Deere souped

These turbo-charged monsters drag a sled down a dirt drag strip.

Story and photos by Bruce Thorson

July 30, 2009, Wayne County Fair, Wayne, Neb: Tractor pull. I'd never seen one of these events before. Theses souped-up tractors, of all makes and models, pull a weighted sled down a dirt drag strip and pull it more than 300 feet, in some cases.

Noisy? Yes, they are and the crowd loved every minute of it. I'm not a fan of racing, drag racing or tractor pulls, but it doesn't mean I can't enjoy it for what it is. The crowd there, the drivers and the pit crews are all very into what they do.

I had a good time and I might, at some point in the future, return again to a tractor pull to make more pictures.

Kelly Grone (left, front), Stuart Lubberstedt and Kelly's daughter, Kayla, and others in the crowd, covered their ears during the 5700 modified class event of the tractor pull. This tractor class is very loud.

Carol Conner went to get three funnell cakes. She came back with six and wasn't sure how that happened. Her son Mitchell is helping to carry a couple of the drinks.

Pit crews and other spectators watch the tractors during the pulling events.

There's a lot of smoke that belches out of these tractors while they pull the sled down the track.