| Triple L Pulling 2004 Pull Results |
| May 1st Rockin K Ranch With high hopes for the 2004 season coming into Rockin K, it turned out to be a disappointing day. In the 1100 lb class, Ryan drove the 682 to a 4th place finish, while Jeremy took Insanity down the track to the tune of a 5th place spot. Things didn't get any better in the 1200 lb class, as Jeremy rode the 682 to a 5th, and Ryan on Insanity could only manage a 6th. It seemed as if the ignition problems from 2003 had reared their ugly heads again. Back to the shop and the drawing board. After a few changes and a few practice runs, we finally found the problem. Hopefully, those ignition problems are a thing of the past. May 2st Hinson's Auction Hoping to rebound from the letdown at Rockin K, we came into Oakboro, again with high expectations. Our tractors haven't seemed to like this track too much, but tonight was a different story. In the 1100 lb class, Ryan laid down a super run and made a full pull, but came up just short in the pull-off and settled for 2nd. Jeremy finished 5th on Insanity, who despite being way down on horsepower compared to the rest of the field, has laid down some of the nicest runs of the year. Again, switching tractors for the 1200 lb class, Jeremy came up af the end of the class, after dropping a distance on the first pull that would have given him 2nd in the class. In the end, the guys didn't have to kick themselves, as he still rode the 682 to another 2nd place finish, even though it was 2 and a half feet behind the run he turned down. Ryan and Insanity managed a 6th place finish, in another beautiful run for the underdog 102. June 19th Candor Switching up the order this week, it was Jeremy on the 682 for the 1100 lb class. He drew a spot in the middle of the class, and came out strong laying down a distance of 149.3, just 7/10ths of a foot from a full pull. That would prove costly, as the very next tractor just managed to edge out the end. Still, 3 straight 2nd's now and the 682 is climbing in the points. Ryan on Insanity, could only manage a 6th place in the class. The 1200 lb class saw Ryan on the 682 and a floating finish line. It would be "take it as far as you can go" and no full pulls in this round. When all the dust settled, Ryan was sitting in a 4th place tie, and Jeremy on Insanity was in 6th. It was decided that Ryan and the tractor he was tied with would pull it off for the 4th place spot. In this pull-off, Ryan found the line down the track he was looking for the first time, and took the 4th position. Unfortunately, in the process, he laid down a run that would have put him in 2nd had he done it the first go-round and extended the streak of 2nd place finishes to 4 straight. Thats the way it works sometime. June 25th Hinson's Auction Rained out. Pull was rescheduled for July 10th. June 30th Denton Its always nice to come back to a track where you've had success in the past. This was the case going into Denton, as the 682 last year, in its only 2 passes down the Denton track, captured its first win in its short pulling career. Hopes were high to again take home the top spot at the Denton Farmpark. First up, was Ryan aboard the 682 in the 1100lb class. Although he didn't take top honors, he managed a very nice 3rd place finish and kept up the momentum that has been building over the last few pulls. Jeremy laid down a beauty of a run on Insanity to lock up the 6th spot, under 11 feet behind the leaders. This tractor has really over-achieved so far this season, and that would continue on Wednesday. With the brothers swapping for the 1200lb class, Jeremy found a nice lane down the left-hand side of the track on the 682, and when finished, was out in front of the pack. With 3 tractors left, they looked on as the very next puller made it close, coming within 13 inches of taking the lead away. That was as close as anyone would get however, and the 682 again took home a class win at Denton. Thats 2 wins in 4 hooks at this track, which is making us wish we could pull there more than just once a year. Insanity, driven by Ryan this time around, laid down another beautiful run and finished less than 12 feet back of its big brothers winning distance. The 682 now sits a mere 10 points back in the championship standings, in a tie for 2nd place. July 10th Hinson's Auction Looking for 2 wins in a row, Ryan didn't let the guys down in the 1100lb class. He took home his first win ever, and backed up brother Jeremy's win 2 weeks earlier at Denton. He parked the 682 at just over the 150 ft full pull mark and made a 3 way pull off. The last to run in the pull off, Ryan knew just