Scrutinizing the Schedules Searching for Standouts
Scrutinizing the Schedules Searching for Standouts
As outdoor pulling season draws nearer and nearer with each week’s latest edition of the Beer Money Blog, so too does each of our appetites to consume the competition we love increase. However, late March finds us in a bit of a dry spell as the indoor season certainly is in the final dregs of its portions, and the weather is simply still too wet and chilly for major outdoor pulls to commence. We will see a scattering of really excellent southern outdoor destination pulls in the coming weeks. Hammond, Louisiana comes to mind for instance. But, if we dial in on the three national level schedules, regardless of how badly we may want to tell ourselves, the closest pull in our sights is still a solid two months away.
The longer one might gaze at these schedules though, the more we might begin to realize we are struggling to see the forest due to the trees. These schedules in and of themselves offer a nice bit of day-dreaming content, and inherently, are worth some breakdowns of their own. Let’s take a deeper look at the three tentative national level pulling schedules, and see what gems and stories we can uncover that will shape the direction of our upcoming 2025 season.
We can see the Outlaw Truck and Tractor Pulling Association has stuck to, by and large, a familiar pattern, opening up the points chase with one of the furthest western pulls in the U.S. at Ravenna, NE. This is one of their cornerstone pulls, and is a major two day event. It sets the tone really well for the association who identifies themselves as the west-of-the-Mississippi bunch. The schedule remains mostly true to form throughout, with some differences here and there. One thing that is always worth noting about the Outlaw schedule, is the sheer magnitude. It is a gauntlet. Running into mid-October and booking 342 total class hooks, this is a schedule for the die-hards. There is no such thing as too much pulling. Venues that stand out to me when analyzing this tentative version would be Lindsay, Texas; Cambridge and Freeport, Illinois; and Rock Valley, Iowa. Lindsay, Texas makes its way to the schedule in lieu of Whitewright, Texas. Whitewright was a foundational level event for not only the Outlaws, but the world of pulling as a whole. For the first time in decades, it won’t happen. Land developers have changed the vision of the property. Lindsay will certainly have big shoes to fill. Cambridge and Freeport symbolize the mission of the Outlaws right now: growth and expansion. The western group will head east of the Mississippi for the first time in a long time as it builds its relationship with the Land of Lincoln. Finally, Rock Valley, Iowa, a pull that needs no introduction, has decided to go to a three day format this year, moving Saturday afternoon’s pull to Thursday. With two pulls on Saturday that rivaled the numbers of Bowling Green, this feels like a good move.
The Pro Pulling League will stick to a familiar play of the playbook by sandwiching its season between two major events in Nashville, Illinois, starting the year by being the host association for The Pullers Championship and ending it with The Southern Illinois Showdown at the same venue. This is a fun move that allows for satisfying symmetry from a fan’s perspective. Much of the PPL schedule looks to be very similar this year, with staple hooks in Goshen, Hillsboro, and at Wagler’s. Now I will be the first to admit, that I don’t always keep these schedules under a microscopic lens, but my memory seems to tell me the Elkhart County Fair used to be a three session pull, where it now appears to be a two session showing, and of course Hillsboro at one time was as large as four sessions, appears to be a double session now as well. However, anyone who knows anything about my back story, knows there is one pull that will stand out as big as anything to my eyes, and it can be found on the PPL summer schedule: The Show Me Showdown, returns under its original moniker to Macon, Missouri this summer. My hometown pull. Macon has played host to all three national level associations over its years, and has taken hiatuses at various points, 2024 included, despite having a monster pull with the Outlaws in 2023. This year will see it with a new association under new promotion, on a new date. Two days with lots of sparkplugs as the modifieds, two wheel drive trucks, and four wheel drives all show up to throw down. Here is what makes me nervous: It falls on the same date as Tomah. Will this affect a “first year” pull? That’s a big giant to double up with.
The National Tractor Pullers Association heads back to North Carolina to jumpstart their season in May. I have always been a fan of starting things early in the south, and getting things going a little sooner for us starved fans. After Benson, however, things get a little shaken up as it looks like Hutchison and Farley have essentially swapped dates. This is naturally in response to the absolute giga-pull the Simon family is endeavoring to create. Like The Pullers Championship, it will be a stand alone pull, but the NTPA will be serving as host technicians. Obviously this single pull wins the award for most eyeballs on it this summer. The pulling world will come to a standstill for one weekend in June as all alert will be in eastern Iowa.
The gas pedal isn’t lifted one bit as the next two pulls NTPA has on its schedule are two of the three it declares as Super Nationals, reaching above the label of grand to pay attention to the size and prestige. They will head to historic Tomah, Wisconsin at the end of June, and then make their way to Chapel Hill, Tennessee where the Lions Super Pull of the South celebrates its fiftieth year. However, I must point out that this swing in the NTPA schedule always leaves me scratching my head a little bit, and I have mixed feelings about it. Intelligently they give us a Super National Pull once a month during the season. Tomah in June; Chapel Hill in July; and Bowling Green in August. The catch for me is the lull between Tomah and Chapel Hill. We get back to back Super National pulling, with an entire month break, and not a single Grand National hook between the two. I am sure pullers love the chance to recoup and rebuild, but as a fan, I find myself kind of… looking around. Furthering the confusion takes us to the weekend after Chapel Hill where we find two of the biggest pulls in the country: Fort Recovery, Ohio and Brandenburg, Kentucky sharing the same weekend. I would wonder at the opening between the two big pulls.
There will be tons of action hitting the track a mere two months from now. Keep in mind that while this article may have drug on, or bored you, we are now closer to the beginning of pulling season than we were when you started reading it. Pulling is fun to examine on a macro level, the narratives of the season can best be seen when viewing the season as a wholistic entity of its own. Which narratives stand out to you the most?
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Mike Eitel
Engagement Specialist
Beer Money Pulling Team
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