Team Ontario driver, team take top spots at national driving championship

MONCTON, N.B. -- Home Hardware driver Shawn Matheson has been named Grand Champion at the 2012 National Professional Truck Driving Championships. Representing Team Ontario, Matheson joined 33 of Canada’s top truckers from across the country at the annual event, held this year in Moncton, N.B.

Team Ontario also took home the team award. Joining Matheson on the team were Joseph Kuntz (Home Hardware), Wayne Burnett (Home Hardware), Jeffrey MacLean (SLH Transport), and Brian Heyworth (SLH Transport). Kuntz, MacLean, and Matheson took top spot in the 2 Axle, 4 Axle, and 5 Axle categories, respectively. Burnett took second place in the 3 Axle category.

Rookie of the Year went to Team Quebec’s Marc Léger of Robert Transport having taken first place in the 3 Axle category. Team Manitoba’s Ken Wiebe of EBD Enterprises claimed top prize in the B-Train category.

The top three finishers in each of the categories are as follows:

2 Axle
1^st place: Joseph Kuntz, Home Hardware (Team Ontario)
2^nd place: Keith Franklin, Canadian Freightways (Team Alberta)
3^rd place: Danny Maltais, Sim-Tran (Team Quebec)

3 Axle
1^st place: Marc Léger, Transport Robert (Team Quebec)
2^nd place: Wayne Burnett, Home Hardware (Team Ontario)
3^rd place: Calvin Briggs, Grimshaw Trucking (Team Alberta)

4 Axle
1^st place: Jeffery MacLean, SLH Transport Inc. (Team Ontario)
2^nd place: Louis Gauthier, Groupe Jean Coutu (Team Quebec)
3^rd place: Steve MacPhee, Day & Ross Transportation Group (Team Atlantic)

5 Axle
1^st place: Shawn Matheson, Home Hardware (Team Ontario)
2^nd place: Paul Mills, Canada Safeway (Team Alberta)
3^rd place: Steve Schwenker, Q-Line Trucking (Team Saskatchewan)

B-Train
1^st place: Ken Wiebe, EBD Enterprises (Team Manitoba)
2^nd place: Adam Besse, Canadian Freightways (Team British Columbia)
3^rd place: Shawn Pieschke, TDL Group (Team Atlantic)