Lenny Trifaro never really gravitated toward a traditional 9-to-5 life. The Burlington man instead decided to become a freight driver.
And this week, he’s competing in the National Truck Driving Championships in Indianapolis.
The event brings together first-place finishers from state truck driving championships, who then undergo written tests, truck inspections and a driving skills challenge.
Trifaro, who drives for the trucking company XPO, will compete Friday.
Vermont Public's Mary Williams Engisch spoke to Trifaro this week. This interview was produced for the ear. We highly recommend listening to the audio. We’ve also provided a transcript, which has been edited for length and clarity.
Mary Williams Engisch: How are you feeling going into your heats tomorrow? Do you have any jitters?
Lenny Trifaro: Um, no. Well, the jitters won't happen until you're walking in bullpen. Or, even worse, sometimes when you're sitting in what they call the hot seat. It's everybody that's staged in line to be like, next in line. That's kind of where you get all the jitters.
Mary Williams Engisch: Oh wow, the bullpen. So it's just like a baseball game with all the pitchers lined up; I love that. Tell me more about what the atmosphere is like. I've never been to an event like that; I'd love to know what it feels like when you're there.
Lenny Trifaro: As a driver, you know, everybody talks. Everybody. It's really a family kind of atmosphere, because we're all truck drivers. We all do the same thing, for the most part. We all have the same goals. You know, being safe, playing nice with with everybody else on the road — because everybody wants to make it home.
Mary Williams Engisch: How long have you been driving trucks?
Lenny Trifaro: I've been with my current company for almost 26 years, and so I've probably been driving truck for about 28 years.
Mary Williams Engisch: Take me back to when you figured out that you wanted to do that for a living. Like, what spurred that interest?
Lenny Trifaro: Initially, I had gone to college and realized that college wasn't really my cup of tea. But I had met my wife at college. And I'm trying to remember — there was like an ad, you know. I mean, you're young, in your early 20s, and you're kind of like, "Okay, college wasn't really going to make it. And I need something other than working at, say, a box store or something like that — to make ends meet."
And I used to work at Sears first thing in the morning. We used to unload trucks, and it was a 4 a.m. shift and you always were waiting on the delivery driver. And not that they influenced me, but it seemed like it was a way of making a good living and not being, say, tied to a desk. Because I'm not really a desk kind of a guy. So that was what got me into it. I slid into a driving school in Syracuse.
Mary Williams Engisch: Well, this week's contest is dubbed the "Super Bowl of Driving Safety." I love that. Describe the other drivers that you're facing off against, and are there any events that you're excited about? Whether it's driving skills tests or the written exam part.
Lenny Trifaro: I don't know if there's anybody that's truly excited about the written exam part, because sometimes you never know exactly what you're going to get for a test, right? Sometimes they're a little easier; sometimes they're a little harder.
I look forward to it all, because it helps me better myself. I've got a goal. And this might sound really bad, OK? Because this will be my eighth year, and the best I've ever done is 13th at nationals. So to break into, say, the top 10 ... it would be awesome to be called out on Saturday morning to find out that after a lineup, you're in the top five, which means you run on Saturday in the runoff. You know, that would be the ultimate. I'd be ecstatic — over the moon.
You know, the driving skills is a big part of it, because it's like the biggest chunk of of the score, right? Pre-trip just means that I'm finding all the defects that they've planted [in the truck.] In reality that should be me doing my job with my truck every day, before and after I leave my yard. So they get quite creative in what they plant as defects on equipment.
Mary Williams Engisch: On my drive into the studio to chat with you today, I think I suddenly noticed how many trucks were on the road at the same time and sort of had the realization: trucking really makes our economy work. It feels like a field, though, that sort of goes maybe unnoticed or underappreciated by a lot of people. Can you explain the pride that you take in your everyday work?
Lenny Trifaro: Yes, the pride you feel all starts first thing in the morning. You never know what you're going to get, right? We have bad weather by us, which delays freight. It creates challenges during the day, actually trying to deliver the freight during the day. I enjoy seeing customers, my regular customers. Sometimes they look forward to seeing myself, or seeing the actual delivery driver, because they might be waiting on the product that we're actually delivering.
So I guess it boils down to trying to get all your stops off and make up all your picks. I want to leave with all my freight, deliver all my freight, make all my pickups — which makes all my customers happy, right? And make it home safe.
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