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Carsten Rehder / EPA
A man competes in a ride-on mower race in Aukrug-Homfeld, Germany, April 14. Around a dozen teams compete with their modified ride-on mowers with up to 120 horsepower and top speeds of more than 60 mph.
What good is a lawn mower if it's buried behind the tangle of garden tools, the dog's outgrown crate, the exer-cycle with the missing seat, and all the other accumulations that the seasons change from storage to wreckage, from thriftiness to plain mess?
But if that mower seems useless, what if, like fanatics from England, Australia, and 45 of our own states, you remove the grass-cutting blades so that you can race your machine, thereby turning "a weekend chore into a competitive sport"? To paraphrase a few of the racers' spouses: "Only a man could come up with something like this."
-- Michael J. Rosen on Mower Racing World Championships, 2camels.com
Interested in firing up your own mower? Check out The United States Lawn Mower Racing Association.
Carsten Rehder / Zuma Press
Carsten Rehder / EPA
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www rough-riderslawnmowerracing dot com
Hick
Either way to much time on their hands or a excuse to get together and drink beer.
This is what the future of America looks like if the Republicans win in 2012! Hicks on mowers... but armed with semi-automatic weapons of course.
Why do people like you need to tie this back to politics. It is a sport, hobby, recreational time or whatever you want to call it.
scary is it not ? on the good side, they will likely self eliminate.
Funny comment coming from someone that likely supports a corporate party that politicizes everything from contraception and abortion to war and beyond... even to the point of calling the president a socialist and claiming he isn't an American, a Christian or even human. Besides, it's lawnmower racing, it's not like I'm distracting from a serious topic or anything!
Overlord, I find your comment quite funny coming from someone that likely supports a union party that politicizes everything from contraception, abortion, war, environment, military spending, religion and beyond...but I guess it is not "politicizing" if YOU agree with the ideology.
I admit it looks like some wacky fun - but economically you have to beef up the mowers so much you can get more and safer racing for a lot less in (USA) vintage karting. (Not sure whether there's much of a vintage scene in Europe, as karting started here.)
hell yeah...all good
only a matter of time and espn will start covering another neck sport.whats next?
An professional beer drinker needs NO excuse, only the good stuff and just one please!
The first lawn mower racing I saw was in Morton Washington (a dieing logging town), funniest thing I ever seen, some even do wheelies and occasionally flip over backwards, they race on a grand prix type track, ten times more entertaining than auto racing..........Story goes two guys in a bar one night were arguing who's new lawn mower was fastest, so they went home, got their lawnmowers and raced through the streets of town. Also, every year during the lawn mower racing week end Morton has hospital bed racing down the main drag in town..........last time I went to the races was 16 years ago....Cheap entertainment, a lot of fun for the family.
Jackasses will see these mowers flip and chop them up in little pieces. They are not met for racing but for cutting grass. Fools !
alumette, the lawn cutting blades are removed, nothing but the tractor up to 12 hp
Alumette: I would imagine you have no idea how a lawn mower works. If you looked closely, you would notice that the key feature (mower deck) of the lawn mower used to cut grass...is removed.
To think these idiots will end up in some OR expecting people to put back together their chopped off pieces....good luck there !
Carful, al ...your pompous self-image and ignorance are showing.
My 80 year old father, rides his mower like a demon! He'll proudly claim to cut the grass in 5 minutes. He's often talked of modifying his riding mower, and entering these races. My elderly mother isn't thrilled with the idea. That said, it is amusing to watch the old man zipping around the yard, as he slaughters the tallest blades of grass!!
My 86yr old father inlaw was going to his nieghbors to do his lawn and got a DWUI. Not funny but I'm still laughing.
Proof that you can have fun without having a million dollar "stock" car and ten corporate sponsors.
In that vein, you should also check out vintage karting.
TRUE open wheel racing (which today's "karting" is NOT) keeps 'em honest.
You'll never see vintage karters (many of whom BEGAN the sport) playing 'bumper cars' the way kids do, with their plastic pod bumpers. Capable of speeds well over 100mph; karts aren't, and never were, toys.
So awesome lol
Nice !
In response to TheOverlord and to Tex,
I doubt that Romney knows any of these team owners.
Seriously, it's a kind of junkyard engineering based on old riders (hopefully with better steering linkage than my Craftsman riding MOWER) and recycled, rebuilt engines. Seems like a great, relatively low-cost hobby. Great for teaching kids mechanics before they get to high-power karts or cars.
WooHoo...GRASSCAR!!
I thought the racing would be who mowed the most in 5 minutes, or who mows a certain patch the fastest. I know some Hispanic crews here that could give serious competition to the Germans. Enjoy your mower safely!
Looks like fun! They aren't hurting anyone. I don't understand the name calling.