SpringfieldNewsSun.com

Urbana, Ohio — Thick, black clouds of diesel smoke wafted over the crowd and revving engines roared at the Champaign County Fair, Monday, Aug. 4. during the National Tractor Pulling Association regional competition.

The event, one of the main attractions at the fair each year, drew a large crowd, many of whom relaxed with friends on the backs of pickup and flat-bed trucks just outside the dirt track.

Even if many in the crowd weren't aware of the subtle nuances of the sport, they still enjoyed watching the machines spurt thick smoke and tear down the track.

"Mmm, Mmm, nothing smells as good as diesel smoke, an announcer joked as a black cloud of fumes crept over the crowd after a pull.

Essentially, the sport involves a modified tractor dragging a weighted sled down a dirt track. The resistance on the sled increases as it's pulled, making it harder to drag. The goal is to pull the sled the full length of the track.

Levi Kizer, 13 and Logan Kizer, 11, of Concord Twp., said they were spending much of the fair showing hogs. But the tractor pull and a demolition derby later in the week would provide a little entertainment in the meantime.

"We're farmers and we really like the tractors," Levi Kizer said when asked what he liked most about the pulls.

For Tarry Feiss, of Lawrenceburg, Ind., the pulls are a major part of her life.

While it looks simple, the sport involves everything from finding the right grip on the track to shifting the gears at the right time.

In the winter, Feiss and her husband Todd own Perfect North Slopes, a ski resort in Indiana. But they spend their summers at tractor pulls. In fact, Tarry Feiss, who drives a two-wheel drive vehicle named Hooser Avalanche, said her husband took her to a tractor pull on their first date.

"I went with Todd to the tractor pull, and I remembered him and he remembered the tractor pull," she joked.

Contact this reporter at (937) 328-0355 or msanctis@coxohio.com.