What will pulling look like in ten years? July 09, 2018 03:57PM
Look in your crystal ball. What do you foresee for the sport in 2028? Not what you want it to look like, but what you think it will look like a decade from now.
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Re: What will pulling look like in ten years? July 09, 2018 05:46PM
Unless something drastic happens we will have priced ourselves ouf of sport and places to pull. The amount of money it takes to build a beginner class is 100k and traveling 120miles for a pull for 500 dollar check. I would say classes will continue to fall off in numbers in the bigger HP classes Pro,SS,LPS4.1.Lt Pros with the ones leaving those classes falling back to the LLPS/Hot Farm classes as many in my area have already started doing it.Your Diesel Pickup classes willl probably be alright due to the fact the younger pullers are flocking to those classes and rules are pretty uniform so theres alot of places to pull close to home in the 2.6 class Unless something changes with the tractor classes they will be all but gone simply do to the fact the younger pullers want nothing to do with a 150000 LPS or Lt Pro.

Just my opinion
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Re: What will pulling look like in ten years? July 09, 2018 11:05PM
If you think it will only be trucks because no kid wants to with $150K pulling vehicle, maybe think again. Do you have any idea what it costs to properly build a truck? And if you think those classes won't end up the same as the tractor classes, you must be taking some kinda wicked med, cuz there is no difference in some of the truck classes already.

Take a look at SSD4X4......those things are way cheap, right? Try building or buying one.
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Re: What will pulling look like in ten years? July 10, 2018 03:21AM
SSD trucks is a champions tour only class. You are pounding on wrong door for a argument today.
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Re: What will pulling look like in ten years? July 10, 2018 03:48AM
....then maybe you should compare apples to apples, not apples to oranges. Your statement compares several different levels and classes simultaneously. You reference $150K price tag (and also apparently $100K for beginner).....Your argument is lacking clarity. If you were indicating that the trucks would be work stock at best, then your argument is even more flawed......

I'm sure you have a valid point if you clean it up and categorize it.

No class in pulling is cheap. If you got in to "make money", or attempt to extract some sort of payback, you seem to lack the understanding of economics. It's a hobby. You are always going to put out more than you recieve. It's a choice. I choose to do it because it is a challenge, it's fun, and I meet alot of great people (while seeing new parts of the country).

Even the top level of this sport (Champions Tour/Grand National) is not a "money maker". This sport is not a profession, not a job/career. It is straight up a hobby.
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Re: pro stocks in 10 years July 10, 2018 04:02AM
For example, I could see sort of a blend of Pro, Light, and Limited coming together with allowances for more modern technology.

I could see the class we call "Pro Stock" eventually with 540 ci limit, some maximum turbo size though larger than 4.1, EFI, components, etc. Probably similar to the European Pros.

Also, weight would be dropped. If the weight were dropped today in 2018 to 9000 lbs, how many current pros wouldn't be able to make it? As most are already component, making a lower weight between 8000 -9000 lbs if some form of the above rules are adopted in future years should not be an issue.



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 07/10/2018 06:05AM by The Original Michael.
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Re: What will pulling look like in ten years? July 10, 2018 03:42AM
Half the numbers as now and we are down half from the hey days of pulling. Cost is killing the sport and it is just getting worst every year. It’s a shame as numbers are going down in every association. Doug Roberts is the only one I knew that seen this coming and he’s out of the sport now. Outlaws was really growing till last year and now they have fell in that same trap.
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Re: What will pulling look like in ten years? July 10, 2018 03:55AM
You are right the costs have gone crazy. That is the price we pay for having such an appetite for power. Look at the difference in performance since the "hey days". It's astronomically different. Do you want to go back to that level of performance? Not very likely. So we are victims of our own desire.

Bigger problem is the need to fund is directly related to the admission price. I doubt any fans will swallow the same admission increase as the performance has driven.....and boom, then there's no more sport with no paying customer. Viscious circle.

I don't see anything changing. There's no magic formula. Corporate sponsorship is near non existent at the lower levels, and that what feeds the ranks.

