Archive for November, 2010

The U.S. Lawn Mower Racing Association presents an action packed segment of racing mowers from the 2010 STA-BIL Keeps Gas Fresh Finals from Delaware, Ohio. The B Prepared Class, or BP, features overhead valve and V-Twin 4 stroke engines 20 horsepower and under.

4-Time STA-BIL Lawn & Garden Mower Racing Series National Champion mows for 5 in a row, while Robert Sparbel, Jason Brown and James Mikula try to deny him his title. Glen Van Epps discusses his “mowtivation” for lawn mower racing.

The United States Lawn Mower Racing Association has announced the U.S. Pacific Coast Open lawn mower races Saturday-Sunday, July 2nd and 3rd in Estacada, Oregon.

Estacada Area Community Events (EACE) and the USLMRA will present two days of racing mowers as part of the annual 4th of July Festival in Estacada, Oregon. Race mowers will compete at speeds of up to 50mph with cutting blades removed on a custom-built lawn mower racing track in Estacada, located about 33 miles from the Portland airport.

“All racing mowers are invited to join the fun,” said USLMRA Founder & President Bruce Kaufman, also known as “Mr. Mow It All.” “This event is an expansion of our successful U.S. Open Racing Series, which allows race mowers from various organizations and independent groups to participate in safe, sanctioned and fun lawn mower racing.”

“I’ve been to Estacada for a site inspection, and I can say this event is going to kick grass!” said Bud Elmore, President of the Pacific Coast Lawn Mower Racing Association. “I met with the Mayor and some City Council members and then attended an EACE Board Of Directors meeting. The folks in Estacada are jacked up for this event and promise a great track and super hospitality. There are lawn mower racing clubs in California, Colorado, Oregon, Idaho, Utah and Washington and we welcome everybody. The mow the merrier!”

The U.S. Pacific Coast Open marks the USLMRA’s return to the Pacific Coast and the Pacific Northwest Region. “We’ve raced in Washington at the Skagit County Fair in Mt. Vernon (1998) and along California’s Pacific Cost at the Santa Cruz County Fair in Watsonville (1997), but this is our fist event in the great state of Oregon,” added Kaufman. “Now, the Beaver State is gong to be on the cutting edge of motorsports this 4th of July Weekend.”

Estacada Area Events and Estacada’s mayor, The Hon. Becky Arnold, have wholeheartedly embraced this event and EACE will be creating a custom, purpose-built track for both the U.S. Pacific Coast Open and future USLMRA Affiliated Club Racing in Estacada.

The US Pacific Coast Open is an extension of the U.S. Open Racing Program, based on the success of the inaugural U.S. Open held during the 2010 STA-BIL Nationals Weekend. The U.S. Pacific Coast Open is the first stop on the rapidly expanding U.S. Open Racing Series, which will bring Open Races to venues across America.

Two days of USLMRA-Sanctioned and Open Class lawnmower racing will bring together lawn mower racers from across the West. Plus, USLMRA will be offering tow money for racers to help with travel expenses.

“We are continuing to expand our appeal to more racers outside of the USLMRA and create Open Races,” said Kaufman. “The U.S. Pacific Coast Open will afford a wide range of lawnmower racers an opportunity to compete in either in an Open format or as part of the STA-BIL Lawn & Garden Mower Racing Series – US National Points Race Circuit. Racers competing in Estacada can qualify for the 2011 STA-BIL Keeps Gas Fresh Finals. There are plenty of options for all racers, and a great way to celebrate during the long 4th of July Weekend.”

The U.S. Pacific Coast Open is a free event for racers. Racers will pay no race fees, USLMRA membership is not required to participate, but will definitely be appreciated. 1st-5th Place trophies will be awarded in both Open and STA-BIL Series Classes.

The U.S. Pacific Coast Open will have full-computerized Timing & Scoring provided by EOP Pro Event Timing & Scoring. There will be no transponder fees.

Racers will not have to make technical modifications to their machines in order to compete in the U.S. Pacific Coast Open. The races are open to any mower deemed safe by USLMRA Tech Staff and that meet all USLMRA Safety Standards, see USLMRA Rule Book.

Class Designation / Groupings

Goal: We want ALL groups out there to be allowed to compete in the U.S. Pacific Coast Open. We have created a set of rules designed to allow just about any reasonable type of mower to compete.

Please review rules below.

