Capacity Crowd fills Altamont

Effingham County Fair 2009 Recap

A capacity crowd filled the stands, parking lots and pretty well everywhere around the Effingham County Fairgrounds for the 2009 Fair Pull. A sold out crowd was treated to a fantastic evening filled with top notch pulling action on the Illinois Tractor Pulling Association's summer circuit. Five classes were contested and brought the crowd to their feet in Altamont on Wednesday night. The highly competitive 12,000 # Farm Stock class was won by Mike Kessler and his International 1466 out of Stewardson, Illinois. The ground pounding 8200 # Super Stock class was won by the 2008 Best Appearing Stock Tractor the John Deere 7720 Squealer campaigned by the Meese Family out Oblong, Illinois. The Squealer won the class in a pull-off against Todd Maedge's Monkey Mayhem Mx Series Case International. The Pro Stock Semi's have quickly become a crowd favorite with the ITPA fans, the fans were treated to a great dual between Jeremy Walker's Peterbilt Double Down and Kim Eddington's American Express. Jeremy Walker took home the win with the Walker Pulling Teams first of two beautiful Pro Stock Semi's. The 6200 # Two Wheel Drive Trucks saw a sweep of the top three spots by the Nelson Brother's. Jeremy Nelson won the class with his 1941 Dodge Midnight Gambler, youngest brother Jordan was second with the Midnight Madness Ford, while middle brother Jared finished third with his Midnight Revenger Chevy. The Nelson's pleased the home town crowd in Altamont, as all three brothers are graduates of Altamont High School. The final class scheduled for the evening was the 7500 # Modified Tractor class, which saw Jami Austin and his Miller Lite Predator claim the top honors for the evening. In just his second season campaigning the Miller Lite Predator, Jami has found great success throughout the state and region. On behalf of the ITPA we want to thank the Effingham County Fair for such a great evening of pulling and we look forward to bringing the ITPA's best of the best to Altamont in 2010.

Brownstown event is Cancelled!

The event schedule for tonight Wednesday July 15th in Brownstown, has been cancelled due to high level of rain throughout the area the last few days. The ITPA will be back in action tomorrow evening Thursday July 16th with two events being contested, Peoria, Illinois will have the 5500# Classic Tractors and Carlyle, Illinois will have the 8000# Pro Stock Diesel Trucks in action. This weekend July 18th the ITPA will travel to the Jersey County Fair in Jerseyville, Illinois, before heading to Crescent City, Illinois on Sunday for a two session action packed evening with six high powered ITPA classes. Stay tuned to the blog or to http://www.itpapulling.com/ for more details.

Schuyler County Fair

Friday Night July 3, ITPA avoided the rains from mother nature and had a heck of a pull in Rushville, Illinois at the Schuyler County Fair. The class numbers were great as each class delighted the crowd on the eve of our country's birthday. Ed Orrell Jr. showed again just how tough his Pro Stock tractor is as he won the class with a pull beyond 334 feet. Josh Adrian took home the win in the 8200 Limited Pro Stock class, a class that continues to gain popularity on the circuit. The 4x4 Diesel Class had awesome numbers and saw Jerry Lierly take home the victory with his Dodge. The 2 Wheel Drive Truck class saw the Nelson Brothers finishing in positions 1-3, with little brother Jordan taking home his first win of the season. Todd Maedge laid down a fantastic pass with his Super Stocker and claimed the win by nearly ten feet of Dave Marino from Missouri. This event truly show cased the level of competitiveness on the ITPA circuit and set the stage for some awesome events to come over the next few months of the summer.


Event Results for Schuyler County Fair Pull

8200 Limited Pro Stock (co-sanctioned with ECMTPA)
1. Josh Adrian 291.40 2. Clarence Kozuszek 288.63 3. Gary Kisro 288.60 4. Randy Stuckensneider 287.90 5. Mick Gajewski 287.37 6. Brandon Trinklein 275.25 7. Gene Stumpf 274.99 8. Tony McMullen 274.72 9. Wayne Tedder 273.56 10. Kenny Kozuszek 270.58 11. Henry Frueh 269.80 12. Randy Beckemeyer 268.24 13. Danny Barker 267.96 14. Victor Miller 266.72 15. Aaron Esker 266.52 16. Brian Gerling 261.31

8000 Pro Stock Diesel Pickup 1. Jerry Lierly (’98 Dodge) 319.55 2. Dalton Tarr 316.58 3. David Justison (Ford) 316.44 4. Bill Heyen 313.97 5. Rod Tarr 313.60 6. Dan Painter 313.39 7. Bob Ranek 311.40 8. David Justison (Dodge) 310.42 9. Wes Kusilek 309.03 10. Susan Ingram 306.52 11. Wes Kusilek 301.34 12. Jerry Lierly (‘06 Dodge) 300.68 13. Nathan Thornley 298.80 14. Billy Zimmer 295.64 15. Ryan Whalen

8200 Super Stock 1. Todd Maedge 286.66 2. David Marino 277.15 3. Adam Steinmann 262.38 4. Ray Gummersheimer 257.70 5. Darrell Meese 249.70 6. Henry Frueh 249.01 7. Steve Hood

9500 Limited Pro Stock (co-sanctioned with ECMTPA) 1. Brandon Hart 325.04 2. Jerry Mulleniv 318.53 3. Brett Dreckshage 314.61 4. Jarrod Wortmann 310.30 5. Larry Steinmann 308.57 6. Tony Wortmann 296.14 7. Steve Hood 280.81

6200 2WD Truck 1. Jordan Nelson 327.78 2. Jeremy Nelson 317.12 3. Jared Nelson 314.52 4. Andy Bedolli 308.82 5. Don Finney 297.91 6. Oz Hay 297.45 7. Mark Austin 295.15 8. Dennis Zindars 294.32 9. Greg Bandelow 289.60

10,000 Pro Stock 1. Ed Orrell, Jr. 334.60 2. Lance Little 316.77 3. Jeff Sapp 312.68 4. Adam Steinmann 297.26 5. Donnie Kuhns 282.93 6. Brett Dreckshage 280.78

ITPA Competition gets heated up this weekend!

