Saturday’s Showdown in Curd Town brought a National Tractor Pullers Association regional competition close to home for a few local competitors.

For the Lindstrom family, Kevin and his son, Matthew, it was an opportunity to pull just a few miles from home at the Pierce County Fairgrounds in Ellsworth. The father and son duo both competed in the Super Farm Tractors class on Saturday.

Kevin Lindstrom ended up placing sixth in the class on Saturday after piloting his Hyper Harvester to a length of 307.26. Son Matthew Lindstrom finished ninth in his Adrenaline Rush tractor after scoring a 304.525.

Kevin has plans to be back pulling full time this season after he was derailed for part of last summer while recovering from a heart attack. He suffered the attack while at a pull last summer on a hot day in Rush City, Minn. Kevin was alerted that something was wrong after suffering from chest pains and nausea. Nothing helped, including laying down indoors. Eventually he was checked out by an ambulance crew, and they recommended he go to a hospital.

“I was probably lucky that I was at a pull, because then I got it looked at,” Kevin said. “Otherwise, I would have probably gone home and slept it off.”

Kevin had a stent put in a few days later but was forced to take a few weeks off from pulling to recover. Matthew took over the pulling duties on his “Hyper Harvester” tractor for the next scheduled pull four days later.

Kevin said he has made a few lifestyle changes since the heart attack. Eating in moderation is one step, he said “instead of having two cheeseburgers, I have one.”

Although the heart attack was tough, he said it is nothing compared to the health problems suffered by some of his friends. Kevin said a number of the pullers he is familiar with on the regional circuit are battling cancer.

“A heart attack is piece of cake,” Kevin said. “The cancer stuff, I really feel for those guys.”

For the Lindstrom family, pulling is a summerlong activity that replaces going to a cabin up north or a vacation. Kevin said camaraderie is one of the most enjoyable parts of competing in the NTPA circuit.

“It’s like another family out here, your summer family,” he said.

Geraets keeps going with “Cookie Monster”

Elmwood’s Tony Geraets started pulling with his unique “Cookie Monster” tractor after watching a few pulls with friends more than 15 years ago.

Now Geraets still is going strong as a puller on the NTPA regional circuit.

“Me and some friends, we always went to tractor pulls because we were always hanging out together,” Geraets said before the start of Saturday’s pull. “We decided to try pulling. The only reason we started with a Ford is because we wanted to have the odd color, and nobody else had a blue tractor.”

Geraets finished 17th in the Super Farm Tractors class on Saturday with a pull measuring 291.715. His tractor earned the name “Cookie Monster” in honor of a friend who was a partner in the tractor project. The blue color of New Holland tractors was also a factor.

“We were trying to think of a name for it, for the tractor,” said Geraets, who works as a farmer and at a local implement dealer. “And something that went with the blue. My friend, who is in on the tractor sometimes, his nickname is Cookie. So we called it the Cookie Monster.”

Geraets originally started pulling at local competitions, but in 2005 he decided to make the jump to the NTPA Super Farm regional circuit. Today he often travels to the pulling competitions with his girlfriend, Jaci Draper, and nephew Max Geraets - who helps out with the mechanics of the tractor.

What keeps Geraets hooked on tractor pulling? His biggest interest is finding the right mechanical combination to allow his tractor to deliver the best pulls possible.

“I like to see what you can do, what you can change and how it makes a difference,” Geraets said.

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