Updated @ 10:18 PM EDT on August 18, 2025
LANGFORD, N.Y. Fans of the tractor pull, a distinctly agricultural motorsport, can’t miss this little town south of Buffalo for two days in August.
A lengthy dirt runway is flanked by wooden bleachers where spectators congregate, creating an arena with 4,000 seats—more than the entire population of the surrounding area.
Richard Love, one of the officials of this year’s 79th annual competition, says, “Everyone looks and waits for this first weekend [of August] to come to Langford.”
“It’s non-stop action and it’s just kind of a big party here,” declares Love. “It’s grassroots, it’s motorsports this place is unbelievable.”
According to Love, farmers who wanted to showcase their equipment and have something to look forward to invented tractor pulling in the 1920s.
Since 1946, Langford has hosted this event every year, even holding a few limited runs during the COVID-19 epidemic to keep its record as the nation’s oldest event of its sort.
Rules of the Road
Tractors and trucks attach to a device known as a sled, which resembles a flat-bed trailer with a massive weighted box on a slider, during the competition.
Momentum drives the weight-box over the trailer as the machines roar down the track, shifting the balance to the point when the sled digs into the ground and the back tires rise, immobilizing it.
A puller’s score increases with the distance they travel down the dirt track until the sled grinds to a stop. If a driver makes it all the way to the end of the track, a “full pull”, they get perfect marks.
In a race that lasts only a few seconds, drivers must balance inertia, traction, and engine power in a complicated ballet of talent and mechanics. Often, only a few feet determine the winner.
People return year after year because of that thrill.
Horsepower meets tradition
Kelly Giltinan, the driver of a red pulling truck named “Bull Headed,” which has a 1955 chassis and a chrome-plated modern engine, says, “The crowd is just electric here I mean, these people come to see tractor and truck pulling and they just love it here.”
Because his truck only has one gear and its engine is specifically made to generate as much power as possible in the shortest amount of time, Giltinan, a Pennsylvania native, says driving in a pull is a little different from driving on the road.
“As the RPMs come up, the clutch grabs harder and it takes off,” he continues.
“I mean, this horsepower you can feel in your chest.”
Giltinan’s trip to Langford didn’t go as planned because he was unable to make any more runs at Langford after the pulling sled seriously damaged the back of his vehicle on his first try. Later in August, Giltinan hopes to have his truck fixed in time for his hometown pull in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Like Giltinan, a lot of drivers make significant changes to their vehicles for both style and flair as well as maximum power and tire grip on the dirt track. Many of them have chrome accents and unique paint treatments.
However, competitive groups for the farm workhorses are also included in the tractor pull. Locals Chris and Andy Gabel got into a grey tractor from their family’s farm.
Gabel remarked, “My grandfather was here back in the ’60s [and] ’70s,” as she watched the action on the dirt track from the grandstand.
“It’s in your blood, you just love making horsepower.”
Like NASCAR, but for tractors and trucks
Each contender usually has an entire team of individuals working behind the scenes to support them, even if racers like Giltinan receive all the attention. Similar to NASCAR, where drivers are supported by pit workers to keep their cars in good condition, said Collin Meals, who was preparing his family’s tractor for competition.
“The team behind building them is just as important as a driver,” Meals explained, “If you don’t have a good driver, you can have the biggest motor you want, but it’s still going to fall short.”
Matt Sweet, a 20-year-old local, stated that his father has been going since 1975 and that he has been going annually since birth.
Sweet, who remembers being in those kids’ shoes, adds, “It’s very nostalgic, seeing that, I just really get a full circle moment.” “The little kids love it — they run down the side of the track, chasing the tractors and in the pits, [and] the drivers will let them sit in the seats.”
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