Grant of Restricted Shares. The Company hereby grants to you, as of the Grant Date specified on the cover page of this Agreement and subject to the terms and conditions in this Agreement and the Plan, an Award of the number of Restricted Shares specified on the cover page of this Agreement. Unless and until these Restricted Shares vest as provided in Section 4 below, they are subject to the restrictions specified in Section 3 of this Agreement.

Grant of Restricted Shares. Subject to the terms and provisions of the Plan, the Board, at any time and from time to time, may grant Restricted Shares to any Eligible Director in such amounts as the Board shall determine.

Grant of Restricted Shares. The Board shall determine the number of Restricted Shares to be included in the grant and the period or periods during which the Transferability Restrictions applicable to the Restricted Shares will be in force (the “Restricted Period”). The Restricted Period may be the same for all Restricted Shares granted at a particular time to any one Outside Director or may be different with respect to different Outside Directors or with respect to various of the Restricted Shares granted to the same Outside Director, all as determined by the Board at the time of grant.

Grant of Restricted Shares. In consideration for the performance of services by the Grantee for the Company as a director, the Company hereby grants the Restricted Shares to the Grantee, subject to the conditions of this Agreement. As used in this Agreement, the term “Shares” shall mean shares of the Company’s common stock, par value $0.001 per share, which include the Restricted Shares granted under this Agreement, and all securities received # in replacement of the Shares, # as a result of stock dividends or stock splits with respect to the Shares, and # in replacement of the Shares in a merger, recapitalization, reorganization or similar corporate transaction.

Grant of Restricted Stock. The Administrator is authorized to make Awards of Restricted Stock to any Service Provider selected by the Administrator in such amounts and subject to such terms and conditions as determined by the Administrator. All Awards of Restricted Stock shall be evidenced by an Award Agreement.

Grant of Restricted Stock. This Award Notice serves to notify you that Heartland Express, Inc., a Nevada corporation (the "Company"), hereby grants to you, under the Company's 2021 Restricted Stock Award Plan (the "Plan"), a Restricted Stock Award (the "Award"), on the terms and conditions set forth in this Award Notice and the Plan, of the number of shares set forth above ("Restricted Shares") of the Company's Common Stock, par value $0.01 per share (the "Common Stock"). A copy of the Plan is included with this Award Notice, if it has not previously been provided to you. You should review the terms of this Award Notice and the Plan carefully.

Grant of Restricted Stock. The Company hereby grants (the “Grant”) to the Participant, subject to the terms and conditions herein set forth, [number] restricted shares of its common stock (each a “Share” and collectively, the “Restricted Stock”).

Restricted Stock Units Grant. Effective for service on or after October 1, 2008 to be granted January 1, 2009 and on the first day of each succeeding calendar quarter, each Outside Director who is then a member of the Board of Directors and served as a member of the Board for any portion of the calendar quarter ended immediately prior to such day, will be granted the number of Restricted Stock Units that will be equal to the applicable Equity Grant Amount (or the pro-rata amount based on the number of days of service in the quarter if the Outside Director did not serve the whole quarter) divided by the Fair Market Value of Common Stock for such grant date, or if the New York Stock Exchange is not open for trading on such date, the grant date shall be the next following trading date. For the last quarterly grant with respect to the last quarter of Board service, any fractional amount of the applicable Equity Grant Amount (or the pro-rata amount based on the number of days of service in the quarter if the Outside Director did not serve the whole quarter) that is not utilized in converting the grant into whole shares of Restricted Stock when added to any outstanding fractional Restricted Stock Unit shall be paid in cash when the shares are distributed pursuant to 10.(C). Effective for grants made in respect of service on or after October 1, 2010, the Restricted Stock Units are further restricted by only ratably vesting over three years, subject to accelerated full vesting upon becoming a Retired Outside Director.

Grant of Restricted Stock. Subject to the other terms of the Plan, the Committee may, in its discretion as reflected by the terms of the applicable Award Agreement: # authorize the granting of Restricted Stock to Eligible Persons; # provide a specified purchase price for the Restricted Stock (whether or not the payment of a purchase price is required by any state law applicable to the Company); # determine the restrictions applicable to Restricted Stock and # determine or impose other conditions to the grant of Restricted Stock under the Plan as it may deem appropriate.

Grant of Restricted Stock or Restricted Stock Units. Subject to the terms and provisions of the Plan, the Compensation Committee, at any time and from time to time, may grant Shares of Restricted Stock and/or Restricted Stock Units to Participants in such amounts as the Compensation Committee shall determine. Restricted Stock Units shall be similar to Restricted Stock except that no Shares are actually awarded to the Participant on the date of grant.