals, Meyers and Scholand emphasized the value of the written test and all phases of the competition with Comings not long after they each had gotten the ‘Facts For Drivers’ book.
“Dave walked up to us one day and Chris asked him a question about bridges that came directly from the book,” recalled Meyers. “Dave looked at us and he said, ‘I don’t know.’ Chris told Dave, ‘You have to know this stuff.’ From that day forward, I don’t think I’ve ever asked Dave a question that he didn’t know. He buried his eyes into that book and read.”
Looking back at his 5-Axle National Title that placed him in contention to become the Grand Champion of NTDC 2025, Comings says he missed one question on the written test, picking up 98 points before even doing the pre-trip or driving on the course.
“Chris definitely pushed me with the book, and I was determined to figure it out,” explained Comings. “I’m lucky to have great mentors. There’s no doubt that Scott, with the assistance of Chris, helped fast-track me to where I was able to get to with the knowledge they gave me, with their openness, their willingness to share, to pour themselves into me when they could.”
Mentors going the extra mile
Meyers and Scholand really went to bat for their protege in 2022 when Comings won his first North Dakota State Title. He was the only one out of three training partners who had qualified for the Nationals in Indianapolis that year. Knowing the Nationals would be a totally new and potentially overwhelming experience for a rookie state champion, Meyers and Scholand took the time to reach out to a number of FedEx Freight teammates from across the country who they knew had qualified for NTDC 2022. They found a few guides to help Comings acclimate to his first NTDC.
“I went to Nationals with people that Scott and Chris had lined up to help answer my questions, to show me the ropes,” recalled Comings of NTDC 2022 in Indianapolis. “I really feel that helped me in that first year to do as well as I did, just having someone to walk me around and explain what was going on.”
Comings returned to the Nationals as a state champion in 2023, while Meyers had secured his third State Grand Championship in 2023 and he was just one vehicle class championship away from achieving an NTDC “Cycle” by winning all eight CDL Classes.
In 2024, the three training partners from North Dakota all qualified for the Nationals with state championships. NTDC 2024 had both a high point and a low moment for Comings, who reached the finals in the 5-Axle for the first time in his NTDC run.
The elation of earning one of the five slots in the Championship round was soon dampened by the reality of a run the finals that saw Comings score points on only one of the six stations on the driving course. In what was a disappointing moment, Meyers and Scholand sought out Comings, who was talking with his wife, Judy, about the finals run.
“They were right there to support me, and they helped encourage me after that. I felt I had let them down in 2024,” remembered Comings of seeing his mentors after his 2024 finals run.
“Looking back, Scott was probably the biggest catalyst, along with my wife, at lifting my spirits and getting me to focus back on the accomplishment that it was and looking forward,” he continued. “As I look back at what happened in 2025, it goes all the way back to that point, where Scott really helped me get that perspective back and get pushing forward.”
A mentor seeking one more state title
By 2025, Meyers had won state championships in Straight Truck, 3-Axle, 4-Axle, 5-Axle, Flatbed, Tanker and Twins. The only CDL Division he had not attempted to win in state competition was Sleeper — and there was a reason he had not pursued the Sleeper title
Originally, Meyers started moving around into different vehicle classes as a way to avoid competing against FedEx Freight teammates, with an eye on having as many teammates as possible qualifying for the Nationals. As the years passed and the championships were secured in more classifications, Meyers began to consider seeing if he could win all eight CDL classes, but he needed to check with his wife before attempting to add Sleeper to complete the set.
Here’s the background: Meyers was actually introduced to trucking by his wife, Lois. They started dating some 46 years ago, and Meyers met his future father-in-law, Jerome Satrom, who was an owner-operator based in Fargo.
Satrom had built what essentially was a dedicated run for his operation. The run would take him from Fargo across to California with a return route that delivered in Winnipeg. Satrom was looking for a lumper and Meyers was open to the work, the adventure and the opportunity to learn about trucking.
“Lois’s dad drove for 50 years. He’s the one that got me started in trucking,” said Meyers. “Her dad drove a five-axle sleeper, and I told her that I would never try and be better than him. That’s why I kind of kept it (the Sleeper Class) to last.”
A first state grand championship for Comings
While Meyers, with the blessing of his wife to take his shot — as a way to honor his father-in-law — would finish second in his first attempt in the Sleeper division, Comings repeated as the state champion in 5-Axle, and he won his first State Grand Championship. Meanwhile, Scholand would also be heading to NTDC 2025 in Minneapolis as the 2025 3-Axle champion from North Dakota.
