Red Thunder roars to win at Enderle Pull-Off

by Beth Kraft

The Red Thunder pulling team made an appearance in the Tri-State Pull at this year’s Buffalo County Fair, blowing away the competition in its class, but the performance offered a mere taste of what the tractor and its crew are capable of.

The bright red Case IH MX 170 tractor and its Mondovi-based crew had a strong season this year, culminating with a first-place finish in the Light Super Stock class at the Enderle Pull-Off in Urbana, Ohio, on Sept. 19.

Owned collectively by Chris Pichler, his son, Bryce Pichler, Greg Brantner, Al Norby and Bruce Schmidtknecht, Red Thunder earned a coveted spot in the invite-only Enderle Pull-Off after notching top finishes at qualifying pulls in Ridgeland and Menomonie. 

As the top points-earner from Region III on the Regional National circuit, Red Thunder faced off at Enderle with the top tractors from regions II and VI. Piloted by Bryce Pichler, Red Thunder took first place with ease with a pull of just under 340 feet, besting the second-place tractor by over 45 feet to cap off the 2015 pulling season on a high note.

Chris Pichler and Brantner acknowledge that Red Thunder runs with enough power for the group to be competitive on the NTPA’s Grand National circuit, but the time commitment is too great.

“We wouldn’t get anything done here,” joked Brantner, referring to the Mondovi Tractor & Machine business he and the Pichlers operate.

Red Thunder was initially purchased by Chris Pichler, Brantner and Schmidtknecht in 1988, but the tractor looks much different now than it did back then.

“Every year you have to do something,” says Brantner, estimating Red Thunder has undergone about six major “facelifts” to improve speed and power since the group bought it 27 years ago.

Even if the tractor doesn’t need a major overhaul, there is still a great deal of maintenance needed to keep the engine and clutch system in proper working order  due to the stresses of the pull track.

The constant process of improvement to stay competitive comes at a cost, and the original Red Thunder team expanded over the years to include Norby and Bryce Pichler.

“As expenses got higher, we brought in more people,” Chris Pichler explained.

The group originally ran the tractor at local pulls around the state before they decided to take it to the next level. The Red Thunder team is a charter member of the Tri-State Pullers, which competes all across Wisconsin, Minnesota and Iowa, and stepped up to competitions with the National Tractor Pullers Association (NTPA) in 2001.

For the past 12 years Red Thunder has stuck mostly to NTPA events, although Chris Pichler says they will run the tractor “light” at a few Tri-State pulls each year, like the one at the 2015 Buffalo County Fair to compete in front of their hometown crowd.

Affectionately known as the “Mondovi Mafia” by others in the tractor-pulling community, the Red Thunder team heads to an average of 15-20 events each year, hitting pull tracks in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio and even Kentucky for the National Farm Machinery Show in Louisville.

Red Thunder also competed in the big NTPA Super National pull in Tomah this year, taking third place in two runs in the 6,200-lb. Light Super Stock class that featured over 20 other tractors.

Hitting that many events means busy summers and a lot of windshield time for the Red Thunder clan.

“You could pull five days a week if you wanted to,” Chris Pichler said.

But despite the long trips and the money and effort tied up in Red Thunder, the team keeps coming back for more each year.

“It’s a high-priced hobby,” Chris Pichler said, noting the payback never covers the many expenses involved—even if you win.

Red Thunder’s 505 cubic-inch engine burns through six gallons of alcohol fuel in the 13 seconds it takes to rev up and travel down the track.

“You’ve gotta like doing it,” he added.

For Brantner, successful modifications that lead to top finishes are a win-win.

“When you win, it’s the satisfaction of knowing that what you did worked,” he explained.

Then there’s the adrenaline rush that no doubt comes along with piloting pure power down the track in front of hundreds, if not thousands, of tractor pull fans.

“It’s just putting on a show for everybody,” Bryce Pichler said.

Red Thunder has boosted business

The team has also met a lot of new people in its travels, a benefit that is two-fold.

“We’ve got friends all over the United States” and even in Denmark, said Chris Pichler.

Out of those connections and as others have seen what Red Thunder can do, competitive pulling teams from as far away as Missouri began to bring their tractors to Mondovi Tractor & Machine, located in the Mondovi Industrial Park, to have them worked on.

“Our hobby turned into a full-time business,” Chris Pichler said, estimating that about 75 percent of the business’ work comes in the form of making modifications and fixes to pulling tractors.

An addition to the shop was recently completed to accommodate the growing number of tractors, and a 6,000 horsepower dynamometer is being installed to allow off-season adjustments and upgrades to be tested out in-house.

Previously they shuttled tractors back and forth to Freeport, Ill., to test modifications on a dyno system there—a nearly 500 mile round-trip.

“Now we can help our customers out more,” Chris Pichler said.

In addition to his work at Mondovi Tractor & Machine, Chris is also a member of the NTPA’s rules committee.