05:26:51pm, Thursday, April 18, 2024
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The Three Eras of Pulling/ Modern Age
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I think tractor pulling on a Grand National level can be divided into three historical eras. I would call these: First Age; Golden Age; and Modern Age. Here is how I am going to classify them.
I think the easiest way to look at each of them is by standard safety gear. This would be a reflection of how powerful the vehicles were. 1. First Age. This is the "open-faced-helmet and blue jeans" era. Approximately anything before 1984. 2. Golden Age. Drivers are now wearing closed-faced helmets and fire suits. This would be about 1985-1998. 3. Modern Age. Roll Cages. This would be about 1998-present. Here then is my question. I want to look at the transition from Golden Age pulling to Modern Age pulling. Which vehicles, in each broad class, do you guys think ushered us into our modern age of pulling. Here is what I think: A. Modifieds. Engler's "Mission Impossible" I think the chassis work they did is still being built and patterned today. Allowing these vehicles to flex the way they do is what got us to this point. Banters and Stone were just as competitive during this time, but I think if you dropped an Engler vehicle into today's mods, it would be more competitive than Banters' or Stone's. B. Super Stock Tractors. Conner's "Bad Medicine" I don't really know how to make this argument, other than saying, just go back and watch video or look at the record books. This tractor, in 1991-1993 was entirely ahead of its time. Everything about it behaves like a modern pulling vehicle. As a matter of fact, one might say this tractor is still pulling to this day. C. Four Wheel Drive Trucks. This one is tough... Probably when they took essentially all the weight off the rear, and loaded it forward. Or when they moved entirely to fiberglass bodies. Jaske's Miller Light truck then maybe?? D. Pro Stocks. I don't feel like this class really truly modernized until the last 10 years or so. That being said, man, oh man, it is the highlight of any show today. These are no longer wallering torque machines, with no speed. They are the headliners. Masterson vs. Boyd. One of these two brought us into this era. I'll let you guys argue over it. E. Two wheel drive trucks. Yet again, not really sure. A lot of the heaviest hitters in this class have been around for a long time. When I think two wheel drive pulling I think Simon Sez. Does that mean, they modernized the class, or just dominated it? Not sure. You all decide. Simon Sez Dodge is probably my pick though. F. Mini-rod. Another class like pro stocks that I feel modernized later. Them and pro stocks are your crowd favorites at a show now. The minis have gotten considerably smoother in just the past 10 years. Maybe Bauer with his contributions both on the track and with the Iron Boy sled?? Not looking for most dominate or greatest of all time. Looking for the vehicle in each class that took us from one era to another. |
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Re: The Three Eras of Pulling/ Modern Age
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Registered: 08/16/2021 Posts: 303 |
I will touch on this one because I witnessed this one growing up, and it's what got me hooked on pulling. I think Masterson vs Boyd is what drove the pro stock class forward. No need to pick sides because both are equally as responsible. It was the competition between the two families that helped modernize the class. It seems in the early 2000s the two families went back and forth pretty regularly with no clear advantage. When the Boyds swtiched over to the 8530 JDs (including current Loud and Heavy chasis) they pulled away from the Mastersons a bit. I'd argue those three tractors were what truly changed the class. Those three Green Streaks changed the class and forced others to rebuild to keep up, including the Mastersons who built new chasis to better compete with the Boyd's. The Boyd's even briefly quit the sport after having the three pro stocks because they were "bored". Very bias opinion here as I've been a huge Boyd fan my whole life. I think ultimately Mastersons vs Boyds created the modern pro stock class, but the three white JDs the Boyds put together were what changed the class as they were dominate for several years and forced people like the Mastersons to rebuild to keep up. |
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Re: The Three Eras of Pulling/ Modern Age
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Moderator Registered: 01/11/2009 Posts: 1,576 |
My reply, in bold...
