It's been a good year or so for truck driver Bill Krouse of YRC Freight. He was named the Minnesota Trucking Association's Driver of the Year in 2014 and over the weekend he was the Grand Champion at the Minnesota Truck Driving Championships.

Krouse bested 106 competitors who competed in the event at the Fed Ex Freight Terminal in Roseville.

Drivers scored points for not hitting obstacles while navigating a slalom course, backing up and other maneuvers they often do on the road. They also scored points for their performance on a test with questions taken from the American Trucking Association's "Facts for Drivers" book and completing a pre-trip inspection in which they had to identify safety defects planted on a tractor-trailer.

Drivers had to have been nominated by their carrier and accident-free for one year to have participated in weekend's event.

"Many have never had an accident," said spokeswoman Kelly Snyder. "That is a great feat to have."

Krouse will represent Minnesota at the National Truck Driving Championships Aug. 11-15 in St. Louis.

Here are the local winners in each of the nine classes:

Grand Champion: Bill Krouse, YRC Freight

Written Test Winner: Paul Butkowski, FedEx Freight

Pre-Trip Winner: Paul Butkowski, FedEx Freight

Rookie of the Year: Dionn Clare, LME, Inc.

Small Team Champion: Holland, Inc.

Large Team Champion: FedEx Freight

Howie Johnson Memorial Award: Steven Berwald, US Foods

Class Winners

Five-Axle: Duane Maroney, YRC Freight

Flatbed: Bill Krouse, YRC Freight

Four-Axle: Robert Janke, FedEx Express

Sleeper Berth: Jeffery Rider, FedEx Ground

Step Van: Alex Lofgren, FedEx Ground

Straight Truck: Reginald Copeland, FedEx Freight

Tank: Steven Berwalk, US Foods

Three-Axle: Paul Butkowski, FedEx Freight

Twin Trailer: Galen Sonnek, Indpt Diversified Trans