Washington State Driver Wins National Mixer Driver Championship

Ready mixed concrete truck driver Jason Erickson from NRMCA Producer member Smokey Point Concrete, a division of CalPortland of Arlington, WA, earned top honors at NRMCA's National Mixer Driver Championship held earlier this month at the Gaylord Opryland Resort in Nashville, TN, in conjunction with NRMCA’s ConcreteWorks 2023. Mr. Erickson (seen here) also earned the champion’s check of $5,000. He has been driving for Smokey Point Concrete since 2019 and was the 5th place finisher in the 2022 NRMCA National Mixer Driver Championship held in Denver.

Now in its 17th year, this year’s national contest “included the largest group of drivers to ever compete,” said NRMCA Executive Vice President, Operations and Compliance, Gary Mullings. There were 101 drivers, including state rodeo champions and NRMCA member company champions from across the U.S. Mr. Erickson earned the first place finish 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 premiere sponsor of the event and helped sponsor the driver prize money.

Second place and a check for $2,000 went to Damion Wynter of Ruskin, FL, a driver for Maschmeyer Concrete for five years. Mr. Wynter also placed 3rd in the 2021 and 2022 NRMCA National Mixer Driver Championships. Third place and a check for $1,500 went to Greg Browne of Lacey, WA. Mr. Browne has been driving for Miles Sand & Gravel for 13 years and is also the 2019 NRMCA National Mixer Driver Championship 3rd place finisher. The fourth place finisher was Jerry Andrada of Montsclair, CA, who received a check for $1,000; he has been driving for Holliday Rock Co. for the last 16 years. The fifth-place finisher, receiving a check for $500, was Brandon Trent from Thomas Concrete. Trent lives in Cumming, GA, and has been driving for more than 3 years. He is the 2023 Thomas driver competition 3rd place finisher and is the 2023 GRMCA rodeo runner-up.

Also honored at the driver awards banquet were drivers who distinguished themselves at various stages of the competition. For a complete list of those drivers, contact Karen Bean at kbean@nrmca.org.

For more information on the National Mixer Driver Championship, contact Gary Mullings at gmullings@nrmca.org.