Overdrive Magazine | Trucking Business News & Owner Operator Info
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/893962
14 | Overdrive | October 2017 Logbook Tommy Boileau, new to truck racing, picked up his third $10,000 check for winning his third consecutive Minimizer Bandit Big Rig Series race Sept. 2 at Lebanon I-44 Speedway in Missouri. Boileau went on to claim his fourth win in a row Sept. 23 at Highland Rim Speedway in Greenbrier, Tennessee. With the victories, Boileau was in second place in the overall points standings and within 59 points of leader Ricky "Rude" Proffitt with three races remaining in the inaugural Bandit season. An amendment that would have stalled the electronic logging device mandate's enforcement date for at least 10 months was defeated in a Sept. 7 vote on the House floor, 246-173. The amendment, brought to a 2018 appropriations package by Rep. Brian Babin (R-Texas), would have restrict- ed the U.S. Department of Trans- portation's funding for enforcement of the ELD mandate through fiscal 2018, which ends Sept. 30, 2018. Babin also filed a separate stand- alone bill this summer in the House to delay the mandate's enforcement date two years, to December 2019. That bill has seen no action, but it did have 45 co-sponsors as of last month. However, the defeat of Babin's amendment could be a sign lawmakers at this point are unwilling to change the mandate, which takes effect Dec. 18. At press time, some truckers were organizing ELD mandate protests for the first week in October in Wash- ington, D.C. They also called for a shutdown and protest rallies around the nation in solidarity. – James Jaillet House rejects ELD delay provision Rookie looking like a vet LOVE'S TRAVEL STOPS ex- panded its truck service net- work with the acquisition of Speedco from Bridgestone Americas. The acquisition will add 52 trucking service and lube locations to the Love's network, bringing the number of Love's-operated tire and lube facilities to 323 nationwide. GOODYEAR IS SEEKING nominations for its 35th annual Highway Hero award, which honors professional truck drivers who put them- selves in harm's way to help others. Nominations can be made through Nov. 29 at goodyeartrucktires.com; search for "highway heroes." Three finalists will receive an expenses-paid trip to the 2018 Mid-America Trucking Show in Louisville, Kentucky, where the winner will be announced. WABCO AGREED TO BUY Meritor's stake in the Meritor Wabco joint venture business for $250 million, taking over its application engineering and supply chain operations, including the distribution center and customer service hub in Hebron, Kentucky. Fuel demo exceeds 10 mpg The North American Council for Freight Efficiency's Run on Less cross-country long-haul fuel efficien- cy demonstration achieved an average of 10.1 mpg over 99 days, the agency announced at last month's North American Commercial Vehicle Show in Atlanta. Three Freightliners, two Internationals and two Volvos drove a combined 50,107 miles during the 17-day event. They used commercially available technologies such as 6×2 axles, trailer and tractor aerodynamics, engine accessories, tire pressure systems, automated transmissions and low-viscosity oils. The participating fleets were from Albert Transport, PepsiCo's Frito-Lay Division, Hirschbach Motor Lines, Mesilla Valley Transportation, Nussbaum Transporta- tion, Ploger Transportation and U.S. Xpress. The highest daily mpg achieved was 12.8. The na- tional average for heavy-duty trucks is 6.4 mpg. The drivers were Henry Albert, Bradley Long, Tommy Revell, Roberto Sandoval, Joel Morrow, Clark Reed and Mark Risien. – Jason Cannon