Wait for the collapse and start over?
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Re: What will pulling look like in ten years? July 10, 2018 04:15AM
Im affraid youre right with your wait for the collapse and start over. Pulling has always gone in cycles and I believe this cycle is about to end if not see some major changes.
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Re: What will pulling look like in ten years? July 10, 2018 11:08AM
I can se theres not much future left in pulling county fairs are the biggest promoters for the tractor pulls and they are fading away fast kids today could care less about a old tractor when they have an I phon A lot of pulls will go to the trophie and ribbons or that 500 1st your getting now will be split up for the whole class
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Re: What will pulling look like in ten years? July 11, 2018 01:14AM
The first revolution of pulling is when CNC mills became affordable to the common Joe. Made pulling less affordable. The next revolution is when Dyno that could take big power became available. It made pulling even less affordable. What's next?
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Re: What will pulling look like in ten years? July 14, 2018 12:37PM
"What's next?" Likely more insurance company involvment and dictation of what can be done (sounds like US healthcare system, doesn't it?!) and EPA becoming involved.
Between the two, that will put the kabosh of the pulling sport.
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Re: What will pulling look like in ten years? July 11, 2018 01:44AM
Here is a look into the future of pulling.



GPS assistance will be on the pulling tractors, so we won't need any more chalk lines, because tractors won't go out of bounds.
Tractors will be remote controlled by an app on a smart phone, and you'll have the option to put on the VR (virtual reality) goggles if you still want to experience the point of view from the seat.
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Re: What will pulling look like in ten years? July 11, 2018 03:48PM
That sounds like an Amusement Park Ride " Virtual Reality Tractor & Truck Pulling Simulator" !! Then No one has to build a Pulling Vehicle and maintain it !! LOL
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Re: What will pulling look like in ten years? July 13, 2018 04:39AM
Pulling peaked in the mid 80s and 90s. NTPA got complacent as the only game in town. ATPA came along and revised it with sponsorship and TV and that turned into PPL. The only association to really grow since then as been OTTPA and they took over the Midwest the last 20 years. That was the exception and mainly because of the leadership of Roberts. His rules, scheduling, payouts, premier events he was able to get. The way he ran pulls, fast and long made those the pulls exciting to watch. The Floating fiishes, first real Big screen. A lot of the stuff he came up with is copied by others associations now. I don’t see that getting repeated now and pulling is on a downward spiral now and it will never recover. Could be cost, leadership, rules, economy or just a shrinking audience. The future looks bleak to me!
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Re: What will pulling look like in ten years? July 16, 2018 06:15AM
At the top of this forum is a post with over 1300 tractor pulls in 31 states. Pretty sure the sport isn't dying.
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Re: What will pulling look like in ten years? July 14, 2018 07:55AM
Unfortunately, I also believe that pulling is on the decline. Motorsports in general aren’t doing very well. Too many people choose to sit at home on the couch and watch tv or play on their phones or computers. Pulling is a sport but it’s truly entertainment. County fairs are finding it harder and harder to justify having a tractor pull just because the attendance doesn’t justify the cost. We all complain about prize money but until the sport bounces back to what it “was”, I’m afraid it’s going to get worse before it gets better.
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Re: What will pulling look like in ten years? July 15, 2018 02:41AM
Just look at the DSS and Big Prostock class. Where are the numbers? Region 2 can hardly get 5or 6 prostocks.
Big mods , big alcohol tractors getting slimmer every year.
Light pro's will be next. On the way to bankrupting that class.
Problem is the class fillers are too timid to speak up for fear of riducule and the top dogs are winning so why would they want change
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Re: What will pulling look like in ten years? July 16, 2018 06:33AM
The big NTPA classes might suffer, but that's because of cost. I don't buy that the younger generation doesn't care about pulling or old tractors. I was just at a pull where half the class in the 11,500 & 12,500 classes were under the age of 25. There are a lot of guys who are under 40 getting into the sport. Just not sure how many will have the budget to go much higher than a hot farm.
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Re: What will pulling look like in ten years? July 15, 2018 03:17AM
maybe factory combos will be allowed in sf,ps,lp,lim pro....but nah,ih and deere clearly make the rules
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