FARGO — For most of the past 30 years, Drew Bartelson’s job has been driving a truck.
Twice in the past, Bartelson has competed in a national truck driving competition and he will do so again in August after winning the grand champion title at the North Dakota Motor Carriers Association’s annual truck driving championships in June.
This year, Bartelson will compete in the tanker truck category at nationals, the same category he took first-place in during the state competition. Nationals will be held Aug. 21-24 in Indianapolis.
Chris Flynn / The Forum
Bartelson’s aim, as always, will be to place first. But this time around Bartelson said there’s more on the line than personal satisfaction.
In 2019, Bartelson’s older brother, Dan, a truck driver who got Bartelson into the same line of work, died.
Bartelson said his brother had competed in national truck driving competitions many times, the final time finishing in the top five in the tanker truck category.
According to Bartelson, his brother had vowed to someday win that category but died before that could happen.
Chris Flynn / The Forum
With the upcoming national tournament, Bartelson aims to finish what his brother had always wanted to do.
“Hopefully, I can make North Dakota proud and make my brother proud,” said Bartelson, whose job is making nightly freight runs from Fargo to Belfield, North Dakota, five days a week, pulling three trailers behind the semi he drives for Old Dominion Freight Line.
When it comes to truck driving competitions, Bartelson said they include a driving aspect, where drivers physically navigate a course, as well as a written test and a pre-trip checklist, where drivers must locate defects that have intentionally been planted on a rig.
During his first two trips to the nationals, Bartelson competed in the twin trailer category, which involves pulling two trailers at the same time.
The highest he has climbed in a national competition was 13th place in the twin trailer category.
Bartelson said when he makes his nightly runs to Belfield, a town about 312 miles straight west of Fargo, his days/nights on the job are about 11 hours long.
“I drive across the state of North Dakota and then I come right back,” said Bartelson, adding that the three-trailer loads he hauls are nicknamed “wiggle wagons.”
Bartelson said he likes the challenges of the job but acknowledged that working nights makes balancing work and family life a bit tough.
That’s especially true now that Bartelson’s family, which includes his wife, Katie, and their two daughters, has grown to include two granddaughters.
Bartelson said he also takes pride in the fact that without trucks and truck drivers, “the nation would pretty much stop. I enjoy the importance of that.”
For anyone who may wonder what truck drivers would most like other drivers to understand about how they operate, Bartelson had a ready answer: “For the most part, be patient with the truck,” he said.
“We would like to get going as fast as a car, but we can’t and we also can’t stop as fast,” Bartelson added, noting that it is also impossible for truck drivers to see all around their vehicle.
“So, if you can just stay clear, get by us real fast, we don’t mind. We’d rather you get by us as fast as you can rather than sitting next to us,” he said.
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