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ChadS
05-09-2004 05:30:36
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Re: the beginings ? in reply to mad matt, 05-08-2004 18:57:44
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It is a wondering question all over the world. I know I can't answer it! LOL Our area, Northeren Indiana, has always been a pulling orented community. These days, I can look north, south east and west, and there is a pull within 25-30 miles from here during the summer. When I was a kid, and yes, I do feel I am still wet behind the ears some times, I grew up watching the "BICOUNTY CLASSIC" In Rochester Indiana. Seen alot of pullers come and go over the years. I remeber seeing Banters over there a few times, How about the famous, "Pete, Repeat, and 3Pete" Oliver 88 prostocks, they were there on a regular basis when a pull was held at Rochester, Infact, at the time, they were unstoppable! I would say that was around 1982 or 83 in there. Area Fair grounds had competed for who could put on a bigger pull vs Rochester, but alas, Rochester, hands down. They had everything there, from stocker, to super stock, semis, pickups. These days now, they have diesel truck pulls, still have the tractors, trucks, but no semis. Rochester was the first time I had seen the "Liberty Belle" semi puller. Ol Ernie Metzger trucking from Silver Lake Indiana owned it, and the family still does, and have a few others. One particular year, Metzgers built another rig, named the General Lee. Painted up just like the ol general from the Dukes of Hazzard. big 01 on the door, flag on the roof, it was awesome. anyways, they had the Challenger sled there, at that time it was a new sled. General took off, and was moving kinda slow down the track, and then the driver turns it loose bout mid way down the track, about 290 ft, they still couldn't stop it, and then the chain broke off the sled. Talk about going out the end in a hurry!!! but he did shut it down in time. Then, there was the "Super Ford" and Super Ford 2. Super ford was a 77 F-250, green paint scheme, and had what is called a Cammer engine, Later I learned it was a rare double overhead cammed engine, in 10 years of pulling, I only seen him win once! But when he did, the crowd loved it, he was the local hero there. the next one built the super ford 2, a 37?? Ford 2wd mod puller. one of the most awesome pullers there at the time. you could hear that truck run down the track 2 miles away! Seen some good tractors there too!! An old Case, a 730 model, called the Pouncer. Had a big Marathon emblem on the side curtain, I think he was from Winamac Indiana, he was another regular there at Rochester, he took about 5 minutes to get her revved up, for some reason, it took about 5 cans of either to get it to rev up, when it did lite up, and get going, it was going out the gate, and a large red flame out of the stack about 12 inches high, you could see it plain as day in the daylight, and was beautiful at the night show. If you ask me, Indiana has alot of history in this sport of pulling, antique,, to mods, some Hoosier had their hands in them! LOL! We have a small town just south of here, Roann, Indiana, famous for the Covered Bridge, and the Covered Bridge festival, and they have always had some kind of tractor pull there. A good family freind says, that his dad pulled there, his grandad pulled there too! Said, 1947 was the first pull held there at the festival, it was a deadweight pull in the middle of a field. So where it started, and where it will end, all I can hope, is that all of the family traditions passed down from father to son, or daughters, or in my case, my mother pulled too! It all will continue, for all time, and forever. if the technology is like this today, wait another 20 years to see where it goes from here!! Sorry for the long post, way too many memories! LOL ChadS
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