Wednesday National Farm Machinery Show 2004 (originally posted February 14 2004)

Published January 26, 2009 01:52AM, by Jake MorganViewed: 2711 times

Wednesday Night NFMS

This is one of the few can’t miss events in truck and tractor pulling at there is always something exciting on tap. The best of the best is an understatement for this event. From tractors, to fans, to track crew, to announcing, and everything in between this is what pulling is all about.

17,000 screaming fans packed tight around an arena to watch a tractor spin the tires and roar down the track does it get any better than this?

Diesel Superstock are set to kick off the show:

Esdon Lehn and Redline Fever Too starts on the right side of the track, picks the front a few inches off the ground and the IH roars out near the sand pile. Great pass for the veteran. Esdon runs the Puller 2000 tires this year instead of the good old Louisville single cut tires. 228.04 is the mark to beat.
Still beautiful after quite a few years, the Stray Horse of Dave Henderson starts in Esdons tracks right of center and the White IH 1066 stands up tall and hooks up quick with the single cut tires. Dave pedals the brake twice to keep the binder on the straight and narrow and carries the frontend high out to 241.77 awesome run.
Tim Howell and the brand new Ryans Toy 2 on the line. Right of center like the other two hooks. I’ll try and get a picture up of this tonight, but think of the Big Toy, formally Wild Thing, very similar in appearance. It’s a component tractor, an MX 270 and he has some problems and can’t get the tractor to light. He will drop. He had clutch problems on his test hook this afternoon.
Esdon Lehns distance get revised to 238.09.
The original Ryans Toy backs to the sled with Larry Roberts behind the wheel. Note: It’s announced that Ryans Toy 2 is broke and won’t be able to make a pass. Larry builds the boost on the IH Magmum. Right of center for Larry, the motor never comes to life the way Larry would like. Not sure if the gear was too tall, or if the motor just wasn’t there tonight for the IH and Larry takes the tractor out to .
AC fans this is your only chance to cheer in this class Hoe Handle, Jeff Englehart has to stab the right brake hard and the AC gets bouncing on him and it's not a smooth pass but the AC is still sounding stong and gets 203.77.
Neil Gettinger and the Up’n Atom give the John Deere fans a chance to yell. I talked with Loren today and the tractor doesn’t have the head on it it should but the Deere still sounds great today. The Puller 2000’s don’t hook into the track real quick but the Deere powers out to 221.51.
Right of center for Matt Goodwin and the Intimidator. Single cut tires providing the bite, and the boost starts to build, the motor sound pretty crisp and tight, and the tractor runs well. Matt never seems to get the ground speed up on the IH and spins out with power to spare at 217.12.
Dave Henderson's pass is looking more and more impressive all the time.
Jay Fuqua and the new component Tennessee Tracks on the line. The track looks very similar to the Old tracks but it sports a new Full Pull Motorsports chassis. Jay has single cuts on the scarlet red IH3688. Right of center for Jay. The tractor never locks into the track, the motor runs real strong for Jay, but the front barely seems to pick off of the ground. Jay moves into the number three spot for now at 226.95.
Dennis Goodwin moves a little toward the center of the track on the Magnum Force. The tractor has seen the winners circle before and should be a tough. Single cut tires on the component super, green flags but Dennis needs a little more heat in the motor to keep it lit. After two more squirts of ether it starts to come around. From right to left and a very strong pass. The front comes up and Dennis pedals the right brake and has a very good pass out to 229.19. Dennis shows great power and pushes his way into the third spot.
Over half a dozen tractor left and the top 6 make it to the finals, this is a tight class.
John Deere fans here is another green one to root for, Dick Bonner and the JD Express. Pullers 2000’s on board, right of center, and the clutch locks in pretty early as the big block deere hops hard out of the hole, the setup isn't quite right and the motors breaths heavy out the breathers. The Deere comes up short tonight at 213.32. The bugs still aren’t work out of the tractor as it has much more ability than it showed today. Dick is making progress and he’ll get it right and when he does it should be real tough to beat.
Kent Payne and the Rooster Cruzier backs to the sled. If you’ve never looked under the hood of the Rooster you should try and get a peek at one of the biggest injection pumps you’ll ever see on a tractor. Kent lines up in the center of the track, the engine fires, the chain tightens, flags go green. Kent stands the stock chassis up tall and the motor runs strong. The tractor heads toward the left side of the track and Kent makes a strong showing at 226.10.
Jerry Van Dorpe, and the Screamin’ Demon II on deck. Right of center, anybody noticing a theme starting here, yeah, it’s the usual at the NFMS right side of the track. The Demon heads left on Jerry, he gets on the brakes to keep it in line and spins out 219.36.
Hans Boxler Sr. in the seat of the great looking IH. Boxlers can be one of the stongest tractors in the country and has a great shot at making the Saturday show. Boxlers gave the puller 2000 tires a completely new look; the shoulders of the tires are completely gone. A very round profile on the tire. Boxlers have problems and drop down and see if they can get the problems fixed.
Some of the nicest people in pulling back to the sled, the Blagraves. Stan’s name shows on the scoreboard, they both are very capable drivers and this tractor is always one to watch. Steve is actually the one doing the driving tonight, a very strong pass at 226.17. Probably good enough to make the finals for the extremely clean Red Horse tractor.
Original Fever on the line, single cuts for this ride. Esdon is dead center on the track, Esdon just bends the throttle over on the fever tonight. The RPM just scream out of the hole. The single cut tires hook up fast and moves the Blagrave team to the bubble with a pass of 227.93.
John Deere fans this is one to watch, Smokin Hot Deere, Jeff Demers on board. Just a hair left of center for Jeff, the old single cuts tires bite, and the nose of the deere heads skyward. The tractor is hooked into the track but never get the ground speed and spins out well short 213.49.
Boxlers back to the sled for the final hook of the class. Can The Special push the Red Horse out of the show or will the Texas based Red Horse move on to fight another day. The motor is alive and running this go-round for the Boxlers. The deep rumbling engine needs some heat, completely different sound than any of the other tractor in the class, loud and deep. It smooths out and just sounds mean. The tires hook to the clay and Sr. has to battle the brakes the entire pass. The tractor wants to head left and the front tires are off the ground and Sr. does a great driving job to keep it straight, all the braking hurts him and he comes up short 218.20. Tires looked a little soft.

