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Mitch: The tractor pulls I took part in as a teenager were quite realistic in that you started away with and pulled the full load a pre measured distance. The tractor was weighed in before the pull, all tractors were in the same class. The winner was the tractor pulling the highest percentage of it's own weight including the operator. There is little advantage in adding weight to tractors. Each operator was allowed to start with his chosen loaded weigh. After each successful pull he could have as much more weight added as he desired, in 200 lb. increments. This went on until the tractor couldn't pull it. There is skill involved as I've seen 3 different operators pull a single Farmall H and each placed differently. When I did this we only had to make each pull 30". I personally think it should be 10'. The pulling distance was kept down in my day as we were loading these 200 lb weights by hand, and the weights (sand boxes with handles for two men)were spread out along the course for convenience. When I say 10' I'm assuming you have you weights on a boom truck and he drives alongside, loading or unloading where needed. Another rule you should have is so many seconds after the starter says go you must be moving. A lot of dad's in my day were rather upset on how their clutches got burned up. We had rules that you were finished either by spinning out or if you lifted your front wheels more than 1 foot. Some will say the front wheels should never leave the ground, as it creates bad and unsafe habits. I will tell you this if your going to try it, the Farmalls Super A, H, Super H and Cockshutt 30 are the tractors to beat. I've seen more than one red face on the seat of a big tractor. In my day these pulls ended around 1958. What finished them was hand loading and 60hp+ tractors. I personally think these pulls were more of a test of a true farm tractor than the pulls we have today. Another competition we use to do was manuver through a course lined with fence posts on both sides with bottles on top. There were two areas one had to back through. This had to be done with tractor an 4 wheel farm wagon. You didn't use your own tractor, but had a choice of preselected tractors, usually demos at the fair. We used small tractors and usually could choose from SA, SC, 8N, Fergie, Cockshutt 20, etc. I always figured SC with a narrow front was unfair advantage. The other one we did was the tractor tilt, course you guys all know how that works.
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