Light Pro Stock Tractor Opener in Virginia

What do you do when several leagues have off nights and certain a 466 cubic inch class with 1500 horsepower tractors that have nothing to do?  You add them to the list of classes and run them!  And run them we did Saturday, May 4, 2019.

Millers Tavern is just about a 2 and a half hour drive from the house.  But for Mark Smith and his helper Timmy, it was 5 hours.  You gotta love pulling to travel that far to hook.  Mark Smith, his brother Matt, and stable-mate Shane Scott do that a lot.  But anytime you can bring 3 tractors to a show, you have plenty of chances at the top prize which would barely pay for the gas.  With three tractors and one driver doing all the work made for a tough night for Mark.  He said in his interview, "I probably would have won if I could have watched the other pullers pull [instead of staging the other tractors]".  Mark is familiar enough with the other tractors to drive them all competitively.

Mark took the first tractor, the New Holland TM130 of Gary Cubbage and Shane Scott that Shane drives and wrenches on, and was the first hook.  I remember having to hold one tire in place so we could rotate the opposite tire just to verify which gear was which.  Apparently, Mark is just as familiar with the TM130 as he took the tractor some 349 feet and as the first hook, he could keep or drop it.  He made a wise choice and kept it.  With 7 tractors, it really doesn't give the first hook a chance to cool down, so the sled was set.

Next came Mark on his brother's tractor the New Holland 8030 called "Fast Forward" you know the one Kenney Chesney wrote a song about.  He broke tractor on that tractor toward the end of the run and snuffed it out and skidded to a landed spot of 331.96.  Not the typical run fo Mark on that tractor which he has won on numerous times.

For his last hook of the night, he pulled up his trusty and competent vehicle, the Ford 9600.  It ain't your grandad's Ford.  This thing has been stretched, widened, cut, hydraulic hood, with tires and wheels Henry Ford never dreamed of.  Mark comes in and takes a seemingly different line moving toward the right side of the track.  That choice paid off and he laid down a terrific run of 351.93.

Be sure to check out their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/FastForwardPulling/.