There's a new sheriff in town

NORWALK — It is with heavy hearts Bill Bader Jr. and his son, Evan, will start stripping the million-dollar track surface at Summit Motorsports Park Monday morning in preparation for a first-ever event of its kind at the Ohio 18 drag strip — a tractor pulling event that will be staged Thursday, Friday and Saturday. This is anything but a county fair-type pulling event. Like everything the Bader family has done over the 50-plus years the facility has been in existence, this event is big: • It carries a $250,000 purse. • It has a payout for nine pulling divisions. Summit has partnered with the Lucas Oil Pro Pulling League for an event that replaces the one previously held at the Wood County Fairgrounds in Bowling Green. Bader recalled two comments from his late father, Bill Sr., who passed away at the family ranch in Idaho on June 26. "The first one was what he said when I told him what I had in mind. I think his words were, 'What the hell are you thinking.' "Dad would call me later after he did some research on what holding a national tractor pulling event could mean to this venue, and wished me the best of luck. He also told me that putting a pencil and jotting numbers is not always the best way to approach a show. Rather, go with your gut feeling and see what happens. Dad did that quite often over the years and most of time it worked out well." There were any number of reasons, Bader Jr. decided to gamble on this kind of show. First, he had a fan base that would show up for an event if it was worth the price of admission and he felt he had just that and then some. He knew northwest Ohio is a hot-bed for tractor pulling. He also had 30,000 comfortable seats, concert-quality sound and Musco lighting. So when the Lucas Oil Pro Pulling League inquired about buying land for a tractor pull in January, Bader turned the conversation around and claimed he had land, but the land he had in mind for a tractor pull was right in front of 30,000 seats. That was if the Indiana-based pulling league had the ingenuity to cover a million-dollar racing surface with enough dirt to keep it safe and then remove it in time for a much-publicized show (Blue Suede Shoes) event a week after the last tractor turns loose of the pulling sled. To make a long story short, the two parties agreed and just to make his point, Bader threw in music and fireworks for the event. The first phase of the job, glue and rubber removal, will start Sunday. The heavy-lifting starts on Monday when 1,400 sheets of plywood will cover the newly-cleaned surface. When the plywood is in place, the trucks will roll in and start the process of filling the area, one that starts on the north end of the strip at the quarter-mile timing lights and moves south to the start of the staging lanes. It will be dump and pack the ground for hours upon hours. If all goes well and the weather is not a factor, the surface will be ready for the first pull on Wednesday, July 20, one day before the event starts (Thursday, July 21). Just hours after the event concludes on Saturday night, the dump trucks will re-appear and reverse the process. Again, if all goes well, the venue will revert back to a drag strip and the music and extravaganza of the Blue Suede Show the following weekend. In the meantime, the Lucas Oil Pulling League will run the track. They will register pullers from nine different divisions including the massive Super Modified Machines. There will also be classes for Unlimited Super Stock Tractors, Pro Stock Tractors, Super Stock Diesel Trucks, Hot Rod Semis, and a number of other divisions. "I didn't put a pencil to this event, remembering what Dad said about not always running a race track with a pencil," Bader said. "No matter, the event comes with the Bader Family Guarantee. What I do know is that this event is experimental but we as promoters will have the best in the world in the pits and every one of them will be available to the fans. My goal is to put the greatest tractor and truck pull in front of our fans." Various ticket levels are available depending on preferred experience including the Full Pull Club which includes food, beverages and special seating. To avoid long delays at the gate, fans are encouraged to purchase tickets in advance. For more information or tickets, call 419-668-5555 or visit summit-motorsportspark.com.