WHEN THE STARS ALIGN

class is always competitive, seeing just 10 hp divide first and second places, where Court Hales’ 749-hp run landed him the top spot. Tyler Kipp’s 2WD shorty Cummins stole the show for the Big Single class, putting down 1,235 hp and almost 500 hp on second place. The Small Twin class is made up of mostly daily drivers with compound kits used for towing, but Trevor Humphries’ “daily driver” made an impressive 916 hp on fuel only for the winning pass. In the Unlimited class, Tyler Kipp sprayed his 88mm single turbo truck all the way to 2,117 hp for the biggest run of the day.

In the town of Morgan (home to fewer than 5,000 people), the little rodeo arena at the county fairgrounds makes for a short sled pull track, but every seat in the house is full when the first truck makes its run for the open gates at the 250-foot mark. The United Pullers Association has been hosting events here for years and knows just how to set the sled up so these high-horsepower rigs can’t get a big head of steam and end up out in the parking lot. The longest pulls of the night were Trevor Larkin’s Pro Stock truck at 261 feet, where he topped out at almost 25 mph, and the crowd favorite “Barnstormer” diesel tractor, piloted by Chris Taber, which pulled a wheelstand all the way out to 273 feet.

If you ever find yourself in the Morgan area in June, or anywhere the NWDC or United Pullers are hosting an event, do yourself a favor and come out to watch or even compete. Diesel dyno racing and tractor pulling is continuing to grow out West and it’s a great way to spend a weekend with your family or buddies.

 The group from United Pullers has been hosting an event in Morgan for quite a few years now, and in a small town with just 4,100 residents there’s always a crowd and big group of pullers ready to compete. The heat and the 5,000-foot elevation make spooling in those big single turbo classes a bit interesting.  Tom Hansen’s “The Hybrid” Cummins-powered truck is always a force to be reckoned with in the Pro Stock 3.6 diesel class. Unfortunately, a little trouble off the line cost him some tire speed and much-needed early momentum on the short, tight track.

 The Work Stock Diesel class always brings out a big group of competitors. It takes guts to take your daily driver off the pavement and onto the dirt track, where they’ll hook 50,000 pounds to the bumper and wish you the best of luck. This big, lifted 2017 Ford looked like it came straight from the dealership, but the owner wasn’t scared to flex its muscles.

 What? It’s just your run-of-themill lowered 6.4L Power Stroke on 24-inch wheels. Mario Esparza made the long haul up all the way from Farmington, New Mexico, to compete on the dyno, where he laid down 631 hp.