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Haw Hill Tractc
In Crowd ForV
BY SUSAN USHER
Some are "converts" from the world of dirt-track
auto racing or 4x4 mud slings. Others come fresh from
the farm or garage to the straight dirt track.
They willingly drive hundreds of miles to compete for
purses that often don't meet even travel expenses and for
points that translate into bonus pay at year's end.
Pullers from the Carolinas and Virginia arrived at
Haw Hill Raceway north of Bolivia Saturday evening
towing "tractors" of all kinds, some only vaguelyresembling
their farmstyle namesakes.
They were "pulling" last weekend for the Winnabow
Volunteer Fire Department in the first tractor race held
in Brunswick County. The pull was co-sponsored by the
raceway, the East Coast Tractor Pullers' Association
and the fire department. Winners in six classes divided a
purse of $7,950, while the firefighters raised money to
rebuild a 1975 pumper-tanker.
They hope to sponsor "the Winnabow W-300" as an
annual fundraising event at Haw Hill.
"1 think we did all right," Fire Chief Robert Kye said
shortly after the last event of the weekend, for two-wheel
drive trucks and before receipts were counted. Like
several dozen firefighters and community volunteers
who worked up to and through the weekend, Kye was obviously
exhausted. "I hope we can make it an annual
event."
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day. While the department didn't "make a killing." about
$4,700 profit remained after paying all major bills. Proceeds
from concessions, program and program ad sales
would push the total higher, he said, but still short of goal.
At the pull, emcee Royce Bisette's sing-song
cadences cajoled Saturday's crowd of about 2,000 into a
carefree mood.
At concession stands operated by the fire department's
ladies' auxiliary, hotdogs, cold soft drinks and
s<dted popcorn moved briskly. An occasional order was
temporarily abandoned as whoops from the bleachers
drew patrons of all ages back to the track.
Pulling offers instant family appeal: It's simple
enough for anyone to follow, yet it's a highly competitive
racing sport.
Flarh driver nits hie trortnr?nr oo Ihn "oio
| may be?against a "sled," a weight transfer machine
! that handles anywhere from five tons to 24 tons. The tonnage
pulled by a particular tractor depends on its class
and weight.
The tractor that pulls the sled the farthest distance
along a 300-foot straight dirt track without careening offside
wins. Additional pulls are held to clear up any multiple
finishes.
Pulling has its moments.
I
SfA?? PMOTOiif SUSAN USX*
FINISH-LINE FLAGMAN Robert Thigpen of Wallace
follows the East Coast Tractor Pullers' Association circuit
with his brother Jimmy of Burgaw, who competes
in both minirod and four-wheel drive.
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Occasionally it seems as though it's all finish-line
flagman Robert Thigpen of Wallace can do to get out of
the way of a skittish tractor.
"One time that fella there (a modified driver) was
coming down the track when his front tire started splitting.
When I put the red flag on him, all he did was floor
it," Thigpen said.
"Later, he told me if he was out of it (the race) he
iiugiu as wen give mem a snow."
A Wallace resident, he follows the East Coast circuit
with his brother, driver Jimmy Thigpen of Burgaw, the
closest thing to a hometown racer at the Haw Hill track
and a crowd favorite over the weekend.
Pulling fans "follow" their favorites from track to
track in the tradition of stock car racing, many traveling
up to several hundred miles one-way for a race.
On the track, as the weight of the sled shifts to the
"pan." the sled starts digging into the dirt, resisting the
tractor's pull, Kye explained.
In the wake of each pulling vehicle follow several
other working tractors that pull the sled back into position
and smooth the track for the next racer.
"Minirods," mollified lawn and garden-size tractors
that run with almost as much horsepower as the larger
models, are the most dangerous tractors to race, says
driver Jimmy Thigpen.
They're also the most exciting to watch as their light
weight causes the front end to lift from the track, bucking
and vibrating.
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POULTRY FARMKR RUSSELL NORTON of Hurdle
Mills was a crowd favorite as he plowed toward the
Z74-iooi mark atop Egg Man's Pullet, a superstock tractor.
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I
CONCKSSION STAND VOIAJNT
thus last.
