Texas Didn’t Get Messed With: A Review of Whitewright
Texas Didn’t Get Messed With: A Review of Whitewright
Don’t mess with Texas. That’s the old adage regarding the Lone Star state. Despite its braggadocious and aggressive tone, Texas was nothing but humble and hospitable to the Outlaws this weekend, as we traveled south for a two track, two session mega event. Well, I will rephrase a bit, the people were hospitable. The heat showed a bit of an attitude with temperatures nearing 100 degrees each day. The only thing hotter was probably the quality of show production and the level of competition on the track. It was obvious, this was a big one. Not only did our traditional lineup of Outlaw warriors lineup to throw down, we also played host to some brand new iron, and some legendary guests. All of which helped to create a top tier atmosphere in front of two completely sold out crowds on Friday and Saturday night.
We joined forces with the Texas Tractor Pullers Association to put on a double show, between the two tracks. They brought out an excellent collection of econo-mods, pro modifieds, pro stock trucks, and more. On our side of the tracks, the Outlaws displayed five national level classes putting our best horsepower forward this weekend. It was an event for the heavy hitters. Loyal Lone Starians were treated to the modifieds, diesel super stocks, pro stocks, modified two wheel drives, and limited pro stock diesel trucks each night. Leading off the evening on Friday night were the 7,400 pound modified tractors. This class immediately gave the fans and enthusiasts a lot to discuss. Long time pulling legend Wayne Sullivan opted to bring his latest version of his historic modified he calls The Kentuckian down to Texas to play in our sandbox. We were more than happy to host, but that doesn’t mean our drivers wanted to give him the father’s chair immediately. Mr. Sullivan was going to have to earn every inch of that Texas dirt. Two Texas natives clearly had some extra desire to win, and their mods were set on kill. The finishing order reflected precisely that: Donald Nelson displayed arguably one of the best runs of the entire evening parking Twisted Whip just slightly in front of fellow Texas driver, Cameron Neaves, and Cotton Candy to grab the win. Cameron would settle for a hard-charged second place, but proving he had gained all the knowledge his reputation indicated, Wayne Sullivan put the Kentuckian directly into third. A very solid class. If you are looking for a recap of Saturday nights mod class, the best thing you can do is re-read this paragraph. You know the variables of the experiment are accurate when the results duplicate. These three finished in the exact same order on Saturday, giving Mr. Bullwhip, Donald Nelson a weekend sweep, after he hooked last in the class and picked up his second victory in two days.
Next were the diesel super stock tractors. Gremlins. Gremlins. Gremlins. This class was possessed all weekend long. Almost all drivers suffered catastrophic failure, or were unable to move their monsters of power down the track. But perhaps they were just being more generous hosts than their modified counterparts, for they were also welcoming a legendary guest to the class. Steve and Stan Blagrave, Texas natives, brought their famous IH, Redhorse to the track to give it a go. Their runs were smooth to the point of being called gentle. They won both nights, almost by default, as mentioned earlier, the bulk of the field battled the gremlins under the hood. Saturday night was a new night, and the Outlaw tractors hoped to rebound. One big change we saw was a driver switch in the internet super-followed tractor, The Remedy. Jason Schultz, Mr. Beer Money himself would be piloting his new tractor for the first time. Sadly, however, the gremlins just wouldn’t go away. Not only for Jason, but for the whole fleet. The Texas team seemed to have the Redhorse acclimated to the heat, however, parking that tractor on the money side of the track, and picking up a weekend sweep for the Blagrave team.
The pro stocks came next where we welcomed two brand new vehicles that have committed to pull with us moving forward. The Wegers, a father/ son team from Oklahoma brought a pair of matching red tractors to debut in Whitewright. They fell to Doug Sobotka who is on a mission this year, picking up a Friday night win, but they captured lightning in a bottle as father Lacey Wager grabbed his first career Outlaw win on Saturday night with his tractor he calls Must Be Nice, while sixteen year old son, Kaden picked up a bronze finish in his pro stock dubbed Kids Inheritance, proving we have a new force to be reckoned with in the crowd favorite pro stock class.
The two wheel drives rounded out the show on the west track both nights. This is a class the state of Texas is known for. Seventeen vehicles met the call, and it was a battle of the points champions on both nights. 2022 champion David Morris picked up a yet another win in his classic Jeep Willys body styled hemi powered machine he calls Buffalo’s Chips. 2023 points champion vehicle, Another Bad Decisions, this time driven by Jake Miller was your winner on Saturday night. The two-wheelers battled a track that had begun to pull most vehicles to the left by this point in the show.
The Outlaws shifted over to the east track for one final class each night where the limited pro stock diesel trucks rounded out each show on both nights. It was class sponsor, and perennial hard charger Jason Wayman sweeping the class for the weekend, picking up a pair of gold medal finishes and taking an early stronghold on the points race for the season. Building speed while avoiding the bounce was the key to success on this track, and the big blue Megatron diesel was the epitome of both smooth and fast during his time in Texas.
It was a hot weekend down south, but the fans and pullers were not deterred. A packed house both nights saw everything you could want in a pull. This weekend had legendary guests, rookie victories, power-houses performing, and tricky tracks that were tamed by pullers who live up to their name every weekend. They are Outlaws. Heck, we even heard from a long-missed, and never forgotten voice as Mr. Dave Bennett himself made his way to a microphone.
The Outlaws will take the 4th of July weekend off. Spend some time with your families. Thank a veteran. Roast a smore. Then get ready for the thunder. We are back in action the following week as we go all over the midwest in pulls Wednesday through Saturday.
Pulling is fun.
Mike Eitel
Engagement Specialist
Outlaw Truck and Tractor Pulling Association
660.342.0206
michael.eitel.bevier@gmail.com
