Tyler Billings, senior at Floresville High School, made history at the Chevron Tractor Restoration contest in Indianapolis, where he was selected the 2024 Grand Champion on October 24, 2024. He also received a safety award for following safety procedures during the restoration. This is Tyler's third time participating in the Chevron Tractor Restoration Contest—he was selected Reserve Champion in 2022 and placed in the top 12 finalists in 2023. This is the first time anyone from Floresville has won this contest.
The Chevron Tractor Restoration contest is a national contest, where students who are restoring tractors can submit their record book to be evaluated. They have a panel of judges that evaluate the record books and invite 12 finalists to compete during the National FFA convention. During the finals, the students are given 20 minutes to present their project. The judges then interview the students, asking them detailed questions about their restoration. The allotted time for the Q&A session was 15 minutes; however, Tyler was in the interview for over an hour. Tyler's project this year was a 1980 John Deere 4440. The tractor was completely disassembled, with parts inspected, repaired and/or replaced. He overhauled the engine, hydraulic system, transmission, A/C, and cab were restored to their original state. This was a very big complicated project that required a lot of hard work and learning. He has over 400 hours in the restoration project.