Like everything else, truck and tractor pulls have suffered in the recession — but that did not dampen the spirits at the Morgan County Fairgrounds on Saturday.

This was the second year the National Sled Pullers Association held a competition as part of Brush's Oktoberfest, and people filled the south grandstand, which is where the choice seats are situated.

Some other events canceled this year, said Dallas Schneider, who works with 26 different organizations to put on pulls.

That's hurt the sport overall, but organizers did the best they could with what they had, he said.

"You guys have done a really wonderful job," Schneider said to the gathered competitors and

organizers of the Brush event.

NSPA will never put on a halfway event, said Ron Greene, who was one of the founders of the organization along with Clint Cannon and Mike Sulley in 2007.

Ron has been a puller since 1975, and loves the automotive world, as do his sons and daughter, said Gayle Greene, his wife.

"It's a family affair," she said.

That tends to be the case with those who do the sled pulls, Gayle said.

This was the last event of the sled pull season, and the last chance for the competitors to win some points, she said.

At a banquet in October, the association will honor those who earned the most points in the total of all events, Gayle said.

NSPA holds competitions in Colorado, Nebraska and Kansas, she said.

There were about 50 "hooks" at the fairgrounds, which is how the pullers count the number of pulls. A hook is when a truck hooks up to the sled.

There are seven different classes of weight in the events, starting with stock trucks, which are just standard trucks off the street, and going up to the big monsters with 2,000 horsepower, Gayle said.

There are also classes for engines which

use diesel, gasoline and alcohol, she said.

Among the local residents competing Saturday were Greg Dardanes of Brush, Sulley and a few from the Greene family.

Dardanes said he became interested in the sport after his brother said he was going to take a tractor down to a pull.

He was skeptical and said he would come down to tow the tractor home after his brother blew the engine, but the brother won second place.

That prompted Dardanes to buy a pickup and he's been competing for nine years now, he said.

At the event in Brush, he was using his 1966 GMC truck, which has taken second place before, Dardanes said.

However, at one contest he pulled the sled 319 feet with it,

which was a pull-off for third place, and that actually beat the first-place distance that day, he said.

"It's a really challenging sport," Dardanes said.

Sometimes the victory comes down to one or two inches and reading the exact difference is important, he said.

The judges use a laser device for the best measurements, Dardanes said.

The condition of the track is also important, and that was a challenge Saturday, he said.

The main arena at the fairgrounds was still soaked from recent rains, Gayle said, which meant using a road grader to scrape the mud back to firm ground, and equipment kept going during the event to keep the track clean.

Conditions were pretty good considering where they started, Dardanes said.

He gave a big thank you to the city of Brush for helping with the grader to make it possible.

One of the spectacular vehicles at the pull was Ron's "Thunderous Cyclops," a scaled-up model of an ATV, which has a 1,200-horsepower engine and six-foot tires.

Ron said he bought it at a sale in Las Vegas, Nev., because it is one of a kind and there will never be another. It is the largest and most powerful ATV in the world.

The lure of competition is what brings the contestants and the crowd to the pulls, Ron said. It is also family-oriented entertainment.

However, it is also about the adrenaline rush, Dardanes said.

"It's just amazing how much power is involved," he said.

Winning is difficult, but pullers are persistent people who won't give up, Dardanes said.

When they do win, that difficulty makes it satisfying, he said.

Saturday night was satisfying for the local pullers.

Not only did Ron take third place in the modified four-wheel class, but he won the most points for the season in his class, Gayle said. Tyler Greene took fifth place in the modified four-wheel division.

Zachary Greene took first place in the pro-stock class at the fairgrounds, and second place for the season on points in his class, she said.

Dardanes took third place in pro-stock for the night and third place in his class for the season.

However, Dardanes was tied with the Greene's daughter, Nicole Ley, and has to do a pull-off for that third place for the season, Gayle said.

Sulley of Wiggins took first place in the modified semi class, and first place overall in the class on points.

He also took second place in the two-wheel-drive class and first place on overall points in that class.

Gary Colvin of Keenesburg took first place in the gas street stock class at the Brush event.

Kyle Strauburger of Ellsworth, Neb., won first place in the diesel work stock class.

Tammy Royal of Wheat Ridge took first place in the street stock class.

Jefferson Broady of Divide earned first place in the super street class and had the longest pull of the night at 347 feet, two inches.

Darrell Johnston of Erie took first place for the semi class.

Bill Schwarz of Oakley, Kan., was first in the modified four-wheel class.

Warren Scheffert of Trenton, Neb., placed first in the two-wheel-drive class.

Greg Urban of York, Neb., won first place in the tractor multi-engine class.

— Contact Dan Barker at business@fmtimes.com.