Ricky Rose named Grand National Modified champion

Ricky is presented with a trophy. Pictured from left to right are Northwestern Ohio Tractor Pullers Association President Mike Erford, Travis Rose, Ricky Rose, Jeff Rose and Shaun Rose.

Ricky Rose of Glencoe was named the Grand National Modified Champion at the 51st National Tractor Pulling Championships in Bowling Green in August. This is Rose’s first grand national title.
Unlike other sports, tractor pulling uses an accumulated point system that takes into account every event contestants take part in. The contestant with the most accumulated points at the end of the season is given a grand national title. Rose’s winning score for the season was 322 points with six wins, four second-place titles, one third-place title and one fourth-place title.
“It was a pretty awesome year,” said Rose, who has specialized in modified and unlimited modified tractor pulling since 1990 and has been competing with his current modified tractor, “Giddy Up!” since 2010.
“That’s the big win at Bowling Green. It’s awesome because that’s like the Super Bowl. It’s the biggest event of the year,” said Rose.
Rose began tractor pulling in 1973 and he and his wife, Julie, have been promoting tractor pulls since 1985. Now they put on the Power Pull Nationals event at the McLeod County Fairgrounds in Hutchinson every summer.
When Ricky and Julie Rose first started, they decided to create their own track at their farm. “We had a nice hill so we put a track down at the bottom and people sat on the hillside. It was a good time,” said Rose.
For more about Rose's championship, see the Oct. 4 print edition of The Chronicle.