lawnmower drag racing
YouTube: jay19LM

Lawnmower Drag Racing Looks Like Good Ol' Fashioned Fun


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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Moc61_OZ5G0

Lawnmower drag racing. Based on only the name alone, you'd think that some fantastic country folks had just gone ahead and invented the most incredible motorsport of all time. Turns out it really is that awesome in practice, too. But, don't just take our word for it.

Back in 2012, lawnmower racers in Sumner, Missouri went head-to-head in some seriously tricked-out race mowers, and thankfully, someone decided to film a few of the runs and uploaded the footage to YouTube. If you think this wouldn't make you want to get your hands on a high-speed racing lawnmower of your own, you're lying to yourself.

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Lawnmower Racing in the U.S.

As it turns out, lawnmower racing has existed, in one form or another, for decades. Though it first started in the United Kingdom in the late '60s, it was brought over to dirt tracks and speedways in the U.S. by the makers of a fuel stabilizer called Sta-bil.

Lawnmower racing is often lumped in with go-kart racing, since amateur go-karters will often outfit their rides with lawnmower engines. In lawnmower racing though, the use of both engines and chassis from regular model mowers is typically required. Also, off-road go-karting in pretty much unheard of, but lawnmowers were built for that off-roading life.

Nowadays, there are actually several national lawnmower racing organizations, including the U.S. Lawn Mower Racing Association (USLMRA) and the American Racing Mower Association. One of the most famous lawnmower races in the Twelve Mile 500 held in the small town of Twelve Mile, Indiana and put on by the Twelve Mile Lions Club. Lawnmower racing is also extremely popular in states like North Carolina, Missouri (as you already know), and New Mexico.

This post was originally published on October 8, 2019.

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