A Primer for New Tractor Pullers
Professionally, John Sulzbach of Killingworth, CT, serves as a licensed arborist and owner of an independent tree care company. In addition to providing services to residents and businesses in the Killingworth, CT, area, John Sulzbach pursues a variety of personal interests, including garden tractor pulling. Deemed the heaviest motorsport in the world, tractor pulling tests the strength of the machine and the skills of its driver. The sport connects a modified tractor or farm tractor to a metal sled that the tractor then pulls along a set course. As the tractor moves along the course, a mechanism moves the weight forward, which increases the weight of the load that the tractor must carry. The ever-increasing load ultimately causes even the strongest tractor to slow and stop, though on rare occasions one will complete the full course. The tractor that has traveled the farthest will emerge as the winner, which means that a successful competitor must make a fast start. This enables the tractor to build up enough speed to continue to slide even under the built-up weight of the sled.