MARKLEVILLE, Ind. — Von Smith has coordinated an independent antique tractor pull for seven years in the small town of Markleville, he said, for the sheer fun of it.

He said fun is what motivates all the men, women and children who get involved in pulling at that level.

“It’s gotta be in your blood. If you win, it pays for your gas,” Smith said.

Now with the cost of racing fuel going for $6 per gallon, he said, that is especially true.

Winners in the distance pull take home $125, $100 for second, and $50 for third. Other events, like the percentage pull, get a payback of 50 percent of their entrance fee, which is $20 per hook up and $5 for insurance.

For his part, Smith has put his profits from the Stoops Freightliner Tractor Pull back into the grounds at the Markleville Community Park, where the event takes place. Pullers come to Markleville for three events per year.

Smith enjoys watching his granddaughter run in the “powder puff” division and may have another chance to see her win this weekend for their September pull. The next event is Sept. 24-25. Weigh-in starts at 10 a.m., and the pull is at noon each day. The event is free and open to spectators.

In the first year of running the tractor pull, Smith widened the track, and he has since put in guard rails, scales and a shelter house. Over time, the event has “built up a good crowd,” Smith said.

The August pull drew 95 hooks on Saturday and 88 on Sunday, and the June pull was larger, he said, though he didn’t have the exact numbers in front of him. 

“A lot of people come from all over, not just local guys. It’s a popular event because farmers who can’t get away from their farms and animals will go and help out, have fun and relax,” said Ken Parks, who helps with the scales at Markleville.

“They have the toys already and get to play around with them. It’s about beating the next guy, and rivals come in, just like in NASCAR. You don’t care if you win,” Parks said.

Smith is a retired mechanic, and like so many others, works on his own antique tractor. He and a friend, Ron Peavler, have worked together for the last couple years to coordinate the tractor pull.

“We’re just a couple of old dummies trying to make it work,” Smith said.

Unlike pro stock tractors, these tractors, all makes and models, “could pass for one in the field,” Smith said.

Any tractor that is 1958 and older is welcome. They are fixed and painted, bored and stroked, which is lingo for modified motors and added horsepower.

Safety can be a concern at a tractor pull, but Smith said he was not worried about his pull.

“The speed limit is 3 to 8 miles per hour ... We’re not revving up the engines that much. The motors (similar to V8) won’t fly apart like the big motors,” Smith said.

In the distance pull, tractors compete on the 300-foot track to decide which can drag the farthest in each weight division. In the percentage pull, weight and scale are figured to determine the winner.

“(In the percentage pull) the lighter tractor can win if it’s got enough horsepower,” Smith said. “In the distance pull, it’s the opposite. The heaviest are (favored) to win.”

Though he doesn’t have his own antique tractor, Parks travels to area tractor pulls to help old family friends and to enjoy the horsepower on display.

“You hear people say their grandfather used to farm with one of these. (The pulls) are unbelievable, just how fast they are and how the tires dig in and grip and go with the sled,” Parks said.

For more information on this pull, call Smith at 765-425-6239.