MAY 2012—Ardmore, AL/TN We joined the Mid South Pullers and their
fans in Ardmore, AL / TN the first weekend of this month for approximately 46
hooks for both days. It was our first
opportunity of the year to see some Mid South pulling friends from last season,
as well as to say Hi to Whoopie fans from last year and introduce ourselves to
some new ones. Mike and his team have a
number one set up in Ardmore for the pullers, vendors and the fans—a
complicated task to achieve. We had a
great time and my all time favorite happening for the weekend---Darrin Hunt
(Dreamin Too) is a true entertainer- on and off the track (BTW:
SF Winner in Louisville this year !!!); however, on Saturday night,
Darrin was “pre-committed” to attend an Eric Church concert in Nashville. We all assume that brother, Brandon would be
in the Dreamin Too seat----NOT, The No.1 Hauler Driver and Sidekick of Darrin,
“Skillet” took the saddle and I was on pins and needles to watch Skillet take
it down the track. He did, but being
the great road driver that he is, when he started to see the white lines on the
side of the track, he decided to end his track trip at that point…..That
zillions of miles of road experience paid off…No DQ for Skillet.
The only
other adventure that Trey and I experienced was on our trip back home on LATE
Saturday night, actually EARLY Sunday morning.
There is a hill on I-65, and at the top of the hill there is a major
hidden curve. Trey was on the top of his
driving skills (Thank Goodness)….as we topped that spot, there was the accident
no one every wants to see, Tractors/Trailers left and right, blue and red
lights everywhere and a VERY limited downhill distance to stop….and he DID
within inches of the grass median and the next Tractor/Trailer. Thrill – NO; Impressed with Trey’s skills – YES……….Now on my list of things that I really don’t like (Downhill
Grades with Hidden Curves)
Winston Salem, NC & Pinetops, NC We headed north on Thursday, May 10th
toward our first North Carolina stop at Winston Salem for the Winston-Salem
Piedmont 300 which was held at the Dixie Classic Fairgrounds and organized by
the Walters Pulling Team with the assist of the UPOC and the local FFA
Chapter. Perry Walters can not only
construct the perfect track, make a great pull down the tract, but he has two Beautiful Daughters, Sarah and Lauren
that both have inherited his spunk & driving ability….This team can put on
a show with their style, expertise and just all-around positive outlook on
life. A joy to be around the Walters
team. Now there are many others that keep
the action alive in this UPOC group.
Take for instance, Lee Hipp & his team handles the sleds and talk
about a character! There are so many
great people that we met this year in NC, or revisited with from last year at
Pinetops. Ashley Stott, the “I really
don’t care and I will give it my all for a great show” type of guy, and he did at Winston-Salem – two Full Pulls
on one night -mini modifieds (Firing Point & Test Point). Another favorite of mine is Don Deane and his
modified, “Plumbers Nightmare”---now truth, it is not a pretty thing, but he
can put on a show and excite the crowds and he did.
The Galot
Team is so good at this sport that there is little that can be said, that has
not already been said. Peggy and Earl
Wells have created what I would call the NASCAR team of Truck and Tractor
Pulling. Then you add John Strickland
as the driver….Oh, add Janalee as a driver….Oh, then add Dana as a driver. Mechanic, Allen Carr, Crew: Holt; Justin Harvel, Ben Faucett and WOW! Two major stand outs for me at
Pinetops……John takes Get A Load of That (Alcohol Super Stock) to the concrete
barrier – within inches. I think, we all
stop breathing for a second and it was a show stopper….. BUT, the winner for me
was Dana. First time to get in
the seat of Get A Load of This (SF) and with no fear, she was headed down the
track as if she had been driving for seasons…As a female, I was impressed (Our
brains just are not programmed to do this), so big congrats to Dana and all the
other gals in the circuit that take this sport seriously and do it so well! 
