De Leon Peach and Melon Festival LSGTPA Tractor Pull Results

De Leon, Texas was established in 1881, as the Texas Central Railroad pulled into the region.  The town and surrounding farming communities are rich with agricultural history.  In 1914, the area settlers organized a Peach and Melon Festival, as a local celebration for the farming community.  This event grew to be a regional happening, and in 1970, tractor pulling became a featured event during the festivities.  By 2007,  De Leon had constructed a dedicated tractor pulling arena, which featured dual pulling tracks.  During the 2014, 100th Annual Peach and Melon Festival event, a third track was added for the LSGTPA tractor pulling teams.

Opening ceremonies featured an outstanding National Anthem presentation, performed by the duet of Payton and Paige Williams.  Payton Williams was crowned the 100th Annual DeLeon Peach and Melon Festival Queen, prior to the start of the event, and performed sporting her newly acquired crown and sash! 

100th Annual DeLeon Peach and Melon Festival Queen Payton Williams, delivered the Natioanl Anthem during opening ceremonies of the LSGTPA tractor pull.

The LSGTPA Youth Class tractors opened the show, with Kody Langham taking the victory.  Jared Stephan pulled double duty on two tractors, placing his entries in the second and third positions.  Lane Duncan, aboard his 'Texas T-Rex' entry, scored a fourth place finish.  Megan Baird pulled to a top five finish, while Mason Hovind rounded out the field aboard his 'Yes Deere' entry. 

Kolby Langham wheels 'Texas Thunder' at the DeLeon Peach and Melon Festival tractor pull.

Stock Class tractors were paced by Aidan Hovind, with Claude Lewis scoring a second and third place finish aboard his two entries.  Claude scored the runnerup aboard his 'Skeeter' tractor, which was previously campaigned by Skeet Degner, a long time tractor puller who had passed away in March.  Kolby Langham pulled to a fourth place finish, while Aidan Hovind was limited by breakage on the 'Yes Deere' tractor.  The Stock Diesel title left with Ken Langham, Jr, while Steve Hovind pulled to the runnerup position on a run which ended in transmission damage.  In Big Stock, John Aufdenkamp used a Full Pull to take the win, over the runnerup tractor of Alton Degner.  Cameron Paschall scored a third place finish aboard 'High Cotton' and Alex Jesko used a second round Full Pull to finish fourth aboard his 'Overtime' tractor.  Kolby Langham also recorded a second round Full Pull aboard 'Texas Thunder', to finish inches ahead of Jerry Toland and his 'Triple Deuce' tractor.  Seth Markey took his tractor out of bounds on a wild ride, which resulted in a DQ and a seventh place finish aboard the 'High Cotton' tractor.

Claude Lewis takes 'Skeeter' downtrack at the DeLeon Peach and Melon Festival.  

Alex Jesko pilots 'Outlaw' downtrack at DeLeon.

Stock Altered resulted in two great pulls by Alex Jesko aboard the 'Outlaw', for the win.  John Aufdenkamp pulled to the runnerup spot, with Michael Mayberry and 'Pulling for Peanuts' scoring third.  Ken Langham scored a FullPull, but a first round DQ on a wild ride out of bounds, limited his entry to a fourth place finish.  The Motorcycle Class title was taken by Paul Smith, aboard the 'Texan' tractor, while Steve Pierce scored the runnerup aboard his 'Buzzards Roost' machine.  In Outlaw, Paul Smith and his 'Texan' tractor again scored the victory, with  the 'Three of a Kind' tractor of John Aufdenkamp placing second, while incurring some drivetrain damages.

Paul Smith works his way to a win aboard his 'Texan' machine at DeLeon.

Ken Langham holds on during a wild ride at the Deleon LSGTPA tractor pull.

The Mini Rod tractors put on a great show, with Jerry Toland taking the win aboard 'Shinin Time'.  David Houchen placed his 'Back in the Day' tractor in the runnerup position, with Sarah Moody placing third aboard her '99% Moody' turbo diesel tractor.  Colby Crowe and the 'Weekend Warrior' machine pulled to a fourth place finish.    The wild Super Rod tractors closed the show, with Thomas Kimmons taking the win aboard his newly acquired 'Fired Up' tractor.  Ken Langham scored the runnerup, with Donny Mayo and his 'Blackfoot Squaw' tractor placing third.  Randall Moody drove the 'Ridge Runner' to fourth place, with John Kiemele and the 'Dodge This' taking home a top five finish in a close field of Super Rods.

Thomas Kimmons scores a victory during his debut of 'Fired Up' at DeLeon.

To learn more about the history of De Leon, checkout out DeLeon History.com

 The next LSGTPA event will be the Bill Halter Memorial Pull, in Blue Ridge, Texas.  Visit the www.lsgtpa.com webpage, for the complete 2014 schedule of remaining events.