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Thursday, July 24, 2008 --- 36 days ago http://www.reviewatlas.com/homepage/x1346891177/Lawnmowers-find-new-life-on-trac
 ROSEVILLE — Dirt and exhaust hung in thick clouds around the track at Eldridge Park, Roseville, as more than a dozen converted lawnmowers idled on the sidelines with no green pasture in sight. “Speed doesn't matter, but it helps,” Henry-native David Knapp said as he filled the tires on his tractor, nicknamed “99 1/2% Legal,” with more air. His traveling buddy and fellow tractor puller, Jim Barto of Bradford, said a hard track requires hard tires, and the furthest pull wins. “That way you can get a full profile of the tire on the ground for more traction.” Tires with lower air pressure on a hard track will not contact the ground fully, resulting in a loss of traction. The glossy, black-and-white painted tractor sat next to Knapp's other ride, sporting a similar paint scheme, but nicknamed “Midnight Mistress.” “We didn't have a name for [99], but people kept protesting when we'd race,” he said. “They kept telling us we were cheating.” But his tractor always passed the post-race inspections. “Everyone else was calling it illegal, so we figured we would too.” “Midnight” was titled for the long nights Knapp spent building it. Knapp grew up around racing lawnmowers-turned-haulers, as his father raced bigger tractors until they became too expensive to maintain. “My dad quit pulling when I was in high school, and this was something I could do on my own,” he said. “I learned from my early experiences.” As Knapp finished his final inspectio ... |
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