Sources: National Ready Mixed Concrete Association, Silver Spring, Md.; CP staff
From a record, 82-contestant field, Chris Harrison of Mobley Concrete Co. in Russellville, Ark., took the NRMCA National Mixer Driver Championship in Nashville, staged September 18-19 during the group’s 2016 ConcreteWorks. After placing second in the 2015 competition (San Antonio), Harrison earned a $2,500 cash prize from the NRMCA’s Truck Mixer Manufacturers Bureau (TMMB) for this year’s first place finish.
| NRMCA Operations, Environmental and Safety Committee Chairman Tim Kauzlick (Cemex) led individual recognition of 2016 National Mixer Driver Championship contenders, and salute to the top finishers at Nashville’s Wild Horse Saloon. |
A Crown Point, Ind.-based driver for Ozinga Ready Mix Concrete Inc., Billy Byrd, Sr. earned a $1,000 prize, finishing in second place and repeating a 2013 National Mixer Driver Championship performance. Rounding out the top five in this year’s competition, earning $200–$500 prizes for third to fifth place finishes, respectively, were Verlin Wagler of Irving Materials Inc., Washington, Ind.; Harvey Harmon of Concrete Supply Co., Charlotte, N.C.; and, Ed Rieper, Eastern Concrete Materials, Saddle Brook, N.J. Harmon took second place in the 2015 championship, while Rieper was the 2015 NRMCA Driver of the Year.
The NRMCA Operations, Environmental and Safety Committee opens the National Mixer Driver Championship to winners of state, regional or member company truck driving competitions. The program factors scores from a written exam, reaction time and vehicle inspection tests, plus a challenge course where drivers choose a rear or front discharge truck to navigate back and forward stop; on target (rear bumper, center stop); scale box (rear tandem target); parallel park; tennis ball row drive-, back-through, and tightest turn stations.
The National Mixer Driver Championship challenge course was set up at the 2016 ConcreteWorks host venue, Gaylord Opryland Resort.