Story - The Meade County Messenger


Vol. 119. No.24	JUNE 16 , 2010

Crowd favorites dominate at Matt Pike Truck/Tractor Pull

Music, food, a live and silent auction and plenty of noise.

What more could spectators attending the third annual Matt Pike Memorial Truck and Tractor Pull at the Meade County fairgrounds want on June 12.

“It turned out great and we are already starting to talk about next year,” spokesperson and brother-in-law of the late Matt Pike, Jason Allen said. “This was the best show out of the two pulls we have had. This one beat them all,” he said.

The event concluded about 12:30 a.m., Allen said.

Music was provided during intermission and at other times by “And the Armed,” a local band who donated their time for the event – composed of Justin Flaherty, vocals, Steve Critchelow and Jeff Hurt, guitar, Grant Wilson, bass and Shelby Nunn on drums.

“The band was able to fill in during the lulls,” Allen said. “There was always something going on and all in all we were really pleased.”

But the show belonged to the trucks and tractors during the evening.

Spokesperson Allison Allen said – as of presstime – exact figures were still being tabulated, but organizers estimated about $40,000 was generated from the event. She also said attendance was pegged at close to 3,000.

Last year’s light limited super stock winner, Jerry Sipes again regained his crown – and a slim lead in the point standings – after his finish.

He had a run of 342.43 feet, which originally set the pace for the class, but then pushed him into a five-way pull-off.

His competitor – and the one chasing his tail throughout the competition – was Tim Fox.

Others in the pull-off included David Burnett, Jamie Barger and Brandon Phillips. Sipes easily won the contest with a final pull of 318.73. Close on his heels was Burnett with 310.98.

He again won the hearts of the audience by donating his prize money back to the memorial fund.
He wasn’t the only one, Jason Allen said.

Several other local pullers – including Brandon and Larry Phillips and Morris Hiser – also donated their winnings to the fund.

Allen had nothing but praise for Phillips, who donated equipment and helped with the track preparations.
Funds from the event are being used to create a gymnasium at the Meade/Breck Center near Rhodelia.
Matt Pike, during his off-season, enjoyed all forms of sports and the family thought this would be a good thing for those to remember him by.

The addition will be approximately 4,000 square feet and 36 feet by 112 feet. According to Allen, it is the first stage of a list of plans for the center, which will now be known as the Meade-Breck Center Matt Pike Memorial Gym.

The Allen brothers – along with family members and friends – started the pull two years ago to raise money to carry out the dream of one of their friends, Meade County farmer, Matt Pike, who died in 2007 at age 26.

At the time he died, Pike was a fifth-generation farmer who started farming when he was only 18 following the death of his father. By 2007, he was farming 2,000 acres.

Pulls involving five classes of vehicles were on the schedule:
• Light limited super stock tractors.
• Pro farm tractors.
• Pro stock four-wheel- drive trucks.
• Super-modified two-wheel-drive trucks.
• Light-weight super stock tractors.

The Brandenburg pull is one of 33 in the Bluegrass Pulling Series that began in April and that will end in October in communities in Kentucky, Indiana, and Tennessee. In addition to cash prizes awarded at each event, competitors earn points towards prizes at the end of each season.

The auction – featuring two handmade benches with farm scenes by Pike’s grandfather, Aloysius – brought $900, while other farm-related equipment generated still more funds.

The highest-selling item was a John Deere combine pedal toy, purchased for $1,000 by Larry Phillips, and then donated back so the second-place bidder, Cliff Wise, could have it.

Other items across the ring included autographed University of Louisville and University of Kentucky sports gear.

Providing emergency services at the scene were members of the Meade County EMS and the Payneville Fire Department.

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