Fresh Voices

Check out Dirk Chatelain: HASTINGS, Neb. - They roll through puddles of mud and manure, breathing out clouds of black smoke that drift west through a soft breeze.

Toward the arena, toward the crowd, toward battle, one-by-one - like gladiators, only 100 times the size.

The sky is dark, unusual for July twilight at the Adams County Fairgrounds. Rain has fallen off and on throughout the day. It's stopped for now. A country twang blasts over the loudspeaker.

"I'm the son of a third-generation farmer. I've been married 10 years to the farmer's daughter. I'm a God-fearing hardworking combine driver . . ."

There are three big ones. They're red Massey Fergusons, powered by a V-8 diesel engine or a six-cylinder turbo. They hail from a 10-mile circle in northern Kansas. They know head-on combine collisions like they know cornfields.

Last through the gate: Jeff Gravert's 4400 John Deere. Ask the 5,000 people in the metal bleachers which of the four competitors doesn't belong in this fight and 5,000 would point to the green one.