National Lawn Mower Racing Hall of Fame

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!

We’ve updated our popular USLMRA TV feature with racing mower action from the 2009 STA-BIL Keeps Gas Fresh Finals in Delaware, Ohio. See videos from across the FX, BP, SP, CP, AP, JP and IMOW classes, as well as clippings from the United States Lawn Mower Racing Hall of Fame and Museum, Mowments with some of our favorite racers and sponsors, and more!

To view the entire series, in order, head on over to USLMRA TV now!

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.

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

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

This video features highlights from The National Lawn Mower Racing Hall of Fame and Museum of America!

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!

Check out this video of 2009 National Hall of Fame and Museum of America Honoree Chuck Miller’s Acceptance Speech in Delaware, Ohio!