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Trucks, tractors roar at fair fave
Friday, August 03, 2012
By Tyler Kolesar Staff Writer
A jam-packed house witnessed a great show put on by Full Pull Productions Inc. last night, as the Clearfield County Fairgrounds once again hosted the annual Truck and Tractor Pulls. The start of the evening was delayed from a 7 p.m. start time until 7:30 p.m. Track announcer Rick Feicht said because the westbound lane of Interstate 80 was closed due to an accident earlier in the day, many of the fairgoers were running late.
Once the start time arrived, the show started out on a somber note.
Clearfield County Fair board member Brenda Morgan introduced the crowd to the family of Houtzdale native Dylan Keith, who died as a result of a drowning accident on July 7. The 19-year-old had planned to enter the event and had been working on his truck at the time of his death. In honor of Keith, his family finished the job and his truck made a ceremonial run to kick off the event. Ryan Jacoby of Irvona also had a sign on his truck honoring Keith during his run.
The show had five divisions with 80 vehicles trying to hit the full pull mark of 300 feet. First off were the Clearfield County Street Diesel 4x4 trucks. Feicht announced this division would be run in a shootout format, with only one attempt for each driver.
Devin Grimaldi of Clearfield got out to the early lead with a pull of 249.16 feet, but Roger Hull topped him on the very next run in his 2006 Ford with 249.78 feet. Close was an understatement for this category, as later in the run, Dustin Grice of Clearfield had his 2006 Dodge at 270.1 feet as the mark to beat. Andy Anderson of Grampian did just that, albeit by the narrowest of margins. Anderson came in at 270.3 feet in his 2005 Dodge. After 30 trucks ran in this division, Anderson and Grice held on to the top two spots. Jacoby came in third in his 2005 Chevy with a distance of 265.05 feet. Clyde Coats was fourth at 257.82 feet while Robert Mallon was fifth at 256.09 feet. In the division, Dodge took seven out of the first 10 spots.
The Smoker Series tractors were next on the docket, with only seven tractors running in the division. Ray Link of Patton and his tractor "Gon' Moken," a John Deere 4560, set an early mark at 276.81 feet, and it ended up holding up for five more tractors. Link took the victory with Russ Hildenbrand, second, at 275.99 feet and Charlie Ross in third at 275.5 feet. Josh Martin was fourth at 272.83 feet while Robert Martin rounded out the top five at 271.59 feet. Six of the seven tractors were John Deeres, with the lone exception being Ross' Allis Chalmers D-21 tractor.
Street licensed semi-trucks were the third division to hit the track. Raymond Gallaher of Irvona was first up, also becoming the first vehicle of the night to eclipse the magic 300 feet mark with a pull of 303.99 feet. Jeff Henry of Irvona came close with a 298.94 feet distance, but Preston Hoopes of Ulysses took his 2009 Peterbuilt and traveled 313 feet.
However, Feicht later said Hoopes was disqualified from the event. The criteria stated participants had to be residents of Clearfield County or one of the surrounding counties that touches Clearfield County. Ulysses is in Potter County, thus disqualifying Hoopes.
Gallaher survived the remaining eight trucks and took the win, with Henry staying in second. Third went to Travis Asti of Johnstown with a pull of 296.89 feet. Fourth was Scott Wagner at 292.72 feet and fifth was Eugene Kephart at 271.72 feet.
The next to last group was the Pro Street diesel trucks. If you sat anywhere near the track, this group most likely gave you that scent of diesel fuel, completing the ultimate truck and tractor pull experience. Billy DeBlasio had an early lead at 294.85 feet.
Truck after truck tried knocking DeBlasio off the top spot, but only Dom Gambino could come close at 292.65 feet. Finishing third was Lamar Burkholder at 291.75 feet. Charlie Reckart came in fourth at 288.54 feet, while William Shouey was fifth at 286.6 feet.
The final division of the evening was the Clearfield County street legal gas trucks. Feicht announced there were 18 trucks in the division. But of those trucks, there was only one Dodge. One Dodge was all that was needed to topple a myriad of Fords and Chevys. Lee Zalno took the early lead at 269.27 feet in his 2006 Chevy. A total of six drivers came within eight feet of knocking Zalno off the top spot. With five trucks to go, Billy Rainey of Westover took his 2004 Dodge to the top of the leader board, eclipsing Zalno's mark with a distance of 278.03 feet. Rounding out the top five was Johnathan Lupton of Frenchville in third with 265.72 feet, Simon Harris of West Decatur in fourth at 265.5 feet, and Brittney Barrett of Mahaffey in fifth with 264.69 feet.
For complete results, visit the Full Pull Production's website at www.fullpullproductions.com.
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