thedrifter
02-01-09, 08:34 AM
Invasion of the Monster Machines
By Elliott Stern/Sports Editor
The monster machines are coming back — and soon.
The annual invasion of the world’s most powerful — and loudest — tractors and pickup trucks returns to Santa Maria next week. They’ll be here for the fifth annual Elks West Coast Nationals Power Pulling Truck and Tractor Pull Series.
Nearly 100 Monster Machines are expected to be in Santa Maria next weekend. The first of three stops in the West Coast Nationals series will be held next Saturday, Feb. 7, at the Santa Maria Elks/Unocal Event Center.
Competitors came from all across the West and Canada — from California, Washington, Oregon, Wyoming, Arizona, Colorado and Utah as well as Canada.
The Power Pulling Series is essentially a drag race for trucks, tractors and even a souped-up Corvette.
The object of this drag race is not to see who can get down the 300-foot dirt track the fastest. It is to see who can get the farthest down the track while pulling sleds weighing as much as 60,000 pounds. The competitors race in nine divisions — from the 1,900-pound Minis up to the 9,300-pound Super Farm tractors.
It’s not as easy as it looks — or sounds. Last year, only one tractor — Jack Wheatley’s “Major Woody” in the 8,000 pound class — made it the entire way down the 300 foot track for a “full pull”.
“There will easily be 150,000 horsepower in those 100 machines,” said Ron Souza. “That’s a lot of power. It will also be a lot of action. The smaller tractors and trucks run between 1,000 and 1,500 horsepower. The big ones pump out around 8,000 horsepower. You’ll be able to feel all that power up in the stands.”
Souza is a Nipomo farmer. He is also one of the prime reasons the West Coast Nationals make Santa Maria their first stop.
”Ronnie has been working on the track at the Events Center since before Christmas. He’s making sure the track is perfect so the crowd gets a fabulous show,” said Keith Barks, the President of Elks Recreation. “Without Ronnie and the Cal Poly folks helping us to promote this event, it wouldn’t happen.”
“Back in 2003, the Power Tractor Pulling Association was looking for another place to hold a pull. They came to me and asked if I thought Santa Maria would be a good place. I thought it would be a great place so I got to work,” said Souza, who has been involved in tractors pulls since 1964. “It’s going to be a great show. It gets better every year.”
Fans got a sneak peak at four of the monster machines Saturday. They were on display at Toyota of Santa Maria — one of the major sponsors of the event.
Thumper took the road trip down to Santa Maria along with his brother, Thumper Junior. They didn’t have to travel very far — coming down from Souza’s Nipomo farm.
“I built Thumper in 1999,” said Souza. It runs in the 1,900 pound mini-tractor class. Thumper Junior runs in the 2,000 mini-tractor class. “I used to run Thumper, Too. But I retired that one in 2007, took its engine and built Junior.”
They were joined by Cal Poly’s single-turbine jet engine tractor, Mustang Fever, and San Luis Obispo farmer Nick Guriel’s twin-turbine jet powered tractor Semper Fi.
“I’ll be running Semper Fi in the 7,200 and 8,000 pound classes,” said Guriel, a San Luis Obispo cattle rancher. “I originally bought Semper Fi from Cal Poly. They helped me build it.”
Each of the nine pulling divisions is weighted.
“The weight is the total weight of the machine and the driver together,” said Souza. “So the 1,900-pound Minis, they have to weigh 1,900 pounds — total — with the driver’s weight included. The 8,000-pound or 9,300 pound machines — they'll have three, four or five engines. They just can’t go over their division’s weight limit.”
The higher the weight, the heavier the load each class has to pull with the 8,000 and 9,300 classes pulling the 60,000-pound loads.
Sempre Fi is the defending 7,200 pound champion.
“We got the paint scheme to match a Marine’s dress Blues,” said Guriel, himself a former Marine who spent time as a door gunner in a Huey helicopter squadron during the Vietnam War.
“We used these same engines in the Hueys,” said Guriel. “I’ve dedicated Semper Fi to our armed forces — especially the Marines. And driving it — well, it’s just a hell of a good time.”
After next week’s Santa Maria Pull, there’ll be a second round on Tuesday, Feb. 11 and the finals on Wednesday, Feb. 12 — both in Tulare as part of the World Ag Expo.
“We know from the first four years that this will be an excellent competition, an excellent show,” said Souza. “People should come out early because the stands will be full.”
Gates open at noon next Saturday with the main event starting at 1 p.m.
Tickets are on sale now. Box seats, reserved and general admission tickets are available at the Elks Rodeo Office or by calling 922-6006.
For more information, call 264-6287 or visit the West Coast Nationals Web site at www.westcoastnationals.com.
