Smoke and dirt were kicked into the air Thursday evening as engines burst with thunderous roars and tires taller than a man rolled off the starting line at the Jefferson City Jaycees Cole County Fair's tractor pull.
The competition had two different organizations pulling at the same time, but they did not compete with each other. The Missouri State Tractor Pullers Association (MSTPA) and the Missouri Antique Tractor Pullers Association (MATPA) had drivers going simultaneously.
"We were supposed to just have the antiques, but I wanted MSTPA as well to make it a better show for the fans," said Tyler Green, event organizer. "It (MSTPA) has some more hopped up motors, some of them that you will see tonight have three or four engines on them."
The MSTPA uses trucks and tractors and sets no speed limits for the drivers. The MATPA uses tractors only and sets a speed limit.
"It is an even playing field that way," Green said about the antique tractors. "If you go faster then you can out pull everybody else and some tractors can go faster than other tractors."
The drivers tour the state compete in charity events and fairs. MSTPA winners get points and the driver with the most points at the end of the year is rewarded, said Mike McCoy, group president for the past 10 years.
McCoy competes with a 1979 Ford pickup truck called the Red Cloud, which can get up to 29 mph when it is pulling. During his presidency, he said he has competed in more than 200 pulls and helped raise money for charities such as Dream Factory.
"I pulled my first garden tractor in 1973," McCoy said. "The promoter generates ticket sales and most proceeds go to a charity, but we don't make a lot of money at tractor pulling, it was all about the big hit."
Sitting or standing among the crowd it is hard to see this "big hit" - there were no clear moments that excited the audience, no loud cheers, no booing or jeering.
"I love it, it is good stress reliever and it is something that clears your mind," said Megan Monckton, a puller as well as a working mother of two and wife. "You are going down the track and you are pulling the throttle and it is going and you are just focused on that."
She finished third in the 4,000 division two. The divisions are classified by weight, meaning the tractor plus weights and the driver must equal no more than 4,000 lbs. She drives an Oliver 77 and has been competing about a year with her husband.
The tractors pull Bungart weight transfer machines - sleds to the competitors, said Donnie Bungart, owner of the Bungart Motorsports. He and his son own the company that manufactures the sleds across the street from the local fairgrounds. His machines are used at competitions across the country.
As the tractor pulls the machine father down the dirt track, it builds resistance and becomes harder to pull. The tractor that pulls the machine the farthest wins the contest. As Bungart was explaining the finer points of his products, members of the audience started yelling fire. One of the tractors in mid-pull was ignited and Bungart, McCoy and others rushed to the machine that was starting to show flames above the top of the drivers row bars. The fire was quickly extinguished and no one was hurt.