Something to Cheer for. Something to Believe in.
Something to Cheer for. Something to Believe in.
Truck and tractor pulling continues to evolve into an ever engaging, fully accessible, and year round sport. It’s a competition and a spectacle. A chance to test new ideas, develop cutting edge technology, and experiment with the limits of man and machine in the world of motorsports. For drivers, it’s the continual pursuit for the best performing setup that can be found. For fans, a place to applaud with excitement these accomplishments and feats. With more and more indoor pulls, warm-destination pulls, and live streamed content, the off season for our world has all but disappeared. This allows drivers the opportunity to take their vehicles down the track sooner, and more frequently. It gives fans the horsepower fix to dampen their cravings.
What motivates drivers to load up their haulers in the middle of winter and drive a thousand miles for thirteen seconds of action? What keeps fans coming out all over the country, convoying their families and building vacations centered around this wild endeavor? The question may be a little trickier to answer than we realize. Drivers might respond with phrases such as: We love it. Or, It’s in our blood. Fan’s may simply note: It’s awesome. Or, We love the smoke. All perfect and true responses. But if we had to pin down a concrete answer to the question of what takes us to the track? What would we say? We are looking for something to cheer for. Something to believe in.
That was a solid A to B pass. Ladies and gentlemen give him a round of applause. He’s gonna load it back on the trailer in one piece, and live to fight another day. This is a phrase that I have, and each announcer has gone to, in one variety or another, an uncountable amount of times. The recognition that this sport is wildly tough. Paying credit to a clean, middle of the pack run. In all honesty, this is what most drivers seek to accomplish. The track is a place to test their vehicle against their own standards. Make a mechanical or driving adjustment, and see if they perform better today than they did the weekend before. It’s about the setup. The science. But every great once in a while, a pulling team will find the perfect mixture of all the elements. They will capture lightning in a bottle, and they will not only win a pull, but they will go on a streak.
These are the stories that really have the potential to create repeat fans. Watching a driver begin to climb from the middle of the pack to the top. Winning pulls stops being the goal, and winning a points championship takes its place. The fans have found something to cheer for. And the driver, they have found something to believe in- themselves. You can see this in a driver’s eye midway through a season. It’s in the way they move around their vehicles. It’s the hunger in their eyes. They are no longer experimenting. Playing with fuel to air ratios for the data. They aren’t looking for the right weight balance. They’ve found it. All of it. They are there to compete. The experience shifts from a show to a sport. This is how the stories that create a season are written.
The most tangible example from recent history I have is the 2024 Outlaw 7,400 pound modified division points race that was won by Cameron Neaves of the Cotton Candy pulling team. After last year’s National Farm Machinery Show where the Cotton Candy machine, a mod that spends far and away the majority of its time with a two engine setup, finished in a second place position behind Brandon and RJ Simon’s Simon Sez, the world knew the pieces were there for something special. Cameron took to the track for the outdoor points race, and was consistently right in the mix, going toe to toe with a stacked field of tough competitors.
Drivers search. Drivers experiment. They try things. In Bloomfield, Iowa just shy of the halfway point of the season, I caught up with Cameron in the pits. He had an excited and optimistic energy about him. Searching. Trying. Experimenting. The Cotton Candy machine was wearing some brand new treads. Would an investment in different tires be the difference maker? Oh yeah. The Neaves team won that night in Bloomfield. Not only did Cotton Candy pickup a win that evening to turn the tides, but the team went on to win seven of their next ten hooks enroute to a dominating points victory. Their first in two decades.
With Cameron’s father, George being inducted into the Outlaw Truck and Tractor Pulling Association Hall of Fame this off season, it is no secret that the Neaves family pulling team is of legendary status. Their 2024 season that brought a championship was like a breath of fresh air to the world. It gave the fans something to cheer for. It gave the team something to believe in.
Green Flags and Tight Chains
Pulling is Fun.
Mike Eitel
Beer Money Pulling Team
Engagement Specialist
michael.eitel.bevier@gmail.com
660.342.0206
