Holy Cow Tractor Pulling Team

Sunday, July 27, 2008

Ionia (session 2)
When we discovered the popping on the front right motor at Georgetown, we assumed an ignition problem and sent the mag in for testing. They said it had some minor issues, but nothing that would make it misfire. I had it rebuilt anyway. In the end, they replaced some parts, and of interest was a bearing and the drive gear. I put the mag in and made a good pass at Jerseyville. The problem was fixed and I assumed that some slop in the drive gear was causing the timing to jump around and advance momentarily to detonate.

So, when the front left motor started doing it, we pulled the mag and compared the drive gear to a new one. I could only measure about 0.004" wear and it didn't seem like enough to worry about, but I changed the gear and reset the timing, thinking it was fixed.

So, on to that nights pull. We are near the end of the class and EVERYONE it taking the high road, which was my plan as well. Bob was in the lead with 299. Ken Veney was broke and was only going to bump and Adam made a bouncy run on Cross Threaded and only managed 205. The rest of the tractors were somewhat spread out and I though I would have a good chance to pick up some points. I hook to the sled and as soon as the tractor launches, there is a low growl and the motors never come to life. At 150' or so I throw the belt on the front right motor. This time there was no popping or puffs of unburnt fuel from the headers. The front left motor seemed to run fine. So, we ended up at 261, which is respectable on 3 motors, but certainly not what I expected.

So, I have this gremlin that seems to be jumping form side to side, comes and goes with no rhyme or reason. I have 7 barrels of methanol for this season, and two are from a different lot. I pump the barrels dry into 5 gallons jugs and take just what I need to each pull. I had 13 jugs at Ionia and I know that 7 are from one lot and 6 from another. I didn't think it was important to identify the lots, so as we refilled in the puts, we just grabbed jugs. I suspect that I may have a bad barrel or lot of fuel. If I think back, I know what percentage of fuel was on the trailer from each lot and when I had a higher percentage of fuel from the second lot, I seemed to have ignition or popping problems, and when all or a high percentage of fuel was from the first lot, the tractor ran great. Assuming I don't find a more compelling issue with the tractor, I am going to discard (or at least segregate) the fuel currently in my jugs and in the tractors tanks, and run 100% lot 1 fuel for Monroe.

In any case, I watched all the runs I saw from the starting line and didn't get a good perspective on what everyone did, except that most everyone went straight. Double Stuffed was test hook and DQ'ed on the right, when he turned down, obviously. On his second pass, he finished 2nd, again right behind Bob. So congratulations to Bob. With the problems Ken had, Bob takes a double Win at Ionia, and moves into first place points. Ken drops to second, followed by Terry and me in fourth. I am not clear on how points are divided in a tie, so my website may have the wrong value until I get clarification from Helen at NTPA.

Ionia (session 1)
It was a beautiful day in Ionia. Warm, but not hot, dry, a nice breeze. After dealing with rain nearly every pull this season, it was a nice change. We were FIRST class. Wow, what a shock. We are never first. I drew second position. First up was Adam Bauer in what I believe the maiden limited-mod voyage on his new Cross Threaded mod. I was getting in my seat and didn't get a good look at his run, but I did see a massive amount of unburnt fuel. I would sweat he broke a blower belt, but other say he didn't. Even with that, he blew it out the end. So, they tightened it up. (good decision).

That left me as test puller. This track is banked and slopes from right to left. I have run both sides, and like Frankfort, I prefer the left (low) side. My best runs here have come on that side. So, that is what I did, despite seeing Adam lay down a decent pass on the high side. I hammered the throttle, the tractor hooked perfectly, picked the nose 2-3' and carried it straight down the track to 290'. It was the best pass I could hope for. The front left engine was popping a little now, but that wouldn't get fixed between runs if it was a mag problem as I suspected, but as far as nose weight, tire pressure, and all go, it was a good pass. I kept it. The finish line flagman asked me 2 or 3 times if I was going to keep it, and I kept nodding yes. I assumed he just couldn't hear me, but maybe his was suggesting I turn it down and try the high side of the track.

I then say down and watched the remaining 5 tractors in the class all take the high road and run right past me, 3 of them, Bob and Terry Jostock and Ken Veney, breaking the 310 mark. Some of them didn't even have as nice a looking pass, but still took it past me with authority. Oops. My bad.

I think in the past, my problem on the high side was my tractor would go left and I would either DQ or just kill myself trying to stay inside the left chalk line. I made some chassis changes over the winter and the left-hand tendency is gone, and maybe my theory of the high side of the track needs to be revisited.

In the pull off, Terry Jostock was broke, and couldn't come back. Ken Veney was second up, and he damaged the clutch on his crank to crank motors. He tried to get it started, but, alas also could not come back. That left Bob to only need to bump the sled for a win, his first of the season for the 2007 defending champion. Congratulations Bob.