On Saturday June 27th the Illinois Tractor Pulling Association will have 3 going on with the majority of the classes in competition. The events will be held in Ashland, Illinois, Cerro Gordo, Illinois, and Sturgis, Kentucky, this weekend marks the start of the hectic season for the ITPA officials and staff. Points races are already shaping up to be some of the most competitive in seasons past. On Sunday June 28th the ITPA will travel to Butler, Illinois for another exciting night of Diesel 4x4 Truck pulling. Check back to the blog for updates and results of the events over the weekend.


Events this Weekend June 27/28th
Sat. June 27 Ashland Tractor Pull - Ashland, IL
Class C - 10:00 a.m.5500# Antique5500# Classic
Sat. June 27Piatt Co. Jr. Fair – Cerro Gordo, IL
Class AA – 6:30 p.m.5500# Classic5800# Modified6200# 2WD Trucks10,000# Pro Stock20,000# Pro Stock Semi
Sat. June 27Union Co. Fair - Sturgis, KY
Class AA - 7:00 p.m.6000# Super Stock8000# Pro Stock Diesel Trucks8200# Limited Pro Stock9500# Farm Stock
Sun. June 28Montgomery Co. Fair - Butler, IL
Class AA - 6:00 p.m.8000# Pro Stock Diesel Trucks

ITPA in the Swing of Things

The Illinois Tractor Pulling Association got the season jump started with two great events co-sanctioned with the Lucas Oil Pro Pulling League at Decatur and Charleston, Illinois. The events solid great class sizes and hotly contested competition as each individual strives for the points title. The events saw Donnie Sullivan capture two wins with his Chevy Colorado Super Modified Two Wheel Drive out of Warsaw, Kentucky. Sullivan out distances the Midnight Motorsports team of Jared and Jeremy Nelson who each had a second place finish in the two events.

In the ground pounding 7500 lb modified class the Leischner's found success with a one/two finish at the Coles County Fair with the Dirtslinger and Dirtchallenger.

In just it's second season with the ITPA full time the Diesel 4x4 truck class has taken off with solid numbers and great competition. The class has seen three different event winners (Jerry Lierly, Kevin Cole, and David Justison) in three events and currently has a three way tie at the top of the points race with (Justison, Lierly, and Rod Tarr) currently fighting for the lead.

Farm Stock classes have already begun to take shape with the 12000lb class having had three different winners as well, and one time winner David Bumpus grabbing the early lead with his International Bumpin Binder. Kevin and Scott Shepherd from Altamont have taken claim of the lead in the 9500 lb class after a big win in Decatur to kick off the season.

Ed Orrell Jr. is back to his old tricks with two wins already in the 10000 lb Pro Stock class with wins in Decatur and Pinckneyville. Orrell Jr. has already established a solid points lead in his pursuit of a defense of his points title.

Todd Maedge started his season off with a sweep of the Super Stock classes in Pinckneyville. Maedge won the 6000 SS Class as well as the 8200 lb SS Class with his Case MX International Series tractor.

It is evident that the ITPA Season is going to have a great summer of competition after just witnessing the first ten days of the season. The heavy hitters on the ITPA circuit have come out in full force and want nothing more then to stand atop of the stage in December at the banquet in Springfield. Stay tuned to the ITPA blog for weekly updates and results posts after the events are contested.

ITPA Season Kicks off in Decatur

The Illinois Tractor Pulling Association will get things started on Wednesday June 10th at the Macon County Fair in Decatur, Illinois. The joint sanctioned show with the Lucas Oil Pro Pulling League will feature 9500 lb Farm Stock, 12,000 lb Farm Stock for ITPA competition and 6200lb Two Wheel Drive Trucks, 9300 lb Super Farm, and 10,000 lb Pro Stock Tractors with the PPL Midwest Regional Series. ITPA fans will be treated to a perfect blend of classes and good numbers when the power gets put the track in Decatur. The joint venture between PPL and ITPA saw great competition and number in the classes contested. Only two shows will make up the regional schedule for 2009 and they are both going to be contested this week, with the second Friday night at the Cornbelt Shrine Smoke and Noise Pull in Charleston, Illinois. The Cornbelt Shrine show was unfortunately cancelled in 2008 because of rain. The 2009 edition certainly looks to be a high power affair with the Modified tractors scheduled for competion. More detailed information about the Cornbelt Show can be found at http://www.cornbeltshriners.com/pull/index.html.

Results and a recap of Wednesday nights action will be posted on the ITPA Blog following the show.

John Deere Company joins the ITPA!

The Illinois Tractor Pulling Association is pleased to announce John Deere Company as a new major sponsor for the 2009 summer pulling circuit. The ITPA is excited to add another great sponsor to the list of supporters 2009 season that are helping to ensure a fantastic experience for the fans and pullers throughout the state. John Deere joins Herrin LTD/BAST, Cen Pe Co and Monsanto as 2009 major sponsors of the ITPA.

We are only a little over a month from the first official ITPA hook and the excitement for a season filled with smoke and noise continues to build. The ITPA looks to make the 2009 season one for the ages.