Tractor pull gives enthusiasts fun outlet

MOSES LAKE — Three days of competition to see whose tractor can pull the most weight is scheduled for Friday, Saturday and Sunday in the Ardell Pavilion at the Grant County Fairgrounds. The Northwest Fall National Antique and Classic Tractor and Truck Pull is sponsored by the Columbia Basin Antique Power Club.

Update: Some dates and times were incorrect when this story was first published. These have been corrected.

MOSES LAKE — Three days of competition to see whose tractor can pull the most weight is scheduled for Friday, Saturday and Sunday in the Ardell Pavilion at the Grant County Fairgrounds. The Northwest Fall National Antique and Classic Tractor and Truck Pull is sponsored by the Columbia Basin Antique Power Club.

Admission is free. Competition for the Antique and Classic Tractor and Truck Pull begins at 2 p.m. Friday and 8:30 a.m. Saturday and Sunday. Truck pulling competition is at 6 p.m. Saturday.

The antique power is provided by old tractors. Any entrants must have been manufactured before 1960, said Glenn Carrigan, one of the organizers. Newer tractors do compete, but in a different category, he said.

Owners can modify the engines but they must use tractor parts, and they must be from the original manufacturer, Carrigan said. Owners can even replace the engines, but they must be tractor engines and must be from the original manufacturer, he said. It's OK to soup up the engines – Carrigan said he turned up the horsepower on the larger of his tractors to 100 hp. Owners of pulling tractors aren't really looking for more speed, Carrigan said. It's all about power.

Competitors hook the tractor up to a sled loaded with weights, to a maximum of 24,000 pounds. To make it tougher the sled is geared to add more and more resistance as the tractor moves down the course, usually 300 feet in length, Carrigan said. "There's no hurry about it. You take your time and pull as hard as you can," Carrigan said in an earlier interview, until the tractor dies, the engine stalls or the load won't move another inch.

Tractors also have speed restrictions, he said, and must not exceed the designated speed limit. Maximum speeds range from three to eight mph. The winner is the driver who pulls the load the furthest total distance throughout the competition, he said.

Of course, a tractor with a heavy load on the back needs some weight in the front to keep from stalling out. Like all competitors, Carrigan has added extensions to the front, side and back of his tractor to load the extra weight. Some tractors rumble down the course packing 600 to 800 pounds, and more.

"It's competition. Competition – that's what it's all about. Can your tractor out-pull mine?" he said. Carrigan's competition tractors were built in 1937 and 1941. He likes John Deere, but other competitors use International Harvester, Allis-Chalmers, Ford, Case or Oliver, he said.

Carrigan he said he used to race cars and motorcycles, and tractor pulling is another way to satisfy that competitive urge. He restored tractors before moving to Moses Lake, and got a reputation for his work. Word got around, and "a guy got hold of me and said, 'You know, you need to pull.'" Carrigan said he's been competing in tractor pulls for seven years.

But "this will be my last year of pulling," he said. The years have added up, he said, and besides, he's got tractors awaiting restoration, along with a classic 1970s car.