My Mid Week Pulls

My midweek Pulls. Seymour WI Cedarburg WI Grayslake’s IL

Well this week started out on Tuesday Night where the NEW Mod trucks where pulling at the Outagamie County fair in Seymour WI. This is a Tractor pull with a few Truck Classes mixed in on a ½ mile oval clay track. They did have it set-up right with two Tracks one for the Local Farm Tractors Classes and we ran on the inner track with the big Tractors and Trucks on the famous 007 Sled of Jim Luedtke’s. I started the night out with my Mod gear in the box but Jimmy was letting the trucks fly down the track at some pretty good speed tonight. So during a pause in the action due to a leaking air hose on the sled I switched to my Super Stock gear to give me a little more wheel speed during the pull. After the airline was fixed they had Three Mod Diesel Trucks and then we switched to 4x4 Mod, Which I was the first puller in the class. So after watching the Mod Diesel trucks pull they where out in the 330 foot mark, I figured if I make it that far I’ll have to keep my pull and sit and watch. Well as I was driving onto the track I saw Jimmy Shift a gear in the weight box tranny so I don’t know if he sped the box up or down but that was the only change he made to the sled.
So I got ShaZam all line up and was given the OK tighten the chain up signal. So with the chain tight the flag man gives me the green flag, I slip ShaZam into 3rd and I played Tractor with the tires for about 5 feet then I gave ShaZam full throttle and the tach went to 7800 rpm’s and floated between 78 and 8000 rpm’s during the whole run as I let the tires eat that Seymour Clay until I seen that 22 dreg’s of banking coming from number one corner, and I felt the last stage hit and ShaZam came to a neck snapping stop at 315.83 with a track speed of 25.80 mph. This is the fastest ShaZam ever went down a track. Now the flag guy say you going to keep it or turn it down. It looked like I was deep enough into the corner so I said ya I’ll keep it. With that I drove ShaZam back to my trailer that I had parked on the infield of this Clay track. So Up next was Cold Ethel with my Beer Drinking buddy Craig Emmes Driving, Craig had a little bounce coming out of the hole but he recouped from that and was Hammer down in no time flying down the track. Craig had flash backs from his pull in Gillett WI a few weeks back where he got out of the throttle at the end of the track and lost all his momentum to finish 2nd for the night, Tonight he stayed in the throttle till the sled stopped him at 313.01 with a track speed of 25.30 mph. My Next beer Drinking buddy was up Dean Wagner with Burn n desire, Now Dean was having a hard time figuring which gear he wanted to run tonight He had the big one in and then at the last minute he switch back to his smaller gear. Well he should have left the bigger one in the box, When the pan hit Dean was sitting at 288.26 and had a track speed of 24.70 mph. So Ok at this time I went to ask Jodi just where I stood in the standings Cuz I didn’t know my footage at that time. When she said I was 1st I said Hot Dame, But then Me other beer drinking Buddy Bruce was up next with Poker Face and he’s been putting a whooping on me 6 out of the 8 pulls this season. But tonight was ShaZam’s Night to shine, Bruce left the line great but his tires never caught up to the track and he was just spinning his wheels till the last stage hit and stopped him at the 300.03 mark with a Track speed of 25.40 mph. With one truck left to pull I said the worst I can do tonight is 2nd place. So Mike Kauss was the last truck to hook to Jimmies sled for the night, As I left the line His motor never got up on his Cam and he bogged really bad as he passed the 75 foot mark he stabbed the clutch once to try and get his r’s up but he knew he was done for the night. Mike got to the 276.19 mark before the 007 sled stopped him. So 1st place here tonight and a big o pay check for me.

So Ok we get all loaded up and chained down Dean and I where have a few beers to celibate my win tonight, Bruce and Craig loaded up and headed home seeing they both had to work in the morning. And then the Rains came, when I heard the first wave of rain drops the size of baseballs hitting the trailer I said to me self I done fucked up here. I’m in the middle if a Clay Bowl and there’s no way in hell I’ll be able to get out of here in the morning with my 45-foot trailer. In like 3 minutes we had 2 inches of standing water around the camper. So with that in mind I crawled in for the night only to have dreams all night that I was stuck in Seymour Wisconsin and couldn’t get out of the mud pit. Well the Sun came up and there was still standing water every where But I locked the hubs in and fired up the Grunt truck and tried to back up and get lined up with the gate to get out of there, But with in 10 feet I was just spinning my clay filled tires gone no where. Will I figured I might as well take ShaZam off the trailer and try pulling the grunt truck out that way but then out of the corner of me eye I seen this big Farm tractor driving in the parking lot next to the fair grounds. Seems there a Farm Tractor dealership next door. So I took a walk over there and asked if they’d send a tractor over to pull Dean and me out of there. They said sure we will, so 20 minutes later they showed up with a brand New Big ass Four wheel drive Case to pull me out seeing Dean had managed to get out onto the track after getting his 4 wheel drive to lock in and made it out into the parking lot.

