CHAPEL HILL — Roars from fans and machinery, clouds of black smoke, and southern hospitality are a small portion of what the Chapel Hill Lions Club provides with their annual Super Pull of the South, and the 47th edition was another example of that.
Two nights of every year, the small town of Chapel Hill transforms into a tractor pull mecca for fans and pullers from across the country.
While it may seem like a cut-and-dry operation with how smoothly it runs each year, the Super Pull of the South wouldn’t be a fraction of the show it continuously is without the support of the Chapel Hill community.
“This event is supported by the community so well,” Chapel Hill Lions Club President Tim Tipps said. “We depend on the community for our volunteer work force that comes out here. Teachers, athletes, and everybody in between helps us in some way.”
“Knowing that the money comes back into the community, everyone is on board with helping.”
What started as a “run what you brung, and hope you brought enough” tractor pull on Forrest High School’s football field in 1976, turned into a nationally recognized event in a short amount of time.
One lifelong fan can attest to that.
Eddie Lynch of nearby Unionville attended the 47th Super Pull of the South as one of the very few that can say they’ve never missed a single one since the inaugural pull in 1976.
“I was telling some guys earlier that at the first tractor pull, they had a farm tractor that would pull the sled back down to the starting point after a pull,” Lynch said. “Now they can just put it in reverse.”
Lynch has been to numerous pulls other than Chapel Hill’s in his lifetime, but none of them bring him joy like the Super Pull of the South.
“There’s no doubt that the Lions Club puts on an awesome show here,” he said. “My grandson has been coming with me for the last few years now, and he loves it just as much as me.”
But it isn’t just the fans in the stands that love going every year, the pullers and their crews share that same sentiment.
Multiple pulling teams forgo making a short drive to a local pull to travel 10 plus hours to Chapel Hill to compete with the best of the best.
That’s one reason why the Super Pull is successful.
“There was a puller on Friday night that could have driven an hour and a half to a local pull, but instead they drove 11 hours to come down here,” Tipps said.
“It goes to show that it’s a different kind of atmosphere down here. We know they make the show for us, but if you listen to the interviews, they’ll tell you that they love coming to Chapel Hill. Chapel Hill is about southern hospitality, and we treat them like royalty when they come here.”
Chapel Hill has long been known as a premier tractor pull in the country, but it also proves to be strenuous for the pullers with various tractors experiencing malfunctions on the track.
While that may be a nuisance for some tractor pulls, the difficulty is embraced by everyone involved, even the Lions Club who values the quality of the tractors rather than the quantity.
“One of the things Chapel Hill has always been known for is that you better bring a lot of horsepower and a lot of brakes,” Tipps said. “You’re probably going to break something if you aren’t prepared, and Friday night proved that. For us, the show is about quality, not quantity. We want to give our fans a great show of some of the best tractors in the country.”
Numerous pulling teams graced the podium on back-to-back nights this year at the Super Pull of the South.
Joe Eder of North Collins, NY put on a display on Friday night in the 8,000-pound Unlimited Modified Tractor class with his “EMAX” pulling 355.780 feet.
Eder proved to be dominant in his class once again on Saturday night with a pull of 306.755 feet for back-to-back first place finishes.
In the 10,00-pound Pro Stock Tractor class, Rhett Parish of Marion, Kentucky, grabbed gold on Friday night with a 337.965 foot pull and silver on Saturday with 339.710 feet in his Case International 400 tractor dubbed “El Nino.”
Another notable class was the 6,200-pound Modified Four-Wheel-Drive Trucks where Carmen Foster of Fairgrove, Michigan, grabbed bronze with 324.345 feet on Friday night and gold with 338.130 on Saturday.

Friday Winners
10,000-lb Pro Stock Tractors
1st Rhett Parish, El Nino 337.965
2nd Kevin Schumucker, Git-Er-Dun Deere 328.715
3rd Tim Stone, Roll’n Stone 325.235

8,000-lb Super Stock Diesel Tractors
1st Travis Schlabach, Bone Twister 338.510
2nd Steve Burge, Lock-N-Load 333.465
3rd Jacob Belfance, Chain Reaction 304.490

8,000-lb Unlimited Modified Tractors
1st Joe Eder, Emax 355.780
2nd Dave Richardson, 4-Sum 349.055
3rd Chuck Knapp, Screamin’ D 318.240

2,050-lb Open Modified Mini Tractors
1st Grant Theobald, Li’l Wicked 348.055
2nd Jeff Guza, Grandpa’s Disaster 346.100
3rd Chase Richardson, Vibrator 345.910

6,200-lb Modified Four-Wheel-Drive-Trucks
1st Lisa Peterson, Profab 326.880
2nd Jake Zaring, Rule #19 326.065
3rd Carmen Foster, Foster Child 324.345

Saturday Winners
10,000-lb Pro Stock Tractors
1st Corey Bobb, Whiskey Wild 341.325
2nd Rhett Parish, El Nino 339.710
3rd Danny Schumake, Rampage 335.660

8,000-lb Super Stock Diesel Tractors
1st Kent Payne, Super Rooster 330.995
2nd John Belfance, Chain Breaker 330.165
3rd Travis Schalbach, Bone Twister 322.295

8,000-lb Unlimited Modified Tractors
1st Joe Eder, EMAX 306.575
2nd Steve Bollinger, Money Pit 287.050
3rd Doug Theobald, Full-Blown Wicked 285.035

2,050-lb Open Modified Mini Tractors
1st Adam Koester, Beast of Burden 328.380
2nd Adam Bauer, Cowboy Up 319.735
3rd Grant Theobald Li’l Wicked 317.825

6,200-lb Modified Four-Wheel-Drive Trucks
1st Carmen Foster, Foster Child 338.130
2nd Mark Mangan, Outlaw 330.565
3rd Jake Zaring, Rule #19 327.195

For full results from the Super Pull of the South, visit https://ntpapull.com/results.