A hillbilly haven. Riding lawn mower races
A hillbilly haven
The famous comedian, Jeff Foxworthy, says that you are probably a redneck if you carry a fishing rod into Sea World, dress up to go to Wal-Mart, or if you have to go outside to get something out of the fridge. Well, here is another one to add to the huge list of redneck activities—going to the lawn mower races in Cranbrook, B.C.
What started as a friendly lawn mower race between two friends, Pete Durning and Jude Brinders, has turned into a ritual among many Cranbrook residents and visitors from as far away as Saskatchewan. I had the pleasure of finding out about the lawn mower races last year with my boyfriend, Ben.
A couple of Ben’s friends, Richard Nelson and Sean Rae, were racing in the event and we decided to go and cheer them on. What we found was about 300 people, live bands, a track dedicated to racing riding lawn mowers with souped-up engines and people dressed to the nines in hick attire.
Pete Durning has been organizing the event for eight years and it is always held on the Saturday before Labour Day. Durning said the more people that come to the lawn mower races the better. “It is a full community event,” said Durning. “I want everyone to come and have a good time.”
Go big or go home
Durning said the Lawn Mower Races event in 2008 was the pinnacle year as he had 15 racers signed up and the event made the CTV national news. This year was just as good, with more than 300 people and eight live bands, including bands from Edmonton, Golden and Sparwood.
“We built a big custom stage that we added to our deck,” said Durning. “I like to go full out and do everything right. If I am going to do it, I am going to do it right—that is the only way to live.”
Most of the lawn mowers have had extensive work done on them. Durning said his machine maxed out at 50 kilometres an hour, while the fastest machine at the races this year had a Ski-Doo engine and was clocked at 110 kilometres per hour. Durning starts preparation for the races about two weeks in advance and the week of the Lawn Mower Races, he gets about 15 to 20 people helping out with last-minute things to ensure the day goes well.
Obtainable goals
Durning’s goal is to have a beer commercial dedicated to the Lawn Mower Races. “What I want is my own personal beer commercial,” said Durning. “Every year I have seen these beer commercials where people are out there partying and having a great time and the lawn mower races is my beer commercial…I look around and think, ‘Man, this is the way we should live every day’. ”
With top-notch motocross tracks and trails, Revelstoke is fast becoming one of the best places to ride a dirt bike in southeastern B.C.
Yep- Lawn Mower Racing Is A Thing (And Honestly It Looks Awesome)
Who cares if you don’t have enough money to get into race-car driving. Now, lawn mower racing is making the whole culture of vehicle racing accessible, and funner than you can imagine.
Getting behind the wheel of a lawnmower to travel at elevated speeds down a racetrack with other lawnmowers sounds like an absolute blast. It’s like go-carts, but slightly more serious. Lawnmowers do have an important purpose, after all. They’ve replaced the need for livestock to chew down the grass… and now they’ve replaced Formula 1 race cars too.
Well, maybe we can’t quite go that far, but they sure are trying.
How Does A Lawn Mower Race Go Down Anyways?
Who knew lawn mower racing has been a thing since the 70s?
People in the UK have been jacking up their lawn mowers for decades, and the sport is now really catching on in the States, as well as in Canada. In fact, The 12 Hours of Wisborough Green has made lawn mower racing cheap, accessible, and full of adrenaline rushes.
They basically took the ridiculously expensive world of motorsports, and turned it into a fun even where anyone with a lawnmower can compete. There are now a lot of these lawnmower championships events popping up across Europe and North America, and they’re a blast through and through.
These Modified Mowers Can Really Haul (Gr)ass
You won’t believe how these things can be souped up to go really high speeds!
There are racing-quality lawnmowers that can go over 96 miles per hour! My mom’s car can barely go that fast without starting to smoke! There’s even a United States Lawn Mower Racing Association, which acts as the governing body for the sport in the USA.
They’re like the grass car of NASCAR. While countries in Europe and the USA have friendly quarrels over who had the first lawnmower race, suffice to say that both of them have put a lot into the machines.
You can race in the “stock class” which is essentially racing machines that are still lawnmowers. But you can also elevate to the “experimental class”, which is full of mowers that go an average of 60 miles per hour. In all classes, the blades are removed for safety.
How Common Are Accidents?
In order to stay on the track, the people behind the wheel of these lawnmowers really need to learn how to shift their weight. The seriously fast mowers don’t move like other vehicles, so a lot of practice is necessary.
Despite what you may think, lawnmowers don’t ride like go-carts and they can be hugely risky to ride. In fact, lawnmowers kill more people than bears, sharks, and alligators. However, a lot of these accidents happen in the home environment.
