Archive for June, 2010

As Americans celebrate the 4th of July, the United States Lawn Mower Racing Association has announced the inaugural U.S. Open and inductees into the USLMRA National Lawn Mower Racing Hall of Fame & Museum of America.

The U.S. Open and Hall of Fame Induction Ceremonies will take place Sunday, September 5th in Delaware, Ohio during the 18th annual STA-BIL Nationals Labor Day Weekend Lawn Mower Racing Championships.

The U.S. Open will bring together hundreds of racing mowers from across America and Canada for mower-take-all showdowns in 11 classes and will showcase the 2010 USLMRA national champions crowned Saturday, Sept. 4 at the STA-BIL Keeps Gas Fresh Finals.

Founded in 2009, the USLMRA National Lawn Mower Racing Hall of Fame is a place of honor for Turf Titans who have turned a weekend chore into a competitive sport since organized lawn mower racing was created in 1963. The 2010 inductees are:

• Ken “Turfinator” Smolecki of West Chicago, Illinois whose mower, The Turfinator was featured on the hit TV sitcom Home Improvement for the famous jet-powered lawn mower race pitting Tim Allen vs. Bob Vila. Smolecki joined the USLMRA in 1992, raced until 2000, served on the Rules Committee and as Technical Director and raced in the legendary British Lawn Mower Racing Association 12-Hour Race where he was honored as the first American to wave the checkered flag (1999).
• Bill Simpson of Trevor, Wisconsin, who served as the first USLMRA Race Director, adding consistency to race officiating by directing a staff of race stewards, technical directors and flaggers. Simpson created a Race Operations Manual, served as racer liaison, handled venue negotiations, implemented insurance programs and organized an annual Rules Committee Meeting.

“Just like golf, tennis, beer drinking and fishing, lawn mower racing now has a U.S. Open and a Hall of Fame, said Bruce Kaufman, “Mr. Mow It All” USLMRA Founder and President. “The U.S. Open is where backyard meets brickyard and where Lawn Rangers will seek the ultimate weekend challenge. Our 2nd annual Hall of Fame ceremonies will also exalt two more bladeless runners to a place of high honor in the annals of sod slinging. Labor Day Weekend will kick grass!”

Smolecki and Simpson will join the inaugural Hall of Fame class of 2009 which includes the Organizing Committee of the Twelve Mile 500 America’s oldest lawn mower race, founded in 1963; Jim Gavin of Wisborough Green, England, Founder and General Secretary of the British Lawn Mower Racing Association, founded in 1973; “Racing Ray” Mrocks of Lake Zurich, Illinois, the first USLMRA member, who heeded the call to sod slinging glory on April 1, 1992, the birthday of national lawn mower race sanctioning in the United States; and Chuck Miller, of Marion, Ohio, the only USLMRA member to compete in every STA-BIL Nationals since 1992. The USLMRA National Lawn Mower Racing Hall of Fame & Museum of America is located at Miller Lawn and Power, 1299 Harding Highway East State Road 309, Marion, Ohio.

The Placer County Fair is this weekend in Roseville, California! The Sacramento Bee had this to say:

Exhibition lawn-mower racing will be a featured event three times daily Saturday and Sunday at the Placer County Fair in Roseville. There will be 10 riders from Northern California competing for bragging rights. Those riders include Wes Laster and Chris Ostatnik of Sacramento.

The world-record speed on a modified lawn mower is 87 mph, set last month in England. At that speed, mowing a good-sized yard could be done during a commercial break of your favorite ballgame. Alas, the blades of the racing mowers are removed for obvious safety reasons. Kaufman said speeds during the exhibition races should exceed 40 mph.

The original engines in the mowers are used and can be heavily modified within the specifications of the classes. The USLMRA has seven classes from stock to factory experimental, which feature 465cc engines that put out as much as 14 horsepower, Kaufman said.

You can find the Placer County Fairgrounds at 800 All America City Blvd. in Roseville, CA – and this year, admission is free!

For more information on the Pacific Coast Lawn Mower Racing Association, or to get involved in California’s racing mower groups, contact Bud Elmore.

Saturday, June 12th marked the opening of the second season for the Intermountain Mower Racing Association, a U.S. Lawn Mower Racing Association affiliate. The Standard-Examiner in Ogden, Utah had this to say:

While sports fans around the globe sat in their cozy homes watching the opening round of the World Cup, a different group of enthusiasts braved the weather to race yard-care equipment around a makeshift track inside the dusty arena.

“This is real huge back East,” event organizer and Intermountain Mower Racing Association (IMRA) Chapter President Mike Hudson said. “But this is pretty new to everyone around here.

Also from the article, written Monday, June 14th by Gentry Reinhart:

There was no prize money, no trophies or medals for the placing racers, but the camaraderie was evident throughout the afternoon, with each team helping each other with push starts, lending a hand with the choke, or just grabbing a hot dog.

“Everybody’s kind of starting from scratch, but they’re definitely stepping it up a notch,” Hudson said. “It’s pretty cheap to get a mower ready to race though, and I think it’s going to catch on.”

Hudson’s optimism was shared by virtually everyone who attended Saturday’s race.

That and being handy with a wrench are the main reasons he’s the man you want to talk to in Northern Utah if you need help with your lawnmower … especially if you plan on racing it.

Read the whole piece here.

It’s time again to return to Sparta, Michigan for the 8th annual STA-BIL Great Lakes Summer Nationals Race for Huntington’s disease Research, Saturday July 17th – Sunday, July 18th.

The Mikula Family and the Michigan Lawn Mower Racing Association have put together a great weekend of lawn mower racing, hospitality and overall good vibes as racers from far and wide converge on the Grand Rapids area for what has become crown jewel of the STA-BIL Series.

We will again ward “Weekend Champion” trophies in all classes, counting heats and features from both days. Race order will be JP, IMOW, AP, SP, CP, BP, FX.

Once again a very special raffle will take place for Huntington’s disease research. A brand new John Deere racing mower built Jim Mikula will be raffled off during the weekend. Jim donated the engine. Mikula family friend Neal Stevenson painted it for us. The rest was paid for by Four Seasons. Doc Kuhfeldt’s idea last year inspired us to do it again this year.

• 1st Prize: JP/IMOW Class racing mower built by Jayson and Jim Mikula
• 2nd Prize: Battery operated John Deere riding toy tractor
• 3rd Prize: HDSA fleece

For Tickets and Information:

Four Seasons Yard & Sport Equipment, Inc.
Comstock Park, Michigan
Phone: 616-784-2471
mwrman@fourseasns.com

Track Location:

Paul C. Miller Airport
9100 Vinton Ave.
Sparta, MI 49345

For more information, including a schedule and map, hit the Race Day pages for July 17th and July 18th.

We are thrilled to offer a series of clippings bagged from the 2009 STA-BIL Keeps Gas Fresh Finals!

This is the 10th video “clipping” of racing mower action, the Performance Mowersports Expo, USLMRA Sponsors, and various interesting mowments captured at STA-BIL Nationals Weekend.

This video features a tale of hope, redemption and lawn mower racing as we interview Mike Ratel about his documentary on one family’s fight against Huntington’s disease.

Check back as we release a new video in this series, and as always, head over to USLMRA TV or our YouTube pages for more great video clippings!