Enough with
details, or semi-details of the pull---let’s get back to what we really like to
talk about, our laughs, adventures, mishaps, etc. Pinetops was the real beginning of our
year---WE had both Uncle Larry and Cousin Dion by our sides.
Our hearts & brains were “touched”, and our sides were sore from all
the laughter. Dion’s Red Haw Supply’s
booth which sales all the NTPA merchandise was set up next to us and at any
point that I thought I might need ”Whoopie
Boy” to assist me, he was with Dion. Helping him sale, setting in a chair,
laughing at who knows what; then along comes Uncle Larry and there is no getting this boy back to help me. Those three together and then mix them
with customers stopping by to view Red Haw’s wears, and it is a movie in the
making! I really cannot publish the
actual lines that were said by any of those three, except to tell you they all
have the personality to sell “Out-Houses” to Hollywood Starlets by telling them
they are the In-Thing. 
Mechanical
is the word for this blog entry---if it was mechanical, we had some type of
fight with the-- whatever mechanical? Now,
I do love my F250 truck and it has served us well for this past year; however,
it decided that it needed a rest and on Tuesday, the truck doc agreed. So, left Damon in charge of it to help get
it back up and going, BUT NOT to go and hitch it to any sled while I was gone!
(Still not sure that did not happen!) (That was three weeks ago!) In the meantime, Trey had elected to get him
an F250 and have it configured exactly like mine (hitch, air-bags, extra diesel
tank, etc). Perfect timing as it was our
hitch-ride for the NC trip. Thinking as
we left, we would return and all would be back to norm. Nope—we had parked the Whoopie Trailer at our
lodging for the week in Winston-Salem and on the last night before we headed to
Wilson, NC, we noticed the unit was sounding very strange. So, next morning at 5:00 a.m., we were headed
to Greensboro Thermo King to sit in customer lounge for 5 hours, but it was
fixed and that would be the end of these recent mechanical issues. NO, as we are heading in to Pinetops,
Trey’s new F250 issues a warning (U only have 30 more miles before shut-down)
and it is about 6:00 p.m. Unhooked and
at 5:00 a.m. next morning we are in another customer lounge waiting another 5
hours. It’s fixed by a simple re-code;
(I hope) -- mine is back up and going
for the next trip back to Alabama (I hope).
In between these little misunderstandings, we lucked up on one issue ---
next to our hotel rooms in both Winston-Salem and Wilson, we were within
walking distance of food and drink!!!!!!!!!
& drink!!!!!!!!!
In summary,
forget the mechanical issues (that’s history), we had a SUPER good visit in
North Carolina, we had many laughs, we met many new friends. We want to thank UPOC, Perry Walters, Bert
Pitt for letting Kentucky Whoopies be a part of two fantastic pulls. A special thank you to Annette Barber, the
Secretary of the UPOC. Annette arranges
for the Peddle Pulls for the children in the afternoon before the pulls for the
evening start. The kids love this and it’s
just another way to keep this a family affair.
Good to meet, Jeremy Tyndall and a very special thanks to Josh and Matt
Steinmetz for helping us whenever we need—U put me with Josh, Matt and Trey and
I feel as protected as you could imagine.
Be sure to
visit:
·
www.thelittlestatefair.com
for July 6th & July 7th – Kentucky Whoopie-Brown
County Summer Nationals (NTPA Grand National) ----MAKE YOUR PLANS FOR FUN at GEORGETOWN, OH-----
Next
Schedules for JUNE for Kentucky
Whoopies:
June
1st & 2nd – Hazel Green, AL (Kentucky Corn Growers –
Region 6 Shootout Series / NTPA Grand National)
June
8th & 9th – Decatur, IL (Macon Co. Fair Tractor &
Truck Pull / (Illinois Tractor Pullers Association)
June
15th & 16th – Hutchinson, MN (Power Pull Nationals /
NTPA Grand National)
June
21st, 22nd, 23rd, 24th – Tomah, WI
(Budweiser Dairyland Super National Pull)