what he needed to beat, and laid down a beautiful run down the right side of the track to take the win by a little over 2 ft. Jeremy finished 6th in the class again on Insanity. The boys were looking at coming out of Oakboro with the points lead if they could make it 3 in a row in the 1200lb class. With the chance of taking over the points lead, Jeremy hooked next to last in the class and laid down a run that, at the time, left him in 2nd by less than a ft and a would put the boys in a tie for the points lead. However, it didn't last long, as the very next tractor, and last puller in the class, edged him out by 1.2 inches. He would settle for a 3rd place finish, but once again, the 682 would close the gap on the points lead. Only 5 back now, 2 good hooks in Rockwell in 2 weeks could put the guys at the top. Ryan drove Insanity to 7th place finish in the class. For the first time this year, Insanity's lack of horsepower really showed. On a track that was one of the hardest biting surfaces we've pulled on in quite some time, Insanity didn't have enough muscle to stay close with the front-runners. It was definitely a horsepower track in Oakboro Saturday night. The guys look to keep the roll going as they head to Rockwell in 2 weeks. July 24th Rockwell With hopes of keeping thing heading in the right direction, we rolled into Rockwell Saturday night. Ryan would look to make it 2 wins in a row in the 1100lb class, and this time, Jeremy hoped to back up his brothers performance. Ryan drew the number 1 puller for the night, so it wouldn't take long to see how the 682 liked the Rockwell track this year. Pulling a shorter track than usual (140 ft this week), it had us guessing a little bit on gearing. Luckily, we had the choice of using the first pullers option of taking or dropping the first distance. No drop would be needed, as Ryan brought the rpms up, eased the clutch out, and parked himself just over the full pull line. There were 2 more tractors to join him there, so again he was set up for a 3 way pull off. After moving a couple weights to try and hook the tractor a little better in the pull off, it was time to see if it would indeed be 2 in a row for Ryan. Out first in the pull off, he laid down a strong run, and then sat as the other 2 tractors took their shot. With the 2nd tractor in the pull off finishing 4 ft back of Ryan, he just had to dodge one more bullet. When the dust had settled, Ryan's distance held up, and he took his 2nd career win, which have came in back to back pulls. Jeremy ended up in 7th on Insanity, which continued to lay down nice runs despite being the underdog. This made 2 pulls in a row that Ryan has landed the 682 in 1st place in the points standings after the 1100lb class. Unfortunately, at Oakboro the pull before, Jeremy couldn't keep it there and dropped back to 3rd in points after the 1200lb class. Now it was onto the 1200lb class, and Jeremy's turn to try and not waste Ryan's great finish. Again pulling first, he decided he didn't like the run and thought he could improve on it, so he dropped the distance and came back last in the class. After watching a couple tractors pull, it looked as if the guys might have just dropped a pull that would have given them the win. It wasn't until the middle of the class that someone surpassed Jeremy's dropped distance, and we saw that dropping was indeed the right choice. Coming back at the end of the class, Jeremy knew just what he needed to beat for the win. He headed down the left side of the track, and seemed to have found something on that side, as he had a super nice run in the works. In the end, he came up just short, and settled for 3rd, just over a foot behind the class winner. He did better his dropped distance by about 2 ft, so the guys made the right choice in choosing to come back and hook again. Ryan drove Insanity to one of its nicest runs of the season, ending up just 10 ft behind the winning distance. As good as this tractor is running now, it leaves us with high expectations of what it will do next year with the engine being the same as the one in the 682. Insanity seems to hook to the track much better than the 682, and getting the horsepower to the ground is what its all about. The guys head to Robbins in 2 weeks, where the start of our ignition problems showed up last year. We hope that those are a thing of the past, and we can keep the momentum going. Now currently in 2nd in points, and only 5 back of the leader, its time to take over that top spot and make a run at the title. August 6th Robbins We pulled into Robbins Friday night hoping to leave with the points lead