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November 16, 2009

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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