Pulling Info

By Rita Coombs
 

One day last week, I found Roseville, Ohio. It was Main Street USA all the way, a small country town with lots of pickup trucks - Dodge pickup trucks, to be specific. It was also windy and cold. Come to think of it, it was also raining and even trying to snow. Whatever it was, I asked for permission to park and hurried in the back door.

Once inside, a man was speaking of God and country, living and dying, going to heaven and all of that important stuff. I could only get bits and pieces and began to think I was in the wrong place.

I strained to see better, but the room was bulging with people, as seemingly every person in Roseville was there. So I thought I might try a new approach: I stepped out the door into the wind and hurried around to the front entrance.

Things were not any better. The people were everywhere, these main street-living, Dodge-driving Roseville residents. So I looked around for someone familiar. Then I heard the magic words: "Duct tape." Did that gentle voice just say that duct tape would fix anything? And zip ties - what did she say about the zip ties? Then I saw her take the tissue paper which he always carried around with him out of her pocket and put it into the casket for him. Yes, this must be the place.

There was something silver, white and black which caught my eye in the corner of the room. It was a racing outfit, complete with gloves, which were placed neatly upon a helmet. A barcode scoring tag was neatly trimmed and attached to the side, and #900 appeared splattered in bright pink paint on the back of it. This kid had made it to the pro class.

The preacher soon dismissed everyone to their vehicles, but I still didn't see anyone that I knew. Outside the weather had kicked up a notch - or down, in this case. Inside, they were trying to wrap blankets around the wooden casket. The hearse sat across the street with the pickup trucks. I did not want to be left behind, so I hurried to my own pickup. Then I had to wait for what seemed an eternity....

When the procession began to move, I understood why. Joey had been placed in the back of his own big, black Dodge pickup truck, tucked inside the box that was kept out of the weather by all of those blankets. Joey's ATV followed him in a big Dodge truck of its own. (Joey has a new national number now, you know. It's #19, and was sure to be lower next time.) And then there are all those other trucks....

There were so many of us in the procession that rolled through the Ohio countryside with Joey to his resting place - the Rose Hill burial grounds. Once I parked and stepped out into the weather, the wind whisked my umbrella straight up and almost began dragging me. As I battled with my umbrella, I couldn't help but notice all of the other race umbrellas that filled the cemetery, the ones like the guys take to the starting line at the races. There were several team coats and hats, too. More familiar faces began to crowd around, and we all stood there shivering together.

It was as if this young man was not going to go quietly. I thought to myself, Am I the only one who realizes what's happening here? This kid is going to the big race track in the sky. He's a pro now, and he's already looking for a better starting position. Hey, Big Guy, there's another rising star coming Your way. Please make room for him on the front row, where he belongs.

By the time it was my turn to get close enough to Joey to wish him luck and goodbye for now most of the other vehicles had pulled away. Once I got back inside my own truck, I noticed something. I rolled down the window to confirm that it had finally stopped. What happened to the rain? And the wind - it had stopped blowing, too. There was a calm on Rose Hill, even a little sun.

Typical race day.

2003 Pull Results

Ripon Christian Boosters Club Pull (California Pull)

2nd and 3rd both went to trucks Brandon worked on.

For more details on the pull click on the following link:

http://www.vtpapullers.org/Ripon%202003.htm

March 21, 2003

2nd Rivers Roark (I thought we were going to have to order Enterprise uniforms for him, or at least put a cot in the shop.)

3rd Howard Deshong (This is the best hook I've seen from Howard, the winter upgrades get 2 thumbs up).

4th Chad Davis (1st hook with this truck. I informed him not to drive like "Grandma" Saturday night).

5th Jason Nihiser (I guess he forgot how to drive over the winter, or maybe married life has something to do with it. At least we know he can ride his clutch for 100'+ and it will handle it.)

6th Dave Bratt ( I think the Amsoil jacket he was wearing slowed him down).

7th Curtis Aldridge (Curtis had 3 grandchildren cheering him on).

Dave Mitchell and Erik Stacey are still under construction.

March 22, 2003

2nd Drew Pumphrey (Good solid hook)

3rd Chad Davis (Watch out, he's moving up, he left Grandma home!)

4th Clint Corwin (In my opinion this truck sounded GREAT for a single charger truck).

5th Justin Burns (Dura Max) Awesome Show!

6th Dave Bratt (I wonder if he'll try a bigger gear next time??)

7th Scott Burton ( First hook with Santa's upgrades. I think he'll need to learn how to drive it again.......)

Thanks to all who participated in this two day event. You put on a great show!

Hillsboro, OH

1st Erik Stacey  Hillsboro, OH 2003 Video

2nd Clint Corwin

(Dave is still under construction. We should be done within a month.)

Waterford, OH

1st Rivers Roark

2nd Jim Wise

4th Ryan Milby

5th Jeff Stethem

8000 lb Open:

1st Chad Davis

2nd Rivers Roark

Dayton, PA

Bellefontaine, OH

2nd Bret Wilkins (24 valve)

Mechanicstown, OH

Bellefontaine, OH

Waterford, OH

1st Rivers Roark
2nd Bret Wilkins
3rd Ryan Milby

8000 lb.