So now we only had 9 hours to kill till the pull tonight in Cedarburg WI and it’s only a 2-hour drive. So we got some breakfast and headed down that way, Pulling into the parking lot 2:30 p.m. and found our parking spot there for the evenings pull. Getting here early always get you the best parking spots. So with 7 hours to kill and driving always seems makes me tired I took a little nap till 5 p.m. when all the noise from the track crew woke me up. As I came out of my Camper I see Jimmy’s here with 007 again as we walked by I asked if the sled was set like last night, And Jimmy Smiled and said yes it is, So cool beans where going to fly again tonight. So Dean and I took a walk to the fair for supper and found a nice food booth that was selling Philly Steak sandwiches So I got one of those and a Pulled Pork sandwich for later tonight after the pulls over. I always get the munches after the food booth seems to close. So we have the drivers meeting and Bud the Track Boss explains to us that at 9:20 p.m. theirs going to be a big kaboom fire works. That’s there signal that in 10 minutes there’s going to be a 30-minute fire works show that the fair board wants the truck pull to stop for until the fireworks are done. So Ok we get the show going for the night the NEW Super Stock trucks are the second to last class for the night seeing there's a group of Badger Open stock trucks pulling in Union Grove WI and there going to get here later.

So they have 8 local classes, and as they go thru the line up I see there's two spots in the track that are getting deep holes dug in them. With talking to one of the local boys there, He said they ran new Storm sewers into the in field two weeks ago and those areas are looser then the rest of the track. Well as the sled would run thru those spots Jimmy was getting a ride inside his cab big time, I swear I seen him hit his head on the ceiling once or twice. So now it’s coming to the end of the local classes and Bud Comes up to us and says We can’t guarantee your class will be done before the 9:20 Kaboom so we’ll just take a intermission until after the fireworks are done and then start the Super Stock class after that. And they still needed time for the Badger Trucks to get there. So Donny and I asked Bud hey if were going to take a hour break in the action can we get some equipment out here to fix these two holes in the track, Jimmies really getting beat up in the cab tonight going thru them. Bud said sure and they worked on the track for 45 minutes getting it into Shape again. Now I was 3rd puller in the Super Stock class so this track fix was going to work in my favor. So at 9:32 to fireworks began and they started off kind of slow but they picked up there pace and at 9:50 there was a 10 minute of nonstop fire works going off like you little the fuse of all the fireworks they had in the truck there. That was cool and the crowd seemed to like it also. So with the fireworks over now it’s time to get back to business at hand Truck Pulling.
So OK Mike Kauss was up first and when the last stage of Jimmies sled hit him he stopped at 318.19 feet with a track speed of 25.20 mph’s next up was Jack Peters with his wife’s Open Stock truck, Now Jack finally got his new motor in the truck and needed to get some runs on it to break it in. And he had a good run till the last stage hit him at the 292.74 mark with a track speed of 21.30 mph’s, which isn’t to bad for a little 476 Open Stock motor. So ok It’s ShaZam’s turn to give the 007 sled a ride down the track. As I drive out onto the track I see the holes are already starting to form again, So I figures I’d head to the left of the first area to avoid the second spot altogether and get the sled up to speed as fast as I can tonight. So I’m all hooked up and I pulled the chain tight I get the green flag to go, hit all the switches on then set the tach and put ShaZam into 3rd and I walked the Sled just as I did last night in Seymour and at the 10 foot mark I gave ShaZam a Mitt full of throttle and the tach went to 78 and hung between 78, 8200 the whole run and the sled was pulling me hard left and I was fighting to keep ShaZam in bounds by turning hard right, I guess one onlookers said I had the sled fish tailing pretty good down the track, But when the last stage hit and ShaZam came to a sliding stop I was sitting at 318.55 with a track speed of 25.40 mph’s So as ShaZam left the track I’m sitting in 1st place by 0.36 feet. Next up was my Beer drinking buddy Dean, As he got hooked to the sled he had a good take off but he went thru the soft spot and his engine R’s zinged up as he hit the loose clay there but he recovered from that and had a good run going until the last stage hit and stopped his truck at the 308.82 mark with a track