‘Why not us?’ NC State nabs another national title, but you probably haven’t heard of it

If you walk by Patterson Hall, you’ll see it. The “Intimidator.” The red and black tractor, in all its “hands-in-the-dirt” glory, sits just inside the doors of the four-story brick building.

Garey Fox, dean of N.C. State’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, insisted that “Intimidator” be moved near his office.

This is no ordinary Dale Earnhardt-inspired tractor. It’s an international champion.

Thanks to “Intimidator,” the Pack Pullers — an engineering group at N.C. State — were named overall champions in the 2024 International Quarter-Scale Tractor Student Design Competition in Peoria, Illinois.

The competition, held annually in late May and early June, gives students real-world engineering experience by challenging them to design, build and test small-scale tractors. The Pack Pullers are one of the few teams from the Southeast competing against 20 or more schools, many of which are from the Midwest.

The Pack Pullers have participated for roughly 20 years and never finished higher than third.

But this year, something different was in the air.

“We’ve been hearing, ‘ Why not us? ’ for six months, right?” Grant Ellington, Pack Pullers team adviser, joked, referring to the double success of the Wolfpack’s men’s and women’s basketball teams. “Same thing.”

The competition is a comprehensive test of each team’s tractor design. Participants endure early mornings and late nights in Peoria, where they must justify their design choices and demonstrate their tractor’s superiority in operational efficiency, durability and effectiveness.

The competition begins at the check-in barn, where judges inspect the tractors for hours to ensure compliance with a 25-page rule book . The whole process is very strict and “somewhat ridiculous,” said Ellington.

There are ground clearance requirements. Low-carbon steel components must be a different thickness than aluminum. The clutch can’t have an air gap — at all.

“A (judge) will get down there with a piece of metal that’s paper-thin and try to shove it into every crease,” said Max Hooks, a graduate student adviser for the team. “And if it goes through, it’ll fail.”

And arguably the biggest hurdle: The tractor can weigh no more than 900 pounds.

“The tractor’s gotta go on a diet,” Ellington said.

There’s a 24-hour window in which teams can make last-minute changes, but the Pack Pullers are rarely pressed for time. They pride themselves on their preparation. If anything, the Pullers might make a shielding adjustment, or bolt on another piece of metal, and then they’re ready to go.

“It’s always easier to do it here in Raleigh than it is in Illinois,” Ellington said.

Construction takes place in the Biological and Agricultural Engineering Department, where the Pack Pullers fabricate their tractor entirely in-house with support from the BAE Research Shop.

Preparing for the ASABE Quarter-Scale Tractor Competition is a significant undertaking for the Pack Pullers. The team dedicates 15-20 hours weekly to the project throughout the year — whether it’s in the classroom looking at designs or in the shop fabricating parts.

In the month before competition, that workload can increase to around 10 hours a day.

“Me and (team member Thomas Bartholomew) have both spent over 24 hours straight working on it,” Hooks said. “It takes constant commitment — working on it two, three times a week (and) staying after hours — it’s not something that just gets done by itself.”

“Part of what drives me,” Hooks continued, “is I’m a competitive person.”

Having placed third with their previous machine, “Ole Red,” the team was determined to improve. This year, under Ellington’s guidance, the Pack Pullers focused on improving their soft skills, which account for 55% of the scoring.

Soft skills are assessed through team presentations and interviews with industry professionals, where participants must field unexpected questions on everything from gear ratios to financial strategy.

“One really specific question that we hadn’t really thought about was, ‘Are you worried about the cannibalization of your market?’” Bartholomew said. “So are we going to take away our market from our other two models?”

At the closing banquet, the Pack Pullers — decked out in team polos and khakis — awaited their scores. They weren’t hopeful. The tractor’s belt snapped during the durability event. Bartholomew estimated the team would finish outside the top five. Tommy Stephenson, club adviser, sat with his face in his hands.

“And then we got called first,” Bartholomew said, “so everybody just kind of erupted and exploded.”

The group’s focus on soft skills paid off, with the Pack Pullers also taking home first place for best team presentation. There was no Memorial Belltower lighting. No crowd of students to welcome the Pullers home. Just Dean Fox, who was there on campus to greet the team after its 14-hour drive back to Raleigh.

Nonetheless, the Pack Pullers feel a part of the magic on N.C. State’s campus.

“There’s a lot of anticipation and a lot of excitement going on here,” Bartholomew said. “So definitely we’re looking forward to bringing home some more hardware.”