James Johnson began building a lawn and garden tractor to use around his dad's home in King George, Va. in 1962. Before the tractor was completed, James joined the U.S. Army. After serving three years, he returned to King George, got married and started a family. His wife, Phyllis, and their three children built a home in King George. In 1969, he completed the lawn and garden tractor he started in 1962, complete with mower and hydraulic dump trailer.

In 1973, he was told about a tractor pull at the Fredericksburg Fair after it had been held. He began to prepare for the pull in 1974 after learning that the pull was an annual event. In August, 1974, he attended his first tractor pull, made his first hook and has been hooked ever since.

There were no standard set of written rules at any of the pulls he attended during the years that followed. He designed and built tractors to accommodate the rules wherever he anticipated pulling. The most popular pulling was hosted by Valley Pullers of Shenandoah Valley. During this period, he made many friends.

In 1987, he and several other pullers formed Tri-County Pullers. They consolidated several sets of rules and made plans for the next year. A sled was fabricated in 1988 and plans were made to have a big pull. This pull was held in 1988 at Summerduck Raceway in Faquier County, Va. This was the first big pull held on the East Coast for lawn and garden tractors and it was covered by Pulling Power. During this period, he pulled a tractor named Blue Streaker.

In 1989, Tri-County Pullers gave way to Sled-Co with a new sled and organization. Johnson, not being a sled operator, began to build an outlaw tractor. This tractor, named Blue Thunder, first hooked in Newscoms, Va., on July 4, 1989 and took a first in its class. In 1990, Sled-Co gave way to Shenandoah Valley Tractor Pullers. This organization helped to formulate the NGTPA through the efforts of the NTPA. In 1991 through 1993 Johnson sponsored three pulls in Oak Grove, Va.

Since 1992, he and Blue Thunder have finished in the top five in his class, including a number two finish at the Buck in September, 1995. He says he loves garden tractor pulling and will continue to pull as long as he can. Pulling season 1997, he is introducing a new tractor, Southern Sample, in the Pro Sportsman Super Modified Class. Good luck to him.

Editor's note: Reprinted with the kind permission of the Shenandoah Valley Tractor Pullers Association from its newsletter, May 1997. Scanned from THE PULLER, July 1997.