By LaRayne Topp

    Nebraskans are used to tractor pulls. Boasting gigantic souped-up John Deeres and Minneapolis Molines, these monsters belch a volcanic spray of diesel smoke into the atmosphere while chugging down a track. But how about a garden tractor pull? Are you imaging a calm and quiet lawn mower, purring along a grass-strewn path toward a finish line? Neither of these descriptions begins to capture a garden tractor pull.
    These garden tractors thrive on customized chassis, run on modified tires and explode into action with the vrooming full tilt of a 116-decibel motorcycle engine, double pistons firing. Spectators choose their favorite green or blue or red streak burning up the track; the only thing slowing down a rig is the weighted sled behind it. Now that’s garden tractor pulling.
    Just ask Dustin Topp of Pilger, Nebraska. He builds ‘em. He pulls ‘em. So do his wife Becky and two sons, Alan and Cameron. Garden tractor pulling competitors can sign up for one of a number of classes. Stock classes are a garden-variety tractor straight in from the backyard. A super modified model is typically highly customized and optimized for performance, powered with a modified motorcycle engine, tires and other components. Remove the deck, and you’ll be in the sportsmen class.
    The goal in all three divisions is to pull a sled with increasingly heavy weights as far down a track as the driver can muster.  
    Tractor pulls test not only the pulling strength of a tractor but also the skill of its operator. A metal sled is chained to the tractor; atop the sled is a weight box stacked with metal weights. Weight is added gradually, such that the tractor encounters increasing resistance. The weight the sled is exerting as the weight moves up its rails determines the difficulty of the pull and the strength each tractor requires to successfully compete—along with its speed. Tractor divisions are based on certain weights.
    Perhaps it’s this mix of tractor modification and resistance to outside forces that attracted Dustin originally, as he operates an automotive repair and custom body shop in Pilger. He began the sport 22 years ago when buddy Craig Janke of Winside, Nebraska, had begun competing.
    “We hung out together and I made one like his,” Dustin said of his 100 percent homemade tractor which boasts a car rear end and individual brakes. When Becky pulls, she drives her husband’s rig.
    Youngsters like Alan, 12, and Cameron, 9, are fierce competitors, similar to International Harvesters’ Cub Cadet tractors which may be small but are heavy-duty. The brothers drive stock garden tractors which are regulated as to their speed.
    “There are lots of young girls that pull, and beat up on the boys,” Becky said with a smile. “Lots of wives come too. They put their kids on the starting line, and they know where to put the weights,” which are added on the back, under the middle, beneath the seats or in the front.
    A pulling tractor is at its best when the majority of its weight is on the rear tires, such that the front tires make scant contact with the track. Taking track conditions into consideration, weights may need to be juggled around, improving the machine’s traction and preventing wheel slippage.
    Since they first became interested, the Topp family has competed at area county fairs and town celebrations, and with Garden Tractor Pullers throughout Nebraska and Iowa. In 2013, they got into even bigger tractor pulling events.
    Recently, they’ve joined the Western Iowa Garden Tractor Pullers. Dustin serves on the board of directors and Becky is in charge of the group’s website. Officers are necessary to track expenses encountered when staging each pulling event, plus memberships. Pulling fees go toward “legal stuff,” as Dustin describes it, plus there are hook fees each time an entry runs the track.  
    “That goes with it,” he said.
    Much of the Topp family’s free time is spent in garden tractor pulling. They’ve competed with Nebraska and Iowa Clubs at Wisner, Lincoln, Concord, Gretna and West Point in Nebraska, plus Missouri Valley in Iowa.
    But that’s not all. They’ve also traveled as far as four hours distant to out-of-state meets in South Dakota, Minnesota, Missouri, Kansas and Wisconsin. Members often travel “in packs,” Becky explained, staying overnight at the same hotels during two-day pulls. The Topps also attend indoor tractor pulls during the winter months, often adding up 15 to 20 pulls a year.
    Garden tractor pullers are like family, the Topps say. The sport is family-oriented; it’s a close-knit group.
    “They all rally behind you if something happens,” Becky explained. “’Here, let me help you,’ they say, and help you get something fixed even though they’ll be competing against you.”
    Of the 20-plus families who are members of the Western Iowa group, it’s common to see 45 tractors show up at a meet, with nearly 100 hooks on average.
    The Topps’ sons began racing when each was only four years old, competing in classes designed for youngsters. Parents help run the clutch when their kids are really young, Becky said, gradually letting go of operations once the youngster is in control.
    “It’s a fun activity,” Cameron said. “I like to do it in the summer and my friends come along. It’s not like a sport you get mad about.”
    Now that they’re older, Cameron and Alan often compete against adults, and oftentimes bring a trophy home. A wall in the Topp home can attest to that; it’s lined with trophies the family has earned. Points can be earned at every pull. They’re totaled and at the end of the year the overall winner is awarded a plaque, trophy or jacket.
    Adults compete in the stock classes as well. The engines in this category are motivated by ten horse power, compared to the super modified division in which Dustin races at more than 200 horse power. Even though Dustin’s tractors are named Black Widow and even Slow Ride, Dustin doesn’t let the name fool anyone.
    “I could pass a car on the highway easy,” he said.
    As Becky says, garden tractor pullers, sporting flame-retardant suits and helmets, have tunnel vision making their way down the track. “It’s an adrenalin rush,” she explained. “You see only the track and the flag guy at the end.”
    It’s even more than that for son Alan. “Every once in a while I get to work on my tractor with my dad,” he said.
    To learn more, visit wigtpullers.com.