MOUNT VERNON — The Ohio State Tractor Pullers Association made its first-ever appearance at the Knox County Fair on Saturday night, and the competition closed out the fair in style.
The highlight was the Pro Stock Semis and four-time defending champion Mike Laribee of Crestline. Laribee, the 11th of 12 drivers competing in the class, entered the night in fifth place in the 2010 point standings. Laribee made his best run of the year behind the wheel of “Shameless,” pulling a full pull of 340.85 feet.
“We haven’t been doing real well with the truck. We had something wrong with it,” said Laribee. “We couldn’t figure it out. We tried all kinds of stuff, but nothing worked. We ended up talking to Riverside Engines, and they said to tear the motor apart. Sure as heck, we found a broken piston. We fixed that and it started screaming. Hopefully, (after this win) we are back up to our full potential. I put it in a big gear and had faith in the motor to try a big gear. It was great.”
jhuddleston@mountvernonnews.com
