MOUNT VERNON – For the first time in 24 months, the National Tractor Pullers Association (NTPA) came roaring into Mount Vernon, drawing a sizeable crowd to the grandstand area at the Knox County Fair on Sunday. After last year’s cancellation, due to COVID-19, fans were back for one of the most popular events at the fair.
Area fans had something extra to cheer about. Travis Tilton of Bellville, driving his customized International 1466 with a 540 CI motor, which he named, "Always $omething," dragged the sled 342.936 feet. That pull placed him third in the 8,500-pound Light Pro Stock Tractor Division.
Tom Shafer (363.474) and Terry Shafer (347.113) from Lawrenceburg, Ind., were first and second in that division. Tom Shafer had the longest pull of the day of any class.
For Tilton, the sport is in his blood.
“My father pulled, back in the day,” Tilton said. “We decided that we wanted to do something together, as a family. So, we all decided that we would go pulling. We have a small hobby farm in Bellville to go play with, and that’s what we work on.”
Tilton, 49, is a radiation safety engineer in Mansfield, radiographing welds. He has been in NTPA since 2016, but he will be hanging on to his day job. He put the dollar sign on "Always $omething" for a reason.
“I can’t tell you how much money we’ve put into it,” Tilton said. “A lot, for sure. It’s expensive. It’s not a money maker. This is for enjoyment purposes only.”
While he loves pulling at the Knox County Fair in front of family and friends, getting traction posed a bit of a challenge.
“The track is a little bit on the hard side, but every track is different,” Tilton said. “Some drivers have more power, and others have finesse. It’s the luck of the draw.”
His father, Ron Tilton, is proud to watch his son in NTPA but talks about a simpler time, when pulling was done with regular tractors.
“It was nothing like it is today,” the elder Tilton said. “The money that goes into them would make you choke. It’s almost a shame to tell somebody what you’ve got in that thing. We never dreamed that it would become like this, when we started this, but it has just kept growing and growing.”
Also in the 8,500-pound class were Luke Durbis of New Philadelphia, who was fourth with a pull of 342.339 feet. Tom Lahmers of Ashland was fifth (340.909 feet) and Jordan Stroud of Midland was sixth (332.804 feet).
In the Stainless 8,000-pound Pro Stock Diesel 4x4 Truck Division, Mount Vernon’s Lee Burke was sixth. Burke, the only other local puller, was riding in his Dodge nicknamed "Treehugger’s Nightmare.” Burke made a pull of 341.438 feet.
Rob Wright from McArthur was the winner of that class (350.679 feet). Joe Gigax of Archbold was second (350.619 feet) and Erik Hucke was third (350.339 feet). Also in the 8,000 Pro Stock, Garrett Loucks of Elkhart, Ind., was fourth, Mike Burton of New Philadelphia was fifth and Jeremy Wenger of Dalton was seventh.
In the other divisions, Sam Kitzmiller (350.339 feet) of Alliance won the 7,700 Classic Super Stock Tractor Division. The 7,500-pound Modified Tractor Division was won by Tom Feiss (362.518 feet) of Lawrenceburg, Ind. Matt Sites of Spencerville won the 6,200-pound Modified Two-Wheel-Drive Truck Class, dragging the sled 322.803 feet.