speed 24.40 mph’s So Ok Now I made my way back to the announcers booth with a few beers in hand it’s been a long day you know. So next up was Dallas Luther this truck is getting to be in the top 5 in this club. But Dallas made the mistake of going thru the hole in the track and he had a little bounce and the sled gave him a little tug as they went thru it when the last stage hit Dallas stopped at the 310.64 mark with a track speed 24.70 So next up was Donny Skinkis he too went thru the hole in the track and got a little bounce and it seemed Donny’s tires never hooked to the track. When the last stage hit him his truck stopped at the 310.50 mark with a track speed of 24.60 mph’s. I figured I dodged one bullet tonight but I had two more to go with Tory and Roy coming up. As Tory got all hooked to the sled his truck is known to have rear bouncing issues. So as he left the line and went thru the 1st hole he bounced enough to get air under the rear tires but Tory hung on to it and as he hit the 2nd hole his truck leveled out again and he laid a good run on the back half of the track stopping at 318.81 with a track speed of 25.00 mph’s so Tory knocked me out of 1st place by 0.26 feet. Last truck of the night was Roy and the Midnight Cheater I figured Roy and Tory’s trucks are set up pretty much the same so Roy was going to bounce also coming thru those low spots in the track. And I was right as Roy hit the first hole it launched his truck into the air with all four tires coming off the ground but Roy the veteran puller he is stayed on the gas and rode out the whoop whoops as he went down the track until Jimmy dropped the last stage on Roy bringing the Midnight Cheater to a stop at the 309.66 mark with a track speed of 25.60 mph’s. So I ended up 2nd for the night here and another decent paycheck for the day. So it’s time to drink a few beers and head to bed as I have to pull in Grayslake’s IL tomorrow. So at 6:30 I hear Dean fire his truck up and he heads for home. So I picked up a few beer cans that where around the truck and trailer and then head out to find a place to eat breakfast at. Before I knew it I was in Waukesha WI and putting fuel in the truck and generator. Next stop was Grayslake’s IL 40 minutes down the road. As I pulled into the parking lot there I found my place to park and then the local guy in a golf cart told me he’s take and drop me off at the farm stand that they where serving breakfast at. So I climbed in to his cart and off we went he gave me a little tour of the new complex they just built last year and he was pretty proud of the place. As far as fair grounds go to me yes it’s bigger then most I seen. So he dropped me off ad the food booth and I had me one of those belly buster Plates 2 eggs, 3 pieces of bacon, two pieces toast, Hash browns and three pancakes. Oh ya it was a meal worth waiting for. So with full belly I walk back to the trailer and take a 2-hour nap. Ya I know I just got up. But driving makes me tired remember. So after I get up Gary’s there and he’s working the track up with a rotor tiller on the back of a tractor and he comes over by the group of us that where there and asked if he’d could get some help picking rocks off the track. So we all take part in rock picking and fill the loader bucket with the rocks that they dump over in the corner of the track. It’s 3:30 with the pull to start at 5:00 p.m. they had to water the track and pack it in.
Tonight I’m the 6th puller in the class of 11 trucks P.I. only pays down to 10th place so someone’s going home with out a paycheck tonight. As they get the show on the road here I see that the track is really loose with low track speeds also. I’m hoping that with the Super Stock Trucks being the 3rd class of the afternoon that the wobble wheel might get the track packed in better for us, But it never happened it just stayed loose all day So when it was ShaZam’s turn to pull I hooked up to the sled went thru my routine put ShaZam in 3rd and took off, My tires never seemed to get a hold of the track at all the R’s stayed at 7800 the whole run and for me it’s telling me I’m hooked to something but I never got any speed going down the track and Gary stopped me at the 275.53 mark on the track. So back to the trailer get loaded up and chained down for the long ride home. Walked up to look the class standing over and write down the finishing order and I headed home at 8:00 p.m.
I Pulled into my driveway at 12:20 a.m. jumped into the shower and crawled in to bed and never felt my head hit the pillow. At 6:30 a.m. I jumped out of bed and played catch up with my yard choirs here. I got all caught up by 5:00 p.m. now I can go play in Lena on Saturday.


Dan and ShaZam

you make exhausted when i finish reading your stories dan ......