Non-component fans cheer as the old stock chassis can still hook and get the power to the clay.

Mods are next

Ron Hart doing the driving on driving on Dave Richardsons Kodiak tractor, left of center and the tractor hops. Ron gets out of the throttle and drops the test hook.
Next up is Joe Eder, nothing more needs to be said but dominant at indoor pulls. Joe heads from right to left. He rides the brakes hard and has one cylinder on the right front motor that doesn’t want to run but he still easily makes it to the sand pile and to 245.54.
Bill Voreis and American thunder is on the line. Center of the track for the mod, Bill drops the hammer and the four wedge motors come to life. Bill is headed to the sand pile, nice strong run for Bill and he eases out of the throttle early, he stops short of the sand and could have easily made it deep into the pile. Class is still unofficial.
Richard Ziegler has got the twin stair stepped Allison in the center of the track. The old v-12’s sound crisp, Richard has to ride the right brake hard and has to back out of the throttle at 175 feet he gets back in it but the damage is done and he comes to a stop at 214.40. He had great ground speed and looking like he was going out but sometimes the track gets the better of you.
Middle of the track for Bob Jostock and the wild child, the tractor wants to pull hard to the left but Bob drives it like a vetran and out past 242 for a fullpull.
Steve Bunnage and the transverse mounted 4-hemi tractor backs to the sled. Center of the track, and heading toward the left hand corner. Nice smooth pass as the tractor hooks up and glides down the track. The ground speed just isn’t there, and a few cylinders don’t want to give there all and steve is off the pace at 216.43.
I hear the distinctive roar of Allison in the back ground, Tom Bollinger and Top Gun, very capable side by side allisons. Just right of center and heading toward the right hand sideline Tom makes a nice pass out to 231.47.
Three Veney hemis on the line, and Ken Veney behind the wheel of the Funny Farmall. Righthand side of the track, and my seat starts to vibrate as he lights the motors up. Front end up, seats rattling and just amazing horsepower out of three motors. He won’t make the pulloff at 235.72 but it’s still and impressive pass.
Three more Veney motors hook to the sled as Jack Kielmeyer and double trouble are set to do battle. Right of center and Jack drops the hammer, he pulls back on the throttle and then just lays on it. It’s more than the blower on the second motor can take, a huge burst of air, a flash of blue flame, and the mod just shuts down at 99.39. Not sure what the problem was, sounded like he lifted a blower but they all seemed to be intact. burst plate?
Dirtslinger and Bill Leischner right of center and old 10 ply tires on for a change. The ten plys seem to hook to the track tonight, Bill is smooth as silk and shoots a laser line right of center. Bill easily parks it in the sand pile, those ten ply stll have some life in them.
More allisons, and the beautiful money pit tractor. Only two of the three big Allison are on board today, but it doesn’t lack for power. Strong run but short at 219.75.
Don Nelson and the Texas Bullwhip, one DT466 and two v-8 chevys. Right of center for the purple mod. The 466 winds up the turbos and builds boost and then the v-8’s hammer in. Don has one of the best passes I’ve seen him make, the motors all seem to want to work together today, he heads hard for the left hand chalk at 200 feet and powers his way out to 238.11.
Bob Cole and the Bandit come to the sled. I get to talk with these characters all summer on the NYS circuit and ESP and they are the nicest bunch of screwballs I’ve meet in my life, just real good people. First run on four motors, they carry four all summer but only run three on the state circuit. The left hand chalk creeps up on Bob and he has to ride the brake, still a strong run for the four chevies at 217.49. Nice pass for some real nice people.
Jerry Stewart and the potent Down and Dirty on the line. Jerry heads hard to the left and straight for the media area. He’s out of bounds and keeps the hammer down, a foot from concrete floor with the rear tire, and he finally stops well out of bounds on the left hand side. Jerry went out of bounds at 175 feet and stayed with it all the way out to 215 feet, not the best decision for the Paris TN native.

