05:14:49am, Saturday, May 18, 2024
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Does another really care who wins a championship.
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Moderator Registered: 03/25/2008 Posts: 1,449 |
I sometimes wonder if anyone really cares. Is there a fan base that follows the points race like a die-hard NASCAR fan does. I don't believe that there is any argument that certain classes at the national level have seen a slow decline of numbers. So that begs the question; do you just let the numbers in those classes keep dwindling or do you try and make rules that encourage some growth. The DSS class only had three tractors follow the entire circuit, the Unlimited Mod four, the Lt Limited Mods three also, along with the Super Semi's at three. Is there any excitement or drama in that? Or don't people really care about who wins a national championship other that those top three pullers in those classes. Is tractor pulling really a points race for the fans or is a tractor show? Dick Morgan www.PULLOFF.com Independent Pulling News |
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Re: Does another really care who wins a championship.
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Paull
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As a puller and fan,I have had to cut back on both levels,cost,other commitments,some issues in the world as a whole,respectfully some drama has hurt the sport,bickering,bitching,cheating,rules not iniform,cost of going,cost of living,Seems like people's pride,word and more are questionable now more than ever.On the national level,and really any level money is the ruler,sure sometimes a lower level team does well,but now even an entry level unit is 30 - 40 k.I do enjoy seeing teams win that are well known,-- with the exception of a few. |
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Re: Does another really care who wins a championship.
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Lots of great comments. Comes down to competition and the association in which you choose to run a "season long" tour. Thats not any easy task, just the travel and logistics take skill and luck. The NTPA is a membership based association. Competitors hook for all times of reasons and the available hooks that have have grown over the years. Classes evolve rules change. But that challenge fuels some competitive fire. For some its winning AN EVENT. I've been in a few Winner's Circles in my time and the joy passion and tears must mean something to the pullers who have worked for that glory. Every class attendance and numbers change every couple of years. But the passion to compete and win, to be called champion is something that few achieve but many shoot for. I'll be in Columbus later this year to help celebrate a few Champions and mark their time in Pulling History. The Same goes for non NTPA champions as well. Congrats. |
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Re: Does another really care who wins a championship.
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Wheeler
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Points races do nothing but turn competitors into enemies and wrecks families, the reason you dont see new people pulling in the gn circuit is because the classes are way out of line plane and simple. Unless you own a large trucking business or your old man is rich and gets a super stock built for you, you wont see anyone new entering the national circuit. If you really want to see a change ntpa has to add some practical classes, for example LLSS but we've talked about this before... |
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Re: Does another really care who wins a championship.
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Duke Kaboom
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Until tractor & truck pulling have one sanctioning body, the answer is no. Take the 2wd class for example. This years national champions are Russ Nichols/ NTPA, Brandt Sullivan/ PPL, and Robert Zajicek/ OTTPA. So who is national champion??? Just one of the reasons pulling is not considered a legitimate motorsport. |
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Re: Does another really care who wins a championship.
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Glue
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Points systems function to encourage and reward pullers for competing at events, otherwise hook numbers would fluctuate between events more than they do. It ensures that promoters have the best possible show for their crowd.
The absence of a points system would lead to teams cherry-picking events they attend determined by scheduling, distance or any number of factors. Pulling compared to NASCAR or NHRA has superior points structures considering how convoluted the Chase and Countdown systems are. Consider this, the Top Fuel winner at St. Louis this weekend Billy Torrence began the weekend in the Countdown in 10th; his son Steve made the observation that there is a chance for Billy to win points though he only competed in 10 regular season events if Billy continues to be successful. High end teams like the Billys have no need to run a full schedule and can cherry pick their way into a title run. Can we imagine this happening in pulling? Points systems work whether we follow them closely or not. They are like anything else, when they work right you dont notice it but when theyre absent you can tell the difference. They are the glue that holds things together. |
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Re: Does another really care who wins a championship.
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Registered: 03/30/2008 Posts: 191 |
I am a die hard pulling junky and I never once look at points through the year. I honestly never understood why pullers get so tore up over them and drive all over creation trying to chase them when they could stay much closer to home and pull. But to each his own. |
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Re: Does another really care who wins a championship.