A. Modifieds. Engler's "Mission Impossible" I think the chassis work they did is still being built and patterned today. Allowing these vehicles to flex the way they do is what got us to this point. Banters and Stone were just as competitive during this time, but I think if you dropped an Engler vehicle into today's mods, it would be more competitive than Banters' or Stone's. Hard to argue this one B. Super Stock Tractors. Conner's "Bad Medicine" I don't really know how to make this argument, other than saying, just go back and watch video or look at the record books. This tractor, in 1991-1993 was entirely ahead of its time. Everything about it behaves like a modern pulling vehicle. As a matter of fact, one might say this tractor is still pulling to this day. An asterisk* is appropriate to include Brent Long in the convo of "modernizing" the class. Whatever nails the Conners and Long drove in the casket of the combined class back in the day, Doug Roberts and Barnyard Bandit countersunk them. Counter-question, who started the diesel "revival?" Schramek/Simpson, or ? The RLF 460 when it ran LSS initially was a revelation for sure. C. Four Wheel Drive Trucks. This one is tough... Probably when they took essentially all the weight off the rear, and loaded it forward. Or when they moved entirely to fiberglass bodies. Jaske's Miller Light truck then maybe?? Holmans,Holmans,Holmans. Transcending eras. D. Pro Stocks. I don't feel like this class really truly modernized until the last 10 years or so. That being said, man, oh man, it is the highlight of any show today. These are no longer wallering torque machines, with no speed. They are the headliners. Masterson vs. Boyd. One of these two brought us into this era. I'll let you guys argue over it. I'm not sure what Pro Stock class you were watching in 2013, but they have been getting saltier with time and "modernization" runs prior to that date. The component Tinker Toy was a milestone in '05. RIP Don. E. Two wheel drive trucks. Yet again, not really sure. A lot of the heaviest hitters in this class have been around for a long time. When I think two wheel drive pulling I think Simon Sez. Does that mean, they modernized the class, or just dominated it? Not sure. You all decide. Simon Sez Dodge is probably my pick though. No definite opinion here, but anything out of the Humpco shop back in the day was pretty good stuff....your seismic change in the class was when the first wedge and/or tube chassis came out and began to replace the modified stock frames...who was it? F. Mini-rod. Another class like pro stocks that I feel modernized later. Them and pro stocks are your crowd favorites at a show now. The minis have gotten considerably smoother in just the past 10 years. Maybe Bauer with his contributions both on the track and with the Iron Boy sled?? No opinion here. |
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Re: The Three Eras of Pulling/ Modern Age
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Registered: 10/10/2022 Posts: 46 |
Man, I wish I had this kind of time. |
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Re: The Three Eras of Pulling/ Modern Age
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Bryan,
I thought very heavily on Brent Long and the Long Machine for the Super Stock class. The conversation topic that has always floated around Northern Missouri was that Brent Long and Brian and Ernie Conner were somehow all tied in together on the Bad Medicine tractor. Perhaps Brent had some engine work for them? I don't recall the details, and it may have all been speculation. Also worth mentioning while we are discussing Missouri pullers who like sparkplug motors. My neighbor, P.C. Long (no relation to Brent), would have been one of the earliest to convert diesel to alcohol with his "Mayor's Toy" 5500# super stock. It would have fallen more between the first era and golden era of pulling, though, in my opinion. |
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The foundation of modern pulling
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Moderator Registered: 07/06/2008 Posts: 1,347 |
The Bosse Bros. and their crossbox invention changed the game for the mod class more than any other single innovation. The Allison Team and Ralph Chamberlain, followed a few years later by Art Arfons, opened a new horizon of powerplant to the sport.
In the SS class, I'd put Ron Perry and Dave Stangle in this same tier. The Conner Bros and Brent Long may never have done what they did were it not for Stangle/Perry showing what alcohol was capable of in the early and mid 1970s. It just took another 15 years after them before the next guy built on their foundation. I would also add whomever came up with the sled design that modern sleds all build upon is in this same class of game-changers. Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 05/12/2023 01:59AM by The Original Michael. |
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Re: The Three Eras of Pulling/ Modern Age
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Moderator Registered: 03/19/2018 Posts: 662 |
Yes, Brent helped on the engine.
CP |
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Re: The Three Eras of Pulling/ Modern Age
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Registered: 10/10/2022 Posts: 46 |
Stoney Pipes did this too didn't he with his WD45? |
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Re: The Three Eras of Pulling/ Modern Age
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Fan 2
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Mods, Unlimited's: Since Modern Machine is an extension of Banter's, I would say their stuff is doing just fine in this era. Also, you may want to ask Engler about his opinion of a chasis "flexing"!
