Archive for September, 2010

The 2010 STA-BIL Nationals Weekend is in the books and what a great weekend it was. Clean and safe racing, good food, friendly fun, more food, more racing, a celebratory Awards Banquet, PME vendors, Hall of Fame Ceremonies, Fox Sports Net TV on site, great weather, two tracks and a bunch of new Canadian friends from the Western Ontario Outlaws.

I just read a post on heymow.com from Hall of Famer Chuck Miller, who has competed in each of the 19 STA-BIL Nationals since 1992. He said that this was one of the best ever, and he knows. Perhaps it was having the Canadians with us. Perhaps it was the entire U.S. Open concept. Maybe it was the quality of the racing. Might have been that we had a pretty good spectator crowd. Was it Kerry’s shrimp and Conecuh Sausage? Was it that many of the U.S. Points Championships were tied or close to tied heading into the Finals and it was anyone’s Championship to capture. Could have been that B-Man and Bubba kept the crowd pumped up and informed all weekend. Could be the great job Lawn Monkey did on the microphone. Heck, maybe it was just that Rooster was there! Was it all of the above? Yeah, I think it is all of the above.

I will tell you that the U.S. Staff worked our tails off to deliver a quality event: Kerry Evans, Manny Torres, Tracy (and Casey!) Donihue, Rodney Peeler, Lee Vine, Chirissy and Richard Webb, Bud Elmore, Wally Bender, Lou Filos, Steve Barber, Tim Wood, Larry Moreland, Al Myers, Bill Vinka, with help from Nicole Minaker, Amanda Whitehead and others who manned the Registration Table.

However, as we celebrate this great weekend, we do take pause to mourn the sudden loss of Robert “Tater” Ginn’s father and we wish Davey Glassnor, Jr. a speedy recovery from his injury during practice for the U.S. Open.

The USLMRA has always tried to provide great events. We understand that track conditions for Sunday’s U.S. Open were challenging, and we have already begun to look at new options for next year. We are also considering moving the 2011 STA-BIL Nationals away from Labor Day Weekend to become part of the Delaware County Fair on either Opening or Closing Weekend. If you have an opinion on this, please let us know.

2010 STA-BIL Keeps Gas Fresh Finals Race Results can be found here.

2010 USLMRA Final Points Standings can be found here.

2010 U.S. Open Race Results can be found here.

Other Noteworthy Honors:

Voted Awards

• Rookie of the Year, JP, Garrett Bell, Michigan
• Rookie of the Year, Adult, Nathan Mesalk, Wisconsin
• Most Improved Driver, “Wild” Bill Campbell, Michigan
• Driver of the Year, Richard Webb, Michigan

Honorary Awards Via Written Essay

• Dave Hertel Mowtivation Award Winner, Chuck Miller
• Charles Powell Mr. Mowjangles Award, Pat Sullivan
• Dubba G Everyman Award, Jim Keech
• Mace Mullins Crew Chief Award, Jayson Mikula

2010 Inductees: National Lawn Mower Racing Hall of Fame & Museum of America

• Ken “Turfinator” Smolecki
• Bill Simpson

Golden Blade Award

• Michigan

Gonzo Go To Fund Awards

• Presented to one random racer in each class

USLMRA President’s Awards

• Kerry Evans, USLMRA VP / US Open Co-Chair
• Manny Torres, USLMRA Tech Director
• Lee Vine, U.S. Open Co-Chair
• Tracy Donihue, USLMRA Chief Steward
• Rodney Peeler, USLMRA Chief Steward
• Henry MacCarty, USLMRA Chief Steward
• Chrissy and Richard Webb, USLMRA Registration & Tech
• Tom Cole, ARC Racing
• Aaron Turner, Mowmentum Magazine
• Paul Krueger, Missouri Valley LMRA
• Shannon Kayhart, Wisconsin LMRA
• Bud Elmore, Pacific Coast LMRA / Mowtivated Hillbillys
• Amanda Whitehead, Michigan LMRA
• Ferris Hipolite, Ithaca Dirt Devils
• Ryan Kerr, Western Ontario Outlaws
• Al Minakaer, Lawn Money, USLMRA Announcer
• Tim Wood, Delaware County Fairgrounds
• Larry Moreland, Delaware County Fairgrounds
• Wally Bender, USLMRA Tech Inspector

Special Recognition – USLMRA Tech Inspectors

• Manny Torres
• Wally Bender

Lou Filos

• Richard Webb

U.S. Open Spirit & Spark Awards

• Lee Vine, Co-Chair
• Kerry Evans, Co-Chair
• Tracy Donihue, Chief Steward
• Chuck Miller

Mowmentum Award – Presented By Aaron Turner

• Jon “Rooster” Lewman

2010 Mr. Mow It All / A.K.A. Mr. Grass Hole “Let Me Raid Your Cooler” 2010 Racer Award

• Bruce Kaufman

To all those who attended the 2010 STA-BIL Nationals Weekend – thanks for coming! For those who couldn’t make it, see you next year – BRING IT!

From HeraldExtra.com:

The Utah State Lawn Mower Racing Association and the Intermountain Mower Racing Association met Saturday to determine the fastest mower. In some cases it was to see who had a mower that could finish.

The event, organized by Roger Hope of Spanish Fork, was one of a planned ten races this year. Mowers are grouped by size (power) and include some modified classes. Most rush around the track at a speed that hardly exceeds a fast walk, but some of the modified mowers do move at a lively clip.

