Tuesday, April 10, 2012

MARCH TRAVELS TO KEYSTONE


March 2012---This month we traveled to Pennsylvania….home of the KEYSTONE NATIONALS INDOOR TRUCK and TRACTOR PULL in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania which was held at the Farm Show Complex & Expo Center – the largest indoor agricultural exposition in the country.   KEYSTONE was started in 2008 and each year it just gets bigger and better.  Keystone supports FFA chapters in PA and VA, as they say, “The future of farming begins with the dedication of these young people”   One ticket creates fun for the fans, opportunity for the pullers to exhibit their machines’ strength and last but not least---help to the future of American Young Farmers.  Just think, in only a few short years, this pull has brought the best from all-over this nation.   Three nights and two days were packed with an estimated total of 260 Trucks and Tractors entered / 19 classes and 14 of those classes in finals on Saturday night.     Those 260 feet of real estate were checked out more in 30   hours than you can ever imagine…..



Our tale begins…”Whoopie Boy” and I left Kentucky early on Wednesday headed to Pennsylvania for an approximate 14 hour ride.  We have learned in this past year, not to over pack anything, including snacks or drinks. The more stops you make, the better the trip (maybe longer), but it does the body good!  And just what would we do without “smart phones”—those babies can place you in the perfect spots -- like our favorite restaurant in Knoxville for lunch -- another great stop for dinner --we do eat well on these trips!   Smart phones keep you up on weather conditions, traffic conditions, best diesel prices and best of all---we look up everything – it just speeds the time on by!   For almost every question I’m asked, I just “Giggle” it….my spelling now sucks; but all the stuff I learn on these road trips from this “Giggle” is amazing!   The only problem is that the stuff we look up doesn’t really make us any smarter—we strictly use it for entertainment. Ask me about a movie, song and I’m there….ask me an intelligent question, I’ll have to look it up!   Not Trey, he is a different character --- he remembers EVERY stupid line from EVERY stupid movie (Dodgeball, Old School, Talladega Nights etc..) and EVERY word to any stupid song out there (word for word)  AND you should hear him rap “Ice-Ice-Baby Not sure how he does it, but it’s impressive.   He remembers facts about stuff you would never think about, so if nothing else happens in this great adventure….Mom has learned to have an appreciation for all the years and cost of a higher education….Oh wait, what I just said about what he does so “artfully” was not acquired during his higher education period or was it ??????



So after 14 hours – we arrived in Harrisburg, PA., checked into our hotel, and finally a good night’s sleep.  The guys and tractors had left Kentucky several hours after we did and they were somewhere behind us.  I think they thought we were driving too slow, making too many stops, ughhhh !  (They were right, BUT--- we had a room for the night; theirs got sold, they had 200 miles left to drive; our miles were history;  they were driving; we were sleeping, they arrived really late and slept in the hauler;  we were in a comfy room for the night).   Sometimes the turtle does win the race!

 
We set up at the Farm Show Expo on Thursday and the “Little Whoopie Trailer” was open and ready for business.   Our set up for Thursday was only in the exhibit hall and we were busy; but on Friday and Saturday we ROCKED… On Friday, we decided to change our sales strategy and go with an additional mobile set up on the track and away we went….  Talk about two steppin’ --- Trey would text me that he needed more Chocolate Chip Whoopies, or ear plugs, or change, or a bathroom break.   Being the GREAT Mom that I am, I texted him back and said, “you’re on your own here, Bud---I’m too busy”     Looking back, pretty cool that our little team, handled the crowds, kept energized and had a great time---without yelling “HELP”.



There were so many great trucks and tractors at KEYSTONE, and so many of them that we usually don’t see on the NTPA circuit. (Very Neat)  There was a lot of BLUE in that arena, too!   The pullers from the east coast DO know how to travel down the track to the point there is no track.   

