The big orange one — Brice Terry takes fifth at NFMS tractor pull

Brice Terry and his tractor Hy-Strung received fifth place in the prestigious National Farm Machinery Show Tractor Pull.

The tractor pull is held in conjunction with the National Farm Machinery Show in Louisville, Ky., and is a by invitation only event. Competitors have to apply, fill out a resume detailing where they pulled and how they placed, and send in a picture. The event organizers then hand-pick who they want to come to their pull.

Brice and Hy-Strung were not only accepted but took fifth place out of 15 tractors picked for his class. Only 180 vehicles out of the eight classes were picked all together.

"Most of the tractors there were the kind you see on T.V.," said Brice. "There were a lot of grand national tractors at the show."

The contest is decided by which tractor can pull a weighted sled the farthest distance. A typical outdoor track is 300 feet, but the National Farm Machinery Show was held inside, making the distance of the track less than 250 feet.

"It was a pretty neat experience," said Brice. "Just to be accepted is an honor. My original goal was to run respectable, to look like we deserved to be there. My goal was to finish in the top eight and we got in the top five."

Brice said an earlier third place at an Illinois invitational event helped with the confidence factor.

Hy-Strung is a unique tractor as the majority of pulling tractors are International or John Deere. Hy-Strung was the only Allis Chalmers D21 model.

"We stayed with the old school," said Brice. "The D21 model was made in the late 60s."

All the tractors were on display the day before their pull date.

"It was the only one in the whole show so it got lots of attention which was pretty overwhelming," he said.

Brice has been pulling tractors off and on for past 30 plus years, but he’s received the most recognition this past year, in 2011.

There are three large sanctions of the organization in the country — NTPA; Lucas PPL; and Outlaw. When Brice competes, he is most likely going to be pulling in the Midwest region Outlaw series.

Miles Krieger, an announcer for truck and tractor pulls, wrote up a nice feature about Brice’s tractor "Hy-Strung" for his blog at www.milesbeyond300.com. The story, called "Brice Terry is Turning Heads With Hy-Strung" is archived under the January stories. Go there for details about the tractor’s transformation and what’s under the hood.

Brice got the tractor in late summer of 2010. They pulled late in the year and were able to get a feel for the tractor and learn about the state pulling events. Hy-Strung underwent a complete make-over that winter in preparation for the 2011 circuit. Eventually the team made the tractor 1,500 pounds lighter with plans to pull in the light super stock class.

"We struggled a little bit," said Brice. "We had some success and a lot of failures."

Then he met Brian Conner, a famous tractor puller from a few years ago. Brian gave the team pointers regarding the alcohol fuel system and three-turbo set up. With his help, the tractor was good to go — really go!

Brice plans to keep competing. Hy-Strung needs some repair on the motor. But it should be ready to go when the pulls start up again in May.