Louisville List Looms Large
Louisville List Looms Large
This article is an examination of the 2025 National Farm Machinery Show competitors' list which can be found here: Pullers | 2025 | Championship Tractor Pull
We may be a couple weeks removed from the Christmas holidays and festivities, but to the truck and tractor pulling world, the true list worth making and checking twice has just been released to the public. The National Farm Machinery Show competitor’s list. The stage has been set for the biggest indoor tractor pull in North America. For most pullers, the opportunity to pull in, or even win at Freedom Hall is the crown jewel of accomplishments. For fans, it’s like unwrapping presents all over again. Who’s in? What will the stories be? Which will be the most entertaining sessions? Who should we keep an eye on?
For this article I am going to let my thoughts run a little wild. I’m going to pick and prod at this list, discussing the narratives that stand out to me. The first thought I want to bring to the world is the exact same thought I have every year when the schedule is released- The Wednesday night of the farm show is the single best session in pulling. Period. Pulling can usually be viewed from two ends of a spectrum. Driver’s classes. Horsepower. On one end of the Wednesday night session we have Four Wheel Drive Trucks and Super Farms. To me these are major driver’s classes. The trucks are competing without the aid of any forced air. It is just machine and strategy. Across from that, for those who don’t love the sparkplug classes are the Super Farms. Huge cubic inches, but small turbochargers. Yet again, this is a man and machine class. I find they pair nicely. Swinging hard in the other direction are the 10,000 pound Pro Stocks and the Modifieds. These are your two major heavy hitters. Horsepower monsters. Smoke and plugs paired again. The fact that this is the only time all weekend we will see all twelve mods tackle the track at the same time, and we start with the whole show with a championship round (the trucks), make this my single favorite session in all of pulling.
Looking down this Wednesday night session two names stand out to me as drivers I will be watching very closely. Dustin Ridder and Jake Zaring. Team Zaring will be bringing the Rule 19 truck to the party this time around. Last year, son, Ike, set the show ablaze early on when he plowed his Bucket List truck through the sand pile. Will Jake have Rule 19 tuned for super-double kill as well? I find these guys to be some of the most entertaining drivers in the whole sport. Dustin Ridder is bringing a massive mountain motor that is true Ford blue through and through. When you try to pry the exact size of the motor from the lips of team Ridder, they usually just wink at you. It has been my casual observation that the short power track tends to favor the speedy 650 motors. But if there is one thing I know, it's that no one knows how to tame a beast like the central Missouri truck pilots. Keep an eye on these two.
The next thing that always jumps out to me when I examine the farm show is the Pro Stock class. This has evolved into the sport’s golden child. This class is loved by every single fan, and is probably the most marketable and accessible class we have right now. Perhaps this is why it is the most heavily campaigned class at the farm show. Four sessions of qualifying, with a Saturday night finale. The question then has to be asked: which qualifying session is going to be the toughest to make it out of, and therefore most entertaining to the folks in the stands?
While at face value, Wednesday night jumps out as it features the points champions from both NTPA and PPL, I am actually going to select Friday night. If I had to go through each session and pick out who I believe the qualifiers for the finals will be, at a quick glance I was able to limit it down to two tractors for each Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday afternoon. But Friday stumped me. I saw five tractors immediately that I anticipate will be in a dog fight. Furthermore, if there is one thing we know, it’s that obvious picks are never a guarantee, and that anything can happen. But with names like Conny, Masterson, Parrish, Shramek, and Simon all going to battle against a field on Friday night, I would say this is the session of big pro’s to watch.
Continuing with random thoughts and analyses of the farm show, my thoughts stay with the Pro Stock class, particularly last year’s winner: Jason Rauen. In the 2024 edition of the pull, Jason pulled off one of the more incredible feats of the whole show by sweeping his way through Saturday. He was tasked with that difficult task of having to qualify and pull on the same day. Not only did he qualify and pull, he won both Saturday afternoon, and Saturday night. I can only imagine a driver has mixed feelings about pulling two times in one day. Interestingly enough, Jason’s qualifying session for 2025 is slated to be Saturday afternoon again! Luck of the draw, I suppose.
I would also like to mull over a few things in the Super Modified Two Wheel Drive class before I put a button on this week’s article. A couple of drivers I will be paying attention to in this class are Craig Corzine and Dustin Corliss. I know the common nickname for Freedom Hall is The House that Masterson Built, but just a few years ago I was convinced the city of Louisville would be forced to reexamine the naming rights and we would be pulling in Corzine Hall. Craig’s passes on the triple engine mod were unbeatable for a while. The mod has since migrated to California, and the Corzine family has poured a big focus into family and the ITPA, but they still remain some of the fiercest competitors I have watched. With Craig returning to his roots in the two-wheeler class, and with a desire at redemption, I look for him to bend or even break the throttle on Rekindled this year. However, in order to do so, he will have to go through the state of Texas. A well known and accepted concept in this class. The folks from the Lone Star state bring some of the toughest iron year after year. Perhaps none more so accustomed to the winners circle than the good folks at the Texas Bullwhip Motorsports Team. Drivers Donald Nelson, Mendi Brown, and Dustin Corliss are always ready to do business in Louisville. This year is a special ride for Dustin in particular. The Texas Bullseye is moving on to a different location. This is his final ride. A swan song for the reliable T-Bucket. When speaking with Dustin, he informed me his goal was clear. Park that thing in the corner one last time, and make sure he gets two trips down the track before he sends it away.
There is no place like Louisville folks.
Green Flags and Tight Chains.
Pullin’ is fun.
Mike Eitel
Engagement Specialist
Beer Money Pulling Team
michael.eitel.bevier@gmail.com
660.342.0206
