Why do people like todays tractor pulling?

Once in awhile I run onto tractor pulls on RFD tv. The big machines that don?t look like tractors and the drivers that look more like race car drivers. The machines take off at high speeds, throw dirt, belch smoke and come to an abrupt stop. Seems they all go close to the same distances. Seems boring and a waste of money.
Now an old stock farm tractor pulling has excitement for me. Even horse pulling is more interesting.
Guess I?m getting old and out of touch.
Jim

I like it all. The appeal of course is very different between forms of pulling for me. Deadweight pulling is a mechanical chess match to me and is fascinating to watch the driving skill required. Conversely, the sheer power that you see displayed with a four engine mod and the sound you hear and feel in your chest is exciting in its own way too. The point I guess is that we are blessed to have different kinds of pulling to enjoy and participate in, its all good in some way to different people.

We do both--to each his own. Here are two pictures--one of antique pulling-- and one of NTPA. Which one has more fan support?

Jim,-- like me you might be a bit old fashioned,miss the good ole days,-- "BACK IN THE DAY" type events and methods more of us mature types can indentify with.People now days seem to like cyber stuff,big power ,less weight,more speed,more hiep,more out of control,it is seen every where,tv violence,movie crap,video games,real life shootings,highway drivers with no common sense,no respect,all this political correctness has us older folks confused,seems to go against what was taught in the old days where you earned money,worked hard,had pride and self esteem,now you show up,you get entitlements.Back to pulling,some of the fast is ok,but it would be fitting to have slower,more "pull" oriented type venues where the tractor actually showed it's ability to pull rather than race,many people ask me about tractor drags. Things change and life certainly is not static,farming has changed so much we hardly till anymore,-- but spraying is a basic practice,high speed tech,high speed life in the "FAST LANE", ON AND ON.I like my old fashioned memories and still smell the soil when we baled hay,cultivated,jumped off the open station tractor and chased a gopher,,picked a rock,pulled a weed,enjoyed the plants growth and contemplated harvest.Now via satellite we montitor weeds,growth,water,heat units and more.I am with you Jim,pulling has evolved to the point of big money,fast cash flow and top notch teams,many little older type pulls around many neighborhoods still,but not many spectators.

Seems like most of my life I was young, then one day it hit me, I?m old. I?m 71 and some say I?m still a punk. I guess an old punk now.
Jim

Looks like even the antique tractors get suped up?
Jim

I was in a pull once with my old Case SC. I thought it could pull pretty good for a stock engine. But at the pull when the tractor was weighed it weighed 5700 lbs. if I remember correctly. The tires were loaded. So I had to pull in a class of bigger tractors, like John Deere A?s and Famall M?s. I had plenty of traction but not enough HP. SC had about 30 hp.
Jim

I too like it all! My neighbor has a 4 engine monster. You can't imagine the dedication and CASH it takes to campaign it. My little tractor is a 3 to 4 mph deal. But their is a lot of thinking involved pulling it. Tire pressure, what weight to put where, where to drive, when to pull.etc. I love it. Gives a old man a shot of adrenaline. Pray I've got 10 more years. Yes I'm building a light faster tractor, hopefully to compete in the baddest antique in the world.

The term "Different strokes for different folks " comes to mind here.

I like both but slow pulling with a progressive sled not a drop pan I like the best .

Vast majority of people want to see smoke, fire, dirt fly, and even better if something breaks.

My favorite pull of the year is the local fair farmstock pull. A lot of the local farms bring down everything they have. You'll see them headed to the fairgrounds in groups of 3, 4 or 5 tractors. It's a ball.

I dont like how the only thing original from a tractor on new pullers is the engine block, (but I completely understand why that's necessary) Also, the sheet metal doesn't even have to match the engine used in the top level classes. I look at them and I dont see a tractor anymore than I look at a Nascar Cup car and see a car. But having said all that, I go to the championships at Bowling Green every other year and cant wait to go back. Theres nothing like standing at the starting line when a top level, 4 turbo super stock takes off.

Well they are pretty exciting to watch compared to watching the 12th JD B go down the track at 1 1/2 MPH.

I go both ways. I have a Ford 900 that I pull in stock 3.5 MPH antique. It does pretty well on a soft track but is not competitive on a hard track. I also pull with a smoke belching slightly warmed up Ford 9000. I pull it from 7500 enhanced up to 11,500 farm stock. Speed limits are 8-18 MPH. Last spring I hooked against two guys with Hot farm tractors with helmets and roll cages, and beat them both. Around here we are loosing pulls to the trucks. People want to see smoke and speed and hear them roar and smell alcohol. I think that in order to keep our fair pulls we need to step it up a little.

I like them all...I pull several 3 and 5 MPH tractors and have fun..However,there is practically no crowd there to watch them pull...That tells me that most people want to watch the wheel speed, see the smoke,hear the noise and high rpms-etc.. In my area these pulls usually get crowds from 800 to 2000 people..At our local pull in June we had the best of both worlds...The first picture on track one is a 1250 horse 9500 Pro Field 1466 IH....The second picture on track two is me pulling my 3 MPH 101 Massey....It looks like I'm racing the Work Stock diesel pickup thats coming down track one at over 20 MPH..I hope to be on track one in 2019 with a smoker..

There are spectators for all kinds of pulling as far as numbers go it really does not matter to a lot of us. Most of us are there and so wrapped up in pulling we never see the spectators unless they come to us which they do.

dross, most pullers don't care about spectators, but at the fair pulls spectator numbers are important to the directors who make the decisions about how much schedule time is alloted to pick-up trucks, or pig scrambles or hot tractors or 2MPH tractors.

As with so many things in this world there is entertainment no matter what your preference. No way could I participate in the crazy expensive smoker pulling it is neat to watch. We embrace the antique tractor pulls it is very popular up this way. I enjoy the club members comparing notes to be better at it. In the end it's whatever floats your boat.