CON-WAY Driver Wins National Champion Title in 3-Axle Class; Nine Drivers Receive Top Honors at `Super Bowl' of Trucking.

ANN ARBOR, Mich.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 24, 1999--

Led by a national champion in the three-axle category, nine drivers for CON-WAY, a national network of three regional trucking companies, captured top honors this past weekend at the "Super Bowl" of trucking safety, the National Truck Driving Championships, held in Tampa, Florida.

Bruce Early of Strongsville, Ohio, a Con-Way Central Express driver sales representative for the past 16 years, won first place and was designated "national champion" in the three-axle class. At the end of regular competition Early was tied for first place with another driver and captured the crown in a skills "run off" which determined the national champion. Early received a $1,000 cash award, a plaque and a gold national champion belt buckle from the American Trucking Associations who sponsored the event. The 28-year trucking veteran is no stranger to winning. Last year he won first place in the three-axle category at the Ohio driving championships. He is also an experienced competitor at the national level. Part of his qualification criteria for competing in Tampa was an unblemished safety record. To date, Early has driven over 1.8 million miles without an accident.

The four-day annual competition brings together 388 of the nation's top drivers, from small family businesses to the biggest trucking firms in the United States. All drivers qualified for the nationals by winning their individual state championships.

CON-WAY sent a team of 46 state champions, more than any company competing, to the national event. "Our drivers competed with intensity and distinguished themselves by demonstrating their skills and professionalism," said Gerald L. Detter, CON-WAY's president and chief executive officer. "We had 46 champions who proudly and with distinction, represented our company, and its more than 17,000 employees in North America," he added.

Michael Galbraith of Con-Way Southern Express placed third in the twins category. The Knoxville, Tennessee native received a $250 cash award and a plaque. He added his award to numerous state championship driving titles. Galbraith is an experienced driver having logged over 2.5 million accident-free miles in his 29-year trucking career.

Morris O'Keefe of Con-Way Central Express received the event's Rookie of the Year plaque. There were 54 first time rookie competitors. The judging was based on overall image and professionalism. This is the second consecutive year that a driver from CON-WAY has been chosen for the award. O'Keefe has been with CON-WAY since 1994 and works out of the company's service center in Providence, Rhode Island. He has driven over 500,000 miles without an accident. The company's other top 10 finishers were:

From Con-Way Central Express: David May, Cheektowaga, NY- seventh place, Straight Truck Gary Hood, Huntington, WV- sixth place, Three-Axle Brent Quire, Mitchell, IN- sixth place, Twins

From Con-Way Southern Express: Donald Elliott, Hueytown, AL- eighth place, twins

From Con-Way Western Express: Dale Duncan, San Diego, CA- fourth place, Five-Axle Bob Gromley, Cortaro, AZ- ninth place, Flatbed Robert White, Reno, NV- seventh place, Four-Axle

In the state competition, two Con-Way Central Express driver sales representatives were on the Pennsylvania state team, which took top state honors by having the highest average score out of the 49 teams competing. They were Gary Wilkinson of York and Dale Knox of West Springfield, Pennsylvania.

The American Trucking Associations has sponsored the National Truck Driving Championships for over six decades to promote safe driving and to recognize the safest and most skilled drivers among the nation's three million professional truck drivers. As a group, the CON-WAY drivers have driven the equivalent of 58 million safe-driving miles without an accident.

Con-Way Transportation Services is a $1.7-billion transportation company based in Ann Arbor MI. that provides time-definite and day-definite freight delivery services for commercial and industrial businesses. Within the CON-WAY family are regional less-than-truckload carriers Con-Way Central Express, Con-Way Southern Express and Con-Way Western Express; Con-Way Truckload Services, providing multi-modal, full-truckload shipping; Con-Way NOW, an expedited carrier specializing in emergency shipment service; and Con-Way Integrated Services, a contract supply chain execution service provider.

CON-WAY is a subsidiary of Palo Alto, Calif.-based CNF Transportation Inc., a $5.5-billion diversified transportation company with operations worldwide.

Further information about CON-WAY and additional press releases are available via the Internet at www.con-way.com