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national - no
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For a lot of years, I watch & study the NTPA points standings. And I mean all of them - all Regions plus GN. And other associations, although not to the same degree.
If a puller wants to win a championship, have to chase and accumulate the points. "Duke", you ask an excellent question. My answer is none of them. Because there is no single pulling sanctioning organization across the vast majority of the States. NTPA had achieved 38 in its heyday. That stretched from coast to coast and from the Gulf of Mexco into Canada. Those champions deserved to be called "National Champion". Not the case today. Now, please, do not take me wrong - those that have earned today's championship in those 3 organizations (and others) certainly have committed lots of resources and are worthy of the championship recognition. It is just not really National in scope as they have not had to pull in a lot of states. |
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Re: Does another really care who wins a championship.
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Fan
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Seeing Joe Eder's reaction at Wellington, I'd say it meant something to him.
The Unlimited class would have had more than 4 had the weather been better in the spring. Also Richardson may have been out all summer had his been completed sooner. So it wasn't like guys didn't want to support the class. |
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Re: Does another really care who wins a championship.
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Electoral College
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If you’ve never won a National championship I would suggest you try one time.
It takes tremendous effort and commitment. You know your question sounds a lot like the Hillary people wanting to eliminate our Republics election process. Why is it that today’s society can’t appreciate tradition. You now have gay marriage. More genders than Stevie has Mitas tires. And a Democrat party that wants to eliminate the opposition candidate for the presidency instead of beating him at the ballot box. |
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Re: Does another really care who wins a championship.
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Registered: 04/04/2008 Posts: 633 |
I would tend to think that the points titles aren't as well followed as they used to be. Hard to say why but that seems to be the reality at least for the fans side of the equation.
I feel like in the pullers side it's still a very real thing and most pullers appreciate the effort and money it takes to win a GN points tiles. As for it being a "National" title I guess I would say that all three of the big sanctioning body's competitors feel that they have won at the highest level that they can accomplish within their organization and that is no easy thing to do with any of the three. The other thing that I think needs to be said is that even though there aren't a lot of competitors in some classes the ones that are there are the best of the best in most cases. The people that run at this level are very serious and hard to get around on the pulling track. We have always run for points in any organization that we run with as we feel that to prove that you are the best you have to do it over the long haul of a points chase through the ups and downs of traveling, breakage, rain, heat as well as wins and loses. It takes a lot of determination and drive to make it happen over the course of many event. S'no Farmer Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/01/2019 04:51PM by S'no Farmer. |
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Re: Does another really care who wins a championship.
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My opinion
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As a long time puller, I say on the national level no . With the same teams winning all the time. There are exceptions, but money has killed the sport at the higher level! Jmo |
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Re: Does another really care who wins a championship.
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Fan
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Hate to inform you but the sport takes a lot of money! The guys with the most do not win all the titles! Some over the years with the most money won very few titles.
I would say in my view the GN titles have been cheapened by making all these regional and state classes GN classes to begin with! When you can go to a brush pull and see more power it shouldn't be a GN class! |
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Re: Does another really care who wins a championship.
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Duke Kaboom
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I agree. Way to many "national" classes. Should use the NHRA model, 4-5 classes that you can only see at a (grand national, champion tour) event. Those would be your "pro" classes and the rest your sportsman (regional national, silver series) classes. Build your "star" power. You don't see John Force at a regional event. |
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Re: Does another really care who wins a championship.
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plum krazy
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Comparisions are fine,- but tractor pulling never has been or ever will be a "NATIONAL" anything,not much fan based city dwellers yrs ago and certainly not now. Sure many of us now live and work in the urban sparl areas,but come from rural roots.Cars are a universal commonality to almost all folks here in the U.S.A.,not so in other countries,hence more of a connection with NHRA. Also like others have stated,-- leadership needs to lead. |
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Re: Does another really care who wins a championship.
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Registered: 07/06/2008 Posts: 1,349 |
Even sportsmen classes in NHRA have national championships, they just have a different format to their points system. |
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