PodWheels and The Trucker to cover Transition Trucking award series

PodWheels and The Trucker Media Group will launch a multimonth series in August focused on Transition Trucking’s Driving For Excellence Award for military veterans who became professional drivers. The coverage will run through the 2026 winner’s December presentation and include podcasts, feature stories, video clips and onsite reporting at key events.

Why it matters: - The new coverage gives the Transition Trucking: Driving For Excellence Award a wider audience across podcasts, articles and video. - The series is designed to highlight veterans who built trucking careers after military service, a pathway that can resonate with other service members considering civilian work. - The partnership also expands PodWheels’ collaboration with The Trucker Media Group, which already reaches trucking audiences and CDL prospects.

What happened: - Beginning in August, PodWheels and The Trucker Media Group will debut a special series centered on Transition Trucking’s Driving For Excellence Award. - The series will run through mid-December, when the 2026 winner is expected to receive the keys to a new Kenworth T680 tractor. - PodWheels founder and executive producer Greg Thompson will conduct the interviews for the series. - Thompson will also write feature stories for TheTrucker.com as part of his role as a contributing writer for The Trucker Media Group.

The details: - Transition Trucking launched in 2015 as a collaboration among Kenworth, Fastport and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Hiring Our Heroes program. - The award recognizes military veterans who have entered professional driving careers. - Kenworth, Fastport and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation’s Hiring Our Heroes have partnered for 11 years to find America’s top rookie military veteran driver. - Nominations open in March from employers and credentialing institutions, including CDL schools. - The nominee pool is narrowed to 11 semifinalists, known as the Elite 11, which will be announced in early August. - Finalists will be revealed in September. - PodWheels plans to produce 20 to 25 episodes tied to the series from the semifinalist announcement through the December award presentation. - PodWheels also plans feature interviews with all 11 semifinalists through its Destinations Series. - In September, PodWheels plans onsite coverage in Columbus, Ohio, at the National Veterans Memorial and Museum and at Kenworth’s Chillicothe manufacturing plant. - Those events will honor semifinalists and announce the finalists for the 2026 award. - The podcast episodes will be distributed through PodWheels.com and major podcast platforms, including Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, iHeart Podcasts and Pandora. - PodWheels also plans to post interview videos on its YouTube channel and share video clips with Transition Trucking for social media distribution. - PodWheels has produced more than 2,700 podcast episodes across about 25 series since launching in 2016. - The Trucker Media Group describes itself as a leading source of trucking industry news, recruiting and product and service marketing for U.S. drivers and carriers. - Fastport says it helps solve recruiting challenges through research, technology and people, and supports registered apprenticeship development as a U.S. Department of Labor industry intermediary.

Between the lines: - The partnership blends long-form storytelling with industry marketing, which could help the contest reach both veterans and employers. - PodWheels is positioning the project as more than contest coverage, using personal interviews to frame trucking as a post-service career path. - The Trucker Media Group gains exclusive-feeling content tied to a veterans-focused industry program, while PodWheels deepens its access to a high-profile trucking storyline.

What's next: - The Elite 11 semifinalists are expected in early August. - PodWheels will begin releasing the special series alongside that announcement. - September coverage will focus on the finalists and related Ohio events. - The 2026 Transition Trucking award winner will be named in mid-December and receive the Kenworth T680.