BIG RIGS PULLING LABOR DAY ROUNDUP
For Immediate release–by RJ Feicht— The World Famous Big Rigs Pulling Series—The Oldest Pulling Series for Modified Semis in the World – had back to back pulls this Labor Day Weekend and it was awesome display of horsepower for the fans.
Saturday August 31st saw 12 of the Big Rigs tackle the pulling surface at the Canfield Fairgrounds located in Canfield, Ohio. This is one of the largest fairs the state of Ohio and has hosted the Big Rigs for over 20 years at their annual two track pulls. This year did not disappoint the fans as they saw 12 of the Big Rigs go down the track and the youngster of the series Joe Bonner driving “Maximus Prime I” grabbing the win with pull of 362.07. “Maximus Prime I” is part of the Bonner Francis puling team out of Geauga and Lake Counties in Ohio who had two other entries that night as well with the “Silver Bullet 1” with Albert Francis doing the driving duties to a 5th place finish. 341.75, while” Maximus Prime 2” driven by Dale Francis finished 9th. The New York based Big Rigs team of Chris Jefferies had their “Bad Dog” Big Rig grab second with a distance of 360.43 with Team captain and owner Chris Jeffries doing the driving duties, while Matt Cain Driving “Temperamental” grabbed the 7th position and their 3rd Big Rig “General Stupidity” placed last with mechanical issues at the start line. Vinny Giulitto from Ravenna, Ohio with his “Full Spool” was good enough for the 3rd place finish at 357.02. The second appearance of the former Big Rig Champ Jerry Hairhoger’s Pennsylvania based “Jerry-Atrics” placed 4th with a pull of 346.70- with Jerrys son Jerry Ray at the controls and Jerry Sr. assuming the duties of Crew Chief. Jeff Lautane
n’s “Moody Blue” had a run of 289.86 and grabbed the 8th place position while his brother Bob Lautanen’s “Grape Ape” with Matt Gabriel on the controls had a super run going until it was going out of bounds and Matt backed out which left “Grape Ape” in the 10th position. “Cat Scratch Fever” and Mike Ostetricho from Ravenna Ohio had to settle for 6th place at Canfield with distance of 332.93. The Bud Kranauer Big Rig called “Bad Intentions” finished in the 11 position with a pull of 222.78.
The Big Rigs then returned to action at the Oldest Fair in Ohio—the Great Geauga County Fair located in Burton, Ohio on Sunday evening for the “5 Hours of Smoke & Fire” Pull. The winner that night once again went to the Bonner-Francis pulling team however it was Dale Francis grabbing the win with “Maximus Prime 2” at 332.212 feet. Second Place went to Dale’s son Albert Francis with “Silver Bullet 1” with pull of 331.06 feet. Third Place went to Joe Bonner with “Maximus Prime 2” with a distance of 315.52. Jerry Hairhoger Sr’s “Jerry-Attrics” finished in the fourth potions with son Jerry Ray doing the driving duties. While Jeff Lautanen’s “Moody Blue” placed 5th the night with a pull of 281.67 and brother Bob Lautanen’s “Grape Ape” placed 6th. While Bud Kranauer’s “Bad Intentions” had a super run going but mid track the Big Rig experienced some mechanical issues and finished in the 7th position.
The Final Hook for the Big Rigs Season will take place at the Bloomsburg Fair on Saturday September 28th at 7PM.
Action Shots From Canfield Fair by Country Roots Photography
