Speed limit class complainers July 14, 2025 10:29AM
A while back, there was a Facebook post that asked, "If you could change one rule, what would it be?" And the most common answer was, "Get rid of the speed limit." I felt I had a good response to all of them and said something like, "We already have classes with open speed limits. Take off your skirt, and go run with the big boys." This comment may have gotten a couple people upset. And let's be realistic, I knew it would. However, am I wrong? Let's think about why we have speed limits.

Is it to save everyone money? Maybe? But I know guys $30,000+, 12 mph tractors. How is the speed limit cutting the cost. The guys with the big power still seam to be consistently towards the top. Power cost money. We all know speed limit pullers that are dynoing their tractors trying to find more power. So is the speed limit helping on cost?

Speed limits make it more competitive. This statement probably has some accuracy to it. By limiting the speed you can go, it is no longer they guy who can go the fastest wins. There will always be things like setup and track conditions that will have a deciding factor. But look at what a speed limit run actually is. The beginning and middle of the run are the same for everyone. You take off and get up to speed. It is won in the last 25-50 feet. Once the sled actually starts to pull down on the tractor, you can use the power of the tractor to get the extra distance. This again goes back to the higher horsepower tractors tend to be on top. But now everyone is closer because of the speed limit. Instead of the higher horsepower guys being 30 feet out, they are only 10 feet.

So now let's get rid of the speed limit. Let's let them guys run them "Run What You Brung" style, NO Speed Limits!!!! This will be great! You can finally show them what your tractor is capable of. You get hooked up to the sled and the sled comes of the line hard and before you really get it opened up, the box is already topping off. This isn't fun. So everyone gets together and complains enough that they agree to lighten up the sled. Perfect, now you can make a monster pass. You go to the next event and make a good fast pass. The powers at be see this and decide that it is for the best to add some safety equipment if you are going to run that speed. So for next season, cages, dead throttles, killotines, etc all become required. That's fine because you are okay with being able to run them with no speed limit. However, someone in the class decides to purchase a used 466 Hot Farm motor. The engine rules are kind vague, so "technically" it fits the rules. Word get's out this happens and everyone decides this isn't fare, so we need more rules. R.P.M. and turbo limits get put in place. So now 2 events in, someone is dominating and everyone "knows" he is cheating. So now we need to find someone to tech these machines. This takes till the end of next season. The next season out, a couple more guys have stepped up there game and now can compete, so now there are 4-5 tractors that dominate and the other guys are not having fun anymore. There always 20+ feet back. Half those guys quit and the other have decide that to make it fare, there should be a speed limit again.

Is that an exaggeration, possibly. But at the end of the day, my statement holds true, "Take of your skirt and go play with the big boys". We have a bunch of no speed limit classes already. If you want to run then, do it. Don't tell me they cost too much. Because removing the speed limit on a class would make them unaffordable. Yes, we live in a world where people talk about million dollar ProStocks. But something like a ProStock isn't meant to be affordable by everyone.

Now, this is usually about the time everyone is going to tell me that is must be nice to have the money. The truth is, I pull what gives me the most for what I can afford. My son and I run 4cyl minis and my wife runs a SuperMod Tractor(Snowmobile engine powered machine). Why? Because I want NO SPEED LIMIT! I want to be able to run to the max of the tractor I am driving. My 3 tractors and enclosed trailer together, is cheaper then most farm class tractors. But it is what I can afford.

If you can afford a farm class tractor and want something that had no speed limit, there are already classes and things you can run that don't have a speed limit. Stop asking to take the speed limit away. The only thing that will do is make everyone spend a bunch of money and ruin the class. And before you tell me that you don't want to run a mini or something other than a big tractor, that's fine. But don't expect everyone to change for you.

I will end with this. To everyone running a speed limit class. My son, who isn't old enough to have a drivers license, runs 20-25 mph at an event and has fun doing it. There are options to go faster.

Rant over.
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Re: Speed limit class complainers July 14, 2025 12:39PM
Should still have scatter blankets around Bell housings should still wear fire suits and helmets, no matter what RPM no matter what speed limit.
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There is no beginner classes July 14, 2025 03:51PM
There are people who want to win or quit going.Super Farm was created as a stepping stone to ProStock and since Super Farm started there has been 4.1,Lt Pro,and now 5.0 and the same people go to the NFMS every year in Super Farm or as it's been called for years the Firestone class since you can read the name on the rear tires the whole pass. Quit giving them a national stage and they will advance. LLSS should be at NFMS if Super Farm is allowed.
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Re: Speed limit class complainers July 14, 2025 01:31PM
Geographically there's to many pulls at too many places for the "go run with the big boys" mindset to ever work
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Re: Speed limit class complainers July 15, 2025 01:52AM
Classes without speed limits get out of hand fast. There will always be a place for speed limit classes to keep people coming to pulls. Without starter classes like MPH classes the sport will slowly dies I feel like.
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Re: Speed limit class complainers July 15, 2025 10:32PM
Having HP limits for each class and actually checking them on a PTO dyno keeps the spending in check.
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Thankful July 17, 2025 12:18AM
I personally pull speed limit pulls in my local area and am very thankful they are offered. It allows me to participate in a sport I absolutely love and stay within my budget. Our pulls are generally very competitive and there is a lot of camaraderie amongst the pullers. It makes for a very enjoyable experience. I very much enjoy watching the "big boys" put on a show, but am glad I get to participate in some capacity at a lower level. Our class has seen several young pullers start in mph then move on to bigger faster classes, thus supporting the sport we all love. Without the slower classes, would they have made the jump into a high dollar tractor when they were starting out........?
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Re: Thankful July 17, 2025 03:54AM
I try to get one pull in each year. This year it was a 3 mph stock farm pull with a Farmall 350 I just bought. I pulled just the way I bought it. No slinging weights and hoping it held together like with our Hot Farm. Took a lot of friendly harassing running a red one.
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Re: Thankful July 17, 2025 04:02AM
The last comments are awesome. And right to the point of y mph classes are important. We run a 4,6,8 and now added a 15 mph class at our fair and they are by far the highest numbered classes which is great to see! And places like southeast MN and Wisconsin the bigger groups like tri state have a 12 mph class and an 18 I believe that just add to there shows. Hopefully pulling keeps trending that way!
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Re: Thankful July 17, 2025 05:55AM
I am not saying there isn't a place for MPH classes. But guys keep asking to remove the speed limit. Or raise the speed limit. That isn't what it is meant for. You really want to see it be an "Entry" level class, keep them under 10 mph, and have a strict RPM limit and tire rule. Everyone keeps talking about entry level class. How much should an entry level class cost? What's the dollar amount that makes a class affordable?
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Re: Speed limit class complainers July 17, 2025 10:10AM
Definitely need mph limits in entry classes. I used to run them all the time and it was alot of fun and was definitely a driver class not a hp class. As weight and cubic inches go up so should the mph but also shouldn't be higher than 10mph for entry level then a 15-20mph for a mid budget build. And if you think regulating a tractor to hp by use of a dyno you are very blind. Those pto dynos are very easy to cheat. I have eventually moved on to ntpa classes now not bc I wanted to go faster but bc the fairs around me stop having the mph classes and now just go with ntpa caliber style classes.
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