YORKTON - It might have been sort of chilly for the first day of summer.
It might have been cloudy.
It even showered enough crews rushed to temporarily cover the track.
But, ultimately the show went on for the first night of the Yorkton Home Hardware Thunder in the Parkland Truck and Tractor Pulls.
The evening kicked off with the vintage pulls – that means old in this case – who took on the challenge of pulling the sled.
Then came the big boys, micro-minis, soot spewing smokers, alcohol consuming beasts and even a local truck belonging to a tow truck firm all took on the big sled to the delight of fans.
It might have been sort of chilly for the first day of summer.
It might have been cloudy.
It even showered enough crews rushed to temporarily cover the track.
But, ultimately the show went on for the first night of the Yorkton Home Hardware Thunder in the Parkland Truck and Tractor Pulls.
The evening kicked off with the vintage pulls – that means old in this case – who took on the challenge of pulling the sled.
Then came the big boys, micro-minis, soot spewing smokers, alcohol consuming beasts and even a local truck belonging to a tow truck firm all took on the big sled to the delight of fans.
As for vintage tractors, they’ve pulled in Yorkton for about the last 15 years, said local puller and event volunteer Harvey Drotar.
So what has kept pullers coming out for a decade and a half?
“It’s easy to participate,” offered Harvey Penner who would be kept busy on the grader tractor at the event. “It’s relatively low cost.”
While no cost was announced, it was explained Friday that one tractor in the event had only been purchased at an auction a couple of weeks earlier.
“It’s not too hard to get into,” added Penner.
Penner said people often catch the pulling bug as a fan in the stands first.
“A lot of people show up in the stands and we maybe see them here. . . They decide to bring their own,” he said.
While the occasional vintage puller will date back to the late 1940s, any tractor pre-1965 is allowed, so finding one to run is not too difficult.
Keeping them running can be more challenging, Drotar told Yorkton This Week in an interview Friday afternoon.
Drotar’s words proved prophetic hours later when his tractor stopped mid-pull and needed to be pulled off the track.
The event wrapped up with pulls Saturday too.
