Today’s story, from UPI: 93-year-old Iowa man might be world’s oldest truck driver (by Ben Hooper, UPI, July 8, 2026).
🟢 Beginner
Reading
Orrin Asmus is 93 years old. He lives in Iowa. He will turn 94 in August.
Orrin started driving trucks when he was 19 years old. That was more than 70 years ago!
For the last 11 years, Orrin has worked for a company called McLaughlin Freight. One day, a coworker looked online and found something amazing. Orrin might be the oldest truck driver in the whole world!
The company’s boss, Dan McLaughlin, sent Orrin’s information to Guinness World Records. Guinness keeps records of amazing things people do.
Right now, the record is held by a man named Doyle Archer. He was 92 years old when he got the record.
Orrin has driven more than 5 million miles. He has driven trucks in every U.S. state except two: Hawaii and Alaska.
Orrin still loves his job, even after all these years!
Vocabulary
- truck driver — a person whose job is driving a truck
- record — the best result ever, officially measured
- coworker — a person you work with
- company — a business
- amazing — very surprising and impressive
- mile — a unit of distance
- state — one of the 50 parts of the United States
- job — the work a person does to earn money
Comprehension Check
Discussion
- Would you want to work at the same job for 70 years? Why or why not?
- What jobs do you think people can still do at 93 years old?
- What record would you like to break someday?
🟡 Intermediate
Reading
A 93-year-old Iowa man could soon become a Guinness World Records holder for being the world’s oldest truck driver.
Orrin Asmus, who turns 94 in August, has been driving trucks since he was 19 years old. He has worked for McLaughlin Freight for the past 11 years.
Dan McLaughlin, president and co-owner of the company, submitted Asmus to Guinness World Records after a coworker discovered online that he might hold the record for the world’s oldest truck driver.
The current record belongs to Doyle Archer, whose title was updated in December 2025 when he was 92. Archer first earned the record in 2024 at age 90.
Over more than 70 years on the job, Asmus has driven over 5 million miles, hauling cargo through every U.S. state except Hawaii and Alaska.
Vocabulary
- submit — to officially send something for approval or review
- title — an official record or award name
- current — existing now, most recent
- update — to change something to reflect the newest information
- haul — to transport or carry something, usually by vehicle
- cargo — goods carried by a vehicle
- co-owner — a person who owns something together with someone else
- discover — to find out something not known before
Comprehension Check
Discussion
- What do you think motivates someone to keep working the same job for over 70 years?
- Guinness World Records tracks achievements like this. Why do you think people care about setting records?
- What challenges might a 93-year-old still face while doing a physically demanding job like truck driving?
🔴 Advanced
Reading
A 93-year-old Iowa man is on the verge of being crowned a Guinness World Records holder for the title of world’s oldest truck driver.
Orrin Asmus, who will turn 94 in August, has spent more than seven decades behind the wheel, having started driving trucks at just 19 years old. For the past 11 years, he has worked for McLaughlin Freight, a company whose president and co-owner, Dan McLaughlin, ultimately submitted Asmus’s information to Guinness after a coworker stumbled upon the possibility during an online search.
The record Asmus is chasing currently belongs to Doyle Archer, who saw his title updated in December 2025 at age 92, having first claimed the record back in 2024 at 90 years old — suggesting the record itself has become something of a moving target among nonagenarian drivers.
Across his career, Asmus has logged more than 5 million miles, hauling freight through every state in the country with the notable exceptions of Hawaii and Alaska, a detail that underscores just how much of the continental map a single working lifetime can cover.
Vocabulary
- on the verge of — very close to experiencing or achieving something
- decade — a period of ten years
- ultimately — finally, after a series of events
- stumble upon — to discover something by chance
- chasing (a record) — actively trying to achieve or break something
- nonagenarian — a person in their 90s
- log (verb) — to officially record an amount, such as miles or hours
- underscore — to emphasize or draw attention to something
Comprehension Check
Discussion
- The article frames this record as something of “a moving target” among elderly drivers. What does that suggest about how records and achievements evolve over time?
- Consider the role of chance (a coworker’s search) in setting major life events in motion. How much of notable recognition, in your view, comes down to luck versus effort?
- What does a career like Asmus’s — spanning over 70 years and 5 million miles — reveal about the nature of long-term commitment to a single profession, especially compared to modern career patterns?
📣 Share This Lesson
A 93-year-old Iowa man has been driving trucks for over 70 years — and he might be the OLDEST truck driver in the world! Read today’s story and test your English. 🚛 #ESL #EnglishLearning #immersionesl
Source: “93-year-old Iowa man might be world’s oldest truck driver” by Ben Hooper, UPI (July 8, 2026).