Entertainment
Hooked on the truck pull
The appeal of the truck and tractor pull
By Samantha Swindler / Managing Editor
They came from as far as Pennsylvania and Virginia, spending tens of thousands of dollars on their trucks and tractors, for the chance to lug a huge weighted sled about 230 feet.
The inaugural Battle of the Bluegrass Pulling Classic brought out 144 competing trucks and 101 competing tractors to the Arena in Corbin this week.
In a total of 14 different classifications, drivers attempted to pull a weighted sled across the Arena floor, roughly 230 feet. A laser accurately measures how far the sled is pulled to determine the winner.
A lot of time and money goes into those few seconds of glory.
“We’ve probably got about $65,000, $70,000 in it,” said Justin Massie of the competition tractor he owns jointly with his wife and brother-in-law.
Massie started competing with a stock tractor near his home in Northern Kentucky, but things got bigger and bigger.
In 2006, he and his family purchased the speciality pulling tractor he drives today.
“Every weekend, throughout the summer, we’ve got about three hooks (events) a week,” he said.
The body of his tractor partially comes from a 1965 Farmsall model, but it’s been modified to be able to haul up to 85,000 pounds on the sled.
“We’ve been farming cows and everything all my life, and we went to watching tractor pulls and I just got hooked on it,” Massie said.
And though winners receive cash awards, it hardly makes up for the money spent on the trucks and tractors.
“It’s just an expensive hobby,” Massie said.
Many pulls are held outdoors. Due to the immense amount of black smoke emitted by the diesel burning trucks and tractors, a large plastic tube was attached to the exhaust to carry the smoke out the back door of the Arena.
Winners in the Battle of the Bluegrass points championship were: Work Stock Truck, Scott Willoughby; 10,000 Hot Farm, Dennis Peach; Pro Stock 4WD, Jay Holt; Light Limited Super Stock, Jerry Sipes; 2.6 Trucks, William Chambers; 8500 Pro Farm, Keith Race; and 2.8 Trucks, Taylor Stivers.
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April is Redbud Month in Southern and Eastern Kentucky. TOUR Southern and Eastern Kentucky (Tour SEKY) along with Rockcastle County Tourism, Rockcastle Regional and the Christian Appalachian Project will kick off Redbud month April 1st, with the 4th annual “Blooming with Good Health” Awareness Walk.
The walk is from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Kentucky’s Music Hall of Fame at Renfro Valley.
The first 500 participants will receive free gifts including a tote bag, pedometer, walking stick, cookbook, redbud seedlings and a healthy lunch from the Mount Vernon Subway. Free jump ropes will also be available for the children. Walkers can choose from a one- or two-mile path. They will receive free health tips at stations along the way. A wheelchair/stroller route is available. The walk is free and will be held rain or shine.
For more information about the walk and Redbud Month, contact Maggie Bill at 606-677-6093 or mbill@tourseky.com.
The Redbud Trails program was created in 2004 to encourage and promote tourism in Southern and Eastern Kentucky.
More than 400,000 Redbud trees and seedlings have been planted in Tour’s 47 county service area and an additional 40,000 will be planted in 2010. Schools, non-profit organizations and Community Leaders have all participated in the redbud seedling giveaways and plantings.
Tour SEKY’s mission is to educate, expand, develop and market the existing and potential tourism industry throughout southern and eastern Kentucky, while contributing to the economic, cultural growth, health and awareness, and overall quality of life of the region. For additional information about Tour SEKY, visit www.tourseky.com, or call 606-677-6093. - TNA Wrestling coming to Arena
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