A tufting machine for forming tufted articles, comprising: a frame; at least one needle bar having a plurality of needles carrying a series of yarns mounted therealong; backing feed rolls feeding a backing material through the tufting machine; a needle bar drive system (10, 100) for controlling movement of the at least one needle bar in multiple directions, the drive system (10, 100) comprising a first directional drive component (35, 101) including a series of push rods mounted to the at least one needle bar by a series of needle bar support brackets (41, 104) and driving the at least one needle bar along a vertically reciprocating stroke so that the needles penetrate the backing material, and a second directional drive component (37, 102) for moving the at least one needle bar in a direction substantially transverse to its vertically reciprocating stroke; characterized in that the needle support brackets (41, 104) of the first directional drive component (35, 101) each include a linear motion bearing guide (44, 112) having a series of linear motion bearings arranged therealong and through which a guide track mounted to the at least one needle bar is slidably received to control the transverse movement of the at least one needle bar as the at least one needle bar is reciprocated vertically; and the second directional drive component (37, 102) comprises a drive rod (55, 116) or a pair of drive rods (55, 116) mounted to the frame by a series of supports having linear bearing assemblies for guiding transverse movement of the at least one needle bar as the at least one needle bar is reciprocated vertically. a frame; at least one needle bar having a plurality of needles carrying a series of yarns mounted therealong; backing feed rolls feeding a backing material through the tufting machine; a needle bar drive system (10, 100) for controlling movement of the at least one needle bar in multiple directions, the drive system (10, 100) comprising a first directional drive component (35, 101) including a series of push rods mounted to the at least one needle bar by a series of needle bar support brackets (41, 104) and driving the at least one needle bar along a vertically reciprocating stroke so that the needles penetrate the backing material, and a second directional drive component (37, 102) for moving the at least one needle bar in a direction substantially transverse to its vertically reciprocating stroke; characterized in that the needle support brackets (41, 104) of the first directional drive component (35, 101) each include a linear motion bearing guide (44, 112) having a series of linear motion bearings arranged therealong and through which a guide track mounted to the at least one needle bar is slidably received to control the transverse movement of the at least one needle bar as the at least one needle bar is reciprocated vertically; and the second directional drive component (37, 102) comprises a drive rod (55, 116) or a pair of drive rods (55, 116) mounted to the frame by a series of supports having linear bearing assemblies for guiding transverse movement of the at least one needle bar as the at least one needle bar is reciprocated vertically.