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Tunica MS 2007, Bigger and Better by Sherry Linville Seeing is believing! 1071 hooks at the Southern Winter Nationals in Tunica, Mississippi November 29-December 1, 2007! Hard to believe an antique tractor pull could REALLY have over a 1,000 hooks? The Southern Winter Nationals held in Tunica, Mississippi logged 1,071 hooks in their eighth annual three day event. This event hosted by the Mean Green Pulling Team along with The Fitz Hotel/Casino (formerly Fitzgerald’s) has built a reputation as the largest national antique tractor pulling event in the country and probably the world. Speculation prior to the pull was that numbers might be down for the first time in the pull’s history. As tractors continued to roll in during the first day of the event when lighter classes were slated, Mean Green members adjusted their thinking and started speculating on how many over their 2006 record they would see. When the dust settled, their total exceeded expectations with the more than 166 than the year before. 2007 was the second year for the Mean Green to spread their Southern Winter Nationals over three days. Unless you have actually been involved in a pull of this magnitude, you can’t imagine the number of man hours involved. G.R. Harden, president of the Mean Green Pulling Team, arrived on Tuesday before the Thursday kick off of the pull to make sure the track, one of the key ingredients of a tractor pull, was at its best. Pullers agreed that this year’s track was the best they had encountered at Tunica. The experienced men who maintained the track did an incredible job as always in keeping the track groomed and minimizing delays. When the last hook of each day finished, the reworking of the track for the next day’s pull commenced. Members of the Mean Green Pulling Team work hard so pullers from all over the country can come and play hard. Most local and regional pulling clubs have wound up their seasons of outdoor pulling as autumn shifts to winter. The Southern Winter Nationals provides a place to come and compete against some of the best tractors in America. Pullers realize that finishing in the top ten in a class of 30, 40 or even 50 tractors at Tunica warrants some pretty special bragging rights! The southern hospitality of the club is one of the draws for return pullers. Mean Green recognizes that pullers make a sacrifice to attend their Tunica, Mississippi pull with the cost of fuel, food and lodging and their goal is to make competitors welcome. One puller said he gave up going to two other pulls to allow his budget to include the trip to Tunica. Several other pullers mentioned that they start budgeting for the December pull right after the first of the year. Pullers with tractors in tow are not the only ones who have made the Southern Winter Nationals an annual event. Groups of pullers from the northwest and from the extreme northeast flew to Memphis in late November to watch and learn (and have a good time). Members of a club in Washington State have made the trip to Tunica on a couple of previous occasions. This year they had one of their own members pulling on the track which increased their excitement. Members of the Columbia Basin Antique Machinery Association got to cheer on one of their own as Mark Valentine of Othello, Washington hooked his 1930 Case L in their excitement. Members of the Columbia Basin Antique Machinery Association got to cheer on one of their own as Mark Valentine of Othello, Washington hooked his 1930 Case L in several classes. Valentine and his wife Diane had hauled their tractor from their home in time to pull in USAP’s Thanksgiving Pull the weekend prior to Tunica. The Valentines had logged over 3400 miles when they arrived at the three day event in Mississippi. They were joined by seven other members of their home pulling club who flew in to enjoy the pull with an the added bonus of seeing a fellow club member get to pull. Another group from the other side of the U.S. has made the Southern Winter Nationals an annual event as they journeyed from the extreme northwest of the country. Some of these men have only missed one or two pulls out of all of Tunica’s history. Antique tractor pullers from Massachusetts and New Hampshire made the trip to experience the distinctive vintage tractor pulling that takes place in Battle Arena the weekend after Thanksgiving. These guys are facing a long winter before their next pulling season when they get home but they will have fed their pulling habit as they acted as spectators for three days and saw over a 1,000 hooks. Being competitive in antique tractor pulling is an amazing combination of good vintage machines; driver skill at reading the track, balancing the weights and using the correct gear; and an often unexplained case of luck. Veteran pullers are aware that the best plan in the world for when their hook comes around can come in second to a someone who got lucky! That is one of the aspects of the sport that keep it interesting because when the class starts, the winner is not "predetermined". The Mean Green sled, Jeff Hale’s Kentucky Outlaw and two of Al Mahnke’s sleds all saw action during the three day event. The light weight modified classes started on Thursday using Mahnke’s smaller sled and the Kentucky Outlaw. The Mean Green sled took to the track as the heavier weight classes lined up. The same trio of sleds worked the track on Friday for the Farm Stock classes. Saturday sled problems interrupted the flow of the King of the Hill and Mahnke’s bigger sled replaced the Mean Green sled to finish out the day. Not content to run just the classes scheduled, Mean Green gave some pullers an added opportunity to hook while in Tunica. Three open classes were added on Friday evening when it was obvious that only one sled would be occupied for a last class. For the pullers this was a bonus since they had anticipated only being able to pull on Thursday. Being flexible enough to change has had to be the watch word for the club as they host such a diverse group of vintage pulling tractors at the Southern Winter Nationals. The large class of 6500 Farm Stock I took longer than anticipated when the Oliver Jeff Meyer of Ste. Genevieve, Missouri finished up its hook in two pieces. When the frame broke in two, quick reflexes and wheelie bars prevented any injury to the driver. The engine was still running strong but had run "aground". A fork lift and several pullers were needed to get the tractor off the track to allow the class to continue. That bit of excitement was a reminder to everyone that the tractors are "antiques" which work under a lot of stress. Safety measures in antique tractor pulling are definitely for everyone’s benefit. (Writer’s note: Jeff’s Oliver happens to be the only tractor I have every pulled. Jeff tried to convince me [and others] that