The Sheridan Area Tractor pullers are hooking up in June

The Sheridan Area Tractor Pullers will hold their first tractor pull on June 12. 

Last year due to COVID-19, many of the tractor pulls had to be cancelled, but this year the Sheridan Area Tractor Pullers are gearing up for the event.

The first tractor pull will be held June 12, at the Sheridan County Fairgrounds. Sheridan Area Tractor Pullers member and event organizer Dean Roberts is inviting tractor owners, enthusiasts and modifiers to join the event. 

According to the National Tractor Pullers Association, in the early days of competition pulling, either a dead weight of fixed mass was dragged, or the step-on method was used, in which people stood at fixed positions and stepped aboard as the sled passed. But with today’s sleds, a complex system of gears to move weights up to 65,000 pounds. Upon starting, all the weights are over the sled’s rear axles to give an effective weight of the sled plus zero. As the tractor travels the course, the weights are pushed ahead of the sled’s axles, pushing the front of the sled into the ground, synthetically creating a gain in weight until the tractor is no longer able to overcome the force of friction.

Roberts and the Pullers are inviting anyone to put their tractor to the test. If residents have a 1963 model or older, the tractor can be entered into the competitive class. 

Organizers will be at the fairgrounds on Friday, June 11, at 7 p.m. to begin weighing in competitors. Weigh-ins will continue Saturday until 9 a.m. The event kicks off soon after, Roberts said. 

Cost to pullers is an annual membership fee of $20 to the Sheridan Area Pullers. The fee will cover upcoming events as well as the June pull. Hook-on fee is $10 for every pull. The event is free and open to the public and concessions will be available.