Truck and tractor pulls return for 10th year at county fair
Soon after Bob Blank and two partners founded Power Pulling Productions LLC eleven years ago, the Greene County Fair was one of the first to tap into his expertise.
Soon after retiring from the work force at Valvoline, Blank, with 30 to 35 years experience as a pull flagman and official, helped found the first regional sanctioning group to join with the Lucas Oil Pro Pulling League.
Operating out of a base in New Brighton, Pa., Power Pulling Productions organizes between 20 and 25 events each year at fairs and other events in Western Pennsylvania, Eastern Ohio and West Virginia.
At 7 p.m. on Tuesday, August 7 and at 7 p.m. on Saturday, August 11, Blank and company will return to the Greene County Fair to stage between 30 and 45 hooks (pulls) each evening.
The Tuesday show sponsored by Fox Ford will feature four-wheel drive trucks including Pro Stock 4 x 4 trucks, Limited Pro Stock Diesel 4 x 4s and 8,000 Open Street Diesel 4 x 4s.
The Saturday evening show, sponsored by Bortz Chevrolet, will feature a mix of trucks and tractors including Limited Pro/Super Farm tractors..
鈥淭he majority of our registrants follow us from event to event throughout the year, although some locals also participate in the pulls,鈥� Blank said. 鈥淲e get pullers from as far away as New York and Virginia who come to our events to chase points. At the end of the year, usually in November, we pay out point fund money to our best pullers at our annual banquet.鈥�
To compete, each registered vehicle is hooked to a weight transfer or pulling sled that can weigh as much as 60,000 pounds. They then pull the weight along a 320-foot track as far as they can before spinning out.
Winners in each class (three for Tuesday, four for Saturday) are determined by the greatest distance pulled. Cash payments to top finishers are determined according to class.
Those wishing to register can read the competition rules at www.powerpullingproductions.com. Positions in the pulling lineup are determined by the number of pulls before start of the event.
To get a better idea of what a pull is all about, videos of past pulls are posted to Facebook and YouTube.
鈥淲e here at Power Pulling Productions LLC try to work with fair boards to keep prices reasonable for the satisfaction of all parties involved,鈥� Block said. 鈥淥ur goal is to meet the needs of our fairboards and other organizations to ensure a successful event that will also entertain the fans that see the show.鈥