my bouncing the front end hard over seven years ago was what led to the break. I accept full responsibility but I am curious about how many times Jeff has set her down hard! I think I had better stick to writing about tractors and not breaking them!) Always popular to pullers and spectators are the King of the Hill classes at Tunica. In 2007 the KOH 4250 winner was Jr. Coe for a second year in a row. He sealed the win in spades by winning on both tracks with his two Olivers. He condeded victory to his wife’s tractor. In the 7250 Butch Wood Memorial KOH the class was divided differently than in past years. Instead of setting John Deeres against all other types of tractors, the competition was more evenly divided by having registered tractors with even numbers pulling on one track and odd numbered tractors taking the other track. The Mean Green sled encountered problems that necessitated Mahnke’s bigger sled taking over the finish of the KOH class. Winners of each track were in a double pull off pulling on both tracks and their distances were totaled to determine the winner. In a record close finish Houston Jackson of Eagleville, Tennessee running a Minneapolis Moline squeezed by Russell Wattenbarger of Crossville, Tennessee for the win. There was a
mere .32 of an inch between the first and second place finish! A real nail biter! The Fitz Hotel/Casino was a major contributor to the success of the Southern Winter Nationals through their generous sponsorship. Pullers started calling about rooms as early as they would take reservations and the hotel had quickly filled up. Their renovated hotel was quite impressive and as always it provided an additional opportunity for pullers to socialize after the pull was over for the day. A lot of stories were exchanged in the lobby and over meals which added to the enjoyment of the three day event. The record number of pullers resulted in a spill over to other hotels in the area. Fortunately there are an abundance of lodging options in the area so pullers did not have to travel far each evening. Every year Mean Green has assessed whether they needed to change the class schedule or any other aspect of the pull. They determine what worked and what didn’t work. For them not all is set in stone. Preparations are already underway for the Southern Winter Nationals in 2008. If pullers have suggestions or recommendations, address those to meangreenpulling@bellsouth.net via email or contact one of the Mean Green members. The club will be hosting another pull in the Battle Arena complex in the summer. The summer event will be held under the roof behind the arena so it will be a rain or shine pull! Dates for this pull are July 25th and 26th. They initiated this pull in the summer of 2007 and are looking forward to another opportunity to play in the Tunica area. Watch the Mean Green website and The Hook Magazine for more details. The Mean Green Pulling Team recognizes that it takes everyone to make the Southern Winter Nationals the supreme event that it is. The ladies who keep up with the paperwork, the announcers (Ken Bollinger, Bubba Emmick, and Sonny Daniels), the track crew, and the volunteers who flag, those who take care of line up, run the sleds and do a dozen other jobs that help keep the pull running smoothly are all very important elements of the pull. However, the club realizes that if it were not for the wonderful pullers and spectators who come, this pull would not be a success! "It takes everyone to make this thing work," according to G.R. Harden. Hundreds of tractors, over a 1,000 hooks, thousands of dollars paid out in winnings… in 2007 it worked very well! RESULTS
Friday Saturday 4250 and 7250 Kings of the Hill
In 2007 Jr. Coe of Glasgow, Kentucky took the title of 4250 King of the Hill for the second year in a row and he wrapped up the top spot by not only winning first place but also second place with two different Olivers. Coe had entered two tractors in the competition one of which was his wife Lanise’s. In the pull off, Jr. pulled one tractor against the other to seal the debate over which tractor should actually bear the name "King of the Hill". The winning tractor was again Lanise’s…or so the track officials decreed. Jr. Coe has been pulling for 25 years and pulls with the USAP, Central Kentucky Antique Pullers, Southern Kentucky Antique Pullers and Hillside Farms Antique Tractor Pullers. He has pulled everything from Internationals to Minneapolis Molines to Olivers. He actually started with Farm Stock on a Massey Ferguson. Lanise has been pulling since she started dating Jr. Their first date was at a tractor pull and Lanise made her first hook taking third. As in 2006 Coe plans to give his winnings from the King of the Hill to a needy family in his community for Christmas. In 2006 he and Lanise bought gifts for a grandmother and her two grandchildren for Christmas. Jr. actually challenged the person who would win the 4250 King of the Hill to use their winnings for a needy family in their community. Interestingly enough Coe was "preaching to the choir". A few hours later he was the KOH winner. At press time he was still waiting the name of two families to get to shop for. In addition to the Mean Green award of $250 for winning each sled and $500 for winning the pull off, Coe also received $100 and a picture entitled "County Fair" donated by Aldridge Trailer Sales for the 4250 KOH winner. The tractor which actually won the 7250 KOH belongs to Houston’s grandfather, Hank Fricke who has been instrumental in developing the Eagleville, Tennessee Show and Pull which is a major annual event in the South. That was the scene of Houston’s very first hook on a John Deere G six years ago. Though Houston does well in school, he admits he would really rather work on a tractor. He has built a reputation for replicating scale model pulling tractors in 1/16 scale. His eye to detail on those has also been put to use restoring a Minneapolis Moline R which arrived from Nebraska as a "basket case". Elmer Glass who is well acquainted with Houston had only good things to say about the 7250 KOH winner. "You only have to show him once and he’s got it when it comes to a tractor or pulling." Besides his grandfather, both of Houston’s parents are pullers. His mother and father, Robin and Horace Jackson, both pull John Deere G’s. Robin actually pulled while pregnant with Houston so you could say she is the one who really gave him his start tractor pulling. A member of the BVACA pulling club, Jackson also pulls often with Jeff Hale’s sled. Having started with John Deere G’s, He then moved to a Farmall M and now pulls Molines, Houston says he really has no preference for a certain brand of tractor. He enjoys pulling and working on all of them. Congratulations to both King of the Hill winners! |
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