later that night. The 682 has been close on several occasions to taking over the top spot, and we looked to Robbins as the night to finally break into the elusive top spot. Jeremy was the first of the brothers to pull, and was on Insanity for the 1100lb class. Trying to hug the right side of the track, he got just a little too close and was disqualified as the right rear tire touched the chalk a little over halfway down the track. Ryan was the very next puller, and avoided making the same mistake on the 682. In what may have been the best run the 682 has ever made, he brought the front end off the ground out of the hole and carried it just off the ground almost the full length of the track. His perfectly straight, perfectly weighted run resulted in a convincing full pull, and he would head back to the start line for the pull off. Only 2 tractors made the pull off, and Ryan was to pull 2nd. He knew what he needed to beat, and despite not laying down as nice of a run as his first pass, still ended up the winner. Add the Robbins win to his Rockwell win and his Oakboro win, and its 3 in a row now for him in the 1100lb class. It was Jeremy's turn now aboard the 682 in the 1200lb class. Ryan was third up in the class on Insanity, and in what was easily Insanity's best run of the season, sat in a tie for 1st with brother Jeremy up next. Jeremy parked the 682 out in front of the pack, but that would be the last tractor to pull Friday night. One of the rollers on the sled box decided to let go on us, and the class had to be scratched. It looked as if the guys might get their first sweep of both classes this season, but the sled malfunctions wiped away any chance of that. The real shame in all of this was the wasted run of Insanity. With only 2 left in the class, Insanity had guaranteed itself its best finish of the season, with a top 3 not being out of the question. This is a great sign of things to come for next season, as we will be turning up the wick on Insanity with a fresh engine similar to what is in the 682. With Ryans win, the 682 moves to the top spot in the points standings for the first time this season. With the ignition problems appearing to be a thing of the past, it looks as if the 682 will be a serious threat for the championship this year. It has to be considered one of the frontrunners with its strong performances of late, and we hope to keep the momentum going in 2 weeks in Oakboro. It has seemed to like the Oakboro track this season, coming away with a win, two 2nds, and a 3rd in 4 hooks there this year. August 20th Hinson's Auction With hopes of adding to our points lead, we headed to Oakboro in good spirits. The 682 saw itself sitting on top of the Pro Stock class for the first time this season, and with the strong performances of late, adding to that lead was not out of question. Ryan would be the first of the brothers to pull in the 1100lb class on the 682. He would come up just short of a full pull, and when the class was over, would have to settle for a 3rd place finish. Jeremy would drive Insanity to another 6th place finish, as the hard-biting Oakboro track again proved to be too much for the underpowered Insanity. The 682 would drop back into a tie for 1st in the points after the 1100lb class, so it was up to Jeremy to drive it back into the lead later on in the 1200lb class. Jeremy hoped to put the 682 back on top, but all he could muster was another 3rd place finish. The rpm's never seemed to come up all the way coming out of the hole, and it wasn't until later that the team would find out why it didn't run right. Ryan set out on Insanity, but about midtrack, he took an unplanned left turn and sat the front tire down on the chalk line for a disqualification. Insanity was really hooked into the track, but it didn't help this time, as the sudden left turn was too much for Ryan to recover from. The 682 came out of Oakboro having been relegated back to 2nd place in the points standings. That was not the biggest blow to happen Friday night in Oakboro, as it wasn't until later that we would find out that we had sheared a key on the flywheel which would cause us to miss the next pull and really take a hit in the run for the championship. September 10th Hinson's Auction Unfortunately, it wasn't until 2 days before this pull when the guys found out some bad news. First it was a minor intake valve problem, but upon further inspection, we noticed that we had sheared a flywheel key. The original plan was to take the 682 to simply bump the sled and gain last place points in the class. Every point matters as close as it is this year, but upon finding