The Guinness world’s record
for a parade of classic tractors is now 964 tractors/drivers thanks to a
determined group of tractor owners at the Nebraska State Fair. The parade
took place around the Fonner Park Racetrack after a morning thunderstorm as
part of the opening weekend of events at the fair organized and sponsored by RFD-TV/RURAL TV.
In order to qualify, each
Over 1,000 tractors/drivers participated in RFD-TV and RURAL TV’s parade.
A representative from Guinness certified that 964 classic tractors met all of
the requirements and drove continuously around the track for a minimum of two
miles. The previous record was 745 held by Elbach, Germany.
“I have never felt more
pride in the history of RFD-TV,” said Patrick Gottsch, Founder & President
of Rural Media Group, Inc. “The perseverance by our staff and these tractor
enthusiasts through the mud was a sight to behold in itself, as they were not
going to be denied the chance to break the Guinness record. Seeing over
1,000 classic tractors moving at one time was a real crowd pleaser.”
A capacity grandstand was
filled with over 10,000 viewers in-and-around the Fonner Park
track who witnessed this unprecedented display of machinery of the past.
At least 31 states were represented, with 730 entries coming from Nebraska and the rest traveling great distances including
some entries coming from as far away as New Jersey,
North Carolina, Texas,
Alabama, Michigan,
and Arizona.
With additional storm
clouds gathering above Grand Island,
NE, the rescheduling of the
parade was put to a voice vote at an 11am driver meeting. It was
unanimously decided that the parade was to continue as scheduled at 1pm when
every driver threw their hand in the air and shouted “Today!”
The
parade was broadcast “live” on RFD-TV and RURAL TV hosted by veteran farm
broadcaster and tractor enthusiast Max Armstrong, along with KRVN’s Joe
Greenwich.
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