PITTSBURGH- Dale Duncan, a Con-way Freight professional truck driver based in San Diego, Calif., was named the 2009 National Truck Driving Grand Champion. Duncan's driving skills and knowledge of transportation and truck safety information topped those of 415 other professional drivers from all across the United States in the National Truck Driving Championships, held in Pittsburgh. The 72nd annual "Super Bowl of Safety" is sponsored by the American Trucking Associations (ATA).

He succeeds Dennis Shirar, a professional truck driver with Heritage Transport, LLC, as the National Grand Champion.

En route to his title, Duncan has logged 26 accident and injury free years as a driver, with over 1.25 million miles behind the wheel, according to an ATA statement. He began competing in the National Truck Driving Championships in 1995, when he placed sixth in his division.

The contestants were the state champions in nine truck types from all 50 states. Collectively, they have driven 521,946,523 accident-free miles.

In their respective classes, drivers tested their expertise in the driving skills they use daily. The competition course inside Pittsburgh's David L. Lawrence Convention Center challenged their knowledge of safety, equipment and the industry. The skills course tested drivers' ability to judge distances, maneuver tight spaces, reverse, park, and position their vehicle exactly over scales, before barriers or around curves.

Duncan also won the individual 5-axle truck driving competition.

Visit the ATA Web site (www.truckline.com) for the full list of the 2009 National Truck Driving Championship winners.