the sheared key on the flywheel, that changed things greatly. Without being able to make the pull, the 682 took a huge hit in the points standings. Falling from 5 points back coming into the pull, it would jump to 45 back after the pull. We have our work cut out for us now if we still plan on winning the championship this year. September 25th Jamestown With the 682 repaired and hopefully running like its old self again, we headed up I-85 to Jamestown. We had a disappointing effort in Jamestown in 2003, and hoped to right that ship and put the 682 back in the hunt for the points title. Jeremy was up first in the 1100lb class driving Insanity. He laid down a nice run, but the track this year was definitly a horsepower track, and unfortunately, for now, Insanity is lacking in that department compared to the rest of the tractors in the class. He would manage a 5th place finish due to some problems for other pullers, but it was by no means a great run. Ryan was next to last in the class on the 682. With 2 tractors already making a pull off, Ryan needed to park the 682 past the 150 ft mark to join them and challenge for the win. He would do just that, as he easily pulled the sled out the end, even getting off the throttle at the end. There would end up being 4 pullers coming back for the pull off, and with the other 3 struggling to make a full pull and Ryan easing it out the end, it looked as if the 682 was back together and running as good as ever. However, anything can happen in tractor pulling, and in his pull off run, it appeared as if the 682 just let go of the track and lost traction at about half track. He would finish in 4th, 6 ft behind the winnner, but the team would feel like they let one get away in the 1100lb class. Ryan was atop Insanity in the 1200lb class, but could only muster a 6th place finish. It was a nice straight run, but he couldn't challenge for the top 3. Jeremy drove the 682 to the line as the next to last puller. He brought the rpms up, eased the clutch out, and found a nice line down the left side of the track. When he came to a stop, he was 3 ft out in front of 2nd place, with only 1 more tractor to pull in the class. Unfortunately, it was the points leader, and he had been paying attention to the line Jeremy took down the track. Following almost exactly in Jeremy's tracks, he would surpass him by 2 ft and we would have to settle for a 2nd in the class. Coming out of Jamestown, the 682 has dropped to 51 points back, but still sits in 3rd in the standings even with missing the 2 hooks two weeks earlier in Oakboro. We'll had back to Woodleaf, with hopes of a sweep of both classes and making up some ground on the top 2 spots in the standings. It is still well within reach, but the guys will have to start putting up some good numbers and notching some wins from here on out to close the gap. October 2nd Woodleaf We headed back out to Woodleaf for the second year in a row, with hopes of coming home with a couple wins and tighten up the points race some. The tractors were running good the previous Saturday in Jamestown, and we hoped it would continue. Jeremy started off the 1100lb class on Insanity and laid down a nice straight run. He would end up finishing in the 5th spot, in a good showing for Insanity. Ryan was atop the 682 for the light class, and went out in the middle of the class knowing he would need a full pull to force a pull off. He came up a little short as it appeared the tractor never really got ahold of the track. He would settle for a 3rd place finish and gain 1 point on the points leader who finished one spot back of him. Unfortunately, the second place points man would win the class and extend the gap to 2nd to 19 points. This time it was Ryan on Insanity starting off the 1200lb class. The tractor tried to make a hard left turn at the end of the run, but Ryan kept Insanity in bounds and match Jeremy with another 5th place finish. There were to be no full pulls this time around, so it was pull it as far as you can time when Jeremy drove up to the line. He would lay down a nice run, but come up short of the win. Jeremy settled for 3rd, just 8/10ths of a foot out of second and a valuable 5 more points that would have gained them. The 682 would pick up 2 points on the points leader and coming out of Woodleaf stands at 49 points out of the lead, and 29 points out of 2nd place. The guys head to Candor next, where in 2 trips, the 682 has loved the track. Despite not notching a win in Candor yet, it has three 2nds and one 4th place finish in four classes. October 9th Candor October 15th Killian Farms November 6th Lumberton |