1st Dave Mitchell
2nd Chad Davis
 

N Washington, PA

Rob Thomas '03

June 7, 2003

Thunder in Muncie

1st Rivers Roark (Not bad for a 24 valve!)

3rd Clint Corwin (Lookin good)

4th Ryan Milby (He's got the fever............)

8th Dave Bratt (I don't think Dave wanted to pull with Justin after Dekalb).

8000 Pro Stock:

2nd Ryan Milby (Not bad for being the closest thing to stock that we had there!)

7th Rob Thomas ( Can I still use the excuse he's a rookie or does that only count the first year?)

7200 Open:

1st Gene Mohney (King for another year-at least in his own mind).

2nd Rivers Roark (I think he's going to get used to being at the head of the pack)        

5th Justin Burns (Great hook as usual. This is one awesome running Dura Max!)

8000 Open:

2nd Erik Stacey (Way to go Erik! This was only his 2nd hook with all the winter upgrades.)

3rd Gene Mohney (What happened King?)

Dave looked like a kangaroo the first 50' and let off. He dropped his hitch height and tried again, but couldn't get his tires broke loose from the track. So he clutched it and drove away (much better than the alternative $$$$  in driveline parts, or worse yet he could have followed in his wife's shoes from 2002 and removed some teeth from his R&P. I'll never forget that, and if I do the girls will keep reminding me).

This is what Darryl does when he doesn't have his truck ready to pull and he gets bored:

Diesel Darryl, Parker Milby (Ryan's daughter and Robert (ok, RAM).

And, this is what Joe does when he's not selling parts:

If you ask them, they'd probably make up some story about babysitting RAM! Either way, he looks like he's enjoying himself.

Mercer, PA

Hilmar, CA

2nd Rocky Roark (Ford)

3rd Rivers Roark I don't want to hear any excuses. Just don't let it happen again...........

Caldwell, OH

1st Chad Davis (No more rookie status for Chad!)

2nd Rivers Roark (Just a word to the wise. If you have 2 way capabilities with your cell phone turn it off when you pull. Word has it Rivers likes to call and give driving instructions while you are going down the track. AND if you don't verbally answer him, he requires you to use sign language. He must be acknowledged; if you want him to shut up.........).

3rd Rocky Roark (If you see Rocky or Rivers ask them how long it takes to get home from Caldwell. Hint: It takes a lot longer if you use a Ford as a tow truck! Have fun with this insider information).

4th Ryan Milby (I turned his fuel down! That's what he gets for throwing mud balls all over my clean truck. I suppose he'll blame it on Dave for getting my truck stuck).

5th Dave Mitchell (I have two theories:1. he's been taking driving lessons from Thunder 2. Thunder switched suspension with Dave. Make that 3- I owe him for getting my truck stuck at every pull we've been to this year, so I did some extra work to his truck).

6th. Bret Wilkins The shortest distant between 2 points is a straight line.

7th Dean Steinel He's back...... from his honeymoon and already talking about spending his 1 year anniversary in Muncie next year.

8th Steve Altier You can't get much closer to stock.

9th Josh Rose Still working on the bounce. The track didn't help matters.

Erik Stacey- broke

Dave's video at Dragway                                          Thanks, Thunder for sending us this video!

1st Chad Davis (I bet he's getting used to this spot! Chad is very dedicated to pulling. When I called Sat. morning to see if he wanted to pull with us his wife told me he was in the hay field trying to get the hay in before the rain. Needless to say, it was only a few minutes and we received a call back asking where to meet us. Poor cows........

2nd Dean Steinel ( Not bad for a newly wed!)

3rd Jimbo Everett (If Jimbo ever gets to a pull early, it's going to have to be put in some type of record book!)

4th Thunder (No bounce! And just so you know, Jennifer is 100% Dodge/Cummins loyal, but she actually told Thunder his FORD ran well at Muncie-maybe he paid her.............)

5th Dave Tingley (Our newest rookie. If you see him walking around with a sore neck, he wasn't in an accident; it was because he got whiplash when he tried to take off).

Muskingum Co. Cattlemen's Assoc.   Zanesville, OH

2nd Rivers (He didn't bring Rocky this time. That's one way to not get ribbed for getting beat by a Ford)               

3rd Ryan Milby He's really got the fever. He exhibitioned last night, broke his transfer case and was up and ready to go again tonight!                                         

4th Jimbo Everett This was only the 2nd time I've ever seen Jimbo get to a pull before it started. Mark it down.  

5th Bret Wilkins A hard lesson learned: A Dana 70 rear won't hold up well on the pulling track. That bit of advice comes from personal experience.                             

6th Joe Kish He's usually drag racing, he changed sports this weekend.                                      

7th. Dean Steinel I think he got the amendment to his vows. They had to include truck pulling....... (I didn't get a good picture of Dean, Robert jerked the camera as I took it. Boy it's nice to have someone to blame it on,)

8th. Chad Davis I really think this was intentional! I took his rookie status away and look what he does.......men:-). I suppose I'll give him back rookie status for at least a few more pulls.                                                                

9th. Josh Rose By the looks of his rear tires I think he dug down about as far as he pulled.                                 

10th. Dave Tingley The real rookie. He'll get the hang of it; at least he didn't get whip lash this time.