Pulloff time in the Mod class.

Joe Eder and the Finish Line Express is up first. He should set a pretty tough mark to beat. Left of center and down the left hand sideline for the hemi powered mod, yeh it’s a hemi. It’s the sand pile again for Joe. The right front motor still had a hole that didn’t want to fire but it didn’t seem to matter much tonight 241.00. Joe won an unlimited hook with 4 motor this summer and it's easy to see why, he it one top of his game.
American thunder tries to put a chevy powered tractor up there ahead of the hemis. Tough job but if anyone is up to the task its Bill. Center of the track and heading toward the left corner great pass but just not up to task, 227.50 for Bill.
Hammer down, and abuse it, that's the best way to describe Bob Jostock’s driving style. Right of center again for Bob. He hammers it and has a real strong run, right of center for the unpainted silver fendered mod. Second place so far at 235.33.
The dirtslinger is set to round out the class. Right of center and the only 10 ply tires in the group. Bill has a small hop in the beginning of his hook and is running on three out of four motor, three arias are strong but not stong enough in this class of tractors at 204.71.

Great mod class and Joe Eder continues his winter domination. Very efficient pull so far but that is nothing new for this track crew.

Prostock Time

Monte McCoy and Dusk till dawn start the class off. Right of center and single cuts on the 6030 deere. Monte has the front up and pedals the brake once to keep the big block in line. Too much gear for the deere today and monte snuffs it at 224.54. He turns the pull down.
Palmers nice looking white stripe 966 is down on cubes but still makes some serious horses. The Red Avenger's single cut tires bite and the front eases up. Nice pass but another Prostock gets snuffed out at 210.26.
Sled is set tight and the track is going to make them work if they keep this sled setting.
Kevin Masterson and the River Rat does what the other two can’t, he spins out. The big deere just sounded strong tonight and takes the lead at 223.69.
Jeff Sapp tries his hand at the Prostock class. A beautiful Tantrum built tractor chirps the turbo with a gear too tall and Jeff’s night is over early at 138.85.
230 is set and the fullpull line.
Right of center for the very little New Generation Plus of the Lemke family. Robby doing the driving, it may be little in stature but it never pulls like it’s little, and tonight is no exception, Robby spins out and uses every last horse at 224.68.
Monte McCoy is back for another go round. He leaned back the water for the second pass and the motor runs strong but Monte comes up eight feet short of his initial pass at 216.12. The gamble didn’t pay off for Monte this time around.
The picture perfect Green Exteme tractor on the line. Mike Sarver doing the driving tonight, single cuts and the Deere just screams. RPM like mad, and the tractor just quits. Not sure if something in the rear let go or if it was a turbo but it ends the Sarvers night.
Kraig Wileman and another clean deere on the line Diehard Deere 2. These tractors are as much show pieces as they are engineering marvels. The single cut tires on the Diehard hook up quick and he’s off to the races, the motor immediately starts to flutter on the 7820 and Kraig shuts it down and coast to 107.40. The motor started to run away on Kraig t the end of his run but he quickly killed it and he get to drop to the nd of the class. Good call by the officials, and I hope they can et the deere fixed in time.

