BANGOR — Wells Betts of Bangor won the recent Maine championship in Five-Axle Tractor-Semitrailer.

Betts, who works for Hartt Transportation Systems Inc., now qualifies to compete in the American Trucking Associations’ National Truck Driving Championships Aug. 12-15 in Long Beach, Calif.

The competition is an examination of driving skill, knowledge of vehicles and federal safety regulations. It awards only the most experienced and accomplished drivers.

Tom Hawks, ATA America’s road team member and national championships competitor, said, “It’s truly a competition between the `best of the best’ of America’s truck drivers.”

The skill-related tests the competitors undergo are situations they encounter every day such as backing into a crowded loading dock or parallel parking a 75-foot tractor-trailer in an 80-foot space.

Hundreds of America’s top professional truck drivers, their families and the companies they represent crowd the National Truck Driving Championships each year. The championships, which take place during National Truck Driver Appreciation Week, are one of the focal points of the week — a national celebration of America’s truck drivers.

“Even if you don’t win anything, you come out of the competition with a sense of pride in the professionalism of your peers,” Hawks said.