MORE POWER ON THE GROUND

[Music] what are all these farm people looking for excitement sure but more than that they're looking for more power on the ground [Music] [Music] many of these farmers want and need it and all of them know the value of it that's pole power pull power by a tractor and this man knows the value of it too he knows if he had more power on the ground he could use less manpower less man-hours because he could pull bigger equipment and get the job done faster and when you want to see more power on the ground lots of it you go to where the power action is a tractor pull because that's where power proves itself that's where the thrills of this growing sport attract more thousands of farm families every year basically a tractor pull is a contest requiring a tractor to pull a sled over a given course as the drag on the sled is continually increased by adding weight in this case human weight [Music] you'll note that bicycle fire just in front of the rear wheels on the trailer that gradually increases pressure on the air brakes which of course in effect adds to the bull as the tractor goes down the court so that's how weight is added to the head as it goes down the track of competition and here's the third and most popular type of loading sled as the bull progresses away on the sled is moved forward to put more of the weight on the skids and less on the sled wheels most of these contests now conform to the rules established by the national tractor pullers Association not only are there different tractor weight classes but different degrees of competition as well you'll find tractor pulls that powdi fares and it's not all engine and fuel that helps to win his fellows either going to bend the throttle lever car to a cigar into [Music] the competition gets a little tougher at the State Fair level but in any contest the operators force all the fuel they can into the engine sometimes with disastrous results like blowing a fuel injector pump but whether in a contest or in the field operators are looking for continuing power power the fails in the field means lost nine hours and sometimes reduced harvest what you're looking for is lots of pull power that goes on and on and on here's real competitive sportsmanship and excitement but it's more than that as Ralph Mathis a consistent tractor pull winner says well they call me the lucky man I have they said hitched on over a hundred times that I've always been wrecked to see the history and see what you can do with convinced machinery to make it fit our needs and ever-increasing power needs so I would think that practically would be secondary I just want to try to do it hang in there and hand our large equipment knowledge looks like in competition or on the farm more power on the ground pays off Pharrell more power on the ground that's what the contestants came to prove and what the spectators came to see at this big M&W meet where the competition is even stiffer than at the State Fair level [Music] [Music] but when you get hooked you go to see them all you can even see the modified or hotrod class where almost anything goes [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] then there's the world series of tractor pulls the national farm machinery show pulling contest held at Louisville Kentucky it brought hundreds of tractors from surrounding states and almost 20 thousand fans on each of two nights [Music] in the stock category the block crankcase and chassis must be standard otherwise you can turbocharged increased compression put on bigger tires and modify the treads to get more power on the ground these contests have come a long way since the early ones which some of the old-timers like to talk about like Barney McKinnon who recalled that every ship slayed 30 for the bowling game the favored the first pole then just kept growing and getting better than better there since turbo would come in he got a lot better a trophy over there and $15 were to top money at that time yes you want to see them all see them win like Benny McKinnon with his allis-chalmers d21 see him try and you see some tractors die trying [Applause] [Music] then you'll see one put it all together and go all the way putting all the power on the ground this is the way it was with Al Arnold's of Martinsville Indiana with us allis-chalmers 220 winner of the heavyweight division at the Louisville National Farm Machinery Show [Music] well this man got what he came after but what about this man well he's had a lot of fun he's had a chance to see which tractors can produce what's on his mind but it could be he's only thinking about getting more power on the ground back in his fields a perhaps he sees himself as one of those operators in a successful pull but no matter what he's thinking about that doesn't change the ability of the equipment that he has back home great in its day for ho how times have changed that's why a lot of farmers are changing too because they realize they must change to meet the demands of changing times what's on his mind this big new tractor for contest pulling or for more efficient equipment pulling on the farm well he can do both but either way he can be sure of more power on the ground winning isn't everything of course nor like the late coach Vince Lombardi said is it the only thing still it's sure a great feeling when you know you've got a winner [Music]