Daryll "Prograsstinator" Bratton of Fountaintown, Ind., a 20-year over-the-road veteran, knows how to have fun when he's not behind the wheel of a big rig. Bratton races lawn mowers.
"I saw this segment on lawn mower racing one day on TNN and got hooked," Bratton recalls. "I had already started a side business repairing lawn mowers and my kids were into moto-cross racing, so it seemed like a natural hobby for me.
"I went to all the races last year including the Lawn Mower Nationals in Indianapolis. You have to understand that this is a grass-roots sport, so to speak," says Bratton, unable to resist the temptation to redline the pun engine. "Anybody who likes racing can do it. And it is loads of fun. Especially last year, because it was the Mowlinnium."
Bratton is an old hand at big rigs - he drives for Quickway Carriers in Nashville, Tenn. He is still a grass-green rookie in mower racing, but he says he hopes to grab the FX national title.
He rides a 1976 Ariens rear-engine mower, which sports a 30-hp Honda power plant, go-kart wheels, centrifugal clutch and a mockup mower deck with blades removed - all required by the rules. In its current configuration, this lawn ranger can hit speeds of 50 mph. The sport has multiple classes with different requirements, but all must start as completely stock machines.
Lawn mower racing started in England with push mowers about 1972 and evolved into powered mowers quickly. In the United States, the sport caught the eye of executives at Sta-Bil, the fuel stabilizer for gasoline storage. The company decided lawn mower racing would be a good promotion. And, in just 10 years, the Sta-Bil National Lawn Mower Racing Series has become a kind of poor man's Indy, with 15 National Races and numerous Regionals, from Florida to Montana.
Bowing to the overwhelming urge to poke fun at themselves, these self-styled "sod warriors" have names like "Turfinator," "Sodzilla," "Geronimow," "Lawn Ranger," "Blades of Thunder" and "Mowdacious." And in answer to the inevitable question, they say, "Our wives mow the lawn!" Just don't call 'em "grass widows" ...
Last July 4, it reached international heights as Great Britain, and the U.S. squared off in the first-ever "Rider Cup". It was international open-wheel racing at its most competitive, and each of the highly seeded entrants hoped to mow down the competition.
Four-time U.S. national champion Bob Cleveland, Locust Grove, Ga., was there, along with teammate Mark Boyce. Kevin Penne of Lake Villa, Ill., the FX class winner, was there, too. But so was the British National Champion, Ian Tamswell of Gray Shot, near London, winner of the recent 12-hour Enduro.
The race was held in Lisle, Ill., as part of the Eyes-to-the-Skies Balloon Festival. But many eyes were on the ground, following the sharply turned-out competitors. The U.S. Lawnmower Racing Association and the British Lawnmower Racing Association, each with a team of eight riders, ran races in two common classes. Total points determined the winning team.
Led by Tamswell, the British won both races and captured the inaugural Rider Cup. Wilted by defeat on their own turf, the Yanks vow to deck the Limey mowers this year when they cut for the cup at Wisborough Green, England, on Sept. 22-23.
Chalk up the English triumph to the Brits' head start in the sport. Once seeded in the U.K., the sport quickly sprouted to more than two dozen events a year, including the 12-hour Enduro whose previous winners include Formula One legend Stirling Moss and World Sports Car Racing Champion Derek Bell.
But almost anyone can compete at some level. For about $200, you can build a junker into a competitive machine. "Stock" class mowers reach up to 10 mph. But the FX Class (Factory eXperimental) machines can easily top 60. After a rollover or a brush with the hay bales, the drivers get back on and keep going. The slower machines go only five laps, while big dogs do 30 on the 1/8th mile standard dirt tracks.
In October, the Speedvision cable channel will air a six-week series called "Mower Madness." For a race schedule or information on how to participate, call Bruce "Mr. Mow-it-all" Kaufman, USLMRA president, at (847) 729-7363; see www.letsmow.com, or write the U.S. Lawnmower Racing Assoc., 1812 Glenview Rd. Glenview, Ill, 60025.
