AC: | An Allis Chalmers Tractor.. |
Allison: | World War II vintage v-12 aircraft engine.1710 cu. In., approximately 2000 horsepower. |
Arias: | Racing engine brand common in Minis and TWD trucks. |
Bite: | Traction. |
Bench Pulling: | Talking about pulling. |
Binder: | International tractor. |
Bite: | Traction |
Blower: | Supercharger. |
Boost: | Air pressure generated by turbo’s or superchargers. |
Bore & Stroke: | Diameter of the cylinders and the distance the piston moves up and down the cylinder. |
Box: | Part of a weight transfer machine that carries and transfers the weight. |
Brush Pull: | Non-sanctioned pull. |
Cam: | The camshaft, a revolving engine part that moves the valves up and down. |
Carb: | The carburetor. |
Chevy: | A Chevrolet style engine. Also referring to the Chevrolet brand of cars and trucks. |
Chevy Hemi: | An engine that uses a Chevrolet style block with Hemi style heads. Arias is a common brand of this style engine. |
Class: | Type of vehicle and rules used to define that type of vehicle(s). Modified, Super Stock (Open or Diesel), Two Wheel Drive Truck, Mini Modified, Semi, Pro Stock, etc. |
Clay: | The most desirable track surface. |
Cleats: | The tread on a tractor tire. |
Cubes: | Cubic inch displacement of an engine. |
Cut Tires: | Trim the tire bar to a preferred angle for maximum bite. |
Deere: | A John Deere tractor. |
Diesel: | An engine that ignites the fuel by the heat of compression, rather than by spark plugs. |
Drawbar: | The part of the tractor or truck which attaches to the chain and hook of the transfer. |
Drawbar Height: | The distance between the drawbar and the track surface. |
Drop the Hammer: | Hitting the throttle hard. |
4 x 4: | Four wheel drive. |
FWD: | Four wheel drive truck. |
Fuel: | Either Alcohol or Diesel fuel. |
Full Pull: | Pulling the entire length of the track. |
GN: | Grand National level of pulling. |
Gooney: | A puller’s helper. |
Grenade: | Damage to engine, usually terminal. |
Headers: | Exhaust pipes designed for free exhaust flow. |
Hemi: | A Chrysler engine with a dome-shaped combustion chamber. |
Hired Gun: | A driver who drives tractors or trucks other than his or her own. |
Hook: | The point of attachment to tractor’s or truck’s drawbar. |
Hook Points: | Points received for attempting a pull. Each competitor can earn 15 per attempt. |
Hooking Up: | Tires getting a bite on the track. |
Horsepower: | The ability to do a specific amount of work during a specific amount of time and over a specific distance. Abbreviated HP. |
IH: | An International Harvester tractor. (Also International) |
Kill Switch: | A required hook-up that automatically kills the engine if the tractor becomes unhooked from the sled. |
Mini: | Small modified tractor, 2050 lb. |
Miss the Balance: | Improper weight balance on a tractor, either too light on the front resulting in an uncontrollable wheelie, or too heavy on the rear resulting in poor power transfer. |
MM: | Minneapolis Moline tractor. |
Modified: | Tractor using any combination of engines, transmission and final drive. |
Mopar: | Chrysler products. |
NTPA: | The National Tractor Pullers Association, Inc. |
Out the Gate: | A full pull, going the entire length of the track. |
Overspeed: | A safety device on turbine engines to keep them at a safe operating speed. If achieved engine will shut down. |
Pan: | Part of the weight transfer that makes contact with the track to create the friction necessary to stop the tractor. |
Pits: | Area for pulling tractors and trucks to park. |
Points Champ: | The person who has won the most points at season’s end. |
Power Track: | Track made with the combination of water and clay to pack, requiring a lot of power from the tractor to pull the transfer. |
Pro Stock: | One turbo charger and limited alterations being allowed in a class. |
Pull-Off: | A second pulling contest for pullers going past the full pull mark. |
Purse: | The total prize money awarded at an event. |
Read the Track: | Determine track conditions (soil type, soil texture. etc.) for weighting tractor and spotting sled. |
Revs: | RPMs or revolutions per minute of the crankshaft. |
Sanctioning: | A contract, which evidences the event’s commitment to follow national rules and regulations of the sport and to provide a safe environment for the participants and spectators. |
Second Attempt: | If, on the first try, the tractor doesn’t move the sled to the 100 foot line, the puller can try again. |
Skid: | Pan of the sled. |
Sled: | Weight transfer machine. |
Slider: | A clutch which uses the centrifugal force inherent in the spinning of the clutch to activate the clutch mechanism (also a Slipper Clutch). |
Slip the Clutch: | Prevention of 100% lock-up of the clutch, used to hook up the tires to the track. Also means a malfunctioning clutch which never locks up. |
Smoke Machine: | Used at indoor pulls, attaches to weight transfer machine, sucks exhaust smoke from tractor outside. |
Smoker: | Vehicle using diesel fuel. |
SOHC: | Single Overhead Camshaft engine. |
Spotting the Sled: | Puller choosing where the sled will sit along the start line for the pull. |
Squeaked It Out: | Barely pulling past the full-pull mark. |
Staged: | Lined up at the starting line. Also connecting turbochargers in progressive sequence on super stocks. |
Super Stock: | Refers to multiple turbochargers with few limitations to alterations in the given class. |
Test Puller: | First puller of each class to check sled gear and weight. Has option of re-pulling or dropping six positions, or dropping to last. |
Throw Weights: | To move detachable weight around on the tractor to achieve a preferred balance of weight for track conditions. |
Torque: | The power needed to twist or pull under counter pressure. |
Transfer: | Weight transfer machine to which the tractor hooks to pull. |
Turbine: | An engine using the exploding fuel to drive rotary fan blades, creating the turning power of the engine, as in aircraft jet engines. |
Turbo: | Turbocharger (an exhaust powered compressor adding power to the basic engine by adding more air). |
TWD: | Two wheel drive truck. |
Under the Turbos: | Not being able to keep engine speed up to the proper levels to maintain turbocharger pressure. |
Weight Classes: | 6200 Ib., 7200 lb., etc. The maximum weight of the tractor and driver for a particular class. |
Wheelie: | Lifting the front wheels off the ground. |
Wrench: | To repair, work on tractor. |