I'm waiting on distances on the following 2 pullers. Then I will insert them above when they belong.

Jason Nihiser Finally, Jason didn't have a picture perfect pull. I never get to say anything about him:-). Now's my chance! He started out good on the line, then he looked like he was playing leap frog (maybe he's practicing for children), he let off them tried for one last big jump-but using his better judgement decided not to! (I didn't get a good picture of Jason because he was done playing before I was ready to take the picture).

Tim Graham Another rookie. He's learning- he actually had a hitch this time when he pulled up to the sled...... (I have no good excuse why I don't have a picture.)   

I'd like to say thanks to Eric Gapen for letting me in on the following story.

The not so perfect ending to the day. This is the way Doug Davis looks after he realizes he drove from PA to OH to watch a truck pull and inadvertently locked his keys in his truck.                                                               

I don't like to dig up old memories, but I just thought I'd mention Doug holds a truck pulling record- The shortest distance ever recorded 1".

Cuba City, WI

Stanford, KY

Two thumbs up for Stewart Esters and the whole gang. You put on a great event!

Chad- 6th The last pull for the only diesel that the tree huggers loved.

I'd like to thank Angie (Chad's wife) for the pictures from the KY pulls. I just wish she would have taken some of Chad..........She mentioned something about not having any more film or else she was so nervous she missed the button on the camera. I don't think Chad bought those excuses:-).

Scott Burton- 7th looked good on the video

Jimbo- 8th Wow, two weekends in a row! And he was on time. Mark this down in history.

Dave- Waiting on parts.

Stanford, KY

We would like to say thanks to KTA and George Peterson for helping Erik R&R his bad tie rod ends.

Chad- 3rd He now has smoke! He actually thinks it runs better, little does he know that I just threw some oily corn cobs in his stacks:-)                                                                                          . This is the one and only (don't mind the quality-at least Angie got 1 picture of Chad) picture of Chad pulling in KY.

Jimbo- 6th Nice hook. I put a picture on the customers page.

Dave- Still Waiting on parts.

Lebanon, KY

Erik- 3rd I think the bugs are finally worked out.

Jimbo- 5th Just a word of advice. If you bounce-clutch it. It saves on the repair bill............

Dave- If only I believed in magic and had a wand........    

Listie, PA

Justin 4th

Justin 3rd (7200 Pro Stock)

Falmouth, KY

Clint Corwin- 5th

Brookville, PA

(Run What You Brung)

Marlin- 3rd To 2 pesky gassers:-) A 454 Chevy and a 460 Ford. I bet there will be some changes soon.

Hilliard, OH

Jason Nihiser- 1st.

Ryan- He bounced in the class then he exhibition hook after he regrouped and had an excellent run.

New Lexington, OH

Ryan- 1st He's doing a great job "taking up the slack"!    *I just have one comment- you knew I would. First it seems odd to me that Chad, Jason and Erik all blew boots off of their chargers. The 2nd oddity of the night was Ryan walking around with a ratchet and socket in his back pocket............just kidding!

Chad- 2nd Not bad for blowing a boot on his top charger.

Bret- 3rd Awesome run! Rumor has it Bret's wife is ready to start pulling. Maybe she'll be ready for the next Glenford pull......

Jason- Blew a boot

Erik- Blew a boot

I'll try to get a complete run down and post it.

Boaz, WI

Dover, OH

Ben Caldwell  2nd Watch out Dean, looks like Ben is after your position.

Curtis Aldridge 3rd Ha.....a Michigan guy in OH territory! If we would have only known.

Dave Tingley 5th A little bird told me that he smoothed out his run. That same little (blue) bird mentioned something about Jimbo hopping in the semi class............Nothing like sharing.

Owensville, OH

Erik- 2nd (Open)

Chad- 3rd

Dave couldn't make it, we're working on his data logger.

Cynthiana, KY

Street Class:

Ryan FP, 2nd

Chris FP, 5th

Open Class:

Dave - FP

Scheid (Kent Crowder) FP

There was no pull off. They decided to make you all wonder.........................at least for awhile.

Erik 3rd  He was movin right down the track until he blew a boot. One of the boys in the crowd hit the ground like he had been shot.

Chad 4th I think he has this pulling thing under control. He's milked "rookie" status long enough. Just a little insider info: Chad, Angie and the rest of his pit crew are always at the pull before the sled- or at least the pullers. Well not this time. They looked at @ 5 1/2 hours of this  before they made it to the pull!

Ryan 5th Not a bad show for a daily driver.

Clint ? It's dangerous to let Clint lead the way to a pull. He may tell you it's a short cut, but don't believe him! If our trailer would have been any longer we would have been running into the rear of it on some of the turns..........Ryan is giving Clint pulling advise and Dave is administering the "magic touch".

Jamie Roberts Nice smooth hook! Jamie left the bounce at home and didn't break any parts.

Josh Rose 3rd

Jefferson Twp. Fair (PA)

Shawn Hodges 2nd I think he has his sights on Gene's crown.

Johnboy 3rd. I think the EEP gauges made him go fast....

Dean 4th 7/26/03 "I don't know what Gene has said or will say about handing it to me last night, but I had a really good reason why he did.   I couldn't get my box to work and had to drop down a gear, but don't worry I will de-thrown him the next time I see him."  and the story continues........stay tuned next week for a new truck pulling adventure!

