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Small Fleet Champ
Small Fleet Champ
Right-sizing for management: MRL Transport owner Mark Ledford hits five trucks
Ledford got his start trucking after working a dock where his manager said Ledford would never drive truck. Not only would he drive, he'd grow a fleet well beyond 30 trucks before selling out. MRL Transport is his second turn in the barrel, and Ledford's hit a profitability sweet spot.
September 9, 2025
Small Fleet Champ
Meet Overdrive's 2025 Small Fleet Champ semi-finalists
Spanning seven states and hauling niches from milk and other food grade tankers to dry vans, step decks and flatbeds, RGNs and reefers, these fine fleets are semi-finalists in Overdrive's Small Fleet Championship, with title belts on the line among other perks from award sponsor NASTC.
September 5, 2025
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March 24, 2025
Small Fleet Champ
Last call! Just days left to compete for 2025 Small Fleet Champ honor
Last call! Small fleet entries are due Thursday, July 31, for your fleet of 3 to 30 trucks. Test your trucking mettle for a chance to take home the 2025 title belt in Overdrive's Small Fleet Championship. Four finalist fleets will ultimately square off in Nashville in late October at event sponsor NASTC's annual conference.
July 29, 2025
Small Fleet Champ
Sharp new glider additions to Rissler small fleet underscore driver, family value
Walk through two new glider additions to Small Fleet Champ Paul Rissler Transportation, a 2016 flattop Pete and a 2019 studio-sleeper outfitted KW picked up for Wes Martin's wife, Bev, to accompany the longtime Rissler driver OTR.
June 26, 2025
Small Fleet Champ
Doing it right the first time: Small Fleet Champ Paul Rissler, for the long haul
In this week's edition of Overdrive Radio, listen into a tour around the headquarters of Paul Rissler Transportation, current Small Fleet Champ, on the old home place for the big Rissler trucking family.
June 16, 2025
Small Fleet Champ
Small Fleet Champ assesses growing pains, on location at new company headquarters
How C.W. Express owner Steve Wilson shifted from wear-all-the-hats manager to, after near-disaster in 2022, a near-20-truck fleet owner with strong support structures for C.W.’s trucks and drivers, and deft delegation, particularly on the maintenance side of the business.
May 19, 2025
Small Fleet Champ
Overdrive's 2025 Small Fleet Championship
Do you have what it takes? Enter the 2025 small-fleet competition to put your small trucking company in the running to claim the vaunted title belt. Fleets operating 3 to 30 trucks through 2024 year-end are eligible.
May 1, 2025
Small Fleet Champ
Overdrive's 2025 Small Fleet Championship: Rules and entry form
January 1, 2025
Small Fleet Champ
Small Fleet Champs pay it forward: Hard-earned trucking knowledge
Today on Overdrive Radio, the annual roundtable with Overdrive's Small Fleet Champ finalists, featuring mistakes made and overcome, trucking business lessons learned, and a strong pay-it-forward focus for the next generation of ownership.
November 18, 2024
Small Fleet Champ
Small Fleet Champs Paul Rissler Transportation, C.W. Express emerge victorious
Indiana-headquartered C.W. and Rissler, out of Missouri, took home the 2024 Small Fleet Champ title belts after the final round in Nashville, Tennessee, during a special event at NASTC's "best three days in trucking" annual conference.
November 8, 2024
Small Fleet Champ
Four finalist fleets to square off at NASTC show
Overdrive's Small Fleet Championship advances to the ring, with a panel of judges selecting four finalists, two in each size division, to meet in Nashville, Tennessee, Nov. 7 for the final rounds. Meet the finalists here.
October 11, 2024
Small Fleet Champ
High Road owner Sharon Lee masters art of prioritization
Tour haul small fleet High Road owner Sharon Lee's in it for the people, not the trucks. "The truck part of the business is a means to an end. I love the company, I love the clients, I love the drivers," and her support of all shines with biz growth.
October 8, 2024
Small Fleet Champ
DPM Logistics: Growth through service, safety for Virginia small fleet
Virginia-based DPM Logistics launche in 2016 moving spot market freight while owner Dave Monsell networked with brokers and local shippers. Now, the majority of the fleet's freight is direct-contracted with a big trailer pool for drop-hook opportunity.
October 3, 2024
Small Fleet Champ
Dedicated lanes, dedicated to operators: Virk Express masters California produce
Despite a tough regulatory environment and high fuel prices, Sunny Virk and Sam Singh's five-truck, two-owner-op Virk Express make the California reefer game work for them with dedicated lanes and dedication to their drivers.
October 1, 2024
Small Fleet Champ
Twice the trucks in just a year: Growth follows demand for Brian Brewer Trucking
The DeGraff, Ohio-headquartered 15-truck fleet sat at just 7 trucks to start 2023. Now, with longtime customers in need of better -- and more -- service around Dayton and Columbus, Brewer's making it happen -- with some new contracts, too.
September 26, 2024
Small Fleet Champ
Customer service, keen business sense drive Paul Rissler Transportation
A 27-year customer relationship with dedicated weekly runs is a big part of what sustains the six-truck fleet, today a debt-free business due to the keen business sense of owners Paul and Michelle Rissler.
September 24, 2024
Small Fleet Champ
Family legacy maintains Southwind Transportation through loss
Samantha Causey took over the family business in 2021 when her father, David Hryc, was diagnosed with cancer. Today, she runs the 12-truck fleet with a keen focus on safety, maintenance and doing right by drivers and owner-ops.
September 19, 2024
Small Fleet Champ
From $13/mile loads in a 'Zombie' truck to stability, growth
Dana Gardner, a contender in the Small Fleet Championship, has owned some pretty spectacularly bad trucks, but found a fellow rising star at TQL of all places to help drive a pandemic cash bonanza toward long-term success.
September 17, 2024
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Small Fleet Champ
Right-sizing for management: MRL Transport owner Mark Ledford hits five trucks
Ledford got his start trucking after working a dock where his manager said Ledford would never drive truck. Not only would he drive, he'd grow a fleet well beyond 30 trucks before selling out. MRL Transport is his second turn in the barrel, and Ledford's hit a profitability sweet spot.
Life
FMCSA cancels sexual assault study 'focused on DEI' and 'transgender ideology'
Overdrive Radio
Small-biz trucking success, with family assist: The woman behind owner-operator Jason Shelly
Regulations
FMCSA, other agencies update timelines for bevy of in-progress regs
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Small-biz trucking success, with family assist: The woman behind owner-operator Jason Shelly
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