As if a 30th wedding anniversary celebration followed closely by the birth of a seventh grandchild wasn't enough, Mike Metzger engineered another reason to commemorate the new millennium last week. The Liberty Belle's points were officially tallied and the super semi driver was named Grand National high points champion in the Super Semi Division by the National Tractor Pulling Association.

Taking a break in the comfort of Metzger Motorsports headquarters after months spent on the road traveling to pulling events throughout the Midwest, the gregarious Metzger couldn't keep the grin of pride off his face.

Last year the team "did terrible," he said. He and his sons retired to the garage, took the Liberty Belle apart and rebuilt it during the winter.

After all that work and 21 years on the circuit, the high points distinction is particularly sweet.

The first summer of the 21st century included hosting the fifth annual NTPA event at the Kosciusko County Fairgrounds July 14 and 15 during the county fair, where the Belle came in second Friday with Mike at the wheel. (His son, Dan, took first place honors during Saturday night's competition.)

Metzger shared his well- deserved victory with sponsors from TTP Inc., Don Dickerhoff and Doug Dickerhoff, president and vice president respectively, and Monteith Tire CEO Neal Brown.

The Dickerhoffs have supported Metzger's efforts for a number of years, replacing seven twisted transmissions and a number of broken differentials this season alone.

This is Monteith Tire's first year of sponsorship, although the Metzger team has customarily sported stock Firestone tires - T575 - LP Radials.

Brown's choice of tire brand was the subject of several good- natured comments.

"We won on those Firestone tires, though," Metzger said when Brown responded to the teasing with just an easy smile. "They really got us through this season."

And what a season it was.

Metzger, owner of Metzger and Sons Trucking in Silver Lake, took first place five times at NTPA-sanctioned pulls along with a number of second-place finishes and 11 full pulls.

Early in the season a NTPA journal asked if Metzger could be beaten.

He couldn't be, finishing the year with 404 accumulated points, 14 points ahead of rival J.R. Collins of Painesville, Ohio, who drives the Buckeye Bulldog and accumulated 390 points.

In 1975, before being bought by the Metzgers in 1978, the Liberty Belle set the world's land speed record of 132.154 mph at the Bonneville Salt Flats; in 1979 it was the winner of the Ontario 200 semi-truck race; and set another world record in 1981 of 128 mph at the Texas World Speedway.

Because the Liberty Belle has made so many television appearances - TNN's "Truckin' USA" and "Motor Madness" and ESPN's "Challenge of Power" - and appeared in the movie "Smokey and the Bandit," other modified semi-truck drivers call the office asking for "Hollywood Mike."

The Kenworth body has a 1,150-cubic inch 4-turbo "flawless" Cummins engine that produces up to 2,000 horsepower and revs up to 4,000 horsepower.

All in all, Metzger said, the Liberty Belle took a pounding this year.

"It's tired," the jubilant driver said.

But the patriarch of the Metzger clan has one more goal - to win in his hometown.

Eleven super semis competed in this year's event, a high number of participants, Metzger said.

"They just come to humiliate me," he said with a sigh, shaking his head sadly.

He won't put up his pulling gear until he comes in first along the shores of Winona Lake.

Until then, the Grand National high points leader will have the summer of 2000 to savor. [[In-content Ad]]