Jeff Butia 5th Boy this guys gets around!

Shippensburg, PA

Marlin- 1st

Mt. Vernon, OH

Ryan- 4th

Gun Club     New Lex, OH

Bret Wilkins- 1st

Joe Kish Jr. 2nd

Josh Rose- 3rd.

7500 lb

Joe Jr.- 1st

Bret- 2nd

Lebanon, PA

Marlin- Exhibition Only

6500 lb Small Block (that's where they made him pull)

Howard- 1st

More results to come

Lebanon, PA

Howard- 2nd (He's moving up........this is where they put him again.) This hook qualified him for Keller Bros. Shootout where he placed 2nd.

Moundsville, WV

Howard- 1st

Marlin- 2nd

Reedsville, WV

Dave- 1st

Chad- 2nd

Ryan- 4th

Unlimited

Chad- 2nd

Ryan- 3rd

Howard- 6th (He's back! I really think he has the record for number of pulls attended in succession, miles traveled to pull, hours driving while sleeping (keep in mind I don't proofread :-)), and a few others.)

Marlin- 7th He's no longer the tow truck.......he's caught the fever and it looks good!

Dave- This is why Dave didn't get off the line in the unlimited class:    
There's a 1st time for everything (and I hope the last)!

Bellevue, IA

Jim Tisdale 3rd. The "tricks up his sleeve" didn't work, or the 1st and 2nd place trucks had better tricks.........

Sheakleyville, PA

Marlin- Had to stay home and feed the cows.....now I've heard it all! My bet is: he is working on some secret weapon.

Wert Co., WV

Waynesburg, PA

Bret Wilkins- 1st

Jim Wise- 2nd

Josh Rose- 3rd

Rumor has it Bret is getting very serious about this "pulling stuff". He came into our shop the day after this pull without his brush guard. Come to find out, he had to pull it off to be able to hook in the class. What dedication!

Carlisle, KY

Ted Sterner 4th

Justin Burns 9th

8000 Super Stock

Erik- 1st

Justin 6th

Glenford, OH

Ryan 2nd You should have stayed in the big gear...432.0' was good enough for 2nd.

Josh 5th Kendall has been riding "shotgun" the last couple of weeks. It won't be long and Josh's pit crew will be old enough to turn wrenches instead of eat them..........

Scott Vorhees 1st I think the west coast boys are really getting into pulling!

Ashtabula, OH

Shawn 2nd

Ben Caldwell 4th

Jeff Butia 6th

Scott Allen 7th

Washington, PA

Rick Kiggans After he saw Bret's street truck pull he said "They need to reset the sled, or I'll have to make a right turn at the end of the track" end quote. Sorry Rick, I couldn't let you get by with this- you beat the street truck by @ 30' but Dave got you by 30'. Maybe Missy should drive next time............I bet you wish I didn't have "sources" that keep me informed. All kidding aside it looked pretty good- for an automatic:-)!

Bret 3rd. Not bad for a "street truck". This truck has been very consistent this year.

Erik- 5th. Blew a boot.

Washington, PA

Jim Wise- 1st

Robbie Hayden 2nd

Doug Davis 3rd This is a personal question/statement for Doug, all others please skip to the next set of pull results.  I thought we had a deal; you learn how to drive and I'll give you an EEP hat. I know you pulled more than 1", but rumor has it I should ask for the hat back......

Zanesville, OH

Dave FP

Erik FP

Chad FP (Chad is in search of a new camera crew. The previous crew member, whose name we will withhold had the perfect picture of Chad's truck. She was so proud of it she took it out of the digital camera and placed it in her back pocket. Well, you can guess the rest of the story- she washed it and dried it. Needless to say she also erased it. Good thing she's married to Chad. See I didn't mention her name.)
                               UPDATE: After I posted the above info I received the following picture. Rumor has it that Angie took it-

All three had Full Pulls, but chose to split 1st place. It's so nice to see adults sharing......... The way they looked going down the track, I thought we were at the drag strip.

Ryan 4th Another solid hook.

Jason Nihiser 5th I think more fuel is on order.

Joe Kish Sr. 6th I just hate instant replays. Especially when they remind me of something I  have done previously. So, here's the rule one more time: If you hook with a Dana 70 rear-end, then you will probably be in need of an 80 very soon (and it won't be by choice).

Bret 7th Bret learned the above lesson on the last trip to Zanesville.

Joe Jr. 9th I wonder if he let his Dad beat him out of respect? I doubt it, all's fair in love and truck pulling.

Chris Forson 10th This is the first time I've seen this truck hook. Looked good!

Dave Tingley 11th This guy really gets around. You never know where he'll show up.

Ben Burnworth Broke

* All of these pictures are courtesy of our 6 year old daughter Becky! (Hey, unnamed camera person for Chad, Becky said she would give you a few pointers! In all seriousness, I lost my video taping job to Jen and my picture taking job to Becky because I'm not very good at it. Boy, that's hard to admit.)

** I would also like to thank Katie (Joe Barber's better half for helping out with Robert- or RAM as he is know to the truck pulling world.)