As for Prostock, Larry Shope has to be in the discussion, he was the standard for a long time. |
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Re: The Three Eras of Pulling/ Modern Age
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Registered: 03/31/2008 Posts: 762 |
In the Pro Stock class I would suggest the semi-component Diehard Deere started the evolution. |
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Re: The Three Eras of Pulling/ Modern Age
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Tomah winner
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A question I have in this thread: Who was one of the first pullers to run a wide front tractor in the super stock class? Most times around the late 70s during the cajun queen days most people ran a narrow front.
When I think of an innovator, and this isn't so much about what was brought in, but more about the driving style, was John Lorenz in the pro stock class. As I watch old videos, I saw he was really good at feathering the throttle. That actually is a big thing in the modern era since you really can't go full boar off the clutch right away these days in the pros and supers. What about Max Simpson or Don Berry (I think Don Berry)? Max ran his super stock with the Unlimiteds around 1985 in the 12,000lb class and did fairly well. BIG RIGS!? Who brought this class to the board and made it a national-level class? The dogs in that class are/were: J.R. Collins, First GN Champion Norm Larson, Greg Hibbitts, Joe Hoffa/Chris Wood, Larry Carey, Jack Kielmeyer, Dean Holicky, etc. When I think of minis, right away I think of Larry Koester. The determination he had to keep going after his accident, proved that nothing can stop somebody when they want it bad enough. The stuff he did for this sport, and make-a-wish, was unfathomable. On the other hand, some of the great innovators of minis are Glynn Guenther. I think, but not sure, that Rick Peters brought one of, if not the first hemis into a mini. Guys in the 80s like Terry Schisler already put roll cages on their minis. FWD would be Sonny's racing engines. Who in FWD first stopped running an all-steel body? What about the first to put a Hemi in? The first to run a full frame? What about the first to lift the front end and make it sit flat? Who would be the first in TWD to not run an all-steel body? My uncle pulls super farm, and when I think of that class today from the golden age to the modern age, I think of Norm Kavan, Tony Sietsema, Ken Lamping. |
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Re: The Three Eras of Pulling/ Modern Age
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Registered: 12/26/2019 Posts: 43 |
Somewhere around 1977 or 78, NTPA required a wide front.
I still have a narrow front for a D21 in the barn from when we had to change. |
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Re: The Three Eras of Pulling/ Modern Age
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OG
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B. Lol, of course it looked like a modern tractor. They finagled the rules to allow a defacto component tractor to compete against a field of tractors that weren't allowed to run them, with a 400 HP advantage to boot. Most amazing part of that era is it came down to the final event in Inwood, ON for them to win the points title against Tom Dickersons diesel with a rigid frame. Bad Medicine won a lot of pulls in that 3 year stretch but considering all the advantages it had over the rest of the tractors in the field, it underachieved big time.
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Re: The Three Eras of Pulling/ Modern Age
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Fan 2
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Alcohol SS were laughed at by many diesel pullers for spitting and popping to half track and then stopping until "Bad Medicine" came along! The laughs then went to cries to split the class. If that's not a game changer, I don't know what one is!? |
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Re: The Three Eras of Pulling/ Modern Age
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Question for OG
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What's your excuse for Donaldson's " Mean Gene " it was not a quote " defacto component " and pretty much dominated when it showed up at pulls ? |
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Re: The Three Eras of Pulling/ Modern Age
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OG
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LOL. That tractor made a few good passes here and there but it never dominated anything at the GN level. |
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Re: The Three Eras of Pulling/ Modern Age
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Dave Dann
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You have to consider the "First Age" revolutionary changes in order to eventually propel to the "Modern Age", because all the improvement 'changes' did not occur totally in the "Golden Age".