Accidents do happen on the track, but they are rare. It’s important to remember that the lawnmowers take on a whole new risk level once you’re riding them for sport. Riders take extreme caution to employ safety measures, and the tracks are often equipped with safety equipment as well.
Where Do These Races Happen?
The sport of lawnmower racing attracts all ages. Regardless of how competitive people get, there’s an underlying element of fun and playfulness to the sport, which makes it super attractive to a family audience.
There are plenty of races that happen in the UK such as the Lawn Mower Grand Prix. In the United States, the Twelve Mile 500 is a lawn mower race held in Indiana. A lot of the races are in smaller towns, and really bring the community together.
You can check out the 20 best lawnmower racing groups on to get more info on races. You can also browse the Lawnmower Racing Hall of Fame. While you’re in there, pay close attention. If you want to be a famous lawnmower racer, you’ll want to pay attention to the top of the top to ensure your success.
Lawn Mower Racing ~ The Worlds CHEAPEST Motorsport
This is Lawn Mower Racing — a bunch of maniacs get together in a field to do some of the craziest racing you’ve ever seen on 50mph lawn mowers.
For some reason, UK based YouTube channel Driven Media are giving it a go!
The trio at Driven Media recently took three cheap cars to a track day, so the obvious next step was to take on the world of motorsport.
There’s just one big problem.
Motorsport is EXPENSIVE — A season of Formula 2 would cost you about two million dollars a year. A year of GT racing would cost you around 450K.
Lawn Mower racing, on the other hand costs LESS! You can sport a full season for just a couple grand, and that includes the mower!
So to give Lawn Mower Racing a go, the guys are going to do some practice on the fastest class of lawnmowers before doing a 20 minute race with 35 mowers on track — they’ve been thrown well and truly in the deep end…
Lawn Mower Racing
The guys head to Dorking, a market town in Surrey in South East England for the final round in the British Lawnmower Racing Championship…
The guys want to thank the British Lawnmower Racing Accusation (BLMRA) for having them…
About Driven Media
We’re three guys, a Pro-Driver, an Engineer and a Car Fan. We make videos about the fun side of cars – with stupid projects, ambitious engineering and just making a Subaru as fast as we possibly can.
Lawn Mower Racing ~ The Worlds CHEAPEST Motorsport
This is Lawn Mower Racing — a bunch of maniacs get together in a field to do some of the craziest racing you’ve ever seen on 50mph lawn mowers.
For some reason, UK based YouTube channel Driven Media are giving it a go!
The trio at Driven Media recently took three cheap cars to a track day, so the obvious next step was to take on the world of motorsport.
There’s just one big problem.
Motorsport is EXPENSIVE — A season of Formula 2 would cost you about two million dollars a year. A year of GT racing would cost you around 450K.
Lawn Mower racing, on the other hand costs LESS! You can sport a full season for just a couple grand, and that includes the mower!
So to give Lawn Mower Racing a go, the guys are going to do some practice on the fastest class of lawnmowers before doing a 20 minute race with 35 mowers on track — they’ve been thrown well and truly in the deep end…
Lawn Mower Racing
The guys head to Dorking, a market town in Surrey in South East England for the final round in the British Lawnmower Racing Championship…
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National Lawn Mower Racing Hall of Fame
Few people might realize that lawn mower racing has been an organized sport in the U.S. since 1992 (and the U.K. since 1973). The U.S. Lawn Mower Racing Association National Lawn Mower Racing Hall of Fame and Museum offers a small exhibit housed in the lawn mower dealership of Chuck “Boogie Woogie Man” Miller, who was among the Hall’s first class of inductees in 2009.
Competitors soup-up the engines and chassis of their riding lawn mowers and then give them fearsome names such as “Sodzilla” and “Turfinator”.- whose hood is among the cherished relics on display. The accepted wisdom is that a winning lawn mower racer must be “mowtivated” and “kick grass.”
Among the hall’s honorees are John “Sir Lawns-A-Lot” Nelson and Bruce “Mr. Mow It All” Kaufman. Charles “Mr. Mowjangles” Powell has thus far been the Association’s only winner of its annual Pain in the Butt Award.
Another legendary inductee is Bobby “Monster Mower” Cleveland, who still holds the World Land Speed Record on a lawn mower, set in 2010, at slightly under 97 mph.
National Lawn Mower Racing Hall of Fame
Miller Lawn and Power
1299 Harding Highway, Marion, OH Directions: Miller Lawn and Power, Harding Highway/East State Road 309 at Parkview Ave. Hours: Business hours. (Call to verify) Local health policies may affect hours and access. Phone: 740-382-9162
