Revvin' Up for Ravenna

Revvin’ Up for Ravenna

This article finds us in the same calendar week as a national level Outlaw Truck and Tractor Pulling Association event. It has been quite some time,October of 2023, actually, since we have been able to make that claim. It is pull week, baby! The Outlaws will be kicking off our season this Friday and Saturday, in the town of Ravenna, Nebraska for a two session, full weekend event. Multi-session events are a big deal and a reason to get extra amped up in this great association. Looking down the schedule, folks will see a marathon. Pullers might even call it a gauntlet. Fans will simply call it awesome. Thirty nine destinations. Six of them are multi-session events. Luckily, we begin and end our season with precisely such events. Two days of pulling action to start off the season, in the great state of Nebraska. 

What words best emphasize the emotions felt by pullers, fans, and promoters at the beginning of a new season? Optimism and hope get thrown around a lot. One, I personally like, is intrigue. It’s the anticipation of the uncertain. The story that hasn’t yet been told. The unwritten script of a successful season loomed before us. To put it plainly: What awesome things are we going to see this season, and who is going to win?! 

Ravenna is chapter one in that story. And unlike your boring summer reading list, chapter one for us isn’t just about slowly introducing characters, that will only lead to you taking an early nap. Chapter one, kicks things off with a bang. Eleven horsepower dripping, methanol and diesel burning, smoke bellowing, tire flying classes will come off the starting line. Twice! This weekend. Let’s break them down in groups, and see what stories each is waiting to tell us this year. 

Two wheel drives, Diesel Super Stocks, and Light Limited Modifieds. The Outlaw two wheel drives are the best two wheel drives in all of pulling, and one of the single best classes in all of motorsports. That is a bold statement, and I will stand by it every time. In this class you’re going to see all the Texas drivers slugging it out amongst the rest of the midwest. Ray Miller will look to defend a points championship, but Richard Morris is hoping to bring that title back to the Show-Me State. They both will have to navigate names like Donald Nelson and Mendi Brown to win. I personally think we will see Scott Wiens from Nebraska make a hard charge for it. The diesel super stocks look to be a stable show this year. This class goes boom a lot, and numbers have been a struggle for all associations. On the surface, it seems to be Doug Meisinger and Scrappy’s class to lose, but with iron like The Remedy High Tech and the Intimidator waiting in the wings, nothing is certain. Brad Campbell also seems to have Maybee dialed in. Plus there is that legend from Minnesota who likes to show up with us, that can always shake things up. Will the King of Smoke hook regularly with the Outlaws this year? We sure hope so. Light limited mods will offer all the variety we love. Brothers Otte look to defend their one and two holds on the summit of mod mountain, but what about that hard running smoke blower that was making a charge last season? Will we see a hemi win that class? Ravenna will hold some answers. 

Light Limited Pro Stocks, Limited Pro Stocks, Light Super Stocks. Tractor time. The light limited pro stock class is wide open this year! The inside scoop tells us defending champion Mark Wiggins will be running a lighter season in 2024. The Demon Deere very well may not be the one to beat, then. Does that mean Goslar’s Spare Time is going to slide nicely into that number one spot, or will we see a red tractor in that class take over? The limited pro stocks are another class that I would claim members from the Outlaws absolutely dominate in. George Beyer debuted a brand new version of Side Piece at The Pullers Championship. There looked to be absolutely no bugs to work out in that machine. He will be tough to beat this year. But with a class that is loaded top to bottom, if he is going to repeat as champion, he will have to be on his A-game every single night to make it happen. There is absolutely no room for error in that class. How about some methanol flames in all this smoke? Light super stocks are the bucking broncos of the pulling world. Light weight. Heavy power. I think we will see several guests shaking up the money piles in this class this year. I look for names like Bobby Jones or Colton Whitworth to pop up more than once. As far as who I think will come out on top? I think this is the most wide open class of all. However, if those Cases from Kansas run full time, or that New Holland out of Missouri… then again, I can think of a man on a 5488 who just might be the last one standing at the end of the season. 

Light Super Stock-Ag, Modifieds, Pro Stock Four Wheel Drives. The noise boys, as Dave Bennett would say. What will it take to knock off the father-son duo out of South Dakota in the light super-ag class? A perfect season. I think you will have to be perfect to beat them. However, in my opinion, there is a footballin’ John Deere out of Iowa, and some smoke blowers from Missouri that could very well put together a perfect season. Modifieds. Forget about it. There is no way I can even pretend to make a prediction. This class came down to the last hook of the season last year. It is full of legends top to bottom. Any of them can come out on top. Pro stock four wheelers are just good old fashioned fun. Track reading. RPM’s. Throttle and clutch control. Will someone knock off that Bipolar pickup this year? I think a hot streak in the middle of the season by a veteran or rookie could open up the door. 

Pro Stocks and Super Farms. Big cubic inches. Big smoke. I think each of these classes will come down to consistency. I don’t think major victories will win championships here. With twenty two, and twenty three hooks respectively, the seasons for both these classes will be a war, not a battle. I think the drivers who finish top five, or even top three night in and night out will win your points battles. Could even be someone who never grabs a first all year long. 

Lots of stories are being lined out in chapter one. That is a good reason to go pulling. The word to describe it all: anticipation. Will we have all the answers after Ravenna? Of course not, but will the stage be set for an amazing 2024 season? That you can count on! 

Pullin’ is fun. 

Mike Eitel 

Engagement Specialist

Beer Money Pulling Team

660.342.0206

michael.eitel.bevier@gmail.com