A Windham man is returning to the American Trucking Associations’ National Truck Driving Championships for the third time.

Jared Elston, 43, a 36-year Windham resident and 20-year employee of FedEx, placed first at the state truck-driving championship sponsored by the American Trucking Association on May 16. Elston won in the 4-axle category, rendering him eligible to participate in the national championships in St. Louis from Aug. 11-15.

Next week, Elston will fly to St. Louis, where he will compete in three separate competitions to determine his placement in this year’s championship. In one test, Elston will navigate a driving course, parallel parking his truck, backing it up and executing other maneuvers. In another test, Elston will inspect his vehicle to find fake “defects” inserted by championship staff, such as a piece of tape on his windshield standing in for a crack on the glass. Finally, Elston will complete a written test.

Elston placed first in the Maine state championships in 1999 and 2008, sending him to the national championships in both of those years. Elston placed 12th in his class in the 1999 national championship, and 28th in his class in the 2008 national competition.

Born in Omaha to a military family, Elston moved to Windham when his father retired in 1979. He lives with his wife, Kelly, and three children in North Windham, and has been a FedEx driver for 18 of his 20 years with the company. He regularly drives his 4-axle semi-trailer from Portland to Bangor, where he drops off freight packages for couriers.

“I probably have around a million miles of safe driving with FedEx” Elston said. “I’ve never had an accident.”

Elston said he was turned onto truck-driving competitions by Everett MacMaster, a Falmouth FedEx driver who won the national championship in 1998 and died in 2010.

“He was really into it and enjoyed it and talked me into trying it,” Elston said.

Elston, who has been unable to compete in the competitions in recent years, as he has undergone surgery, said he loves the “camaraderie” of the competitions.

“It’s a good time,” he said. “A lot of the guys at the state levels you’ll see from year to year. A lot of the guys come back repetitively and try to win.”

This year’s national championship will feature 415 of the country’s top professional drivers. Competitions will be held for step vans, 3-axle trucks, 4-axle trucks, 5-axle trucks, flatbeds, tank trucks and sleeper births.

Elston will be one of 150 FedEx drivers competing in the national championship this year, according to FedEx spokeswoman Camille Diggs.

“That’s a record for us,” she said.

Regardless of his placement at this year’s competition, Elston said he hopes to go back to the championships again.

“Even if I won it, I’ll try again,” he said.

In his spare time, Elston said he enjoys boating on Sebago Lake, weightlifting and competing in road races and triathlons. Despite the occasionally tough wintertime work environment, he said he doesn’t plan to switch careers anytime soon.

“I do enjoy my job,” Elston said. “I like being out there. I can’t say that I love being out there in the winter in the blizzards. That’s the only time that I don’t really like it.”

Jared Elston