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DC-4 Def<
BY TERRY POPE
Four Winston-Salem men who
pleaded guilty in 1983 for their roles
in the DC-4 drug trafficking conspiracy
in Brunswick County have
lost an appeal to have their $3,000 to
$5,000 fines reduced.
In Brunswick County Superior
Court Monday, Judge Preston Cornelius
refused to act on a motion filed
by Forsyth County attorney Iarry F.
Habegger to have the "overly
burdensome" fines reduced. In denying
the request, Cornelius also added
that he was not the judge to Issue the
fines and should therefore not be the
one to rule on the motion.
The four men were among the 18
arrested in the 1980 DC-4 drug smuggling
operation attempt at the
Brunswick County Airport near Oak
Island.
Kevin Witherspoon, 23, his brother,
Reginald Witherspoon, 27, Jerry
Wallace, 23, and Bernard I^athan
Buey, all from Winston-Salem, were
each charged with six counts of conspiracy
and trafficking on July 31,
1980, after sheriff's deputies seized a
plane loaded with more than 9,500
pounds of marijuana at the airport
In a plea bargain agreement with
District Attorney Michael Kasley,
each of the four men pleaded guilty to
one count of conspiracy to traffic by
transporting more than 2,000 pounds,
but less than 10,000 pounds of marijuana.
Since they served as the state's
witnesses against the men accused of
being leaders in the drug conspiracy,
Ea.sley said he recommended lighter
'split sentences" for the men Both
Kevin and Reginald Witherspoon and
Jerry Wallace were each given a
three-year prison sentence, suspended
for all but six months, and fined
$3,000. Buey was fined $5,000
All four men could have been
sentenced up to 90 years in prison and
been fined up to $150,000 each if convicted
on all charges facing them.
In court Monday, Habegger said
one of the 12 original DC-4 defendants
had his fine remitted last year after
Superior Court Judge Anthony Br am
non ruled it was "overly burden
THE BRUNSWICK BEACOf
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)anville, Va., to put his modified tractor
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undents' Fin
some" for the defendant to nay.
.Judges Brannon and Napoleon B.
Barefoot Sr. each presided in the
eases heard in Brunswick County
Superior Court.
Habcggcr fiJcd the motions in
January to have the four WinstonSalem
defendants' fines remitted or
reduced as well. Habcggcr told
Judge Cornelius Monday tluit the
four defendants' ability to pay was
the same as the defendant whose fine
was remitted by Judge Brannon last
year.
Habcgger said the four men arc
working minimum wage Jobs in
Winston-Salem and cannot afford to
pay the fines.
"They all grew up in WinstonSalem,
and I'd say they all live within
four or five blocks of each other,"
Habcgger said,
But District Attorney Kasley sold
the defendants have only served six
months active sentence at the most,
but has yet to pay any of their $3,000
to $5,000 fines, He added that each
defendant pleaded guilty in Nov.
1980, was sentenced in Nov. 1983, and
agreed to the pica bargain agreement
which specifically included
fines.
"That's been five yearn since the
airplane came? in," Kasley argued.
I'll like to g#rt that money for the
schools "
Under state h?w, fines resulting
from drug operations are awarded to
the local board of education In which
county the incident occurred.
FOR TIRES
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1 UXON SWVICi ST AT (OH
HWY (7. SHAUOTTE
PHONE 754-6333
*
1
4, Thursday, July 25, 1985?Page 5-A
SI i
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to the test in the first pull held in
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"Why shouldn't they pay? Because
one Mot out of it?" Judge Cornelius
asked Hultegger at one point in the
motion heuring. liahcggcr replied
that the men could not pay because of
their minimum wage jobs.
In arguing against the motion,
Easley also added that paying the
fines is a requirement for the men to
renuiin on their suspended sentence.
"For a five year sentence, that's
only $50 a month," Easley said. "If
they're not willing to pay $50 a
month, they ought to go to Jail."
Judge Cornelius ruled the fines will
remain us is, unless the defendants
wish to take the matter before Judge
Barefoot, now resident Superior
Court Judge in the 5th District, which
includes New Hanover nn/1 Pon,?,.r
counties.
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