Hillsboro, OH

Crawford Co. Fair (PA)

Gene 1st He's shining on that crown for Scheid.

Shawn 2nd

Dean 3rd So what's the deal? I thought you were going to take Gene.

Waterford, OH

Corey Holland FP/ 2nd This was his first hook! And from the sounds of it, it won't be his last. He is our newest and youngest ever "EEP Rookie".  Way to go!
(I don't understand, Corey's mom Angie got a picture of him on the first try.........)

8,000 lb OPEN:

Chad FP/1st I could see his "the cat that just ate the mouse" grin right through the phone! (Angie may have gotten a picture of Corey, but none of Chad-again!)

Jeff Parker FP/ 3rd  This was a toughy....Chad was giving me a run down, but I wasn't sure I was going to be able to get a name for this truck. According to Chad a red Dodge got 3rd and he had an EEP clutch-that really narrowed it down. Let me try to count how many red Dodges have an EEP clutch......

Dave Tingley FP/4th I think Dave's getting this truck pulling thing figured out.

Scheid Rally

Ryan 4th(broke his rear end)
 

Ray Gullet 5th

Ben Burnworth 30th (dropped a driveshaft)

Nick Hayes 33rd
 

8000 lb Street Stock (37 Trucks):

Ray Gullet: 5th

Drew Pumphrey 10th (dropped a driveshaft)

Dave Bratt 21st

8000 lb Open

Dave-Broke one axle twisted the other and took a few teeth off of his ring and pinion...........:-( He does it right!

Erik 2nd He kept his driveline this year!

Chad 4th In my not so humble opinion, I still think he comes out of the hole like grandma. I take that back, knowing his "grandma" she would put her foot through the floorboard.

Jason 5th Great hook for the first time he's been out with the new upgrades.

Rick Kiggans 6th Not bad when you consider he didn't get the chargers lit for 40'!

If you are in need of a throttle lock for your Dodge/Cummins:

 I'm sure the person who designed this is working on a patent. I'll let you know as soon as it is in mass production.

Lancaster, WI

Scheid Rally

Clint 15th "Still under construction".

Nick Hayes 25th

Justin 38th His transmission gave up.

8,000 Street  (36 trucks)

Drew Pumphrey 7th dropped his driveshaft

Ray Gullet 9th

Clint 12th

Nick 14th

Dave B. 25th

8,000 lb Open

Erik 1st He laid down an awesome run!

Chad 2nd This is how Chad prepares for a truck pull:

Jason 3rd (All you guys who love to pull and love your wife had better read this!) I think Jason earned some "brownie points". Seems he sent his new wife Colleen flowers from the pull. How sweet!

Rick Kiggans 5th If we can only get him to quit "twiddling his thumbs" on the line.........

Scott Burton 6th Good solid run, just a few more inches and he could have had 5th.

(Dave was broken and didn't get to hook).

Congratulations to the "Burn Out" Winner: JIMBO

If you're bored at the truck pulls you can always:

 Jen, Becky & Chad thumb wrestling.

Nick (Erik's brother) and Jen arm wrestling.

Waynesburg, PA

Robbie Hayden 5th Rumor has it that it's time for a double disc.

Marlin 6th

This note is to Mr. Doug Davis: Why were you at a pull and didn't hook? Someone mentioned that you couldn't get driving lessons scheduled until next week. I think some tall guy told me that bit of info.............

Mt. Pleasant Shootout

Wes Harlan- 2nd Another puller comes out of the woodwork.....

Bret- 4th This automatic/24 valve is always deceiving-until it hooks!

Ray Graham- 5th.

Two thumbs up to all the pullers who worked so hard to get driveshaft loops in place for the pull! You are ingenious.

(Caldwell, OH rained out)

Dave, Jimbo, and Dave Tingley all ran exhibition hooks.

Jimbo finally made it to a pull in time, but then he locked his keys in his truck and had to wait until after the semis pulled to make his exhibition run. I tried to get a picture of the 2 deputies unlocking his truck, but it was too dark.  I tried really hard to talk the sheriff deputies into moving the truck into a lighted area so I could take a picture for the internet, but they didn't find any humor in my suggestion. Maybe next time.

Canfield, OH

(Stoutsville, OH rained out)

Dave 1st The dreaded bunny bounce has now officially been downgraded.

Chad 2nd Not too bad for being "blown up"... The first time he tried to take off there must have been a kink in the chain because his truck jumped so violently on the line that his helmet hit the windshield-I was guessing that he parked to close to Dave and "caught" the bunny hop. The announcer thought he blew it up, but coach Dave told him to "get back in and try again because we need to know just what's going on". Well needless to say, he put the pedal to the metal and ended up within 2' of Dave!

Shawn Hodges 4th

Rick Kiggans 5th Advice for the day: It does no good to have a safety blanket for your bell housing, if you leave it hanging on the wall at your shop! I thought for a moment that Rick was going to use the black canvas bag I use to carry  Robert's stroller to wrap his bell housing. Men.......... Oh, and the story continues after the pull. While sitting in Micky D's parking lot we see Rick fly by- with NO trailer lights. This is the same trailer that Rick and Missy just purchased to haul their pulling truck on, the same trailer that they just got the title for (side story: I don't know what Rick does when he's not pulling, but rumor has it the when Rick and Missy went to get the title switched into their names the woman at the title office finished the title work and said "You 2 ladies have a nice day"! Maybe that's why he wanted a EEP muscle T shirt.) Now back to the original story. The light problem was an easy fix for him/her :-), he just need to plug the light cord in. And he wondered why his brakes weren't working too well.  I think it's a miracle that he remembered to load the truck and bring it! I'm beginning to wonder what side of the OH River he lives on.

