Meet Ryan DeBroux
Ryan Debroux is a business owner, family man, and firefighter from New Franken, Wisconsin. Serving as Assistant Chief, Ryan has been with the New Franken Fire Department for 27 years. The name of DeBroux’s truck, “Playin’ with Fire,” took inspiration from his firefighting background. In fact, the lead mechanic, along with other members of the New Franken Fire Department, has helped with everything from building the motor to wiring, welding, painting, and other improvements to the truck. Playin’ with Fire is a 2005 Kenworth W900L with a Cat C15 engine modified into a Super semi-pulling Beast.
Ryan started pulling the Playin’ with Fire semi 13 years ago. The semi was Ryan’s work truck that he would haul loads with by day and, on the weekends, would compete at local events and fairs for his first few years. Eventually, he built the motor up to compete at the state level. At the time, the truck got a facelift with new paint, chrome, and the current firefighting mural that is on its side today. He didn’t stop there and quickly jumped to compete in both of the National Circuits and has been for the past seven years. Ryan is now competing with the National Tractor Pulling Association (NTPA) and the Pro Pulling League across the country.
“The first event of the season was so exciting to watch as Ryan DeBroux won his first big pull-out of the gate. We can’t wait to continue to cheer on Ryan and his team this season.”
said David Lowry, CEO of Bennett Motor Express
“I own my own business, and my business rule is that I have to have passion for my decisions. Once I have passion for that decision, I do not go back and second guess it. It’s important for me to work with a company that I have passion for or that I can relate to. This is a company (Bennett) that I can smile and tell people about.”
DeBroux admits
“The Bennett Family of Companies is always looking for owner-operators to join our family – and we have learned to go where the drivers spend their personal time. We’ve heard that Semi-Truck pulling is a huge draw in the Midwest, and owner-operators have a lot of respect for the time and effort it takes to build a truck that can handle the abuse of a tractor pull. We are looking forward to meeting a whole new set of truck drivers through these events, and we like the values that Ryan DeBroux brings to the table. We hope that our sponsorship brings him great success.”
said Bill Trotter, VP of Capacity Development at Bennett
