CHILLICOTHE -- Harold Lyle might be one of the oldest guys on the Central Ohio Truck Pull Circuit, but during the past few years he's become pretty good at it.
"I'm the old guy around here, probably the only 60-year-old," said Ross County native Lyle, who spent most of his time at the fair when his children were in 4-H programs.
Now that they're older, he's taken up the truck pull hobby, and he's having a lot of fun on the circuit, which pulled into the Ross County Fair on Thursday night.
"I bought an old pickup truck that had been junked and I built it up," he said.
In a truck pull, competitors attempt to haul a "sled," or weighted tractor, as far as they can, as fast as they can. Lyle competes in the 8,000-pound, 2.6 Diesel truck class with his green Chevy Duramax named "Justified."
Lyle said the men competing in the four main categories are friendly and supportive of one another. The event includes an 8,000-pound, 3 Diesel class and the 6,200-pound gas and 6,500-pound gas categories. The final event of the night is a "Run What You Brung" event where there are no weight or size restrictions.
Lyle said the organization has many precautions to prevent injury. Drivers are required to wear fire suits, and all the trucksare designed with "kill switches" so drivers can shut off the engine at any time.
"Thank God in the years I've been doing it I've never really seen one injury," Lyle said.
On Thursday, the group went in expecting between 70 and 90 competitors.
Overall, Thursday's attendance was 3,891, up 433 from Thursday's gate total in 2010.
Read more at http://www.chillicothegazette.com/article/20110812/NEWS01/108120304/Diesel-Pickup-Truck-Pull-arrives-2011-Ross-County-Fair