Jimbo Let out of it, he has a bounce in the front end.

Corey- Very good show, for pulling with the "Big Boys".

Mineral Point, WI

Jim's Pull at Mineral Point

Hillsboro, OH

8,000 Modified

Clint 6th He didn't get hooked up to the track very well.

Ted Sterner 9th He was moving so fast he blew his EEP flames off....Oh, that's right, he still needs them:-).

Tingley 17th I think he needs a locker or two.

Ryan 21st Too big of a gear. My only question is: "Why did you back into the sled when you were ready to unhook?"

Justin 22nd I think he left some "horses" in the parking lot.

8,000 lb Open Diesel

Dave- 4th NO bunny hop and NO traction. Quote" I was concentrating on the bounce and not the bite". That says it all.

Erik- 1st place! I've never seen his truck run this well. He brought it out of the hole, it hooked into the track and he was gone- to the tune of 373'! It made sitting in the rain worth while. Lesson for the day: If the fairgrounds crew says you about 10 minutes to leave before they lock up for the night,  you'd better do it or you may be locked in the fairgrounds looking for someone with a key to let you out the gate. Just ask Erik, he can vouch for that.

Rick- 3rd. I about fell asleep waiting on him to leave the line, but when he did the smoke rolled, the dirt flew and he was gone. Nice job! Don't think I'll let you off this easy though. Here is the story for the day: Rick and Missy were driving around Hillsboro because they didn't have directions into the pull. Finally they say a Dodge with stacks behind them and stopped and flagged him down. Rick asked him how to get to the fairgrounds and the man told him "I was following you". Talk about the blind leading the blind. There is one thing for certain, there is never a dull moment when Rick is around.

Ryan 6th Much better gear.

Jamie Roberts- 7th Open rear ends and this track were not a good mixture.

Jimbo- 8th lost his front u-joint

Tingley- 9th

Justin- 10th He still never found his horses.

Shawn FP/ 276.9 2nd broke

Scott Allen 4th

Craig Severson 8th Another WI EEP Rookie. He stalled it the first time out, then re-hooked and made it 191.7'. He's getting the hang of it. Insider info: Craig was actually visiting his sister near Cleveland and thought he would make a couple pulls over by the self proclaimed "Sled Pulling King". One was rained out and they thought the 2nd one was also, so he drove back to his sisters. Then Gene, good guy that he is, called Craig back when they decided to have the pull. It only took Craig another 2 hours to drive back. That's real dedication!

Steve Stoltzfus Exhibition

McConnelsville, OH

Chad- 1st Place!!! What an awesome hook. I think Angie trading off cows for horses was a ingenious move. Congratulation to the "home-town boy"!

Dave- 2nd No bounce = a little traction. We're working on it. The engine part is much easier for us than the suspension, but we'll get it.

Ryan- 6th I still can't believe how consistent this truck runs.

Rick- 7th I'm not sure what happened, but I think his pit crew was "informing him" after the pull:-).

Josh- 8th I thought he was going to dig to China.

Corey- 11th Good solid hook for the home-town Senior and Ag Student at Morgan High School. Just wait until Angie sells some cows to get some more horses under his hood.

Dan Robinson- 12th I'd say there are upgrades in his future.

A special thanks goes out to the Morgan Co. Fairboard, Chad & Grandpa for setting up this class and preparing the track. We would also like to thank the sponsors of this class: Morgan County Chrysler, Grandma's Country Attic, and Dixie Trophy Shop. With out all of these great people and businesses this class would not have been possible. Please support our sponsors so that they will be able to bring you this class again next year.

St. Clairsville, OH

Bret- 1st I really think he is going to have a serious withdraw problem this winter!

Randy Bostic- 2nd

Michael Dixon- 3rd

Gene 1st

And I thought I had a redneck stack....
Gene mentioned that Johnboy was only running on 4 cylinders. I guess he thought that's all he needed to handle Gene... or maybe Gene helped him work on his truck:-).

Gene's video New Centerville

Cheater Stock Class: 35 Trucks                           Rivers 2nd                                                                  Brett 3rd                                                                   Milby 4th                                                                      Josh 5th                                                                    Other EEP trucks in the class (please let me know if you pulled and I didn't list you). Jeff Whittington, Ben Burnworth, Mike Perez, Corey Holland, James Giddings, Ray Graham and Keith Conway.

Open Diesel Class: 10 Trucks                                      Dave 1st  Finally a sled pull and not a bunny hop!      Chad 2nd I think Chad's trying to say something.           Erik 3rd Awesome wheel speed, but his track speed had a little to be desired.                                                   Jamie 5th I think he'd better ask Santa for lockers!          Other EEP trucks in the class: Jason, Rivers, Ryan and Brett.

