1989 & 2002 Bob Jostock Wild Child Imlay City, MI. 2 different clips from the same place showing how far Bob had moved in 13 years. Still with 4 motors but all the way up through Enderle and NTPA National titles.
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1998 NFMS Finals Brian Diekman Rat Poison. 1998 was very good to the Diekman family of NW OH. They won it all at Farm Show and piled on a string of RN2 wins as well and a 4th place finish in ATPA GA points. Gary Diekman passed away 2 weeks ago. This week's mandatory Allison clip is in his honor. It was a hugely entertaining weekend to be out with friends and family, but it was a costly and dangerous weekend, too. Give a listen for the story and more.
2001 SWOTPA Mod Farm Leyland. That's right a freakin' Leyland! I forget who had this, but I'm sure my Canadian friends will be along to fill in the story. 1999 ATPA Grand American Monroe, MI Terry Blackbourn Slowride SS. This is Terry at his level best. Before the component age, but he had the power all figured out. He would win both sessions of this event and pull off a rare double by winning both the NTPA and ATPA national titles. Even rarer still, he may be the only person to win both titles as his first national championship. 1993 NTPA Arcola, IN Esdon Lehn Redline Fever IH 1086. Yogi dropped in on a top level Pro National hook to lock horns with some of the very best Supers in the world. 1993 was the middle of a quiet spell for the 11 time Grand National Champ. He would win the Indy Super Pull that year and a handful of events including this one, but it would take 3 more years to climb back on top. 1998 Imlay City, MI Jeff Hirt Runnin' Bare Allis Chalmers SS. This is a bit of a long one. As the '90s wore on, Bill Hirt would abdicate his seat atop Runnin' Bare for his son Jeff and the diesel smoke would be replaced by alcohol. This machine started life in Dennis Johnson's hands and would pass to Charlie Kemper who would run it as Orange Peel. 1998 at Imlay City was hard on a lot of tractors, not just Jeff as he would smash the front on both nights after a full pull. Even so, Jeff's hardcharging style is in evidence even this early in his career. He would finish 6th in NTPA GN points in '98 and '99. 1996 NFMS Tom Nixon Screamin' Demon IH 686 SS. Another small-frame diesel that was quite a hard charger in its day. Tom would buy the tractor from Jerry VanDorpe and keep it going hard through the late 80s and the 90s with the Outlaws, ATPA, and regional tours. He would be another that would retire as the largeframe iron came in with the component chassis rules. I had best intentions for a new podcast tonight, but storylines continue to evolve and I want to do my homework. I promise one will be done by the end of the week. It has become fairly clear to me that Fair-based events are an absolute non-starter for the 2020 calendar year. What I am uncertain of is exactly where the pressure is coming from and how the few that have vowed to forge ahead anyway are seeing a path to accomplish that. Standalone events have rescheduled in some cases and I can see a path to those going off as planned. Do I foresee some seller's remorse in 6 week's time? You bet I do!
Today was to have been the day that the NHRA made another announcement as to what their 2020 season was going to look like, but as I write this (8:15pm EDT) the only sound I hear from Glendora is crickets. Sure, there's a lot of moving pieces to deal with, "i"s to dot, "t"s to cross, sneaky "j"s that get overlooked and are hated by everyone except attorneys... However the silence is a bit deafening. Which is saying a lot. Because the High Sheriffs have been notorious for not saying much. It's a mess and we will try to detangle some of it. Stay safe, and good luck. 1997 NFMS Scott Tedder Mr. Twister. Scott has been around and done an awful lot in the sport of pulling. Growing up under the tutelage of father Jack, it would always be modifieds for Scott (although there was a mini briefly). Running a Banter chassis and Chevrolet power then, Scott was a force on the state and regional tours, successfully defending his RN2 title in '97. |
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