MODS - When you look at what they looked and performed like in the early '70's (first few years of NTPA) versus what a competitive Mod was in 1980, that was a decade of drastic changes, in every regard, for the Mods. (Actually can say the same for the MINIS.) The mid 70's saw the debut of the Miller Bros. tube frame to easily carry twin supercharged engines, still with plenty of moveable weight in the 5200 class. And former drag racers, Don Harness and Dan Utz debut light chassis, also with twin supercharged engines (Harness - Rodeck, Utz - Hemi) and highly ground off lugs on 30.5's to turn, at that point in time, high wheel speed, all in the 5200. That new technology of light weight chassis - be it wedge or tubular - combined with lightweight Lenco transmissions, and soon Humpco and SCS likewise specialty built competitive transmissions and chassis, quickly brought forth a very revolutionary new lightweight Mod. Tim Engler at this point had not made his GN debut. But he was very instrumental in designing and building what became a really radically new Modified, to compete in all 4 Mod classes, with the debut of Bruce Hutcherson's "Makin' Bacon Special" - wow, talk about a head turner and propelling the pulling wars horsepower curve mightily upwards. Pullers then either invested in all new current state of the art technology or left the sport, at least on the big circuit. We cannot overlook what Ralph Banter was accomplishing with his homegrown 'barn creations' engineering and machine shop and the impact his and the other chassis or Mods he was building for competitors, had upon the Mod class. However, when Engler came to the GN scene, "Mission Impossible" was very aptly named and certainly set the bar high for the competitors, of which he, too, was building for and still is. There is absolutely no question about the impact Engler has had upon the pulling sport through all 3 of M. Eitel's time periods. SS - In addition to the already stated Conner, Long, Roberts, I believe Terry Blackbourn needs to be added. He, too, during the same time period was working on (vastly) improving the reliability performance of alcohol fueled competition pulling tractors. And when he stepped up, also from the 5SS like the others mentioned, and from basically State level competition, each of their new 'heavy' SS's were head turning formidable forces to reckon with. "Bad Medicine" and "Barnyard Beast" were aptly named but Blackbourn's "Slowride" was not. When all 3 were together in the same class, you knew it was going to be a great show. And look at the impact these guys (all 4) have made through all 3 time periods and still are active today in the pulling scene. However, HyperMax has been very influential now for over half a century in diesel SS power. FWD Trucks. Yes, Holman's have ruled the roost and have some innovative ways they have made their, and others, more competitive. However, do not overlook what SCS (the Sage's) Gearbox, Randy Kliekamps's "Performance" shop and Larry Peterson's "ProFab" shop have brought not only unto this class and the other associated FWD classes, but in general, all the pulling classes. PS - Yes, Larry Shope "iron Dragon" was the longtime standard, but so were his also Ohio natives, the Linder Bros (Mike & John) JD 4320. But helping to fuel all that was the influence of, also Ohio based, Riverside Engines (REI) and their input through all 3 time periods and still very active today. TWD - The Petro Family Team has been at the helm for a very long time and even with multiple trucks still at this time. Humpco certainly made a huge impact in the early years. It seems to me that perhaps Full Pull Motorsports is the go-to today. MINIS - Not really certain who to state who really propelled this class to change. It might actually be the suppliers (builders) of certain parts. Such as Linker, Wysong, Lenco, CJ Herr & Advanced Chassis. (I'm not certain how involved Humpco, SCS has been in this class.) And the builders of various types of Hemi engines. Certainly Knox's "Sassey" engines have been very influential for a long time in the MINIS and MODS. Rick Peters perhaps has the longest Mini career of anyone and certainly has has had his fair share of new, always sharp looking tractors, over the decades. I believe the Coopshaw Family and the father & 2 sons of the Fairbanks Team and the "Thundermaker" Team (owner ?? with driver Lee Swift) helped to change the improvements in the Mini class to today's Modern Age. Of course, having sleds that the Minis could actually easily control (On the Mark and Nearpass) has definitely helped the Mini class reputable safe performance. And helping to keep all this safe, are the NTPA rules, the 'standard' of the pulling industry (that literally all pulling associations copy), despite all the chat-board criticisms thrown at them. |
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Re: The Three Eras of Pulling/ Modern Age
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Registered: 03/31/2008 Posts: 762 |
Weren’t the Mello Mini’s (Superfly & I forget the other tractor) out of CA game changers in that class? |
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Re: The Three Eras of Pulling/ Modern Age
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Tomah winner
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Also Wild Fly |
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What rules were tweaked?
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Registered: 01/07/2022 Posts: 102 |
You clearly don’t know Oliver/White tractors. Several models come stock from the factory with outboard planetaries much like the component chassis. I’m unaware of any rule at the time that said an Oliver/White with outboard planetaries are illegal. I have every rule book from 1978 to now. So what rules were tweaked or to use your words finagled? I’ll wait…….. |
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Re: What rules were tweaked?To; OH79'r
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HP
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Some are grumpy about the Rockwell ring and pinion in the rear end, even though the rules clearly stated HOUSING. Nothing said the oem stuff had to be in the transmission HOUSING, and rear end HOUSING had to be used.
And, Conners were FAR from the first ones to do it. But we must not let facts get in the way of a good grumpy pouty pants!! |
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