It is always sad when we hear of someone losing their life. This is especially true when the person in question was someone who had immense talents and potential but passed away well before their potential could be reached. Recently, we learned of the passing of Preston Nelson who lost his life back in April.
Nelson had made quite a name for himself in the pulling world and by the age of 19, had already built five different trucks. Nelson was driving his blue Ford Super Duty home when it struck another vehicle (headed the same direction). The Super Duty went into the left ditch and rolled multiple times. Unfortunately, Nelson wasn’t wearing his seat belt and was ejected from the truck.
Nelson’s 20th birthday was April 18th and he never got to see it. He is survived by his parents (Guy and Tamara Nelson). The memorial pull will be held August 1st, 2015 in Soldiers Grove, WI. The pull is being put on by Southwest Wisconsin Pullers.
We spoke with Nelson’s former girlfriend and she said, “His dad [Guy] buys cars and trucks off an online. They got his blue truck last winter from Tennessee. It was in a flood. When his dad brought it home there was still water in everything. A bunch of stuff froze up when they got it back up to Wisconsin. Preston started working on that truck day and night. He completely rebuilt the whole truck by himself. He got the motor built at a diesel shop in Monroe, Wisconsin called turbo diesel. It had twin turbos, South Bend Clutch, Dana 80 rear end, Yukon axles, and custom traction bars he built. He got 3rd place in points last pulling season in the 2.5 work stock diesel class for our club, Southwest Wisconsin Pullers.”
It is always sad when people pass away but especially young people with a bright future. Hopefully, those of you reading this now, will think twice about wearing a seat belt next time you get in the truck.