SANDERS’ TEAM MATES TO VIE FOR RIGS ’09 CROWN

-- IT ALL COMES DOWN TO BLOOMSBURG ON OCTOBER 3 --

The ‘FINALS’ for the 2009 Big Rigs Pulling Series will have a very interesting twist when the trucks gather at the Bloomsburg Fair in Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania 

on Saturday, October 3rd.  The top two trucks are separated by ONLY TWO POINTS!!  And to add to the intrigue – both of the top trucks come from the powerful Sanders’ Pulling Team of Ravenna, Ohio.  The Sanders’ Team has been at or near the top in the Big Rigs Series in each of the past four years and is continuing this winning tradition with USA-EAST this season.  The Big Rigs Semis are scheduled as the first class at Bloomsburg on October 3rd to be followed by the All-American “Smoker Series” tractors and then by the Pro Stock Diesel 4x4 Trucks.

Fred Sanders, the owner of the team, is currently in first place with a total of 350 points while driving the “Silver Bullet II”.  And Richard Scott from Diamond, Ohio, his team mate and crew chief for the Sanders’ Team is in 2nd place with “Silver Bullet I” carrying a total of 348 points.  One of these two trucks will be the eventual 2009 Big Rigs Series Champion.

Fred Sanders’ “Silver Bullet II” took a win in August at the Crawford County Fair in Meadville, Pennsylvania and then grabbed second place point at the Canfield Grand National event in early September.  These high placing events allowed the truck to leap frog over “SB I” and into the point lead going into the finals.  Scott’s “Silver Bullet I” was the Big Rigs Series champion a year ago and is looking to be the first truck to repeat as champion in the past ten years.  During the decade from 1999 to 2008, there have been nine different point champions with the Big Rigs Pulling Series.

Both of the Sanders’ trucks look very similar.  Each is a Mack SuperLiner.  Each has the trademark silver and red paint scheme.  Each is festooned with chrome and polished aluminum.   But when the hoods are raised on the two trucks the glaring differences appear.

“Silver Bullet II” is driven by Fred Sanders and is powered by a Cummins QXK-19 engine that is the electronic version of the old reliable Cummins KT-600.  This 1150 cubic inch behemoth with triple turbo-charges has been very powerful in 2009.  The only real drawback has been the fact that the head gaskets tend to ‘blow’ due to the extreme turbo boost exhibited by the truck.  So this truck has had difficulty when forced to come back for a pull-off.  The engine for this truck was built by Francis Engineering in Leroy, Ohio.

Scott’s “Silver Bullet I” has a E-9 Mack for power.  With 998 cubic inches and three turbo chargers this V-8 truck has been extremely consistent over the past two years.  Richard Scott is the driver on the “Silver Bullet I” and Richard is also charged with the responsibility of keeping the Sanders’ Team fleet of trucks up and running for the Big Rigs Pulling Series.  As the champion from 2008, there is added pressure on Scott and the “Silver Bullet I” to go back-to-back this season.

The third member of the Sanders’ Team is another Mack V-8 driven by Joe Giulitto and named “Smokin’ Gun’.  This could be the final year for “Smokin’ Gun” as there are rumors of an all new CAT-powered semi soon to emerge from the garage on Ohio Route 14.  And this will be a major change for the Sanders’ Team as the new truck is rumored to be a Peterbilt!!

The Sanders Team is sponsored by Sanders’ Excavating located just outside of Ravenna, Ohio.  The company services the well drilling industry by hauling water to and from the wells during the drilling process.  With over forty trucks on the road at any given time, the team has to very careful as to where they participate with the Big Rigs semi trucks.

Tickets to the Bloomsburg Fair USA-EAST “Finals” are now on sale.  Order forms for tickets are available by going to the Bloomsburg Fair web page at www.bloomsburgfair.com where the form can be printed out and mailed to the Fair.  Additionally tickets are available by phone (using a major credit card) at 570.387.4192.  On line ticket sales are also available through the same web site where fans can actually choose their seats in the giant 7500 seat arena.

Should inclement weather force a postponement of the Saturday evening session at Bloomsburg, the entire event will be run on Sunday afternoon with a 2:00pm starting time.