Thursday, July 24, 2008

End of Season Plans
While we just love tractor pulling, it is just like having a second job. There are other hobbies and other adventures we wish to pursue, so at the end of the season we are quitting and selling out. It has probably been the best 15 years of our lives.

We tried to sell the tractor in 2006 as a whole unit, and that did not work out. This time we will part it out (although will sell complete if there is interest). I will not sell anything until after our last pull this year, which at this point we assume will be Arcola, IN on October 3rd & 4th. Everything is for sale, everything on the tractor, spare parts (new and used), pulling specific tools, and the hauler. If you are interested in something, a cash deposit will hold your stuff until the end of the season.

Sunday, July 20, 2008

Frankfort, IN
I have been telling my colleagues that Frankfort has one of the best tracks in the country, and I couldn't have been more wrong this night. Like many of the tracks we pull on, Frankfort has their pull on the straight away of a large race track. As a result, there is a slope, generally from right to left (as view from the starting line).

Many pullers have the theory to start on the high side of the track (right corner) and aim for the low side (left corner) and that the down hill run will increase their distance a little. The physics is with them, and the conversion of potential energy to kinetic energy is a proven fact. The problem is, if the slope takes you more left than you want, you either have to ride the right brake or DQ. My theory is to start low and aim high. The slope of the track will pull you low again, and generally you can make an entire run without touching the brake.

I 2004, the last time I pulled at Frankfort, and the last time they had the mod class, I did just that, and it worked well for me, taking a 2nd place just inches behind Don Deane. As I watched the Super Farms, the guys that ran the high line did end up on the low side, and the guys that started low seemed to pull much straighter. Todd Feiss was first up and chose the high line. Nice straight pass out to 284, but he never hooked up. Deane was second and followed in his tracks. For whatever reason, he was hooked to the track like a railway cog, and looked if he would finish his pull at the Boone county fair, the next county south. Wayne Krider chose the low line, and made a straight pull, but bounced some. Now, I have pulled with the state guys in a while, and for a couple of years, Wayne bounced a lot. I wrote the bouncing off to Waynes tractor. Miller again took the high line, and like Feiss, never really hooked up. I didn't see Stahl's run, but he also ran the high line, and finished back from the leaders. I again went low and aimed high. As I left the line, it was obvious by 75', I wasn't going to hook up either. As I progressed down the track, I realized I forgot to close my visor and was getting dust into my eyes to the point I couldn't see. I took my hand off the steering wheel to close the visor, and at that instant the front end either touched down or hit something in the track and the front wheels went hard left. I grabbed the wheel and tried to straighten it out but lacked the strength and range of motion to correct with one had, so as an automatic response, I let go of the throttle to steer with both hands, and straightened it out, but the pull was over at that point.

As it turns out, I was bouncing really bad, and wasn't going to have the winning hook. My crew said I started bouncing almost immediately, but I didn't feel it until after I let go of the wheel. In either case, I did get bounced around in the cage pretty good, bruising my elbow on my radio. All in all, while it was a disappointing run, we didn't suffer any injuries or do any real damage to the tractor, and since it was a non-points event, it didn't really matter in the grand scheme of things. Still, you always want to do better than 1 1/2" ahead of last place at your home town pull.

Placing the sled on the high line would have worked better, and closing my visor would have helped, but the fact is, I wasn't hooking to the track, and there was probably nothing I could have done to win. A little more water in the track, and it might have been a whole different story.

HSTPA was unable to provide results sheets at the pull and naturally their web site will never be updated, but I did find the results in the Frankfort News the next day. Deane 300, Feiss 286, Miller 260, Krider 255, Stahl 236, Piekarski 215.28, and Ratliff 215.15. Congratulations to Don Deane for figuring out that track and making the only good pass in the mod class.

Saturday, July 12, 2008

Jerseyville, IL
The last forecast I saw before I left was for clear skies. Either that changed, or they were wrong. Anyway, we hit very little rain on the way over, but the skies were ominous looking. Radar showed pop up storms, that spiraled around the fairgrounds, but we never got any rain, at least until almost show time. Then it poured. We were supposed to be second class, but they bumped us to third because of a questionable track.

Following the rain, the slop was thick, but the track crew did an excellent job and built a better track than we had last year. Bollenger made their first pass of the 2008 season with Money Pit and Top Gun. Money Pit was first to the line, and Steve made a decent looking pass to 273 or so (I did get the official results, so I am going on memory). I hooked and anxious to see if the mag rebuild fixed the popping in the front left motor. The tractor came to life and we pulled about 275, putting us in the lead. Lender was next up and skipped around the track, and finished just between Money pit and me. Veney was next up and made a great pass out to 314. Because of the soil at Jerseyville, no one really gets great ground speed. At first, I didn't think he was going to hook up and go far, but he just never slowed down. Terry Jostock was next with brand new frame rails and never got hooked to the track. He was way back and would finish last. Top Gun made a decent pass, and finished just ahead or just behind it's stable mate. Last up of the 7 competitors was Bob Jostock. Bob initially drifted left and seemed to fight the left line, but made a good pass out to 308. So, Ken Veney gets the win with Bob a close seconds. We finished third in a tight pack of 4. The Three tractors between Terry and I moved us into 3rd Place in points. The NTPA pull finished about 1:30. I wasn't wearing a watch, and I don't know if that was IN or IL time, but I think it was IL. Then there were open class farm stocks that ran until 4AM.

