LOIS SZYMANSKI
Maryland Correspondent
WESTMINSTER. Md.
Sometimes farmers just have to
have fun!
But these farmers did. last
month, with wheel spinning, gear
grinding, smoke belching fun at
the Heart of Maryland Tractor Pull
held at the Carroll County Agricul
tural Center in Westminster. Md.
Proceeds from the tractor pull
were to benefit the Agricultural
Center, and hundreds of volunteers
horn various organizations gave of
their time and energy to help the
event go off as planned.
‘This is our Erst pull of the
year,” said Heart of Maryland
organizer, Helen Erb. “Heart of
Maryland averages about 16 of
these pulls a year all over the state
of Maryland, Pennsylvania and
Virginia. Today’s turnout looks
good!"
An estimated crowd of 5,000
came out on the sunny afternoon to
cheer on the 120 entries in the
categories of farm stock, modified,
superstock, four-wheel drive and
two-wheel drive.
Trophies were provided for the
first, second, third and fourth place
winners in the farm stock divisions
but pullers earning points in the
modified and superstock divisions
had cash prizes as an added
incentive.
‘This is a sanctioned pull and
there’s big money involved,” said
Bill Clem, a representative from
the National Tractor Pullers Asso
ciation. “A promoter like the Car
roll County Agricultural Center
has to put $lO,OOO up front to the
Heart of Maryland Tractor Pullers
(the state association representing
the National) to bring these pullers
in here. If the pullers come to com
pete, the money is guaranteed.”
Local machinery dealers and
businesses lent their support as did
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Maryland Farmers Involved In Tractor Pull
volunteer groups such as the
Grange, The Junior Troopers, the
Young Farmers and the Farm
Bureau. They operated all the con
cession booths and monitored the
grounds with all profits going to
the Agricultural Center.
“The thing I like about this,”
said Clem, who has been involved
since 1974, “is that it is a family
thing. You’ll get dad building one
and then the whole family joins in.
These are all home-built by the
drivers and the families. The wives
and the kids and everyone gets
involved and works along with it.
It is a chance for the farmers to
have fun, and that is what they are
doing today!”
“I took two seconds (place
ments), and I was tickled to death,”
said puller Bob Colson, Frizzel
burg, Md. Colson was also one of
the organizers of this annual event.
“Randy Devaugh beat me in the
heavy class. I went down to Anne
Arundel County and pulled Satur
day,” Colson explained, “and I
beat him by about sixty feet. He
asked me if I could help him set up
his injection pump a little and so I
helped him out then, he came back
and beat me! Hey, that’s an unself
ish puller, isn’t it?”
The Heart of Maryland Tractor
Pull, like all sanctioned pulls, was
monitored by the National Associ
ation. A new digital board supplied
by WestminsterChevroletnotonly
kept the crowds aprised of the
longest disntance pulled and the
puller in the lead, but was also
equipped with a laser beam that
measured each pull.
As the spectators watched the
classes progress throughout the
day they also got to see how the
puller’s tractors have progressed.
The first, stock tractor classes were
an example of typical farm trac
tors. The next class, the modified
division, showed how pullers
aittaftyo SOYBEANS
BRAND 38SO SOYBEANS
Donald Balt, dairy fanner from Westminster makes a pull of 186.9 feet The front
wheels rise at the end of the pull.
opted for more power.
“This is where they take a trac
tor rear end, stretch the frame out
and put any combination of
engines on it.” said Bill Clem.
“There is no limit to the horsepow
er, but they have to weigh under
7,200 pounds. The secret to win
ning is how they put the weight on
the tractor,” Clem said. “They
have to keep that front end down. It
takes a long time to get the engines
set just right and to make two or
three engines run together at the
same time, so they are all pulling
the same.”
According to “Pull Magazine.”
innovative competitors often use
V-12 Allison airplane engines and
even tank motors!
“The super stock tractors look
like farm tractors, but they’re all
souped up,” Clem said. They must
have just one engine and with the
exception of having wider tires and
custom paint they must retain their
original manufacturers sheet metal
design. “These guys will bum
three to five gallons of diesel fuel
in one pull,” Clem admitted. “The
smoke gets so thick out here it
looks like a tornado!”
Two wheel drive trucks are the
next category and the newest addi
tion to the pulling lineup, intro
duced in 1984. In a short time they
have gone from an oddity to being
one of the sports hottest divisions.
Four wheel drive trucks also sport
big classes in the tractor pulls.
“Pull Magazine” says the secret to
winning with the trucks is in
becoming a master track reader.
“A lot of volunteers came
together, donating a lot of time to
pull-off the event,” said Clem of
the Sunday tractor pull. As the
smoke rose like thunderclouds, the
crowd cheered and the drivers
grinned and signaled thumbs up. it
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Lancaster Farming, Saturday, May 21, 1994-A27
was apparent that Sunday was
indeed a day for fun.
Winners in their divisions were
go frtllnu/c*
FARM STOCK-6,000 Ib.-John
Harrison of Woodbine Md. driving
a John Deere 8. FARM STOCK
-8,000 lb.-Herbert Catterton of
Harwood, Md. driving a John
Deere 4010. FARM
STOCK-13,000 pound-Keith
Griffil of Boonsboro, Md. driving
an International 1206. FARM
STOCK-16,000 lb.-Randy
Devaugh of Upper Marlboro, MD.
driving an International 1466.
MODIFIED-7,200 Ib-Mikc
Mills of Fallston, Md. driving a
Wycomings.
FOUR WHEEL DRIVE
TRUCKS-Willy Omps of
Winchester, Va. driving a Ford
F 350.
TWO WHEEL DRIVE
TRUCKS-Bryan McDonald of
Harwood, Md. driving with an
Oldsmobile motor.