Gentlemen, start your engines.
The Grand River Truck and Tractor Pull rolls into town later this month for two nights of engine roaring, dirt flying fun.
Derek Bruder says it’s all about pitting farmers against each other to see whose tractor is the best.
![The Grand River Truck and Tractor Pull will run two nights this year in Elora, instead of just one, to include more classes and more entertainment for fans.[Whitney Neilson / The Observer]](https://www.observerxtra.com/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/post_truck1.jpg)
“This year our Friday night is local night, so it’s local farm tractors, local off the street pickups and then the king of the pull pulling series, which is all local farm tractors. Saturday night is our circuit pullers. There are different levels of modified tractors and modified pickup trucks,” Bruder said.
Local means the vehicle comes from within about a 50k radius of Elora and the pickup trucks and tractors are used every day for farming or transportation.
The big draw on Saturday night will be the pro stock tractors, which are hand built machines made especially for these types of events. Many people will come out Friday to see the king of the pull pulling series.
“What the king of the pull is, is there are three of the local tractor classes where the competitors accumulate points between three of the local pulls, Drayton, Elora and Fergus. Then after Fergus the points are all tallied up and there’s a winner in each class,” Bruder explained.
The winner gets cash, a trophy, but most importantly – bragging rights.
The Grand River Truck and Tractor Pull began in 2004, but was a continuation of the Elmira Truck and Tractor Show, which started as a sanctioned event in 1999. It’s actually been ongoing since the ‘80s Bruder says.
With such a longstanding tradition, there’s bound to be some rivalry. Last year’s first place winners were Paul Brubacher from Gads Hill in the 17,500 pounds category, Roger McAlister from Arthur in the 22,000 pound category, and Kevin Visakaly from Arthur in the 32,000 pound category.
“The king of the pull has been a different winner each year and most of the competitors are based out of Woolwich Township or Wellington County. So it is a big local rivalry,” Bruder said.
He expects there to be about 150 competing vehicles this year, since they expanded the event to two nights. They made the change because they wanted to offer more classes and create a better show for the fans.
“There’s always been a very strong following of people for tractor pulling in this area, as well there’s been a lot more exposure to the sport the last five years for the younger generation,” Bruder said.
The Ontario Truck and Tractor Pull Association sanctioned event will feature a wide variety of vehicles from local farm tractors to super mod 4×4 trucks.
Bruder says it’s important to keep the event going and growing.
“Number one, it helps support local agricultural societies, and number two it’s fun, and number three it’s good entertainment for the community at a good value,” Bruder said.
The event starts at 6 p.m. on August 21 and August 22 at the Grand River Raceway. Friday night tickets are $10 for adults and free for kids. Saturday night it’s $15 for adults and $5 for kids. A weekend pass for adults is $20 and a weekend family pass for two adults and two kids is $40.