Post Pull info: I believe I saw Jason's foot coming through the floorboard! He had so much smoke the laser guy couldn't get his distance read before the sled moved!                                                            Erik's little boots did stay on! He just sizzled the tires all the way down the track.......maybe he needs to change his state of mind.

Thanks to all the EEP puller, fans and all the others who helped make Jason's hometown pull a success!

Glenford, OH

Bret 2nd 24 Valve

Jarod Conway (Keith's son) 3rd 12 Valve                                                                                 Where are all the EEP under valved trucks? Were you still sleeping after a late night/early morning at Logan?        Rivers and Bret are getting very comfortable in the above spots:-).

Finally "The Other White Dodge" AKA Total Eclipse finally makes it début after months of waiting!

Dave Bratt FP/ 1st This is a little odd, Big Dave beat Darryl...Rumor has is Dave was seen working on Darryl's truck. Nice hook Dave!

Darryl Poole FP/3rd He couldn't come back for the pull off because the "boot gremlin" that rides with Erik decided to go to MI to ride with Darryl. I'm sure Erik didn't miss his gremlin! Darryl also lost a driveshaft loop??? I thought we had to worry about the driveshafts, not the loops. It must be a MI thing.

Rob Thomas 5th

Curtis Aldridge 6th

Clements, CA

Oakboro, NC

                     1st SAPTA 8000lb Diesel

                     1st SAPTA 8000lb Open

                     2nd SAPTA 8200lb 4WD Truck

Not too bad for a night at the pulls! I think he has the fever.

Viola, WI

Carrollton, OH

Jimbo FP/ 285' 2nd Caution: If you are Jimbo's buddy your truck may have to sacrifice parts so that he can pull.... I guess that's what friends are for.

Dave Bratt FP/ 276' 3rd I can't believe a MI boy came down with a box, injectors, and a Mitchell clutch and "whooped up" on the so called "Big Boys"!

I feel privileged. I received this autograph free of charge- thanks Dave!

Gene 4th I believe the Sled Pulling King has just been dethroned by 2 twin charger trucks and a street truck with a HX 35............. Watch the guest book, I'm sure Sleddy will have a response!

Shawn 5th I think Gene's truck is a magnet for competition....Shawn missed him by 4'.

There were 20 trucks in the class. A special thanks to all the EEP trucks who showed up and put on a great show.

Dave- 237' No hop and No 4 WD....... If I use the same math some of the internet "brains" use, Dave would have pulled 474'! Here's how it works: If he pulled 237' in 2WD the he should have pulled double that if he wouldn't have lost his front driveshaft when he let out on the clutch.

Diesel Darryl- I think Dave gave Darryl his hop.....what a friend. It looked and sounded great- until the bunny hop.

Jim Wise, Dean Steinel, Rick Kiggans, Ben Caldwell and John Boy (ok, so he's not EEP, but we adopted him for the day).

Woodbury, TN

Shawn- 1st place with 327.8'

Wilmington, OH

Bret and Josh tied for 6th and the rest were carnage (all driveline parts)............ Boy am I glad I didn't go! I think the guys should have found a less expensive hobby for that night:-).

Michigan City, MS

Brandon- 2nd He finally hooked! I was beginning to wonder if he was going to, he is having way too much fun pulling hole shots:-)!

Joey Burton- This is his 2nd hook with his new trans. and he was grinning ear to ear.

Total lost- 2 rear ends and a front end.

Overall it was not a good night for EEP trucks no matter where they pulled...... It's time to regroup-we'll be ready for next week!

Lancaster, OH

Ryan- 1st Truck pulling is really a sickness. Ryan as told Rivers all year that he would dance on the track when he beat him. Well, the time finally came and I missed it! Ryan beat Rivers and rumor has it he danced on the track-what is pulling coming to??? Got video? I'd love to post it.

Rivers- 2nd

Vernon Miller- 3rd

Jarod Conway- 4th

Bret- 5th

Cynthiana, KY

Ryan-6th

Open:

Ryan- 3rd

Clint- 4th

Congratulations to Scott Burton for getting the high HP and torque on the dyno! He had 530 HP and 1200 ft lbs. of torque (NO drugs- straight #2). Not too bad for his daily driver.

Covington, TN

Brandon Karcher- FP/ 294' 1st.

I think he took the trailer off to pull. Not a bad hook for a daily driver!

Nick- FP/ 276' 2nd.

Joey- 6th  Fuel pressure is very useful in competition-enough said.

Tulare, CA

Brandon- 1st

Scott- 2nd

8500 Open Class:

Brandon- 1st  I believe that this is two years running!

Scott- 2nd

Congratulations to both Brandon and Scott! Great job.

Waterford, OH

We would like to thank all the 2003 EEP Pullers for a great season! With out each of you putting forth so much effort, it  would not have been such a success. We look forward to working with each of you next year! May God continue to bless each of you and your families.

This is the most I could get together at one time. It was like herding a bunch of cattle!

I've got more pictures to develop.