While the track and the staging and run off areas were pretty good for the conditions that they had to work with, the same cannot be said for the rest of the fairgrounds. There was a 1" thick ribbon of mud around each rear tire. Remember back two weeks to Georgetown, we spent about 20 minutes scrapping the tires before loading in the trailer. The next challenge would be getting the semi back out to the road. Or plan was to leave and drive partway home, but that was when we thought we would leave at 8:30 or 9. Now, we just wanted to sleep, but felt we should at least get to pavement while there was still a lot of help. I was able to back out of or pit space fine, but was advised to just let a big 8x8 articulated Ford tow me up to the pavement. That was probably the right choice.

We spent the night in the fairgrounds, and left Saturday morning. The one interesting thing that happened on the way home is that we stopped at a Perkins in Jacksonville, IL for breakfast the a different waitress came up and asked if we were the ones she saw at Jerseyville last night. Kind of cool.

Monday, July 07, 2008

Important Schedule Update - Greentown is Canceled!
We just found out that Greentown has dropped the Mod class because there is a Regional National hook the same night at Wilmington, OH. So, the Mod class has been canceled. If you are relying on the HSTPA schedule, it would probably be a good idea to double check before making travel plans as this is still incorrectly listed. Our only Kokomo area appearance will now be Frankfort, IN on Wednesday, the 16th.

Wednesday, July 02, 2008

Georgetown (session 2)
It was a beautiful day. We performed minor maintenance on the tractor and even had time to take care of some non-essential tasks, like hooking up a radio in the trailer. The Georgetown crew waited to prep the track as a large storm was approaching. It split and went around the track, they sprung into action and quickly built a good track for the night. Just as they were about to finish, a pop-up storm soaked the place. So, again, the scraped off the slop, and built a second track. The pull started an hour or two late, but there was a good crowd on hand.

Again we were third class, but a rain out at Arcola, brought 2 state level mods to play, bringing the field to 7. We were 4th hook tonight, bulling dead center both nights. Bob Jostock was first with a nice run to 308 (with a floating finish to speed up the show). Terry broke a belt and finished back from there. Ratliff was up next and immediately threw a belt off the rear of his triple motor tractor. He had a hard time shifting, so I think that engine may have had problem from the get go. Next up was us, this time of the right (and correct) side of the track. I was a little cautious out of the hole because I wasn't sure of the track conditions, but it hooked well and we made a great pass, until 1/2 way the belt broke. Even on 3 motors, we managed nearly 300'. Feiss was next and I didn't see his run, but he ended up 5th. Ron Linder made a fantastic pass out to 315', losing a belt at the end. That left Ken Veney. He spotted the sled more left and had a good hole shot, but the tractor went left into the bad part of the track and one wheeled really bad. He shut it off early, for a 6th place finish about 215. This gave Ron Linder his first 1st Grand National finish. Congratulation Ron. We finished third, and emerge this weekend 4th in points., one point behind Terry Jostock.

Had had noticed some popping on the tractor and were unable to find the source over the last few pulls, but video confirmed that the popping quit when the belt broke and the issue seems to be a magon the front right motor. We have already sent the mag our for service and hope that is the problem.

Georgetown (session 1)
While it was nice at home when we left, we drove in and out of clouds on the way there. We hit somewhat heavy rain on the west side of Cincinnati, but all looked good at we headed into Georgetown, at least until we got close. It never rained on us, but the pavement was wet and the side ditches were full and running hard. But, there would be no worries, as the rest of the night was dry and pleasant.

The mods were third class of 4, and there were only 5 of us. This is not the track I remember pulling in our previous 2 trips to the September pull in Georgetown. What I remember was somewhat white, and really sandy and hard. This was normal colored dirt, less sandy, and somewhat sticky, actually much better than I remembered. The one thing I noticed was the tractor were throwing up little balls of dirt, the size of marbles to almost golf balls. The problem was the grader took a good portion of those back behind the starting line and ruts were developing on the right side of the track. So, we made the decision to go on the left, where no one had went. The track was flat and smooth, and seemed to be a little higher, so we would get a decent boost in the hole shot. Well, that was a mistake. The tractor never hooked, and we only managed 271, while the rest of the class was near or beyond the 300 mark. Oops. We finished last, but with the small class of 5, it didn't hurt us much in points. The newly assembled engine on the tractor ran fine, and that was our biggest concern.

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