HOOKING UP

How The Pros Build A Great Pulling Surface

They are the unsung heroes of the truck and tractor pulling world. The equipment operators, the track crew, the worker bees—the people tasked with building the perfect pulling surface, but that also work feverishly to keep the track preserved once the show starts. Days (sometimes even weeks) before spectators show up to sit in the grand stand, they’re working the ground that will be expected to support repeatable passes from 4,000hp machines. If things go according to plan, the track will yield the kind of consistency that allows every competitor in each class—from the first hook to the last—a shot at winning.

To get an idea what it takes to build a championship-caliber pulling track, we contacted Randy Koenig, an Indiana farmer who offered his equipment and services pro bono in building the track for the Scheid Diesel Extravaganza, and Dan Cristiani, owner of Dan Cristiani Excavating Co. In addition to overseeing the track at the Extravaganza, Cristiani and his team are trusted with building and maintaining the pulling surface used for the coveted indoor Championship Tractor Pull at the National Farm Machinery Show. Though the aforementioned pros make it look easy, from the logistics involved with getting all the track-building equipment on site, to hauling in dirt and working ground, to the science behind water usage, a lot more goes into a good pulling surface than you might think.

Prior to Wagler Motorsports Park becoming the new home for the annual Scheid Diesel Extravaganza, the pulling track was just another section of corn field. In a stroke of luck, Randy Koenig, who used to farm this ground, volunteered his track building services when Jeremy Wagler approached him about building a track. For the Extravaganza, Randy would supply Wagler and Dan Scheid with nearly every piece of equipment required to erect a top-notch pulling surface. The best part? Koenig volunteered his time and equipment completely free of charge.

Thanks to its ability to retain water, clay soil is the universally accepted way for constructing pulling tracks. When Wagler broke ground on the track that now hosts the pullers of the Extravaganza, Randy Koenig helped it take shape. “That ground is real sandy, so Jeremy had to haul in 6 to 8 inches of clay, which helped,” he told us. “That initial buildup of clay provided a good sand/clay mix, but once you got down to the sand it was a problem. So the next year, he brought in more clay and lengthened the track. We widened it, too.”

The perfect pulling track begins with the right equipment. Tractors (including a big four-wheel drive to handle the ripping), a ripper, a tilling or finishing disc, box scraper, water wagons, V-drag attachments, a sheep’s foot roller, self-propelled or pull behind wobble wheel roller, and even a dozer and motor grader are must-have items in some of the larger operations.

Typically, the order of events for prepping a pulling surface begins with deep-ripping the dirt, followed by water, a tillage disc (to break up the large clumps), more water, a scraper, and then compaction. Of course, every pulling surface is different and may require its own method(s) of preparation.

Well before the tractors ever take to the dirt, competent track builders arrive, unload and begin working the track. For most, two days is enough to shape an ideal pulling surface. “For the Extravaganza pull, we work it two days ahead of time,” Randy Koenig said. “We do everything like we’re gonna have a pull. And then we seal it up and come back the next day and do it all over again.”

According to Randy Koenig, the dual lane track at the Extravaganza was ripped 8 to 10 inches deep, treated to 5,000 gallons of water, and allowed to sit roughly one hour. This step of adding moisture is critical, as too much water will lead to mud and too little will dry out the soil, produceing dust. “We want it ripped up so all the dirt is loose and you can get water in it deep,” Randy Koenig explained. “Mixing in water gives you holding capacity. So when a class goes three or four hours the moisture stays in there. The track has to hold water yet be able to be finished.”

Here, Scheid Diesel’s Brad Ingram (left), who campaigns the company’s Pro Stock truck, visits with Randy Koenig (right) trackside just before the kick off for Friday’s Limited Pro Stock qualifying session. According to Randy, “you get a lot of opinions, mostly from the pullers,” when it comes to track building. He then went on to say that that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. “They [the pullers] are just trying to get the track consistent. They tip us off as to where some holes are at and ask us to fill them, things like that.”

As stated, if the track crew succeeds, pulling fans are treated to a track with great consistency. You know it when you see it: only inches will separate the top finishers in any given class. Case in point, Ronnie Hall’s Pro Street Duramax finished third at the 2021 Scheid Diesel Extravaganza with a 298.18-foot distance. The Second Place truck went 299.05 feet and the fourth, fifth, and sixth place finishers all went 295 feet or better. In a class of just 12 trucks, that’s pretty tight grouping—and a sign of a good, consistent track from start to finish.

It’s a fine balance as to how much water to use on a given pulling surface. The perfect amount of water produces a track that bites but isn’t muddy, but that can also be pulled on without drying out. Then there is competitor preference. According to Randy Koenig, “the truck pullers like the track drier, but the tractor guys want it wetter, typically.” As you can imagine, finding the perfect mix at the Scheid Diesel Extravaganza, where both the best PPL trucks and tractors in the nation go down the track, is anything but easy…

No matter how much planning goes into building a track, sometimes Mother Nature has the final say. In cases like these, where the chance of heavy rainfall is virtually guaranteed, it pays for track builders to seal the track up after working it. Many times, a crown will even be shaped in the middle of the track to provide adequate drainage. This photo obviously illustrates what a rainout looks like, but careful track planning before the rain hit allowed the crew to work the track the next morning and have it in full operation by early afternoon.

“Days (sometimes even weeks) before spectators show up to sit in the grand stand, they’re working the ground that will be expected to support repeatable passes from 4,000hp machines.”
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