For his part, Meyers had a strong feeling that the driver who was first introduced to the NTDC program in 2019 by asking him about a set of cones he saw during a practice session was on the verge of breakthrough performance. Meyers knew he needed to make the trip from Fargo to Minneapolis to watch Comings, but he wanted to keep it a secret.
“I had talked with my manager a couple of weeks before the Nationals and I told him that I have to go there. I wasn’t going to miss Dave driving,” said Meyers. “But I didn’t want Dave to know that I was coming, because I didn’t want to make him nervous.”
After watching Comings drive in the semifinals, Meyers knew he’d made the right call, and he knew Comings had the kind of momentum that would carry him past the disappointing performance in the runoff in 2024.
“I knew he was going to be driving in the finals on Saturday, and I made sure I was there for that,” Meyers recalled of the run that opened the door to Comings winning the 2025 NTDC Grand Championship. “It was awesome. When you see a guy like this and you both have the same goals, you spend a lot of time with him, and you talk a lot. It was awesome. It’s almost like winning it yourself.”
Becoming the national grand champion
Comings had quite a cheering section assembled in Minneapolis. His wife and all six of his children, ranging from teenagers to college ages, had made the trip to support the competitor that Meyers and Scholand believed had the skill and talent to break through on the national stage.
Even a year later, Comings readily admits the elation of winning was so overwhelming that it blurs some of the details, but he still recalls moments with Meyers that brought them both full circle.
“Obviously, it was a tremendous moment of emotion and excitement just to be able to reach the top like that,” said Comings, looking back at his 2025 run. “And here’s the thing — to do it knowing that Scott came down specifically for that.
“To be able to win with him there. I don’t think Hollywood could have scripted a better story,” he continued. “Frankly, that’s part of why I think it was so hard for me to comprehend it all, because it just seemed too good to be true.”
Celebrating a mentor’s achievement
While Comings was thrilled to become a back-to-back State Grand Champion from North Dakota, he was elated to see Meyers win the Sleeper Class title to complete his quest to win all eight CDL divisions in the competition.
Click here to listen to Scott Meyers as he looks back on his career and winning the Sleeper title.
“I was super happy obviously that I won my class and was going back, but I almost think I was more excited when Scott got that sleeper class because I knew how hard he was trying and how much he wanted to get that,” said Comings. “I went up and gave him a huge hug at State there before he went up to get his trophy.
“It meant a lot to me to see him be able to reach that opportunity, knowing how hard he’s worked for it and how much he’s pushed and poured into me,” he continued. “It also makes it special to be able to go back to nationals together as a group.”
A friendly rivalry that drives excellence
Comings (4-Axle), Meyers (Sleeper) and Scholand (Tanker) are all in Pittsburgh this week, looking to excel at the Nationals. At the same time, the trio has an eye on the future in what has become a friendly rivalry at the North Dakota State TDC.
“Chris and I have three and Dave has two,” Meyers said of the State Grand Championship total. “Those two guys are just awesome, and it’s become a friendly competition between us. There’s a lot of good ribbing that goes on, and I would like to stay one ahead of Dave before I retire.”
“When you have guys like Scott and Chris alongside you, you can work hard and have fun at the same time,” said Comings. “I know Scott wants to be the first one to four. He’s trying to separate himself from the two of us a little bit now. And, of course, he and Chris are both trying to keep me below them.
“But when we have the time to practice together, we’re trying to make each other better. When we see something the other person might be doing or whatever, offer a tip,” he continued. “None of us are afraid to go to the other one and just say, ‘Hey, this is what I was seeing.’ So, there’s a rivalry, but a camaraderie where we want to make each other better while at the same time making ourselves better.”
Greg Thompson is an award-winning writer and producer who has worked in the trucking industry in a variety of roles since 1998. With more than a decade’s worth of experience as a journalist prior entering trucking, Greg is the founder and executive producer of PodWheels.com, a podcast network dedicated to spotlighting the trucking industry.
Since 2019, PodWheels has provided specialized coverage of the National Truck Driving and National Step Van Driving Championships.
In 2025, PodWheels’ NTDC Series earned the honor of being named the official podcast of the National Championships by the American Trucking Associations, which hosts the annual nationwide competition.
During 2025 alone, PodWheels produced some 100 episodes and provided over 50 hours of podcast content highlighting the competitors, organizers and volunteers involved with the Truck Driving Championships at both the state and national levels. PodWheels’ coverage of the NTDC, including state competitions and other features, is available through RoadToNTDC.com.
