February 28, 2006
Pullers and Friends,
It doesn't seem possible that February is over. The 2006 pulling season is fast approaching. Tech day has been set for Saturday, May 6, 2006, at 10:00 a.m. at the Morgan County Fairgrounds in Brush, Colorado. Just a reminder that the board voted to assign 5 points for Tech Day. You do not have to have your vehicle there, but you must be present to receive these points.
Membership dues need to be paid. If you haven't pad, now would be a good time to get that done. Glen Lussetto mailed our rule books to all paid members. Thank you, Glen, for all of your hard work getting the rule books completed and mailed to the members.
This year to help promote the Association, I attended the Colorado Farm Show at Island Grove in Greeley, Colorado, on January 24-26. This was a chance for us to hand out pull schedules, contracts and rule books to anyone interested. I had a lot of fun those three days and enjoyed meeting the fans and answering questions about the Association and the events that we would be participating at this coming year. Thanks to Nicole and Kyle for helping. Kyle was good for a few laughs and did a wonderful job passing out schedules and letting people know where we will be this summer.
The 2006 schedules just keeps growing. We will be going back to Calhan, Colorado, to the El Paso County Fair on July 23, 2006. The pull in Oberlin, Kansas, on August 12, 2006, is now confirmed. As more dates are confirmed, I will keep you posted.
During February, Jack W. was invited to attend the National Truck & Tractor Pulls in Louisville, Kentucky. What an honor!
Again this year, Pete, Linda, Dan, Daniel and I went to California for four hooks in the West Coast Nationals Power Pulling Series with the Pacific Tractor Pullers Association. We left Colorado on Thursday evening, February 2, due to the weather we took the southern route through New Mexico and Arizona. We met up with the Lussetto's in Barstow on Friday afternoon and made it to Santa Maria that evening. The first hook was in Santa Maria, on Saturday, February 4, and the weather was wonderful! Pete and Linda had a few problems (shelled motor!) during the 5,800 Modified Class, but still managed to place 2nd and 7th. However, they were not able to compete in the 7200 Modified Class. Daniel in his first hook at sea level finished 1st in the two-wheel drive class.
Pete and Linda flew home on Sunday, they were supposed to fly back to California the next Friday in time for Bakersfield. As everyone knows, Linda is a real competitor and the thought of being without a tractor for three pulls was more than she could handle. Pete and Linda, with a short block loaded in the back of Greg's mini-van, started out for California on Wednesday. We caught up with them in Bakersfield on Friday morning, and by that evening, two tractors were just about ready to compete again. Saturday afternoon, we headed to the Bakersfield Speedway for another night of fun in the sun (did I tell you the weather was beautiful?). This time, Pete and Linda were able to compete in both classes. They were 5th and 8th in the Modified class and 7th and 11th in the 7200 Modified class. Daniel had continued good luck and finished 2nd in the two-wheel drive class.
The last two pulls in the series were in Tulare at the World Ag Expo. There were press conferences and photo shoots to promote the final pulls in the series. This year, Claas tractors brought over a twin engine modified tractor from Germany called Green Monster. This tractor has two Allison Aircraft engines and is a show stopper. We were able to visit with the four members of the team, only one spoke English. Greg Lussetto flew to California on Tuesday afternoon in time for the pull. Again, everyone had a strong night with Greg and Linda finishing 2nd and 5th in the 5800 Modified class and 3rd and 5th in the 7200 Modified class. Daniel finished 3rd in the two-wheel drive class.
At last, the final night, points for the four-pull series were heating up. Greg and Linda were 3rd and 4th in the 5800 Modified class and Daniel was leading the two-wheel drive class. Wednesday afternoon, the weather in sunny California changed to COLD! It was 40 degrees, but the moisture in the air made it seem like 0. We thought we were back home. Greg and Linda finished 4th and 7th in the 5800 Modified class and 5th and 7th in the 7200 Modified class. They finished 3rd and 4th in the points in the 5800 Modified class. Daniel finished 2nd and was able to hold on to the points in the two-wheel drive class. What a night! We had a wonderful two weeks in California, but all good things must come to an end, and we arrived back home to 0 degree weather on Saturday night.
The Pacific Tractor Pullers have nine classes of vehicles, and I would encourage anyone from our association who wants a "winter fix" to join us next year. It is a wonderful experience to meet new pullers and to have the chance to compete against some excellent pullers. In the two-wheel drive class, we competed against Frank Woelk (Special Delivery) and Brad Campbell (Grandpa's Toy). These two are true competitors and a lot of fun to compete against because you know that it isn't going to easy to beat them.
Don't forget to get your membership dues in the mail and mark May 6, 2006, on your calendars for Tech Day.
Sincerely,
Delene
