It's 'Beauty And The Beast' Dixie Chopper Style At Show
To hear Dixie Chopper Media Marketing Manager Rick Judy tell it, the meeting of Bailey Shea Williams and Jake Zaring at the 2009 National Farm Machinery Show was like "Beauty and the Beast."
Bailey (aka The Beauty) is the Dixie Chopper-sponsored ATV quad racer, while Zaring (aka The Beast) is the driver of the Dixie Chopper pulling truck. They met for the first time at the recent 2009 National Farm Machinery Show in Louisville, where Zaring competed for the fourth time in the championship truck and tractor pull.
But "Beauty and the Beast"? Wasn't that a little rough on "Crazy Jake"?
"You can take 'beast' a number of different ways," Judy said, indicating it was certainly a term of endearment as well as emblematic of raw power. "And besides," he smiled, "Jake loved it."
The two competitors took turns checking out each other's vehicle at the show.
Bailey's pink Honda ATV helped create endless interest in the Dixie Chopper booth (where she must have gotten writer's cramp from signing about 3,000 autographs over the four-day show), while Zaring's four-wheel-drive truck was prominently displayed in the Broadbent Arena garage prior to the pulling action in nearby Freedom Hall.
"It was good for Jake to be able to offer Bailey some advice about corporate sponsorship since he has been with us for a while," Judy explained.
The farm show was Bailey's initial appearance on behalf of Dixie Chopper. But the notoriety has already stuck. She is now being referred to as "The Dixie Chopper Chick" in ATV racing circles, Judy advised.
Likewise, Zaring was an instant Dixie Chopper hit. In 2007, making only his second appearance in the invitation-only truck pull, Zaring took home the world championship in the 6,200-lb. 4 X 4 Modified Truck Class.
Zaring had the 11th hook in this year's truck pull competition and finished eighth. But he ended up being the only driver to move up, gaining three spots as the pulling surface "went away pretty quick."
With drivers unable to get the traction they needed on the soft track, the first puller won the event, the second to pull was second, and on down the line through seventh place. As the first to get out of that rut, Zaring was at least able to capture eighth place from his 11th-position start.
Zaring, who resides near Dixie Chopper national headquarters in Fillmore, Ind., will return to action in the Lucas Oil Pro Pulling League (PPL) this spring.
Bailey, meanwhile, has already resumed her ATV racing schedule with a run at DuQuoin, Ill. The Chillicothe, Mo., 19-year-old will continue to compete in the ATVA Extreme Dirt Track National ATV Racing Series during 2009.
