Just two weeks before the Mexico FFA Truck and Tractor Pull, Kyle Roth of the Mexico Young Farmers was optimistic about track conditions. But steady rain and cloudy weather that once gave him hope …
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Just two weeks before the Mexico FFA Truck and Tractor Pull, Kyle Roth of the Mexico Young Farmers was optimistic about track conditions. But steady rain and cloudy weather that once gave him hope nearly caused the event’s demise.
The Mexico FFA Chapter held its second annual Truck and Tractor Pull, with the help of the Mexico Young Farmers, on Saturday at the Audrain County 4-H center. The Truck and Tractor Pull is the FFA’s biggest fundraiser, but standing water on the track was cause for concern.
“We had a mud mess starting Thursday night,” Roth said.
With so much invested, Roth held out even when talks of canceling became serious, and it paid off as a sunny Saturday was all they needed to get rid of the excess water.
Even though Roth said the tracks were perfect, Terry Hagedorn, of Thompson, knew from experience that he was only half right.
“I rate tracks one to 10 — 10 being the best thing you’ll ever run on, and one being terrible,” Hagedorn said. “This is probably five and a half.”
Hagedorn explained that the ground was soft, which is perfect conditions for the tractors, but the pickup trucks would have a difficult time.
“If you look at tractors, they’ve got quite a bit of power, they’ll have really wide tires and the tire plates will be almost like you drew them on there with an ink pen,” he said. “They don’t move much dirt.”
Usually when you see Hagedorn on the track, he’s pulling a sled, but at the Mexico FFA Truck and Tractor Pull, he’s packing down the track between pulls. And with 17 classes, he had a long night of work ahead of him.
Roth said during the test and tune, 61 competitors went down the track, but more would be pulling Saturday evening. As the first pull of the season, the Mexico FFA Truck and Tractor Pull attracted teams from states as far as Colorado.
Four drivers from Riverbottom Diesel and the Ratliff Brothers drove 12 hours together to compete Saturday. Jarrett Ratliff, driver of Dirty Money, said they came to Mexico to get some practice on good tracks because all they have in Colorado is sand.
“Hopefully it’ll bite enough and we can get some good data,” Ratliff said.
Some competitors, like Ratliff and his team, were first timers, but other teams, such as Thunderstruck out of Washington, Missouri, came back to the Mexico FFA pull to start their season.
Zach Jasper, driver of the original Thunderstruck mini rod, said the Mexico FFA event always has a good turnout.
“I honestly wasn’t expecting this many people, but I guess it’s nice weather, it’s not too hot being the beginning of summer,” he said. “I love it here.”
Jasper said he was going to pull his small-block Chevrolet with a 671-supercharger right out the end of the gate — all it would take is the right gear, right setup and a good mindset.
“I think we’ll get some power to the ground,” he said. “We’ll put on a good show for everybody.”
For more photos, see The Mexico Ledger's online photo galleries
