“Not as long as it has been.”

That was the answer when the announcer was asked how much longer until the tractor pull would begin.   It poured down rain just before six, the scheduled starting time.   Two tractors made pass after pass after pass with plow and disc attempting to dry out the pulling track.  They know what they are doing, eventually (about 1 ½ hours) the sticky mud was transformed to compactable goo and the sixteen-tired compactor started its passes…. back and forth and back and forth, another 45 minutes or so!    Ok, we are ready to go.  Oh, but tonight it’s “Light to Heavy”.  The big tractors go last.  Of course, the family we came to see are pulling in the higher weight classes.  W9 Comp_0260Oh well, maybe I will get the hang of all this before their turn is up.

These are antique tractors (1959 or older) so it’s a lot different than the super tractor pull I saw at the Elkhart Fair.  These look like tractors.  They sound like tractors.  They drive them like tractors with a 3 ½ mph speed limit when they pull.  Farmall/McCormick/International Harvester, Allis Chalmers, Oliver, Case, John Deere.  Farm equipment that even I can recognize.

It’s getting dark.  The lights come on.

The ballet of pull:grade:compact:reposition is getting so its running fairly smoothly.tractor pull comp_0258

Until somebody pops the clutch and breaks a shear pin of the pull sled.  “That takes at least an hour to repair” we heard.  We packed up and went home.

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