Tractor Pulling at Forts Pond in Pelion SC 5-22-10

I went to the tractor pull last Saturday and was a little apprehensive over pulling by National rules. Mainly due to having to slow my tractor down to pull Division 3. Over the past few years pulling here in SC and GA I have come to think there might be something to National rules. I have been in Super classes where the only thing that determined where you finished was how much money you spent on your motor. I have competed against $24000.00 engines with my little motor and won some of the pulls. However, mostly had my butt spanked. I had too much tractor to pull stock or at least I did not want to move down to stock and beat up on them. It is not any fun when the pull is not competitive. It is not fair to take a 150 Hp engine and pull against 80 to 120 Hp engines and they really don't have a chance of catching you. When money is the determining factor the time you get a motor built someone else will have a bigger motor in a couple of months and the circle never ends, round and round we go!! I do not want to be on the merry go round........
Forts Pond has a Division 1 class that is stock out of the field, a Division 2 class that is what we have been calling "stock", A Division 3 class that is stock RPM + 20 percent and a 7 mph limit. Division 4 is an open class 3000 RPM limit ,any gear no speed limit. So there is something for everyone and I do like Division 3.
I got 1 first place finish and 2 second place finishes. I was competitive in each class. I have been pulling 6000,6500,7000 lb classes because I could not compete any higher that this with the tractors that pull 7500 lb and above. Some of those tractors were 250 to 400 Hp with 6 cylinder engines and my 4 cylinder 150 HP engine just was not enough! I think now I can rethink the classes I am going to pull next time and maybe pull 7000, 7500,8500lb Div 3. My tractor pulled a lot better at 7000 on Saturday 286.19 feet vs 251.51 ft in 6500lb.
There are a lot of Antique Tractor Pulling clubs here in SC . Some of these clubs formed because they did not like the rules where they were pulling so they started there own club. Nothing wrong with that! However, some of these clubs had a lot of pullers and those pullers have left and now they are down to 5 to 15 tractors per pull where they used to have 30 to 50 per pull. It is mostly because someone has built tractors to win at any cost and there are super tractors pulling in stock classes and running the stock people off. There are a lot of pullers that don not want to spend any money to build Hp. They just want to go have fun and be competitive. But, The guy who has to win has spent the money to win and is probably pulling a div 3 tractor in a div 2 class or a div 4 tractor in a div 3 class. The competition has decided to stay home since there is no chance of them winning.
I hope Forts Pond can build a pull where there will be 80 to 100 tractors there to pull. I think it has the potential to accomplish this goal.
Larry there is a place for orange tractors and John bring that IH of yours I think you will be suprised

Eric Benton, A new place to pull, Come on and bring your tractor!!!