Mike Boyd and Grean Streak II on the line. Dead center of the track for the new big block deere. Single cut tires and the RPM are unreal. Mike Boyd pulls back on the throttle probably after looking at the tach. I didn’t even think the tractor was in gear with the R’s it was building but it was, maybe 2 gears? Mike decides to build boost again and see if she will hold together at that RPM. It hooks and it holds together. Awesome display of horsepower, just impressive to say the least. The new riverside engine is on tonight. Mike just screams out to 232.50 with a great wheel standing pass. It is only one pass, and the first pass ever on that tractor but the bar may have just been set a little higher in the Pro class. I have a feeling that pass would have been tough to beat if it was in the diesel Superstock class.
On a side note Bobby Sarver wondered past and said they took out a charger on their tractor. Tough break for the Sarver family, they are some of the toughest competition in the class and I always enjoy watching that tractor run.
Slight hose repair after Boyds pass and Jason Miller and the Red Mule are backing up to the sled. Jaosn Miller loves Louisville and there good reason for it he is one tough competitor. The mule roars and Jason’s tractor settle in and just plows it way out to 230.00. Just enough for a fullpull and now we have a classic pulloff of Red versus green, who else will join them.
Chris Cain has got as good a shot as anyone. The Aces Wild is one of the stronger binder in the country. He stands it up and has a perfect pass, but seems to have more power than wheel speed. The tall lug single cuts bite but Chris never gets the ground speed up and falls short at 208.26.
Mickey Shorter and the Buck Eater give the left hand side of the starting line a shot. The Big buck doesn’t want to come to life and Mickey get out of it at 50 feet. He gets towed back to the starting line to give it another go. The Buck decides to go this go round but Mickey gets bucking around and bouncing and it hurts him as he falls off the pace at 204.62.
Tom Harmon and the Sneaky Snake start in the center of the track. Tom has the double cuts on the snake. Tom is pushing the Snake hard and it just won’t take it, maybe a turbo but no matter what the problem it’s a tough brake for Tom at 119.56.
Steve Wischmeier and the Barely Gettin By doesn’t want to get left out of the fun. Steve’s single cuts dig in and he parks the JD 4450 on the wheelie bars for about 200 feet. Steve doesn’t give up until every horse is used and he spins out at 231.21. Picture perfect and good enough for the pulloff.
Dick Bonner and the Unforgiven are up. Dick has been down the track once tonight on his Super and it pays off with a nice pass. He falls 20 feet short of the leader cone but they announce 229.42. Not sure what is going on, it was a good run but nowhere near the fullpull line. We will see if they double check the distance.
Meanwhile Gary Brinkmeier takes the fuelish pleasure on a S shaped pass out to 222.00. He started right headed left and the headed back to the right good power but not enough distance.
Kraig Wileman gets to the track in the nick of time. Not sure if the Deere is going to run but its Louisville and you’ve got to let it all hang out. Kraig get the Deere fired up and tightens the chain. Green flags, and a little ticking in the motor, something still isn’t right, and it build boost and snuffs. Kraig stays with it and he builds boost a little slower this time and at looks like it’s going to light and the clutch engages and starts to roll but it quickly snuffs out again tough luck for the Wileman family.

Pulloff Time in the Prostock class.

Green Steak II is up first. Mike makes it look easy. He starts out just right of center and the streak stands up tall and roars out to 236.47. Mike makes it look like they lightened up the sled.
Jason Miller has got a tough road to hoe. Jason is left of center, six feet from the left hand line. The Binder is on kill and when that happens it’s tough to beat. Front tires in the air, RPM screaming, and sand getting closer and closer Jason spins out with power to spare and easily outpaces the streak II and all the way out to 240.28.
They may have changed gears on the sled to put on a great final and if they did it was a perfect decision.
Steve Wischmeier stands it up tall and is primed to put green on top. He has to pedal the left brake hard to keep in between the chalk and the deere just can’t hold the tall gear and the left brake at the same time and it falls under the charger at 218.20. Tough luck but he’ll be right there on Saturday night.

Excellent pass by Miller to win the class, and great session of pulling to kick off the show. Another perfect night in Louisville. So you all tomorrow. Sorry about the poor spelling and lack of proof reading but I'm flying by the seat of my pants.

Jake Morgan
Owner, PULLOFF.COM
Independent Pulling News

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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/26/2009 01:53AM by Jake Morgan.

Wednesday National Farm Machinery Show 2004 (originally posted February 14 2004)

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