National Truck Driver Appreciation Week brings driver recognition into focus
Key takeaways
- National Truck Driver Appreciation Week highlights the role drivers play in keeping the supply chain moving.
- Fleets and trucking companies are using varied events, giveaways, and tributes to recognize drivers.
- Driver appreciation efforts extend beyond the week through charitable support, stories, and industry recognition.
Trucking is getting creative to celebrate truck drivers during this year’s National Truck Driver Appreciation Week (NTDAW).
While it’s important to appreciate truck drivers year-round, this is a special time of year for the industry to stop and reflect on everything drivers do and all that they sacrifice. This year’s festivities include videos, poems, songs, donations, giveaways, events, and more.
This is by no means a comprehensive roundup; there are too many companies and fleets in the industry to list every single show of appreciation. Still, here are a few ways trucking is honoring its drivers this week and beyond.
Heroes of the Highway’s new anthem ‘Get Miles’ released September 13
Alabama Trucking’s sponsored trucking tribute band, Heroes of the Highway, recently released its new 2026 song to honor truck drivers: “Get Miles.”
If “Get Miles” sounds a little different from last year, that’s on purpose. Where 2025’s “Highway Dreaming” leaned soulful, recorded at the legendary Cypress Moon Studios (formerly Muscle Shoals Sound), this year’s anthem cranks the amps up to early 2000s alt rock—all power chords and a chorus built to be shouted out a cab window doing 65 down I-20.
The band behind it is the same one that built “Highway Dreaming” from scratch: Will Stewart on lead vocals and guitar; Les Nuby handling lead guitar, bass, and drums (and engineering and mixing the whole thing); and Ford Boswell on backing vocals, credited alongside Stewart as co-writer. Unlike last year, there’s no featured guest artist this time around.
“Get Miles” was tracked at Ol’ Elegante Studios in Homewood, mastered by Alex McCollough at True East Mastering in Nashville, and produced by Alabama Trucking. The song leans into the open road as therapy—southern hills to western skies, a Pilot sign glowing on a lonely stretch—the kind of peace a driver finds once the wheels are turning and the miles start stacking up.
“Get Miles” is available everywhere you stream music: Apple Music, Spotify, and more. You can view the music video here.
Peninsula driver award
tom mcleod mcleod software uc 2026Shell Rotella debuts driver video during NTDAW
At this year's Mid-America Trucking Show (MATS), Shell Rotella filmed a video featuring truck drivers sharing their stories. As part of NTDAW, the company has released the video.
Nearly 100 drivers stopped by the Shell Rotella recording studio to talk about life on the road and memorable moments behind the wheel. For every story shared, Shell donated $25 to the St. Christopher Truckers Relief Fund.
You can watch the full video on Shell's social media here.
Geotab hits the road to honor truck drivers during NTDAW
Geotab is celebrating the truck drivers who help keep America moving with appreciation events across the country for NTDAW.
"Truck drivers are the thread that holds our economy together. Every trip they make puts food on our tables, medicine in our pharmacies, and goods on our shelves,” Neil Cawse, CEO of Geotab, said. “No journey is too small, no driver goes unnoticed, and supporting the people behind the wheel is at the heart of everything we do—from all of us at Geotab, thank you.”
In recognition of this week, Geotab is proud to support the Trucking Cares Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the American Trucking Associations (ATA), which provides charitable donations to industry-related causes, disaster relief, and driver support initiatives.
“We are grateful for Geotab's sponsorship of National Truck Driver Appreciation Week and their generous contribution to the Trucking Cares Foundation. Their commitment to the trucking industry goes beyond technology; it reflects a genuine appreciation for the professional drivers who keep our economy moving,” John Lynch, SVP of federation relations for ATA, said. “Their partnership helps us continue our mission of supporting drivers and the communities they serve."
Geotab is hosting appreciation events across the country where truck drivers are invited to stop in, enjoy complimentary refreshments, and pick up Geotab gear.
Tuesday, September 15
- Circle K in North Carolina (3:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.)
- 4940 Raleigh Rd Pkwy W, Wilson, North Carolina, 27896
- Sheetz in Ohio (7:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.)
- 3400 N State Route 53, Fremont, Ohio 43420
- 321 State St, Jeffersonville, Ohio, 43128
Wednesday, September 16
- Racetrac in Kentucky (6:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.)
- 813 E. Dixie Ave, Elizabethtown, Kentucky, 42701
- Circle K in North Carolina (3:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.)
- 674 Chicken Foot Rd, Hope Mills, North Carolina 28348
Wednesday, September 23
- Racetrac in Florida (6:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.)
