National Farm Machinery Show & Championship Tractor Pull
		Tickets | Schedule | Drivers | Driver Application | Results Awards | Photos | Features | Hall of Fame | History | Advertising
The Show Championship Tractor Pull Exhibitors Visitor Info Contact Us Media Home		Features The Longest Haul Article taken from the 2000 Championship Tractor Pull Souvenir Program The Championship Tractor Pull, held annually in Louisville, KY, is without a doubt the premiere indoor pulling event in the country. There is no better way for a top-notch driver to start off his pulling calendar than with an invitation to the Championship Tractor Pull - part of the reason he is willing to come from any corner of the continent to compete in it. Rod Simonsen, driver of the 10,200 lb. Pro Stock Tractor Revenuer II, is competing in his third Championship Tractor Pull after driving 900 miles from Red Cloud, NE. "It's such an honor to be invited to this pull that you hate to turn it down - it's definitely worth it," commented Simonsen's wife, Leslie, on the lengthy journey. Simonsen's wife and several other drivers, however, spoke of the difficulties of traveling such great distances to compete in the pull. Bad weather seemed to be a common concern, and many mentioned that the competition was often a "one-shot deal." After traveling such a great distance, a mechanical breakdown is the last thing a driver wants before the pull. To combat the chances of malfunctioning machinery while hundreds of miles from home, many drivers and their crews run a thorough checklist over the tractor from front to back, often twice, before leaving. It is then carefully loaded onto an enclosed van or semi-truck and secured for the long journey to Kentucky. Adrian Hunter, competing with his 6,200 lb. 2WD Super Modified Truck, The Hunter, travels for three days and covers an amazing 1,800 miles from Medicine Hat, Canada, to participate in the Championship Tractor Pull. Why? "The show is very well-organized, and they have treated me well. You just want to go back," answered Hunter. He added that the tractor pull "probably has the stiffest competition around. Just about all of the pullers have won a championship." Traveling 1,350 miles from his Melita, Canada home, Bill Lawrence has a similar respect for the production of the show and its attendees. "It's nice to have enthusiastic fans," said Lawrence, who drives The Randy Canadian, a 7,200 lb. Modified Tractor. He usually brings some of his own fans with him. Many spectators at each show are family members, friends, fellow pullers and hometown fans of the drivers on the track. A little moral support never hurts the odds, does it? So if the length of the track looks impossible, remember that the longest haul may have been getting there.