The Raging Bull and The Whoopie Maker International tractors joined them on this pull and did very good, too.  Friday night, Chicken was in the driver seat with Raging Bull and yep, he went straight for the sand. (Maryland & PA are Robert’s old stompin’ grounds, so it was good for him to be back home and he did have a few in the crowd to cheer him on --Brothers Ronnie and Roger Haggerty were there to watch little brother – lots of personality with these two, and do I need to mention that they always make me laugh?—LUV that about them!)   Saturday morning started great as John took The Whoopie Maker into the sand (or the beach, as they say) and the second exciting pull for this little group was on the books.  Both made it into the finals and both had great runs –a very good weekend for all.  Jess stayed busy this weekend keeping both tractors in high performance….and keeping up with him is even harder, as he works and walks faster than anybody I have ever seen.   Jess will be in Raging Bull’s driver’s seat on April 21 in Murray, KY, like I said, it’s hard to keep up with him.

Adam Draudt (MAD PULLING PICS)

Adam Draudt (MAD PULLING PICS)


Other friends to mention…Adam Draudt, (aka—Armature Photographer ---my foot!!)  Adam gets the best shots of tractors & trucks in motion….He has “The Gift”.    Adam will be at the July 6th and 7th, KENTUCKY WHOOPIE-BROWN COUNTY NTPA SUMMER NATIONAL pull in Georgetown, Ohio to make his camera continue the magic…
You can reach Adam @ 716-435-5317  sameolroadagain@aol.com (MAD PULLING PICS ).   
Jerry Richardson (JR) with Eastern Extreme Pulling is without a doubt “The Man” with the lens and if you want GREAT videos of the pulls, here you go---- www.easternextremepulling.com

We also had the pleasure of a visit with Dick Morgan of www.pulloff.com ----So many new friends….I likeeee.   


No Cuz Dion—No Uncle Larry—No Kyle—No Robbie L this trip----In their place, two good friends that made sure Dave’s sled stayed in line….Bob Neal (Note to Julie—Bob’s wife:  You should be proud of Bob, every video taken by JR that Bob was in, he was smiling, and proudly wearing his Kentucky Whoopie T Shirt!) and Brian Neal (Brian is always watching out for me…thank you-Brian !)  Good friend, Clay Darnell hitched a ride with John for this pull and he did his best to keep the guys in line. (He’s a tall fellow and I would not argue with him about anything).  We met some new faces from up East...Chris Stewart (thank you for the great video); Ryan Siracusa a really fun character-full of enthusiasm (our pleasure to meet you, Ryan)



Almost forgot, if you have been following our blog, in January, we told you about the funny story with our win of the 50/50 at Gordyville (a true story)……GUEST WHAT, we WON again (NO, you can’t make this stuff up and YES, I’m declaring it…cause if you post it, you better own up-to-it !)



A big thank you to The Keystone National Pulling Committee, Forrester Farm Equipment, Interstate Pullers and the East Coast Pullers for the hospitality and for creating such a spectacular pull.  Special thank you to Tom Street and Jason Forrester……  BOOK you calendar for March 14th, March 15th and March 16, 2013…visit www.easternextremepulling.com for advanced tickets.



UPDATE:  Only two customers, asked us the famous question, “What’s a Whoopie Pie”----Remember Pennsylvania is Whoopie Country.  In fact, “me thinks” that Maine and Pennsylvania are always at odds as to which State created the WHOOPIE PIE—don’t know the answer to that one, but I do know  that we are building some fans to the Southern Kentucky Style Whoopie….


Pennsylvanians loved Kentucky Whoopie and we loved Pennsylvania…..THANK YOU ALL & WE’LL COME BACK NOW !!!!


Watch for our next blog and visit:


·         Miles at www.milesbeyond300.com for some great stories of the Truck & Tractor pulling sport. 

·          Check out www.ntpapull.com for the 2012 NTPA pulling dates.


FOR CERTAIN make plans to attend the Kentucky Whoopie-Brown County NTPA Summer Nationals in Georgetown, OH the weekend of July 6th and July 7th   

·         www.thelittlestatefair.com for details --- It will be one FUN weekend of pulling!!  

·         Facebook Page-- Kentucky Whoopie Brown County Summer Nationals



KENTUCKY WHOOPIE’S EVENT SCHEDULE – APRIL & MAY

                April 28 --Harrison County FFA Truck & Tractor Pull, Cynthiana, KY
                May 4th & May 5th – Ardmore Lions Club Pull, Ardmore, AL
                May 11th & May 12th –Winston Salem Piedmont 300, Winston Salem, NC
                May 18th & May 19th – Pinetops 300 National Truck & Tractor Pull, Pinetops, NC