- 8990 20th St., Vero Beach, Florida 32966
Poem is an NTDAW must-watch
Every September, NTDAW gives the industry a chance to do something it doesn’t do nearly often enough: thank drivers. It’s easy to reduce drivers to an obstacle in our way on the interstate, a delivery window, or a blip on a tracking app. It’s much harder to sit with what the job actually costs the person behind the wheel, and what the person behind the wheel does for us and our families.
That’s exactly what Doug Marcello, a shareholder at Saxton & Stump, does in “Just a Trucker,” a short spoken-word film Alabama Trucking News produced with Marcello this year.
“Just a Trucker” is a poem he wrote and narrated himself, set against quiet, real footage of life on the road (a fuel pump in the rain, a flatbed being tarped down in the wind, a driver eating alone at a diner counter at 2 a.m.).
You can watch his narration here or view the poem below.
Just a Trucker by Doug Marcello
The car passed him on the interstate today. Its driver forgot about him before the next exit. No reason to recall. Nothing memorable. He was … just a trucker.
Just a trucker who has been behind the wheel since 2 a.m. And while the car driver slept in a neighborhood that was dark and quiet and dreaming, he was already three states into it. Pushing through the black, keeping his eyes open so theirs could stay closed.
Just a trucker who stood at a fuel pump in January rain, 200 miles back. Diesel smell in his jacket, fingers numb, because the load doesn’t wait for weather, the clock doesn’t stop for comfort.
Just a trucker who missed the birthday and the anniversary and the ballgame when his daughter hit her first home run, and the school play, where his son forgot his lines and looked for him in the crowd for reassurance. But he was on I-80, making sure someone else’s kids had what they wanted under the tree.
Just a trucker who climbed on the flatbed and the wind of March and rustled a tarp over the load and rechecked the securement to protect the load, and more importantly, the families that shared the highway with them.
Just a trucker who cranked the dolly legs in the mud at 4 a.m. at a dock with no lights in a part of town. Nobody drives through by choice. No audience, no acknowledgment. Just the work done right.
Just a trucker who eats alone at a counter. Sleeps where he works, lives in his office, clocks out in his bunk, and wakes up to do it again in the same seat, to provide for his family and so others can have what they need and what they want.
The backbone of everything they have. Everything they ordered, everything they take for granted, delivered by the person they passed on that highway and forgot about before they reach their next exit.
And who does all this?
Just a trucker.
Only a trucker.
Truck Centers celebrates NTDAW with $1,000 fuel card giveaways
Truck Centers (TCI), a Freightliner and Western Star truck dealer network, joins ATA in celebrating America’s 3.6 million truck drivers for the miles they drive and the sacrifices they make to deliver the essential goods our families rely on, from food and fuel to medicine and clothing.
In honor of NTDAW, TCI is thanking customers who stop into one of the company’s 10 dealerships with a small gift, as well as recognizing its 40+ dispatch drivers, who move trucks between locations and to customers. Additionally, customers at all Truck Centers locations can enter to win one of four $1,000 fuel cards from September 14–18. The winners will be notified the week of September 21.
“We’ve always been proud to support the essential duties of truck drivers, who keep our communities running no matter what conditions they face,” Katie Hopkins, president and CEO of TCI, said. “With today’s high costs of diesel fuel, a truck driver could easily spend $1,000 or more to fill up their tanks, so we wanted to give something back as a small token of our appreciation.”
Averitt honors driving force with Driver Appreciation Week festivities
Averitt Express plans to honor its driving force from September 13-19 as part of NTDAW.
These celebrations coincide with a milestone anniversary for Averitt—2026 marks 55 years of service after the company started in 1971 with two drivers, three tractors, and five trailers.
To mark NTDAW, the Cookeville, Tennessee-based transportation provider will be hosting cookouts, food trucks, and meals, as well as companywide drawings for electronics, headsets, and more. Additionally, each day during the week, a driver will win an assignment for a brand-new truck.
Averitt has also produced a special Driver Appreciation Week video to honor its driving force.
“It is an exciting time to be part of our team, and our associates are the driving force moving us forward,” Barry Blakely, president and COO, said. “We are thankful for the way they deliver excellence each day. Our customers understand the professionalism they are getting when they partner with Averitt, and our drivers are a key reason for that.”
About the Author
Jenna HumeJenna Hume
Digital Editor
Digital Content Specialist Jenna Hume joined FleetOwner in November 2023 and previously worked as a writer in the gaming industry. She has a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in creative writing from Truman State University and a master of Fine Arts degree in writing from Lindenwood University. She is currently based in Missouri.