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“It’s pretty much taking the original and making it a high performance vehicle, I guess you could say,” said Levi Kimley, a South Charleston resident who will compete in two classes with his all-black tractor, Midnight Special. On the national circuit, they are called quarter-scale tractors, he said.
The pull, scheduled for 2 p.m. Saturday, July 22, in the Expo Center arena, is free with fair admission.
Kimley, 21, got hooked as a 5-year-old. The sport continues to grow, he said — a fact that was emphasized when he came back to it after a few years off. Parts and tractors keep changing.
“And it only continues to get better,” said Kimley, who has participated in events in several states.
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This marks the first time a mini indoor tractor pull will be part of the fair, but Clark County has hosted such pulls in the winter. Kimley said it is a good arena for a pull, where audience members can see the tractors up close.
The tractors run from $2,000 for the smaller ones and in the $10,000 range in the larger classes, said John Donavan, president of the Hilliard Tractor Club, which is managing the competition.
Viewers can expect the contest to go quickly with little lag time, Donavan said. And it can get loud.
Donavan anticipates 150 entries at the fair.
“We’re hoping this will be an annual thing for us,” he said.
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