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Clutch Performance

Tennessee member is a national truck-pulling champion

Clutch Performance


September 2008

Will Teasley was pulling tractors before he even started kindergarten.

“My dad’s been pulling antique tractors since I was born, and I started pulling when I was 4,” says Will, who graduated from Springfield High School in Tennessee in May. “Then my dad got into the big leagues of truck pulling, and I got my truck-pulling license when I turned 16.”

After making huge strides in regional competitions and becoming the champion in his circuit in 2006, Will was invited to compete in the National Farm Machinery Show & Championship Tractor Pull in Louisville, Ky., in February 2007.

“When I found out he qualified for that invitation-only event, I thought, ‘He should do well,’ ” says Bryan Lively, Will’s FFA advisor and agriculture instructor at Springfield High School. “Then he turned around and won it.”

A group of 25 of Will’s fellow FFA members traveled to Louisville to support him at the qualifying session the night before the finals.

“Many of them had never been to a truck or tractor pull before, so it was neat to see them take part in the grandeur of it,” Lively recalls. “It was a really excited crowd. The announcer recognizes FFA chapters in attendance, and when Will came up to pull, they recognized our chapter. The kids loved that – it was about building a memory. A lot of people wait 30 years to win something like this, and Will won at the age of 17.”

Will competed in front of about 17,000 spectators. He says having his classmates’ support made all the difference in the world.

“I could hear them cheering for me – they were pretty loud,” he says. “They even had on T-shirts with a picture of my truck. It made me feel good and calmed my nerves a bit.”

If you’re not familiar with truck and tractor pulling, it’s probably because unlike many sports, truck and tractor pulling is confined to certain regions of the country.

The sport originated in Missouri and Ohio and is now most common in those regions and along the East Coast.

Truck and tractor pulling is a motorsports competition wherein drivers of beefed-up trucks and tractors see who can pull a 40,000-pound weight transfer sled the farthest distance.

“The goal is to make a full pull, which is the distance of 300 feet on most tracks,” Lively explains. “It’s all about distance, not speed. They go one at a time, and the distance is measured by a laser. The driver’s skill, the amount of horsepower and vehicle balance all affect how far you can go.”

Will’s prized vehicle, “Bad Boy,” is a 2004 Dodge Dakota that’s red and orange with yellow flames.

“It has a 526-cubic-inch motor with 2,500 horsepower,” he says. “I’ve had it for two years, and my dad had it for a year before that.”

When he isn’t attending truck-pulling competitions, Will helps out on his family’s farm in Pleasant View, Tenn.

“We have about 500 acres for hay and crops, and we lease 2,000 acres where we have 500 Black Angus cattle,” he says.

Will joined FFA at the beginning of his junior year.

“I think it’s a great organization because it teaches you that hard work will take you where you want to go,” he says.

He has competed in welding competitions with FFA, and those skills he learned have carried over into his farm life.

“It’s helped me because when equipment breaks on the farm, we don’t have to pay somebody to fix it,” Will says.

Will started at Austin Peay State University this fall and is majoring in agricultural business. He says it took him a while to decide he wanted to follow in his father’s footsteps and become a farmer.

“I didn’t think I would like it at first, but it’s growing on me,” he says. “I like farming because it’s different every day. One day I’m moving hay rolls; another day I’m helping give the cows shots. I also like it because it gives you the reputation of a hard worker.”

And by all accounts, that’s Will, in a nutshell.

“He’s good with his hands, and he doesn’t mind work. That’s one thing I couldn’t teach Will,” Lively says. “He shows a lot of poise and ease in what he does. He’s just a class-act guy who represents our school, chapter and community well everywhere he goes.”

Despite his title as a national champion, humility is another trait that defines Will.

“Had we not been on the sidelines of the national competition, I don’t think anybody at school would have known Will won,” Lively says. “He’s not looking for attention or an ego boost. He just does it for the love of the sport.”

Story by Jessica Mozo
Photography by Brian McCord


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