Since 1967, Tractor Pull competitors from around the country have met at the Wood County Fairgrounds in Bowling Green, Ohio, for the National Tractor Pulling Championship (www.pulltown.com). The tractor or truck attempts to pull a heavy weight (called the "sled") as far as possible, up to the length of the track (320 feet). You are part of the first ever Penn State Tractor Pull team, which will be competing in the National Tractor Pulling Championship. As a physics student, the rest of your team has asked you to do some analysis to help them optimize the angle at which to pull the sled using the tractor. Some people think no angle should be best while others disagree. You are not sure about the "optimization part" but solving for the tension in the chain in terms of the angle and any other unknown such as coefficient of kinetic friction would be a good start. You can optimize the angle assuming you are moving at constant velocity.

tractor's chain that is pulling Sled