In season finale, tractor pullers are competing over the short haul
RAYNHAM -- Barbra ``Barbie" Perry sat in the driver's seat of a purple custom-built tractor called Little Brute II. She looked straight ahead, focusing on the dirt track in front of her. At the wave of the green flag, Perry thrust the throttle downward and Little Brute II -- engine roaring and wheels spinning -- lurched forward, dragging behind it a sled weighing more than 5 tons.
Little Brute's surge managed to drag the sled, dubbed Dominator II, far enough for a more than respectable showing in the tractor-pulling contest. Perry placed second in the 1,850-pound weight class.
She is something of a pro, having driven modified mini-tractors for 20 years, starting when she was 15. ``It's a fun ride," she says.
That is the view, too, of an enthusiastic subculture of motor sports fans who make up the Mass Mini Tractor Pullers Association, which holds tractor-pulling contests in Raynham several times a year. The club, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, includes engineers, accountants, business owners, and mechanics, ages 16 to 60.
``It's pretty diverse," said Mike Perry, 43, who works for the Taunton Fire Department. ``We're not all farmers . . . not that there's anything wrong with farmers."
Tractor pulling started out as a rural pastime, where farmers competed to see whose horses could pull the most weight, and eventually became a popular exhibition at county fairs. Today, tractor pulling is a full-fledged motor sport with two national sanctioning organizations.
The goal is simple: The farther you make it along the track pulling the weighted sled, the more points you get. But there is a hitch: As the tractor pulls the sled, a weight box shifts from one end of the sled to the other, making it increasingly difficult for the tractor to pull. Occasionally the tractor's front end lifts up and it pops a wheelie.
An individual pull typically lasts about 30 seconds. Once the tractor comes to a complete stop, officials measure how far the tractor pulled the sled, and the sled is towed back to the starting line for the next contestant. Between every run, a Bobcat machine serves as a Zamboni for the dirt track, smoothing over any grooves or depressions.
These tractors aren't the typical John Deeres you see in the fields. The Mass Minis drive souped-up tractors that look like hot rods. Club members build their vehicles piece by piece, and personalize them with flashy paint jobs and colorful nicknames like ``Foolish Pleasure" and ``Serenity Wrecka." They are as loud as they are flashy. Earplugs come in handy.
From May through October, the club participates in tractor-pulling events at county fairs across New England, and hold their own contests at their home track in Raynham, behind the soccer field complex on King Philip Street.
The results are posted on the Mass Minis website (massminitractorpullers.com), and the drivers who accumulate the most points receive trophies at the end of the season.
The club's safety requirements are spelled out in its 19-page rulebook: drivers must be at least 16 years old; alcoholic beverages and unsportsmanlike conduct aren't tolerated; all tractors must be inspected and equipped with a fire extinguisher; and drivers must wear helmets and eye protection, as well as a racing suit made of fire retardant material. ``There's no messing around," said Mike Perry.
Police details and EMTs are hired to attend the tractor-pulling contests at the Raynham track.
Tractor pulling can be a family affair. Mike Perry serves as the club's president. Barbra Perry's father and uncle founded the Mass Mini Tractor Pullers Association in 1986, and she is one of its original members.
Frank Manley is one of the veteran pullers -- he's been doing it since 1964 -- and his wife, Yvonne, runs the concession stand during the pulls, serving up sodas and plastic bowls of ziti and meat sauce.
Pete and Melissa Arruda are another husband-and-wife tractor-pulling team. Pete Arruda started pulling in 1992, and two years later, his father, Joseph ``Farmer Joe," joined the club. Melissa got her start in 2004 with her father-in-law's tractor, ``Boomer." In spring 2005, Melissa and Pete built a tractor of her own, dubbed Tractor X, which made its debut at the Rehoboth Fair that August.
The club's youngest member, Randy Raymond, is 16. He drives a navy blue tractor nicknamed ``Mommy's Lil Monster," and has two sponsors: D & G Modular Homes and A. Slavick Stump Grinding. His father, Billy, also belongs to the Mass Minis.
As the season winds down -- the final pull of the year is Saturday -- the competitors are hoping for a strong final showing to boost their season's point total.
Said Barbra Perry: ``I'll be looking for a first this weekend. . . . Keep your fingers crossed!"
