Plenty of high octane excitement at Kindersley dirt drags

Kenneth Brown
of The Clarion

Mud racing and tractor pulling fans old and new had a lot to cheer about on the weekend when the sounds of raw horsepower rang out loudly from east of Kindersley.

After a one-year hiatus, the Canadian Mud Racing Organization (CMRO) returned to the East-Forty Motorplex five miles east of Kindersley. The mud racers were the main highlight from the previous events in 2014 and 2015, but the CMRO was not the only show in town in 2017.

Members of the Alberta Tractor Pullers Association (ATPA) and friends brought a Prairie Pulling League event to Kindersley. The two-day event, held July 21-22, featured competitors from Alberta, British Columbia and Manitoba as well as Saskatchewan.

Wayne Benson, the voice of the CMRO, was the announcer for all of the weekend’s dirt drags and truck and tractor pull action. Benson, who was in Kindersley for the two previous events, told people he has been announcing for over 30 years and the big horsepower on display over the weekend would be a treat for the fans.

Competitors in the CMRO’s super modified class were up first when the action kicked off Friday night. The super modified class was the only class to compete on Friday as they completed time trials to qualify for Saturday night’s shoot out. Other CMRO classes competed on Saturday.

The super modified class only made single runs on Friday and during the early races on Saturday for safety reasons, but they went side by side on Saturday night for the shoot out. The action on Friday night did not disappoint.

Shayne Neigum, event organizer and one of three members of the Good to Go Racing Team with Dustin Clarkson and Don Westcott, was first out of the blocks. The local racer’s run did not last long because his car veered to the right and he had to shut it down. Neigum had bigger trouble later on.

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Things went off the rails when Steve Strell of Mission, B.C. took a hard left in his sand rail called Overdraft, a fast car that features a replica 1940 Peterbilt body. Strell’s rail took out fencing as it flew off the track, later coming to rest after hitting a concrete block. Strell and his crew, along with help from his friends, made repairs to get the car back for Saturday, but another mechanical problem kept him from racing.

Tractor classes included mini pullers, modified minis, a super modified mini, smokers, modified and super modified. The two super modified tractors were impressive with three and four blown engines working together on one frame. Truck classes included an unlimited diesel entry, and four-wheel drive and two-wheel drive entries.

Neigum’s second run on Friday ended in similar fashion to Strell’s first run. Neigum’s car shot off the line and, after peddling the throttle about half way down the 200-foot track, he took a left turn and flew over a berm before climbing over a concrete block.

The Second Chance rail was done for the weekend, but Neigum was back in the team’s Perfect Storm rail for the shoot out on Saturday night. Clarkson drove the Perfect Storm for all four passes prior to the shoot out. Clarkson’s quickest time of the weekend was 2.41 seconds.

Brad Astbury, another competitor from British Columbia, cleaned up on the weekend in his car called Dirty Thirties. Astbury has bounced back from a bad accident a couple years ago, and he boasted both of the fastest times and a shoot out win on Saturday.

The drag race of the weekend was between Astbury and Neigum in the shootout final. Astbury was first off the line and he won the shoot out with a time of 2.31 seconds. Neigum finished close behind with a time of 2.37 seconds.

Astbury’s times in the two earlier CMRO points passes were 2.37 seconds in the first run and 2.34 seconds in the second run, so he was consistent. Astbury said he only made 12 runs in 2016 with his new car and the runs in Kindersley were the best ones he has made since his accident. He said it was nice to come out on top.

“No complaints there. It’s awesome,” he said, adding that his strategy is to take it easy for the first runs of an event to keep the car in one piece and get through the weekend. “Our family and friends, everybody was on it today. It’s teamwork. No one person can do this by themselves.”

The British Columbia racer said the track in Kindersley is a good, wide and safe track for the competitors, so it is one reason he keeps returning to race at the East-Forty Motorplex. The calibre of racing is excellent due to the track preparation, he added.

Leanne Marin of Saskatoon was the only female tractor pulling competitor, and she was driving two modified tractors out of the Ken Beauchemin stable, the iconic Boss Blue and a tractor called Dirt Wrangler.

She said she had a great time competing in Kindersley and she hopes the pullers return in 2018. Marin, who has also competed in drag racing, said she enjoys tractor pulling because of the adrenaline rush from getting the high horsepower tractors to hook up well on pulls. It is a privilege for her to drive the iconic tractor, she noted.

“It is such an amazing opportunity and so humbling to be such a big part of history,” she said, adding she considers Beauchemin to be the Godfather of tractor pulling in Saskatchewan. “It’s just been such a blessing. I’ve learned so much.”

The Vanouck Pulling Team of Wetaskiwin, Alta. brought seven vehicles, including the large weight transfer sled used by all pulling classes except the mini pullers. Marty Stogren ran in the Sorcerer, a modified tractor with a 2,500 cubic inch PT boat motor from the Second World War, and he won his class both days.

Stogren pulled the sled 333 feet on Friday night and 323 feet on Saturday night to earn top spot in the class on both nights. He noted that the Vanouck Pulling Team had fun all weekend and it was great to earn top spot at the inaugural ATPA event in Kindersley.

Neigum said after the weekend that he had the vision to resurrect the event in Kindersley, but he could not have done it without a long list of people.

He gave special mention to Brian Thiessen, Mitch Parton, Ron Smith and Brittany Newmeyer, along with the Good to Go Racing Team. He said he wanted to thank all sponsors, volunteers, competitors and fans.

The organizer said pairing up the dirt racers and pullers worked out very well in the trial run, so it is a pairing that is likely to continue for future years of the event. He said he believes the event was a huge success.

“I’m really proud with all the compliments I’ve received from fans, locals (and) people who drove a few hours to watch,” Neigum said, adding it was a great weekend filled with lots of action and approximately 3,000 fans in the seats for each day of racing. “It was, all in all, just a great weekend.”

Neigum said he had “one heck of a ride” on Friday when the wheelie bar broke on his car and he was sent flying off the track, but it felt good to get back in the car to give Astbury a run for his money in the shoot out.

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