MONROE - There's something about the Badger State Tractor Pull at the Green County Fair that brings out the best in South Wayne's Cory Neff.
Neff pulled his G-Force tractor to the championship in the Limited Pro class Thursday at the tractor pull at the 161st annual Green County Fair.
"The tractor just seems to like this track," said Neff, who also won the Badger State Tractor Pull in the Limited Pro class two years ago. "It just seems to be good luck."
Neff was the final puller in the Limited Pro class and captured the title on the final pull with a distance of 334.73 feet. Neff has been involved with tractors his entire life but just started competing in tractor pulls four years ago.
"It's always a great honor to win with all of the competition we have in this class," he said.
Neff works for Gerlach Farms in Stockton, Illinois. He credits Gerald and Mike Gerlach for giving him an opportunity to compete in the tractor pull.
"If it wasn't for Gerald and Mike I wouldn't be behind that seat," he said.
Monroe's Mike Meier pulling with his tractor, Double Trouble, was the first to pull in the 466 Hot Farm class. He turned in a pull of 326 feet but elected to turn it down as the first puller.
"I think the track will get better," said Meier, whose father, John Meier Sr., and brother, John Meier Jr., were also competing in the same class. "The sun is going down."
John Meier Sr., who is from Juda, won the title in the 466 Hot Farm class with a pull of (336.2). His son, John Meier Jr., took third (335.3), and Brodhead's Travis Haugen took fourth (334.436).
Mike Meier likes the competition with family and enjoys the adrenaline rush on the track. Mike competes in about 30 tractor pulls a year and his best finish this year was third place in Sauk City.
"I just like competing against family and friends you see all summer long," Mike said. "It's my only hobby. It's nice pulling in front of the home crowd."
Mike Meier finished sixth (331.9), and Darlington's Lee Ruf was seventh (330.8) in a 15-tractor field.
Ruf, who enters about 30 tractor pulls a year, just cleared 330 feet in his pull, but he wasn't satisfied.
"We have been struggling with the motor," he said. "It's still not 100 percent. You could hear a little miss in it."
Monticello's Larry Hawthorn won the Light Limited Super Stock division (300.544). The other winners included Nathan Babler, Rock City, in the Pro Stock (324.8), Andy Cartwright, Big Bend, in the 640 Pro Farm (330.9) and Richland Center's Jamie Larse in the 2.3 diesel trucks (364.3).
The camaraderie brings many tractor pullers together. The competition and friendships many have built traveling across the country to attend tractor pulls is a bond they share.
"We are a big class, but we are all friends," said Ruf, who finished seventh in the 466 Hot Farm pull at the Lafayette County Fair last week and was seventh Thursday. "It's kind of like a second family."
Neff pulled his G-Force tractor to the championship in the Limited Pro class Thursday at the tractor pull at the 161st annual Green County Fair.
"The tractor just seems to like this track," said Neff, who also won the Badger State Tractor Pull in the Limited Pro class two years ago. "It just seems to be good luck."
Neff was the final puller in the Limited Pro class and captured the title on the final pull with a distance of 334.73 feet. Neff has been involved with tractors his entire life but just started competing in tractor pulls four years ago.
"It's always a great honor to win with all of the competition we have in this class," he said.
Neff works for Gerlach Farms in Stockton, Illinois. He credits Gerald and Mike Gerlach for giving him an opportunity to compete in the tractor pull.
"If it wasn't for Gerald and Mike I wouldn't be behind that seat," he said.
Monroe's Mike Meier pulling with his tractor, Double Trouble, was the first to pull in the 466 Hot Farm class. He turned in a pull of 326 feet but elected to turn it down as the first puller.
"I think the track will get better," said Meier, whose father, John Meier Sr., and brother, John Meier Jr., were also competing in the same class. "The sun is going down."
John Meier Sr., who is from Juda, won the title in the 466 Hot Farm class with a pull of (336.2). His son, John Meier Jr., took third (335.3), and Brodhead's Travis Haugen took fourth (334.436).
Mike Meier likes the competition with family and enjoys the adrenaline rush on the track. Mike competes in about 30 tractor pulls a year and his best finish this year was third place in Sauk City.
"I just like competing against family and friends you see all summer long," Mike said. "It's my only hobby. It's nice pulling in front of the home crowd."
Mike Meier finished sixth (331.9), and Darlington's Lee Ruf was seventh (330.8) in a 15-tractor field.
Ruf, who enters about 30 tractor pulls a year, just cleared 330 feet in his pull, but he wasn't satisfied.
"We have been struggling with the motor," he said. "It's still not 100 percent. You could hear a little miss in it."
Monticello's Larry Hawthorn won the Light Limited Super Stock division (300.544). The other winners included Nathan Babler, Rock City, in the Pro Stock (324.8), Andy Cartwright, Big Bend, in the 640 Pro Farm (330.9) and Richland Center's Jamie Larse in the 2.3 diesel trucks (364.3).
The camaraderie brings many tractor pullers together. The competition and friendships many have built traveling across the country to attend tractor pulls is a bond they share.
"We are a big class, but we are all friends," said Ruf, who finished seventh in the 466 Hot Farm pull at the Lafayette County Fair last week and was seventh Thursday. "It's kind of like a second family."
