South Carolina Man Wins National Mixer Driver Championship at ConcreteWorks

Ready mixed concrete mixer truck driver Joey Melton from NRMCA Producer member Thomas Concrete of Anderson, SC, earned top honors at this year’s National Mixer Driver Championship held at the Gaylord Rockies Resort, just outside Denver, Colorado, in conjunction with NRMCA’s ConcreteWorks 2022. Mr. Melton (seen here) earned the champion’s check of $5,000 plus matching donations. He has been driving for Thomas Concrete for 10 years and was the runner-up in the 2021 NRMCA National Mixer Driver Championship held in Orlando, FL.

Now in its 16th year, this year’s national contest included one of the largest group of drivers to ever compete, said NRMCA Executive Vice President, Operations and Compliance, Gary Mullings. Eighty-six drivers, including state rodeo champions and NRMCA member company champions from around the nation, competed to be crowned the “Best of the Best”. Mr. Melton was selected champion based on a cumulative score derived from competitions that included stationary and driving challenges, visual vehicle inspection, reaction-time test, delivery ticket station and a 2-hour written examination. Awards were presented for the top five finishers. The Truck Mixer Manufacturers Bureau was the premier sponsor of the event and helped sponsor the driver prize money.

Second-place and a check for $2,000 (plus donations) went to Michael Twehus, of Jefferson City, MO, a veteran driver of more than 24 years at Cole County Industries, Inc., a division of Farmer Companies. Mr. Twehus was the 2021 NRMCA National Mixer Driver Champion. Third-place and a check for $1,500 (plus donations) went to Damion Wynter of Ruskin, FL. Mr. Wynter has been driving for Maschmeyer Concrete for four years. He also placed 3rd in the 2021 NRMCA National Mixer Driver Championship.

The fourth-place finisher, receiving a check for $1,000 (plus donations), is Nic Horath of Broken Arrow, OK, who drives for Standard Materials Group, a CRH Company, for the last 10 years. He is the 2022 Oklahoma Ready Mixed Concrete Association Rodeo Champion. The fifth-place finisher, receiving a check for $500 (plus donations) was Jason Erickson from CPC Materials (CalPortland), who lives in Marysville, WA. He is a veteran driver of more than nine years and the 2022 Smokey Point Concrete and Skagit Ready-mix Truck Rodeo Champion.

Click here to view a brief video of the mixer driver championship. For more information, contact Gary Mullings at gmullings@nrmca.org.