Sanctioned Classes (USLMRA rules apply)

• JP (Kids Super Stock)
• IMOW (Adult Super Stock)
• AP (Mini Sportsman)
• SP (Sportsman)
• CP (Mod X)
• BP (Super Sportsman)
• FX (Pro X)

Open Classes (rules below)

• U.S. Open Kids Stock (5mph max.)
• U.S. Open Super Stock (Un-governed Single FH or OHV and Shiftable Transaxle or transmission only)
• U.S. Open Single
• U.S. Open Twins

(Open) Class Safety Gear Rules

1. Every driver must wear an automobile racing or motorcycle-type full-face helmet
2. approved by the U. S. Department of Transportation or the Snell Foundation.
3. The helmet must fit snugly and be securely buckled when driver is on the track.
4. Goggles or a face shield are required. Glasses are not adequate protection.
5. All drivers must wear long pants, long sleeved shirt, neck brace, full-fingered gloves
   and leather over the ankle footwear on the track. Chest protectors and other anti-abrasive
   suits are highly recommended. No loose clothing on the track.

(Open) Class Mower Rules

1. Mower must use lawn mower 4 cycle motor.
2. Must have brakes that work.
3. Must have a commercially available working tethered kill switch.
4. All throttle return must be double spring on the carburetor.
5. No sharp or protruding unsafe sheet metal or objects.
6. Tire choice is open for US Pacific Coast Open Classes
7. Bumpers are allowed but not required.
8. Must have a deck.
9. Must use pump or race fuel, no alcohol or methanol.

More U.S. Pacific Coast Open Information

• U.S. Pacific Coast Open
• Estacada Area Events
• Estacada 4th of July

Thank you Tony Anderson at DirtDustAndSpeed.com for a great raving segment from the 2010 STA-BIL Land of Lincoln U.S. Lawn Mower Racing Association Event at Nostalgia Days in Zion, Illinois!

The U.S. Lawn Mower Racing Association presents an action packed segment of racing mowers from the 2010 STA-BIL Keeps Gas Fresh Finals from Delaware, Ohio. The C Prepared Class, or CP, feature single cylinder overhead valve and two cylinder valve-in-block, 4 stroke engines, 20 horsepower and under.

Racing mower veterans Tommy Hawley, William Campbell and Pete Sullivan show their stuff while 2009 U.S. Lawn Mower Racing Association Rookies of the Year Kevin Repa (2009) and Nathan Mesalk (2010) display their lawn mower racing prowess. Bobby Cleveland, Gold Eagle’s Engine AnswerMan discusses the origins of the U.S. Lawn Mower Racing Association and its’ relationship with Title Sponsor STA-BIL Fuel Stabilizer.

This series of videos from the 2010 STA-BIL Keeps Gas Fresh Finals can be watched in it’s entirety on USLMRA TV.

We are thrilled to introduce the new and improved USLMRA Forum!

As the United States Lawn Mower Racing Association strives to remain atop the latest online trends in order to best serve our fans, racers, sponsors and friends, we will periodically make updates to this site in the hopes that it will better meet your needs. Over the past couple of weeks, we have been testing and honing our new USLMRA Forum.

This forum, built on the latest of Web 2.0 technologies, will allow for the sort of in depth, community driven conversation that we know racers & fans alike appreciate, but can’t as easily be held over on our Facebook page or Twitter account, as well as in The Cutting Edge Blog‘s comments section. We hope you’ll join and drive the conversation on our new Forum – we’ve already started threads on each of our Local Chapters and Affiliate Clubs, as well as the 2011 Season, Rules and Tech, and sections for you to sound off on anything off-topic you’d like!

When you visit the new forum, you’ll notice things look a little different. This fresh new feel is intended to ease the experience for our forum participants. Gone is the complex sign-up process that forced you to fill in multiple questions and wait for an administrator to approve your membership… now, you just click on the buttons like these:

Then choose the social networking or email website you use most, including Facebook, Yahoo, Google (GMail), Hotmail, AOL and more – and your account there will grant you access to our forums! We figure, hey, if Facebook has approved you for an account, why make you jump through hoops to get one with us as well?!?

Once you’ve logged in with your social or email account, you are registered forever – that connection will be your USLMRA Forum login for life. That connection also automatically updates your USLMRA Forum profile with some cool information like an avatar picture as well as how you can be reached… and it allows you to share USLMRA Forum posts automatically from your social and / or email accounts! This means that sharing that awesome tech update, amazing photo, or hilarious off-topic joke will take nothing more than a click or two…

Another feature we believe will be very useful is the new “Check this box to be sent email on new replies to this topic” option. No longer will you need to check back to the forum daily to see if your pressing questions have been answered, or if the race schedule of your local chapter has been updated – simply leave a reply to a topic you are interested in, check the “Check this box to be sent email on new replies to this topic” option, and we’ll send you an email automatically when somebody updates the topic. You’ll get the most up to date information as it hits, and you’ll get it delivered directly to your inbox!

As always, updates to the site are sure to generate some issues. If you have any issues registering for the new forum, or if you would like to make a suggestion as to how we can improve it for your use, please feel free to contact us!

Click here to check out the all new USLMRA Forum!