FONDA - The first pull at the official Mohawk Valley Pro Pullers League Facility at the Fonda Fairgrounds took place Sunday.
With the sun shining, a slight breeze, and drivers coming from as far away as Connecticut, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts, not even the sled that was four hours late could darken the mood of this crowd. The day kicked off with only three tractors to pull each in a separate class.
For the altered farm class, Rick Cressy of Fultonville with Never Enough pulled 207.63 feet.
In the farm stock class, with a 520 John Deere, Matt Keenan of Fultonville pulled 148.85 feet, and in the super farm class, Sanford Horton from Fultonville pulled 286.44 feet driving Big Boys Toy.
The gas trucks had a better turnout with Joel and Craig Dodge of West Schuyler taking second and third place in their Fords, while Rich Meyers of St. Johnsville won in the work stock gas with 257.34 feet. The enhanced gas class saw Robert Kolka from Milford take first with 266.72 feet, while Tom Proctor of Richfield Springs and Adam Kilmartin of Randall driving Nightmare were second and third, respectively. Proctor also was the only entry in the open gas class and pulled 278.98 feet.
The 2.6 diesel class had a good turnout with Midnight Express driven by Chris Miller of Connecticut taking first place with 267.77 feet. Dave Jacob driving Used and Abused from Connecticut taking second and Alan Bick of West Schuyler, pulling double duty as a tech/track worker and driver placing third.
The Chunky Boyz Pulling Team had a good day in the work stock diesel class. Hans Ouderkirk of Fort Plain was first in Max'n with 291.34 feet, and his teammate Nathan Stark driving Silly Lilly, placing second while John Carpenter of St. Johnsville placed third in the Grocery Gitter. In the wide open diesel class or the "Run What You Brung" class, Todd Ely of Palmer, Mass., was first with pull of 288.37 feet, and Jesse LaTulipe of Connecticut and Jason Gilchrist of Adams were second and third, respectively.
For more information on the Mohawk Valley Pro Pullers League, visit www.mvppl.net.