By John RittenhouseMotor sports events will take up two of three grandstand shows during the Rock County Fair in Luverne this week.A tractor pull will lead off the grandstand attractions tonight. The annual Enduro Race will take center stage Saturday.The Great Plains Tractor Pulling Association will put on a show starting at 7 p.m. tonight. The event is sponsored by Mark Jacobson Inc. and Hohn Implement.According to Isaac DeBoer, one of the event organizers, the GPTPA is made up of competitors from northwest Iowa, southwest South Dakota and southwest Minnesota. Tonight’s pull will be a seasonal points event for the Association.DeBoer expects 25 to 30 tractors to be on hand making more than a combined 50 pulls.Pullers will compete in three classes (stock class, open farm class and open hot class). There will be six different weight division titles decided in the stock class. Eight weight division championships will be awarded in the open farm and open hot classes.DeBoer said five or six Rock County residents who are not members of the GPTPA may enter the tractor pull.The Bio Fuels Enduro is slated to begin at 7 p.m. Saturday. The event is sponsored by the Rock County Corn and Soybean Growers and Agri-Energy LCC.Local participation has made the Enduro Race one of the top grandstand attractions of the Rock County Fair over the years, and there will be plenty of local talent on display in 2003.According to Burdette Braun, one of the event organizers, 38 of the 42 drivers who have pre-registered for the race are from the immediate area.Luverne’s Shane Hoag is the winner of last year’s event that was rained out on its scheduled night and ran one week later. He’ll be back to defend his 2002 title.The Enduro Race will have a two-hour time limit, and it could be finished in less than two hours if a driver can complete 200 laps before the limit is reached.Hoag completed 160 laps in two hours to win the event last year.