The track was laid out at the Salem Yahoo Arena and included two lengths of oval. The driversstarted their mowers and then retreated to a standby line for most classes. At the signal, they rushed to their mowers and took off. Winners were, of course, the first to complete the required number of laps. Strategies for winningcan rival NASCAR or Indy Car races – keep the guy behind you from passing and don’t make mistakes. All in all, the races were fun to watch and even more fun for the drivers.

To read the whole article by Richard V Harris, click here.

Thanks to Tom Cole of ARC Racing and Glenn VanEpps of the Michigan Roughriders and Ithaca (MI) Dirt Devils for this video!

Stay tuned to LetsMow.com for more coverage from Nationals weekend, and don’t forget to tune in to Fox Sports Net this week for the first segment from the STA-BIL Keeps Gas Fresh Finals!

Bruce Kaufman, USLMRA Founder & President, was recently featured on the Jiggy Jaguar Radio Show. Hear Bruce explain America’s favorite sport and the USLMRA, America’s oldest and largest national lawn mower racing organization.

Mr. MowItAll on the Jiggy Jaguar Radio Show

Get ready lawn mower racing fans as Fox Sports Net airs the STA-BIL Keeps Gas Fresh Finals during September! Taped in Delaware, MOWhio during the 2010 STA-BIL Nationals Weekend, these three shows feature the culminating races of the 2010 STA-BIL Lawn & Garden Mower Racing Series!

The races will air during Race Freaks Special Edition. To find your local Fox Sports Net Region, click here. All times listed below are local.

Show # 11: AP & FX Classes

• Fox Sports Arizona: 9/16 at 4:30pm and 9/17 at 2:30pm
• Fox Sports Detroit: 9/14 at 5:00pm and 9/17 at 6:30pm
• Fox Sports Florida: 9/14 at 5:00pm and 9/18 at 3:30pm
• Fox Sports Midwest: 9/14 at 5:00pm
• Fox Sports Midwest (Non-Cardinals): 9/17 at 5:30pm
• MSG Plus: 9/14 at 5:00pm and 9/18 at 7:00am
• Fox Sports North: 9/14 at 4:00pm
• Fox Sports Wisconsin: 9/14 at 4:00pm and 9/17 at 6:30pm
• FSN Northwest: 9/14 at 5:00pm and 9/17 at 4:30am
• Fox Sports Ohio: 9/14 at 5:00pm and 9/19 at 12:00pm
• FSN Pittsburgh: 9/14 at 5:00pm
• FSN Rocky Mountain: 9/14 at 4:30pm
• Fox Sports South: 9/14 at 5:00pm
• Fox Sports Southwest: 9/14 at 5:00pm
• Fox Sports Houston: 9/14 at 5:00pm
• Fox Sports West: 9/14 at 3:00pm
• Comcast Chicago: 9/17 at 12:30pm

Show #12: CP & BP Classes

• Fox Sports Arizona: 9/21 at 5:00pm and 9/24 at 2:30pm
• Fox Sports Detroit: 9/21 at 5:00pm and 9/24 at 3:00pm
• Fox Sports Florida: 9/21 at 5:00pm and 9/24 at 3:00pm
• Fox Sports Midwest: 9/21 at 5:00pm
• Fox Sports Midwest (Non-Cardinals): 9/24 at 2:00pm
• MSG Plus: 9/21 at 5:00pm and 9/25 at 7:00am
• Fox Sports North: 9/21 at 5:00pm and 9/24 at 3:00pm
• Fox Sports Wisconsin: 9/21 at 5:00pm and 9/24 at 3:00pm
• FSN Northwest: 9/22 at 2:00pm
• Fox Sports Ohio: 9/21 at 5:00pm and 9/24 at 3:00pm and 9/26 at 12:00pm
• FSN Pittsburgh: 9/21 at 5:00pm
• FSN Rocky Mountain: 9/21 at 5:00pm and 9/24 at 3:00pm
• Fox Sports South: 9/21 at 5:00pm and 9/24 at 3:00pm
• Fox Sports Southwest: 9/21 at 5:00pm
• Fox Sports Houston: 9/21 at 5:00pm

Show #13: JP, IMOW & SP Classes

• Fox Sports Arizona: 9/28 at 5:00pm
• Fox Sports Detroit: 9/28 at 5:00pm
• Fox Sports Florida: 9/28 at 5:00pm
• Fox Sports Midwest: 9/28 at 5:00pm
• MSG Plus: 9/28 at 5:00pm
• Fox Sports North: 9/28 at 4:00pm
• Fox Sports Wisconsin: 9/28 at 4:00pm
• FSN Northwest: 9/28 at 3:00pm
• Fox Sports Ohio: 9/28 at 5:00pm
• FSN Pittsburgh: 9/28 at 5:00pm
• FSN Rocky Mountain: 9/29 at 11:30am
• Fox Sports South: 9/28 at 5:00pm
• Fox Sports Southwest: 9/28 at 5:00pm
• Fox Sports Houston: 9/28 at 5:00pm
• Fox Sports West: 9/28 at 4:00pm
• Comcast New England: 9/28 at 12:30am

Other FSN Regions scheduled to air the Lawn Mower Racing shows include:  MSG Plus (New York / New Jersey), Comcast Chicago and Comcast New England. Please check local listings to verify dates and times.