Jake Zaring, driver and creator of the Dixie Chopper pulling truck, is headed for a busy summer with pulls in both the National Truck Pullers Association (NTPA) and Lucas Oil Pro Pulling League on his schedule.

With his 30-event schedule slated to begin June 4-5 in Knoxville, Tenn., Zaring and the Dixie Chopper truck roll into their sixth season of competition in the 6,200-lb. 4x4 Modified Truck class.

Through mid-September, Zaring has scheduled 15 dates on the NTPA circuit and has booked another 15 under the Lucas Oil Pro Pulling League banner.

Starting this season, Dixie Chopper has entered into an NTPA sponsorship deal as the "Official Lawn Mower of the NTPA." The sponsorship also involves Dixie Chopper's presence on NTPA's weekly RFD-TV program, as well at NTPA national events.

“We are excited to be a part of the NTPA and to join the list of outstanding sponsors that support this great sport,” Dixie Chopper President Gary A. Morgan said after sealing the deal.

The first NTPA event in which Zaring and the Dixie Chopper truck will take part is the nationally televised pull June 26-27 at Tomah, Wis.

Powered by more than 1,300 horsepower and a Pro-Fab transmission, the Dixie Chopper truck burns seven gallons of alcohol fuel per run. Its distinctive design features blades of grass stenciled along the bottom of each door panel, while the weight box up front has been made to look like the bottom of a Dixie Chopper mowing deck.

Since debuting the truck in 2005, Zaring and the Dixie Chopper pulling truck have made quite the habit of being invited to the prestigious World Championship Truck and Tractor Pull. Their participation in the 2010 event at the National Farm Machinery Show in Louisville marked the fifth straight year Zaring has pulled in his sport’s biggest event.

During only his second invitation to the world championships at Louisville, Zaring and the Dixie Chopper truck captured the 2007 title in the 4WD truck class.

His first invitation to Louisville in February 2006 came less than a year after “Crazy Jake” and longtime friend Jim Hilburn debuted their Dodge Dakota creation on the pulling truck circuit. They built the truck in an incredible 51 days in spring 2005, often working late into the night at Zaring’s garage about four miles north of the Dixie Chopper plant near Fillmore, Ind.

In his inaugural invitation to the world championship pull, Zaring finished fifth among 16 competitors in the 2006 event.

(NTPA = National Truck Pullers Association; PPL = Lucas Oil Pro Pulling League)

JULY

July 1 – Stanford, Ky., 7 p.m., PPL.
July 2 – Marion, Ohio, 7 p.m., NTPA.
July 9 – Arcola, Ill., 7 p.m., NTPA.
July 10 – Henry, Ill., 6:30 p.m., PPL.
July 11 – Henry, Ill., 6:30 p.m., PPL.
July 16 – Jerseyville, Ill., 7 p.m., NTPA.
July 23 – Macon, Mo., 7 p.m., PPL.
July 24 – Macon, Mo., 7 p.m., PPL.
July 25 – Greencastle, Ind., 7 p.m., PPL.
July 29 – Elkhart, Ind., 7 p.m., PPL.
July 30 – (Tentative) Anoka, Minn., 6:30 p.m., NTPA.
July 30 – (Tentative) Fort Recovery, Ohio, 7 p.m., NTPA.
July 31 – Fort Recovery, Ohio, 7 p.m., NTPA.

AUGUST

Aug. 8 – Indiana State Fair, Indianapolis, 1 p.m., PPL.
Aug. 13 – Hillsboro, Wis., 6:30 p.m., PPL.
Aug. 14 – Hillsboro, Wis., 6:30 p.m., PPL.
Aug. 20 – Bowling Green, Ohio, 7:30 p.m., NTPA.
Aug. 21 – Bowling Green, Ohio, 12 noon, NTPA.
Aug. 27 – Jefferson City, Mo., 6:30 p.m., NTPA.
Aug. 28 – Jefferson City, Mo., 6:30 p.m., NTPA.

SEPTEMBER

Sept. 3 – Wauseon, Ohio, 6:30 p.m., NTPA.
Sept. 4 – Findlay, Ohio, 7 p.m., NTPA.
Sept. 11 – Wheatland, Mo., PPL.
Sept. 16 – Old Washington, Ohio, NTPA.