CLINTON COUNTY, Mich. — The Clinton County 4-H and Youth Fair is in full swing, and one event showed what happens when you put a racing engine on farm equipment, the tractor pull.
"Tractor pulling is really simple," said Matt Mignault, the event's announcer. "Big slab of dirt here, guys go as far as they possibly can, we read the scoreboard down at the far end and the farthest distance wins. That's how I like to explain it really nice and simple."
And for what seems to be a simple task from the outside perspective, it takes years to perfect this sport. Jerry Genei has been at it for 19 years.
"I fell in love with the sport when I was a kid because we were farmers. Never could get rid of the want to do it, so I went out and bought a tractor, fixed it up, and here we are," Genei said.
And minutes later, Genei showed how practice makes perfect as the crowd watched him floor the tractor down the runway.
While Genei was a part of one class of tractors, there were also trucks and modified vehicles all trying to carry the weight.
"Diesel trucks, gas trucks, sometimes we have semis," said Mignault. "Too short of a track to have semis here to today but all sorts of variety. I mean hey we even have an army truck here to get us started off. We'll hook him up and see what he can do."
And while the tractor pull is an exciting event, Genei says that it's an important one for the fair.
"It's a part of agriculture. And that's the biggest thing about the fair really is the 4-H and the groups, and the kids learning to take care of animals," said Genei.
The fair runs through Thursday with plenty of events still available to attend. You can go to the fair's website for more information.
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