A special thanks goes out to Ted Sterner for the item in his hand. He gave it to me as a special (hand made-sort of) gift at the hog roast and I had to spend the rest of the day keeping numerous sets of "sticky fingers" off of it! Curious....stay that way a little longer. I'll post a picture soon. I think he should patent the wrapping paper. How many women would be excited to get a gift wrapped in a shop rag and sealed with packing tape? At least two, Jen was excited as I was............ Ok, here's the picture It's a custom made shift knob for both 5 and 6 speed shifters. Sorry it took so long to post the picture, but some unnamed puller (who drives a brown truck) borrowed mine!

We'd like to thank Clint Corwin and Buffalo Trace Bison from Mayslick, KY for supplying the buffalo.

Truck Pull (FUN):

7500 lb. Street Stock Class (6 trucks):

Ryan- 1st. by 2", that's a little too close for comfort.

Chris Forson- 2nd This was the best I've seen this truck hook. I'm not sure his wife will let him hook again....want the rest of the story read on. His wife is due on January 2, 2004. At the party he was talking about wanting the baby to come a few days early (not a bad idea when you're the Mom waddling around). But then the true reason came out: HE WANTED A TAX DEDUCTION FOR 2003 SO HE COULD BUY MORE PARTS......... Any one got a spare dog house????

Dan Robinson- 3rd I believe the announcer mentioned something about him talking to Santa about HP!

8000 lb. Open Diesel (12 trucks)

Chad- 1st  ANOTHER FLAWLESS RUN!

Dave- 2nd NO Bounce! I've never seen smoke come off of tires on a dirt track..........

Dean- 3rd He drove in with a trailer loaded with tractors, unhooked from the trailer, pulled in the competition, hooked back up and drove home with 3rd place.

Shawn- 4th Looked pretty good, but he needed a little more traction.

Darryl- 5th He was laying down an awesome run until the dreaded "BOOT GREMLIN" got him!

Ryan- 6th It was a good thing that he turned down his first hook in this class or he would have been at the other end of this list.

Jimbo- 7th The Burn Out King! He wanted me to help him shut down a state route so he could show everyone his signature burn out..........boys and their toys!

Corey- 8th Our Morgan County Senior and Ag student is getting way to comfortable pulling his truck.

Rocky Roark- 9th The Loan Ranger, I mean Ford!

Drew- 10th I think he was having vivid memories of picking up driveshafts...........

Curt- 11th This was just not an automatic track.

Rick- 12th. From my vantage point the engine RPM was not matching the wheel speed. In other words, I bet Rick is pulling his automatic as I type.

Jesup, GA

Erik- tied for 1st. He has his new suspension dialed in pretty well. Lost a rear end.

Eric Stingley- 2nd This was his 1st hook on the truck. It was "fresh off" our floor. Great job driving (at least he didn't get lost, but that's a story for another time). Lost 1 axle.

Gene- 3rd Lost 2 axles.

Jeremy Straley- 4th This was the 1st run on this single charger truck. It look like Jeremy will be ready for the 2004 season!

Steve Stoltzfus- 5th If he only had a little more traction... the he might have went farther, but he would have been working on his truck Saturday!

Shawn- 6th Very smooth hook, no carnage!

Jimbo- 7th I don't think the announcer got his name correct all night.

Ryan- 8th The "big gear" doesn't always work.

Calvin Miller- 11th He borrowed Vernon's truck and was really hoping he was one of the few who didn't break. He had a very good run against the "Big Boys".

Craig Severson- 12th He had a long drive to pull 214', but NO carnage! He did take a bonus home with him- the smell of the pulp mill across the road! I think we all would have rather not had that smell lingering in the air.

Rob Thomas- 13th Too low of a gear doesn't work well either.

Andy Schureck- 14th Oops! He got both axles on the line. When I asked him what happened he said, "It all started when I was 6 years old. They put me in a room with a rubber mallet and an anvil and I broke BOTH of them."

Jesup, GA

Just tell Robert a truck is on the line, and his face says it all.

Dave- FP/ 2nd I think with a little more fine tuning we'll have the suspension figured out and I'll stop looking for TNT. Jesup03 Video

Erik- FP/ 3rd He had too much air in his rear tires. They were actually bouncing down the track. Erik03 Video

Andy- 4th Much better! A special thank the Dave Gresh (Pullin for Jesus) for building the motor.

Eric Stingley- 5th Very smooth hook! Just wait until he gets a few hook under his belt.

Gene- 6th. I suppose he didn't do better because he had to wait for someone else to pull so that he could "steal" their axle. We just didn't have enough to go around. It must have been too much pressure!  

Milby- 9th Much better with a lower gear.

Jeremy- 10th Once he tightens up his front end and hangs a little weight- watch out!

Shawn- 11th I'm not sure if Gene let Shawn use his tires out of the kindness of his heart, or to ensure that he beat him.

Craig Severson- 12th I bet more upgrades are in the future. I've never seen someone have so much fun "stripping" their truck for a pull!

Rob Thomas- 14th At least one Michigan boy made it!

Jimbo- 15 The announcer got his name correct tonight but he got under his chargers.

Calvin- Big Oops! I think he had to call Vernon and inform him the transfer case stopped working. Something about a broken output shaft..........

Steve- He had a case of the dreaded "Bunny Hop".

All in all, we had a great turn out and a great time! Thanks to all the pullers for coming out to put on a show for the Young Farmers. And we'd like to especially thank the spectators and the Young Farmers for making this event possible. See you next year.

We wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!