Track is ready — bring on the pullers

NORWALK — The dirt is in place. Let the pulling begin. All is in readiness for the Thursday start of the three-day Lucas Oil Pro Pulling League event set for Summit Motorsports Park this week. The preliminary pulls in nine divisions will be start on Thursday and continue on Friday, leading up to the Saturday-night finals. All entries will have two chances to make the Saturday night show and in doing so claim a share of $250,000 in purse money. Under the watching eye of Mike Ott, the director of Championship Pulling and the project director for this event, the transition from a drag racing to pulling surface went off without a hitch on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. The track closed down after a regular Friday and Saturday drag racing show and in the rain, Bill Bader, Jr. headed a Sunday afternoon work force that scrubbed the surface area to be used by the pullers free of all adhesive. "The rain on Sunday was no problem," Bader said. "In fact, it may have helped. We did not have to scrape. Rather we used 20 giant boxes of Tide and scrubbed. The rain just kept activating that soap. That, along with our scrubbing, allowed us to get the job done in less than five hours. In the end, we were moving black water off the 450-foot length of surface needed. The exact length of track that will be used is actually 510 feet. There will be 50-foot approaches on both ends of the pulling area." There was a major change in the transition. Originally, the transition team was going to protect the concrete track surface with plywood. A total of 150 sheets would have done the job but a change was made from plywood to a sand surface "There are benefits in sand that plywood does not afford," Bader said. Bader said the transition is a monumental effort. "We have a yard full of equipment that will be brought into use during the course of track build, running the event, and then surface breakdown," Bader said. "Almost all of it came from Ohio Cat or Ohio Ag." Bader said the transition has gone well. "Ticket sales are good. The parking lots are harder than a brick so they should hold up well. All we need is the cooperation of Mother Nature and I am sure Dad (Bill Sr.) is up there working on that for us. If the sun shines, we are going to put on a show like no one in this area has seen before." Bader said everything outside the office is in the hands of Ott. Asked if the dirt, all 120 truck loads (2,400-ton of clay dirt), can handle rain once it is put down, Ott answered that question. "The clay dirt has all been under cover. We are renting it from a construction company that has strained and prepped it for us. They have a hoop-cover over it so it has not felt moisture. Only when we start getting the dirt in place will we start adding the correct amount of water to it. We like the idea of controlling the amount we add but we can also let Mother Nature add some from her tap if she wants her way. Either way, we can deal with it." Ott, a native of Bowling Green where he is a project engineer for a mechanical company, has also worked for 23 years as an event manager for National Hot Rod Association events. "I worked for Bill Bader Sr. at such events many years ago and now I am doing the same for Bill, Jr. I have been the project engineer for similar live events at many of the major football stadiums and arenas around the country," he said. "Certainly this is a big event for this venue and this area but for myself, it is routine." Over and above the divisions for tractors, there are also divisions for Hot Rod Semis and Super Stock Diesel Trucks. All entries are guaranteed at least two pulls as they attempt to make the list for the final pulls Saturday night. For more information on tickets, either call the Park at 419-668-5555 or visit summitmotorsportspark.com.