What is tractor pulling?

Tractor pulls are a very popular event in rural areas. This most rural of motor sports is more exciting than the uninitiated would suspect, with roaring tractor engines poring smoke and wheels kicking up dirt as they strain against their loads.

The origins of tractor pulling date back to the 1800s or even before. All pulling work at that time was done by horses or oxen, and farmers would often boast about a particularly strong team. Challenges would be set up, and often money was wagered. One method used was to take a barn door, lay it flat on the ground, and hitch the team to it. One by one people would jump on the door as the team dragged it. The horse, ox, or team who pulled the most people farthest would be judged the strongest. Events of this nature involving horses are still held today.

It was in the 1930s that pulling events with motorized tractors first began becoming popular and tractor pulling events began appearing sporadically in the Midwest. However, it was not until the post-WWII era that the sport really began taking off. Unfortunately, at this time, there was no uniform set of rules for tractor pulls. They varied from state to state, county to county, and even individual event to individual event, so no competitors really had no idea what they would be facing beforehand. In 1969, tractor pulling enthusiasts from eight states got together and codified an uniform rule book, and created the National Tractor Pulling Association. Early in the sport, tractors in use were stock utilitarian farm vehicles, in accordance with the motto, "Pull on Sunday, plow on Monday". Into the 1970s, the only two classes were stock (factory spec tractors), and modified, modifieds being stock tractor chassis with non-tractor engines mounted in them.

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The invention of the cross-box allowing two or more engines, was the first great technological revolution in tractor pulling. Before long, tractors mounting up to seven engines became commonplace. In the 1980s, gas turbine or jet engines began appearing on competition tractors. Other types of motors that have seen use are surplus gasoline engines from old tanks and even powerful radial aircraft engines from vintage warbirds! The old motto "Pull on Sunday, plow on Monday" is no longer very applicable to the highly complex and specialized technological "race" machines used in today's tractor pulls.

Of course, the center of any tractor pull is the sled. Today's sleds use gearing to slowly push forward weights of up to 32 tons from where their starting positions directly over the sled's axles, causing the sled to increasingly dig into the ground until the tractor can't pull any further against the friction.