Media Contact: Kathy Virtue

kvirtue@smc500.com

September 17, 2011 – Joliet, IL

Twenty of Safety-Kleen’s best drivers came to Joliet, IL filling the last three seats from the Central Region and, moving onto the finals in Vegas. The competition, held at the Chicagoland Speedway, had a field of nine Route Truck drivers, eight Oil Truck drivers, and three Over the Road Truck drivers. Each separate division faced drove a course specifically designed to simulate everyday maneuvers, and each competitor took a Department of Transportation Road Safety Quiz.

The Safety-Kleen Driver Challenge was implemented this year by Safety-Kleen CEO, Bob Craycraft, to spotlight the back bone of the organization; the truck drivers. The challenge builds a strong sense of comradery from the drivers to the branch employees, Safety-Kleen Executives and their vendor partners. The competition in Joliet had the largest showing of local Safety-Kleen employee support, highlighting Safety-Kleen’s efforts to show their appreciation to their drivers.

The challenge started with a grueling course designed for the Route and Oil trucks. While the course proved to stretch the driver’s skills with its tight turns and reverse maneuvers, the competitors had some of the highest scores so far this season. Each driver competed in order of seniority, giving the most tenured competitors the advantage of seeing runs made before them. Kenneth Fischer, who has been with the company over five years, was impressed with how long many of the other competitors had been with the company. Fisher stated, “Safety-Kleen must being doing something right. They have guys here who have been around for 15, 20, 30 years and they want to come to keep coming to work. As an employee that make me feel good.”

The last group through the chicane, the Over the Road Series, were faced with a slightly different course configuration to accommodate the length of their rig. The blind spots and tight turning radius added a degree of difficulty for the competitors. The winner, James Lynn, posted the highest overall score of the season to date.

With branch managers cheering from the sidelines, company pride was more than evident. At the close of the competition, Chip Duffie, Senior Vice President and Chief Compliance Officer, reflected on the day’s events by saying, “Maybe more than anything it’s nice to see how much pride there is in doing it right and being safe.”

Safety-Kleen, Vice President of Recycle and Accumulation Services, Glenn Thompson, honored a competitor, who had not won his series, but accomplished what most drivers at Safety-Kleen strive for. Patrick Lindsey, a 14 year veteran out of the Columbia, MO, completed over 500,000 miles without any tickets, infractions or accidents. Lindsey was recognized for his accomplishments with the company at the awards dinner. Lindsey has now moved into a new position with Safety-Kleen as a Market Sales Specialist.

Drivers moving onto the finals in Las Vegas were:

Over the Road Series: 1st Place – Darrell Schlagel

Oil Truck Series: 1st Place – James Lynn

Route Truck Series: 1st Place - Michael Stosberg

For more information, please visit www.safety-kleendriverchallenge.com.