PINETOPS 300

Shannon Keith
News Editor

May 15, 2008 10:48 am

— South Edgecombe Assistant Fire Chief Chester Lancaster said that having fun is a lot of hard work.
"It's really hard work putting on a tractor pull," said Lancaster, who has been involved with the annual Pinetops 300 Tractor & Truck Pull for the past 22 years. "Luckily, we have a lot of good people who come together each year to help pull it off."
On Friday and Saturday the South Edgecombe Rural Fire Department will sponsor the 32nd annual Pinetops 300 Tractor & Truck Pull, held each year at the Pinetops ball park.
The event, founded in 1977 by the South Edgecombe Jaycees and South Edgecombe Rural Fire Department, is the longest running Truck & Tractor Pull event in the Southeast.
"We are the longest running, not-for-profit tractor pull in the Southeastern United States," said Lancaster. "Other than the State Fair, I can't think of one that has run longer than ours."
Lancaster said the event usually brings more than 100 "pullers" from across the United States and draws in crowds averaging 5,000 people.
"We have been blessed so far," said Lancaster. "We've only been rained out once, so we usually get good weather."
The event is the 2008 Season Opener for United Pullers Of the Carolinas and National Tractor Pulling Association sanctioned events.
With more than 20 events scheduled throughout the spring and summer, the UPOC sanctions pulls in North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and parts of Eastern Tennessee.
"We get pullers from as far away as Michigan, New York and Ohio," said Lancaster. "The pullers always enjoy the home town feel that we try to bring to the event.
"One year, we were voted 'Best Pull' by the pullers themselves."
Lancaster said the event offers the spectators multiple classes of machines to watch.
Lancaster said spectators will see Modified Tractors, Super Stock Tractors, Mini Modified Tractors, Super Farm Tractors, Four-Wheel Drive Trucks, Light Four-Wheel Drive Trucks and Two-Wheel Drive Trucks. 
The object for all classes is to pull a sled, which has various amounts of weight on it, for 300 feet and in the fastest time.
"There is a lot of horsepower out there," said Lancaster. "The four-wheel drives are really popular with the crowds and the modified are really interesting to watch.
"Those things can be made out of anything and can have four or five engines on them.... they are really out there."
The competition will begin Friday at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday at 7 p.m.
"We usually wrap up each night by 11 p.m. or midnight," said Lancaster. "It really depends on how many pullers we have. We can run until the wee hours at times.
"Sometimes you just get more bang for your buck."
However, Lancaster said the wide array of fair-like food and concessions are becoming as popular as the competition.
"We have really worked toward having a good variety of food," said Lancaster. "It's becoming like the State Fair.
"Some people are coming out just to eat."
Tickets for the event will be $15 for adults, and $5 for children 12 and under. Children under six will be get in free.
All proceeds will go to help the South Edgecombe Fire Department buy equipment and other items needed to run the department.
"We use it to buy safety equipment, supplies and especially these days, fuel," said Lancaster. "The department is also looking to buy a new fire truck sometime within the next 12 months."
Lancaster said this, in turn, helps the citizens of their fire district maintain the lowest fire tax in Edgecombe County, 0.03 cents per $100 property value.
"Some of the other fire departments are currently at 0.13 cents per $100," said Lancaster. "Ours has been set at 0.03 cents for as long as I can remember."
Last year the event profited raised approximately $100,000.
Although the event is sponsored each year by the fire department, Lancaster said a lot of credit should go to the people of Pinetops.
"We have so many good friends that help us each year with this," said Lancaster. "We couldn't do this without their help every year."

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