Hothem Hunts Down Hirt to Hoist the Hardware
Hothem Hunts Down Hirt to Hoist the Hardware
In my personal opinion the super stock class is the cornerstone class of the tractor pulling world. When it all started, and at the end of the day, fans, farmers, and enthusiasts want to see tractors. They want to cheer for their beasts of the field, and wear their preferred brands loyally on their shirt sleeves. While there have been an absolute multitude of classes evolve over the years, including several at the current time that are much more comparable to what farmers work with than the modern day super stock, in the beginning it was a simple lineup. Fans could watch either modifieds or super stocks. Tractors, or creations. Each with their own weight limit. All other classes of tractors have evolved based on needs and adaptations of the times.
As the sport evolved the super stock class, the class that allowed multiple turbochargers and fuel combinations was met with many challenges. The weight classes began merging, and the dual of the fuels began to get heated. More and more builders were opting to run in the more consistent single charger classes available in the pro stock family. At one point we were asking ourselves if the heavier weight class of the super stocks was going to be able to continue at all?
Luckily, for whatever reason, the Pro Pulling League, from its inception has always been somewhat of a safe-haven for alcohol burners and super stocks. Many competitors have been running this circuit for the better part of three decades, attracting some of the most competitive names in the sport.
This season was no different. Seven vehicles lined up to do battle in the Unlimited Super Stock division over the course of seven events. A precise balance of drivers and pulls. However, by season’s end it was clear that while seven would consistently garner points, this year’s competition was going to be a good old fashioned shootout between two very seasoned and competitive drivers: juggernauts named Jeff.
Jeff Hothem and Jeff Hirt accounted for every single first place finish in the series this year. Hothem represented team John Deere, albeit not always green (or even the same color as it was the year before), and Hirt played for team Case IH. Through the first four events of the year, it appeared that Hirt was poised to pull off a repeat and grab his second title in as many years. Three hooks, and one rainout yielded three first place finishes for Jeff Hirt through Joliet, IL; Freeport, IL; Goshen, IN (two sessions) respectively. As a matter of fact, as we dive more deeply into the statistics we can see that not only did Hirt finish first in each of these three first official events, but that Hothem finished second in every one of them as well, meaning that through the first half of the season, these two competitors had entirely claimed each of the top two spots.
After a brief halftime, the season resumed in Mt. Sterling, IL where we saw a flipping of the script. Jeff Hothem would grab his first victory of the year, while Hirt seemed to understand the pattern, and parked his red machine in the number two spot. At this point, it was clear these were the competitors to beat, but Hirt still maintained a narrow points lead. The crescendo of the season would ring out over the final two events of the year. Despite finishing the first three hooks in the silver spot, Hothem would grab three consecutive golds to finish out the year. Now, had Hirt continued with what appeared to be the plan, and finished in second at each of these events, we would have had a truly sticky situation on our hands.
Unfortunately for Hirt, however, the final two pulls of the season resulted in a fourth place finish in Salem, IL and a fifth place finish in West Salem, OH leaving the margin of victory just open enough for Jeff Hothem to take home the gold.
What an entertaining battle. What a great year for Jeff Hothem and the Fully Loaded team. Six pulls, resulting in three seconds and three firsts, all the while hunting down and staving off the previous year’s champion.
Super stock pulling presents to fans some of the wildest, and most finicky rides in the whole sport, but beyond that, some of the best battles and competitive narratives each season. Well done to the whole fleet of pullers in the Pro Pulling League Unlimited Super Stock class, with a special tip of the cap to the man from Dellroy, OH- Jeff Hothem and his Fully Loaded John Deere.
