A natural on the road

0 Comments | Gazette, The (Colorado Springs), Jun 13, 2005 | by DEEDEE CORRELL THE GAZETTE

Joe Toomey sees his lucky number wherever it pops up:

Printed on a sheaf of papers in the office.

In the date of today's newspaper.

A week ago, he glanced at his wristwatch and there it was again: 6:13 a.m.

"Do you see that?" he demanded of the other truck drivers.

"Yeah, so?" they said.

613 was the number of the truck Toomey's father drove for years in New York, and as far as the Peyton man is concerned, it's the lucky number that won him the Rookie of the Year title in the 41st annual Colorado Truck Driving Championships.

As far as his dad is concerned, it's something else.

"It was just something, the first time I ever saw him behind the wheel of a truck," said his father, Terry Toomey, who lives in New Jersey. "He was just a natural."

Toomey, 42, is a trucker born and bred.

Long before his dad started teaching him on the piers, he would tell the other kids that's what he wanted to do when he grew up, said his wife, Mary, who grew up in the same Brooklyn neighborhood.

He got a lot of support from his father, who liked to explain the difference between a truck driver and a person who drives a truck.

"A truck driver is someone who has it in their blood," Toomey said. "He said, 'You got what it takes.'"

He got his first job at 18, negotiating the tight, narrow streets of Little Italy and Chinatown to deliver produce.

Twenty-four years later, he's driven about 2 million miles -- many of them in Colorado, where the family moved in 1987. Part of the reason was that Toomey wanted to try his hand at mountain driving.

"You have to be on your toes -- it makes you better," he said.

Toomey works for Roadway Express, commuting to the company's terminal in Denver, where he picks up his truck and delivers freight to cities along the Front Range.

On June 4, he competed in the five-axle category of the championships hosted by the Colorado Motor Carriers Association. More than 150 drivers competed.

Toomey won his event and was named Rookie of the Year.

In addition to being interviewed, drivers also had to find defects planted in their trucks and pass a written test and skills course, judged by the Colorado State Patrol.

In the trickiest obstacle of the day, Toomey had to back up on his blind side to a target.

"Joe nailed it," said the proud Mrs. Toomey. "The (Colorado) State Patrol (trooper) actually shook his hand and said, 'That was the best run I've seen all day.'"

The first thing he did was call his dad.

"I said, 'I won,'" he said. "He said, 'There was no doubt in my mind.'"

Other local winners were Michael Kumm of Colorado Springs, who won first place in the three-axle category, and Randy Pehrson of Florissant, who took first place in the tanker category.

All three will compete Aug. 16 to 20 at the national championships in Tampa, Fla. Toomey's father plans on being there. "He's doing what I'd like to have done. I'm very proud of him," he said.

CONTACT THE WRITER: 636-0285 or dcorrell@gazette.com