Beyond the WWPA: RC Pulling Clubs and Events Across America
The WWPA never operated in isolation. From its earliest seasons the club crossed paths with sister organizations, national events and a small industry of suppliers that kept builders stocked. That network is why the sport outlived any single club — and why it is still findable today.
Sister clubs and organizations
The club's links page read like a directory of the hobby. The RCSTPA brought radio-controlled pulling under a broader umbrella, while a pulling group in Northern California ran its own scene at rcpulling.com — proof that the format had spread from Indiana to both coasts.
The WWPA also shared bills with bigger shows. The club ran at the O.P.C. Nationals in Kankakee in 2002, appeared alongside boat races, and was filmed by an ESPN/Outdoor Channel camera crew at one event — national television exposure for machines that weighed less than a suitcase.
The farm-show circuit
Venues were partners, not just locations. The Olde Time Farm Show at the Perry Farm, the Power From The Past show in Winamac and the Earl Park Fall Festival gave the club audiences that already understood pulling. In return, the miniature track gave families a close-up spectacle between the full-size classes.
The supplier ecosystem
Behind every build stood a short list of hobby and hardware suppliers. Tower Hobbies served as the general hobby source; Staton Inc. specialized in small-engine drivetrain work, from bicycle engines to motorized wheelbarrows; EECO Inc. on Route 17 in Kankakee kept regular weekday and Saturday hours for local builders. Regional machine shops and industrial suppliers filled in the rest.
The WWPA network at a glance
| Connection | Type | Base |
|---|---|---|
| RCSTPA | Sister pulling organization | Regional, U.S. Midwest |
| rcpulling.com group | Pulling club | Northern California |
| O.P.C. Nationals | National event | Kankakee, Illinois |
| Farm shows and festivals | Host venues | Illinois and Indiana |
| Hobby and engine suppliers | Parts pipeline | National mail-order and local shops |
Where the sport lives in 2026
Small-scale pulling survived the way most grassroots motorsport survives: through fairs, forums and stubborn builders. Garden-scale and RC pulling classes still appear at steam shows and fall festivals across the Midwest, and online communities have replaced the old message boards as the place where calendars and build threads live.
Getting involved today
- Search fair and farm-show programs for garden tractor and RC pulling classes;
- Join online pulling communities — build threads are the fastest way to learn;
- Visit a pull as a spectator first; every club welcomes questions between rounds;
- Start with a stock-class build and a local event rather than chasing national shows.
The WWPA's pages preserved a moment when a handful of Indiana builders turned trimmer engines into a real sport. The network around them — clubs, shows, suppliers and fans — is the reason that moment never entirely ended.
