When you think of being patriotic some things come to mind. The old saying that something is “As American as Apple Pie” brings the thought of old windowsills with a pie cooling before dinner for those of us old enough to remember a time that was quieter and less of an instant gratification society. Other items that carry the idea of being patriotic include the American Flag, baseball, and trucks. The National Pastime has been baseball for many years, but how can you take a truck, which is certainly an American symbol of toughness and rugged discovery and pair it with the American Flag.
Not only are these two items symbols of America and the spirit we possess, but competition and the desire to be a leader in any way is another truly American ideal. With a truck, an American Flag and the goal of winning a competition all put together it seems like the only thing missing from an event is a local band and some Fourth of July decorations. Understanding the parts that were included in what turned out to be an amazing event let’s take a look at some specifics that took place to create a patriotic result.
The truck that was used is a new Chevrolet Silverado HD with the Duramax 6.6-liter turbocharged V8 diesel engine giving 445 horsepower and 910 lb.-ft. of torque to the event. This truck is one of the most powerful towing machines on the market today and the task at hand for this big workhorse was to pull an American Flag. The flag wasn’t just your average version of the Stars and Stripes, but it was instead a massive 40 by 80 foot flag that has an area of 3,186 square feet. In order to town this flag without it touching the ground the truck needed to do this for at least 328 feet to beat the previous record.
If the truck was able to complete this feat of towing it would set a new Guinness World Record, hence the competitive part of the event. The truck used a unique set of 40-foot riggings that was designed to allow the truck to quickly enter and exit the track. This made it impossible for the truck to roll out the flag behind it which meant a team of 20 people kept the flag from touching the ground as it got started and once it stopped its victorious run with the flag.
Was this truck successful? Yes it was. As you can see in this video, the truck was so successful in pulling the flag around the track it actually completed four laps of the Texas Motor Speedway without the flag ever touching the ground. This track is a full 1.5 miles in an oval shape meaning this truck was able to complete six full miles of driving with the American flag being pulled gloriously behind it. Because this event was used to open the Texas State Fair there was a Texas flag also used in the event after the record was put in the books that should go down in history as one of the most patriotic events we’ve ever been witness to.
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