February 1, 2009
Ellie
By Elliott Stern/Sports Editor
The monster machines are coming back — and soon.
The annual invasion of the world’s most powerful — and loudest — tractors and pickup trucks returns to Santa Maria next week. They’ll be here for the fifth annual Elks West Coast Nationals Power Pulling Truck and Tractor Pull Series.
Nearly 100 Monster Machines are expected to be in Santa Maria next weekend. The first of three stops in the West Coast Nationals series will be held next Saturday, Feb. 7, at the Santa Maria Elks/Unocal Event Center.
Competitors came from all across the West and Canada — from California, Washington, Oregon, Wyoming, Arizona, Colorado and Utah as well as Canada.
The Power Pulling Series is essentially a drag race for trucks, tractors and even a souped-up Corvette.
The object of this drag race is not to see who can get down the 300-foot dirt track the fastest. It is to see who can get the farthest down the track while pulling sleds weighing as much as 60,000 pounds. The competitors race in nine divisions — from the 1,900-pound Minis up to the 9,300-pound Super Farm tractors.
It’s not as easy as it looks — or sounds. Last year, only one tractor — Jack Wheatley’s “Major Woody” in the 8,000 pound class — made it the entire way down the 300 foot track for a “full pull”.
“There will easily be 150,000 horsepower in those 100 machines,” said Ron Souza. “That’s a lot of power. It will also be a lot of action. The smaller tractors and trucks run between 1,000 and 1,500 horsepower. The big ones pump out around 8,000 horsepower. You’ll be able to feel all that power up in the stands.”
Souza is a Nipomo farmer. He is also one of the prime reasons the West Coast Nationals make Santa Maria their first stop.
”Ronnie has been working on the track at the Events Center since before Christmas. He’s making sure the track is perfect so the crowd gets a fabulous show,” said Keith Barks, the President of Elks Recreation. “Without Ronnie and the Cal Poly folks helping us to promote this event, it wouldn’t happen.”
“Back in 2003, the Power Tractor Pulling Association was looking for another place to hold a pull. They came to me and asked if I thought Santa Maria would be a good place. I thought it would be a great place so I got to work,” said Souza, who has been involved in tractors pulls since 1964. “It’s going to be a great show. It gets better every year.”
Fans got a sneak peak at four of the monster machines Saturday. They were on display at Toyota of Santa Maria — one of the major sponsors of the event.
Thumper took the road trip down to Santa Maria along with his brother, Thumper Junior. They didn’t have to travel very far — coming down from Souza’s Nipomo farm.
“I built Thumper in 1999,” said Souza. It runs in the 1,900 pound mini-tractor class. Thumper Junior runs in the 2,000 mini-tractor class. “I used to run Thumper, Too. But I retired that one in 2007, took its engine and built Junior.”
They were joined by Cal Poly’s single-turbine jet engine tractor, Mustang Fever, and San Luis Obispo farmer Nick Guriel’s twin-turbine jet powered tractor Semper Fi.
“I’ll be running Semper Fi in the 7,200 and 8,000 pound classes,” said Guriel, a San Luis Obispo cattle rancher. “I originally bought Semper Fi from Cal Poly. They helped me build it.”
Each of the nine pulling divisions is weighted.
“The weight is the total weight of the machine and the driver together,” said Souza. “So the 1,900-pound Minis, they have to weigh 1,900 pounds — total — with the driver’s weight included. The 8,000-pound or 9,300 pound machines — they'll have three, four or five engines. They just can’t go over their division’s weight limit.”
The higher the weight, the heavier the load each class has to pull with the 8,000 and 9,300 classes pulling the 60,000-pound loads.
Sempre Fi is the defending 7,200 pound champion.
“We got the paint scheme to match a Marine’s dress Blues,” said Guriel, himself a former Marine who spent time as a door gunner in a Huey helicopter squadron during the Vietnam War.
“We used these same engines in the Hueys,” said Guriel. “I’ve dedicated Semper Fi to our armed forces — especially the Marines. And driving it — well, it’s just a hell of a good time.”
After next week’s Santa Maria Pull, there’ll be a second round on Tuesday, Feb. 11 and the finals on Wednesday, Feb. 12 — both in Tulare as part of the World Ag Expo.
“We know from the first four years that this will be an excellent competition, an excellent show,” said Souza. “People should come out early because the stands will be full.”
Gates open at noon next Saturday with the main event starting at 1 p.m.
Tickets are on sale now. Box seats, reserved and general admission tickets are available at the Elks Rodeo Office or by calling 922-6006.
For more information, call 264-6287 or visit the West Coast Nationals Web site at www.westcoastnationals.com.
February 1, 2009
Ellie