In 1969 I,my brother,and a friend attended the 1969 M&W world championship
tractor pull and farm show....It was held in Sept on a farm just NE of LaPlata,MO...
We were there for all 3 days and a great time..
The first class up on Friday was the 5000 lb class..31 of the best 5000 lb tractors
in the US were invited to pull there..
1-First up was Russell Miner from Pleasant Plains,Illinois on his 1951 Wards ER..
He blew by the 6 MPH pace tractor so dropped and came right back..He made a
pull of 350'3" which 30 other tractors tried to beat but couldn't..2nd place was Val
Leefers from Carlinville,ILL on a 460 Farmall diesel at 330,3"....3rd place was Bud
Baird from Oak Grove,KY on a high rpm 460 Farmall gas at 318;9"..Bud would have
pulled further but broke his drawbar..Russell said his Wards was nose heavy but it
didn't keep him from winning..
2-A smiling Russell Miner receiving his 1st place trophy and $500 for from Elmo Meiners for
winning the 5000 class..Russells Wards had a 250 Chrysler flat head 6 with a 265 crank..It was
bored .125 with Jahns high dome pistons...It had a Isky cam and turned 6000
rpms...It had a factory dual 1 bbl carb intake and factory dual exhaust..The tires were
23.1x30 Firestones..
3-A smiling Russell Miner back home with his 1969 World Champ ER Wards..Picture
courtesy of the Miner family..
4-Night Mare as it looked in 2015...It was restored back to the way it looked in 1969..
Those are the same 23.1x30 tires that it won the 1969 M&W pull with..Russel is now in his
80's and is still with us...Picture courtesy of the Miner family..
5-My brother on Night Mare in 1971..After the 1970 pulling season Night Mare was
no longer competitive in Illinois so I purchased it and pulled it in MO until 1982
In ..In early 1983 Russell contacted me and wanted Night Mare back..I told him to
trade me a stock Wards and he did..He and his daughter classic pulled with it for years..
tractor pull and farm show....It was held in Sept on a farm just NE of LaPlata,MO...
We were there for all 3 days and a great time..
The first class up on Friday was the 5000 lb class..31 of the best 5000 lb tractors
in the US were invited to pull there..
1-First up was Russell Miner from Pleasant Plains,Illinois on his 1951 Wards ER..
He blew by the 6 MPH pace tractor so dropped and came right back..He made a
pull of 350'3" which 30 other tractors tried to beat but couldn't..2nd place was Val
Leefers from Carlinville,ILL on a 460 Farmall diesel at 330,3"....3rd place was Bud
Baird from Oak Grove,KY on a high rpm 460 Farmall gas at 318;9"..Bud would have
pulled further but broke his drawbar..Russell said his Wards was nose heavy but it
didn't keep him from winning..
2-A smiling Russell Miner receiving his 1st place trophy and $500 for from Elmo Meiners for
winning the 5000 class..Russells Wards had a 250 Chrysler flat head 6 with a 265 crank..It was
bored .125 with Jahns high dome pistons...It had a Isky cam and turned 6000
rpms...It had a factory dual 1 bbl carb intake and factory dual exhaust..The tires were
23.1x30 Firestones..
3-A smiling Russell Miner back home with his 1969 World Champ ER Wards..Picture
courtesy of the Miner family..
4-Night Mare as it looked in 2015...It was restored back to the way it looked in 1969..
Those are the same 23.1x30 tires that it won the 1969 M&W pull with..Russel is now in his
80's and is still with us...Picture courtesy of the Miner family..
5-My brother on Night Mare in 1971..After the 1970 pulling season Night Mare was
no longer competitive in Illinois so I purchased it and pulled it in MO until 1982
In ..In early 1983 Russell contacted me and wanted Night Mare back..I told him to
trade me a stock Wards and he did..He and his daughter classic pulled with it for years..
