The 2025 Louisiana Truck Driving Championships, presented by the LMTA Foundation, was held this weekend, February 28 – March 1, 2025. The two-day competition was held at the L’Auberge Baton Rouge and a specially made driving course across River Road from the L’Auberge’s main facilities.  

This year’s competition saw 80 drivers participate, each completing three tests focused on testing a driver's knowledge and skills. All competitors were required to provide safe driving records, including a zero-accident report for the year.

The scored categories were as follows:

• The written examination is an hour-long test that measures competitors' knowledge of the trucking industry, safe driving rules, first aid, and firefighting.
• The pre-trip inspection tests the driver's ability to thoroughly investigate the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMSCA) pre-trip inspection. Each driver is tasked with finding defects planted on a test vehicle within a limited time.
• The field test course sees contestants drive a vehicle through the specially designed course with problems designed to simulate conditions they may encounter during the everyday operation of a truck. 

The Louisiana competition has nine classes, each with different size commercial vehicles. The classes were Step-Van, Straight Truck, 3-Axle Van, 4-Axle Van, 5-Axle Van, 5-Axle Tank, 5-Axle Flatbed, 5-Axle Sleeper Cab and Twin-Trailers. Scores in each class were calculated from each competition category, recognizing a first, second and third-place winner. Each winning contestant was recognized during the night’s Trucking Safety Awards Banquet with an award for their competition class.

Also awarded from the competition were the Mechanics Award, Rookie of the Year Award, Team Award, and Overall Grand Champion. The Mechanic’s Award was given to Corey Mitchell of Fed Ex Freight, with the highest pre-trip inspection score. The Rookie of the Year was awarded to Darrin Lemoine with Walmart Transportation, as the driver with the highest score among those participating in a truck-driving championship for the first time. XPO Logistics won the Team Award with the overall highest average score based on the scores of the competing drivers from that company. Chad Rudesill with FedEx is the 2025 Grand Champion as the driver who receives the highest overall score during the competition.

All first-place winners will represent the LMTA Foundation and the State of Louisiana in the 2025 American Trucking Association (ATA) National Truck Driving Championships in Minneapolis, MN, on August 20 – 23, 2025. 

Winners of the LMTA competition are as follows:

Step Van

1^st Place                       Nicholas Burgess                      Walmart

2^nd Place                      Michael Brian                            FedEx

3^rd Place                       Mario Powell                             FedEx

Straight Truck

1^st Place                       Leroy Williams                          XPO

2^nd Place                      Darrin Lemoine                         Walmart

3^rd Place                       Corey Mitchell                           FedEx

3 Axle Van

1^st Place                       Chad Rudesill                           FedEx

2^nd Place                      David Jowers                            Old Dominion Freight Line

3^rd Place                       Damien Hebert                          XPO

4 Axle Van

1^st Place                       Larry Peltier                         Martin Brower

2^nd Place                      Wallace Simien                         Walmart

3^rd Place                       Shelton Winn                            Old Dominion Freight Line

5 Axle Van

1^st Place                       Eric Courville                             FedEx

2^nd Place                      Christopher Colomb                  Walmart

3^rd Place                       John McLean                            Walmart

5 Axle Tank Truck

1^st Place                       Curtis McMellon                        XPO

2^nd Place                      Johnnie Long                            Walmart

3^rd Place                       Patrick Rudesill                         FedEx

5 Axle Flatbed

1^st Place                       Mark Collins                              Walmart

2^nd Place                      Joseph Vital                              FedEx

3^rd Place                       Warren Little                             FedEx

5 Axle Sleeper Cab

1^st Place                       Patrick Bonvillian                     Old Dominion Freight Line

2^nd Place                      Malcolm Taylor                         FedEx

3^rd Place                       Joseph Guidry                         Walmart

Twin Truck

1^st Place                       Wilbur Sansom                         FedEx

2^nd Place                      Eddie Bonnet                            Old Dominion Freight Line

3^rd Place                       Michael Greene                        Ergon Trucking

Mechanic’s Award:      

            Corey Mitchell – Fed Ex Freight                        

Rookie of the Year:      

            Darrin Lemoine – Walmart        

Team Trophy:              

            XPO Logistics

Grand Champion:        

            Chad Rudesill –  FedEx

LINKS TO PHOTOS: https://rebrand.ly/yim1ck0