Souped-up tractors can pull their weight

The Baltimore Sun

Proving that tractors can be more than just a machine to sow corn and wheat, the Interstate Truck and Tractor Pullers Inc. will converge on the Carroll County 4-H/FFA Fair Friday night to strut their stuff.

Or, rather, pull their stuff.

The big tractors, weighing 7,500 pounds or more, will be strained to see which one can pull a weighted sled the farthest along a 300-foot track, said Helen McKenzie, whose husband, Fred, participates in large tractor pulls in the Mid-Atlantic area.

"The sled itself weighs 35,000 pounds," Helen McKenzie said. Weight is placed in the sled as the competition progresses, she said.

The pull starts with 5,000 pounds in the weight box on the sled. Usually after a couple of tractors have pulled, officials can tell if more or less weight is needed, she said.

"They are 1,200 pound blocks, and the sleds have 24 to 30 gears that they adjust with the weight to make the box move slower or faster," she said.

To be able to pull the weights, the tractor owners modify the motors; have different clutches, transmission and gearboxes; and souped-up carburetors.

These are not lumbering farm tractors.

"Most of these move pretty lively," McKenzie said. "They have to have that speed to get as far as they can get [pulling the sled], and what they say is they give it the gas and keep hammering it till it won't go any farther."

And it's a big deal to win.

"They like to see how far they can go. They want to beat the next guy," McKenzie said. "The farther they can go, the better they like it."

About 35 to 40 tractors usually compete in a pull, she said.

The pull offers four classes: 8,000 Open; 7,500 Light Limited Turbo; 6,000 Classic Tractors; and 8,000 Street Diesel 4X4s that are street machine pick-ups, said Bill Stem, Tractor Pull Committee chairman.

"It's a regular pickup truck, and that's one of the hottest pulling competitions around," Stem said. "A lot of people have a diesel pickup and think they can pull the world."

Before the Interstate Pullers, a farm tractor pull with open classes will be held. Classes here will include classics, street stock, farm stock, antique and modified.

"The classics are a V-8 motor on a farm tractor from the 1960s and 1970s," said Royce Wagner, 4-H/FFA Fair Board chairman. "The modifieds, some of them have four or five engines on one tractor - it's like no limitations."

The pulls will be held in the old horse ring below the Carroll County Agriculture Center buildings. Gates open at 3 p.m. for spectators who want a good seat. The farm tractor pull starts at 5 p.m. and the Interstate Pullers at 7:30 p.m.

Admission for this fundraiser for the fair is $10 for adults and $5 for ages 5 to 13 at the gate.

"We're doing this to help raise money for the kids, to keep the fair admission free," said Stem. "This is one of our biggest fundraisers this year. We want to keep it a country fair, we don't want to get involved in rides and all that stuff."

The tractor pull events continue into Saturday with the garden tractor pull at 5:30 p.m. Wagner, who expects about 100 tractors to participate, including both youth and adult drivers, said it should take about six hours to get through.

"These tractors are extremely modified. The paint jobs are wild looking. They have the fancy wheels - the whole nine yards," Wagner said. "On mine, I have a mural on the hood and aluminum wheels."

The revved-up garden tractors can pull from 3,000 pounds up for stock tractors to 8,000 pounds or more for pro stock and unlimited tractors.

"The stock tractors run 7,000 to 11,000 rpm's," Wagner said. "The single cylinder engine pro stock tractors run on alcohol and have about 70 horsepower."

The Power Take Off 4-H Club that Wagner and his wife, Vicki, lead puts up the prize money for the garden tractor pull, he said.

Part of the fair that opens Saturday, the garden tractor event is free.

For information on all the tractor pulls, call Stem at 443-398-5329.

ellie.baublitz@baltsun.com

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