Student shares her passion for tractor pulling through social media

Playing in grandma’s attic one can often find hidden treasures and for 8-year-old Sydnee Summers that was a tractor pulling trophy won by her dad years ago. With that spark a desire to compete in tractor pulling was ignited. Ever since, Summers has been tractor-pulling, traveling around the Midwest with her family.

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“I remember my first tractor pull — the tractor I drove only went about four miles an hour. I was too scared to go any faster,” Summers says. 

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Today this Buckner, Missouri, native is a third-year agribusiness student at Kansas State University. In her spare time, she can be found competing in tractor pulls.  

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Defining the Track

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Summers explains tractor pulling as a motorsport competition based on who goes the farthest not the fastest. Pullers hook their tractor to a weighted sled and as they drive down the track, the sled moves closer to the tractor, making it harder for the tractor to go forward. Each tractor competes in classes based on different certifications. 

Sometimes referred to as the 4.1 class, Summers competes in the Limited Pro Stock class, which has a maximum weight of 9,500 pounds. 

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“At my first pull, I was pulling in the slower classes that usually go later at night. I was nine years old, and it was 2 a.m.,” Summers says. 

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When that early morning time slot rolled around, Summers was more than ready to go. Only one problem stood in her way, backing into hook. There was no need to fear; her dad was there to back up to the sled, a tradition he still does today. 

Summers competes in tractor pulls throughout the Midwest, beginning in May to the end of September. She and her family load the hauler trailer and tractor and hit the road to the next pull. 

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Summers says there are many mechanical aspects to tractor pulling such as, checking the oil screens and drawbar height. There are a lot of double-checking parts and pieces before starting a pull. 

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“It is a lot about knowing what your tractor feels like when driving. A lot of people think that between every pass you completely rebuild your motor, like a drag car, but it is just small maintenance,” Summers says. 

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As with most sports, competitors get to practice at home or in the off-season, but most pullers do not have a track in their backyard. So, practice is each time they hook to the weight sled and go down the track. 

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Many tractor pullers have a computer on their tractor that tells them information like what RPMs to leave the line at or what oil pressure they are at, Summers explains. 

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“One thing that makes me different from most is that I do not have a computer. I have never had that. I just go off the sound of my tractor and how it feels,” Summers says. 

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Transferring Information

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Another thing that makes Summers stand out from the competition is her social media following. Summers currently has 208,200 followers and 4.3 million likes on TikTok. Her social media presence began growing during quarantine, and her viral video now has nearly a million views. 

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A hobby that started out of boredom has now turned into a platform to promote her tractor pulling. As her social media has gained a larger following, this means more eyes on her tractor pulls and not just her winning hooks. 

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“A big challenge for me was when I started gaining a following on social media, I had to put myself out there, whether it was a good pass or a bad pass,” Summers says. 

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Through a growing set of eyes watching her, Summers has learned to be okay with not being the best at every pull. 

“I was pulling at Summer Nationals in Wheatland, Missouri, I wrecked, and it was on TV,” Summers says. "It was everywhere. But I ended up learning how to laugh at myself.”

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With a large social media following Summers has grown an online community, one that helped her earn a spot in her largest competition to date. 

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“This past spring, I pulled at the Pullers Championship in Nashville, Illinois. To compete here you must be selected based on points or be voted in. I was voted in and ended up placing fourth overall out of some of the best pullers in the United States,” Summers says.

She says two of her proudest accomplishments were when she went on a three-pull winning streak in 2021 and winning her hometown pull. 

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Looking ahead, Summers hopes to reach her goal of competing at the National Farm Machinery Show while continuing to document her tractor-pulling journey on social media so she can use her platform to advocate for agriculture. 

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More important than any win, Summers says, is the relationships she has with the others in this community. To her, this group is like one big family from helping each other at pulls to getting dinner together before competitions. 

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“It is cool because we are all from so many different states, but we hang out every weekend in the summer so we become really close,” Summers says. “The best thing about tractor pulling is the family and community. I couldn’t do it without them.” 

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