By Sylvain Lauwers
Special to The Review
After three years of absence, the 4×4 truck pulls competitions were back on Saturday evening August 27 during the 155th edition of the Riceville Fair. Hundreds of spectators came to sit on either side of the 300′ long dirt track to encourage the participants, who had to pull the heavy mechanical sled attached behind their 4×4 vehicles as far as possible.
The majority of the competitors were local amateurs simply pulling with their daily-driven trucks. Among them, Plantagenet resident Vincent Groulx, driving ‘Grocery Getter’, caught the attention of the spectators by not only being the only SUV entered in the competitions, but also by winning hands down the pulls in the 6,500 lbs and 7,500 lbs classes and delivering a fierce fight in the 8,500 lbs diesel class.
Groulx, the owner of Vinny Végas Kustoms in Plantagenet, explained in a few simple words what is the secret to successfully realizing a full pull.
“You have to start gently to be able to reach your momemtum in the first 100′. Then you need your engine to be able to run at very high rpm for as long as possible to finally use the weight of the sled to your advantage during the last part of the pull,” Groulx said. “And when it stops moving forward, the pilot must show good judgment, otherwise his 4×4 machine might suffer from expensive powertrain breakdowns.”
The crowd watching the truck pulling competition also thoroughly enjoyed the spectacle of power, black smoke and noise provided by ‘Because I Can 2.0’ from Low, Québec, which was the only one in the Pro-Stock diesel class to made its way to Riceville on Saturday night.
Casey Brown’s Pro-Stock Diesel truck ‘Because I Can’ was one of the crowd’s favorite machines. Photo: S. and L. Lauwers
A large crowd turned out to watch the truck pull competition at the Riceville Fair on Saturday evening, August 27. Photo: S. and L. Lauwers
