More Lawn-mower Competitions

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hello listeners, and thank you so much for joining me
for another episode of the Lawnmower Versus sports Car Podcast.
I was at the local home and garden store the
other day. I walked by the lawnmowers and I thought,
my goodness, those are expensive. And then I got to

(00:21):
the really expensive ones that I thought I could probably
find a albeit used in probably pretty rough condition sports
car for that kind of money. And then I thought,
which would I rather be doing, ripping around in my
eighty sports car or mowing my yard. Well, then this

(00:48):
podcast was created because, as it turns out, there are
some ridiculously expensive lawnmowers out there, and there are some
equally expensive sports cars, and you can decide which you
would like. Today's episode is dedicated to well, the fact
that humans can't put wheels on anything without racing them,

(01:14):
including lawnmowers. We have featured a small selection of lawnmower
competitions on this show before, but it got crazy reviews,
so we're doing it again. Give them what they want,
I say. The stock class mower race is only for

(01:43):
original factory conditioned mowers. Minor safety editions are allowed, like
kill switches and seat belts. If you ask me. That
would take all the fun out of it. The rules

(02:06):
include no performance modifications and you must retain a mowing deck,
although it can be non functional. Again, that takes all
the fun out of it. The audience for these events

(02:29):
are typically entry level racers and purists to the sport.
The races typically consist of three to ten laps on
a grass or dirt oval. The objective is to showcase

(02:49):
one's driving skills, not the machine power. Next up for
the modified mower racers out there. These are heavily altered

(03:10):
mowers for high speed competition. Some allowed modifications include engine swaps,
mm HMM, fuel systems, m steering up grades, and after

(03:34):
all of that, you had better reinforce the frame, which
is also allowed. Some other safety recommendations roll cages are good,
brake checks, fire extinguishers, helmets, gloves. Now we're getting serious.

(03:59):
Types of track for the modified mower races include ovals,
figure eights, and off road dirt circuits. These races can
be speed gapped up to fifty plus miles per hour

(04:21):
depending on the league. Another type of lawnmower race includes
the obstacle course time trials. These are time based solo
runs through a tight technical course. Obstacles include cones, ramps, gates,

(04:46):
low bridges as well as balance beams. These scoring is
based around time plus penalties for touching or skipping obstacles.
The focus here is maneuvering skill and throttle control. Next

(05:10):
up for the drag strip mower sprints some of the
most exhilarating lawnmower racing out there. This is straight line
one v one races over one or three hundred feet.

(05:31):
These are for heavily modified mowers with high acceleration. The
tracks are usually smooth dirt, sometimes paved runways. The timing
systems are usually manual stop watch, but sometimes optional laser

(05:54):
gates are used, and typically these drag races include weight
or engine based brackets. There are even lawnmower relay races
which are team based formats around two four drivers per team.

(06:17):
The drivers must safely dismount and hand off their lawnmower
in a designated pit lane. There is no physical pushing
The driver swap must be done with the engine off
as well. Lawnmower relay races combine driver's skill and transition

(06:42):
speed as well as teamwork. You may not believe it,
but there are endurance mower races. These are a one
to four hour, continuous or even multi day segments. The

(07:02):
scoring revolves around most laps or distance completed. The requirements
are fuel stops and mechanical pit crews. The challenges for
these endurance races are often mechanical failures, driver fatigue, and
terrain changes. There's competitions called turf trekking challenges. These are

(07:32):
outdoor adventure routes over varied terrain, hills, fields, and even gravel.
Drivers must navigate checkpoints to hidden locations or GPS tagged points.
Turf treking has an emphasis on reliability, durability, and light

(07:56):
orienteering skills. Some responsible prep for turf tracking challenges include
reinforced tires, water kits, and emergency flags. Wouldn't you believe it?
They even have reverse races. It's like it sounds. The

(08:21):
object is to complete a short course entirely in reverse gear,
because why not. The rules are no turning forward under
penalty of time or disqualification. The tracks are usually short
and twisty to test spatial orientation, and reverse races emphasize

(08:50):
mainly fun. There's lots of laughs and unexpected turns. Next up,
let's look at some technical and customization competitions for the
best engine mods showcase. This is usually judged by local

(09:13):
mechanics or engineering experts. The criteria for this include power, ingenuity,
always safety and cleanliness. Display format is usually one with
a hood up presentation with written mod sheets. Prize examples

(09:34):
include the Mower Monster Award. Next, the Loudest Engine Rev
contest uses a decimal meter to measure the loudest mower.
The only rule is a mower must rev safely, no
over revving allowed, and categories include both gas versus diesel

(09:58):
and diesel versus electricit This event must be held in
a fenced off area with your protection. Nextly, the smoothest
suspension mod is tested by running over bumps to see
how well the mower handles vibration. It's measured by holding

(10:19):
a cup of water the least water spilled winds. It
even uses a slow motion bounce video or sometimes a
rider survey. Some past mods seen include ATV shocks and
even air ride conversions. Lastly, for today, the custom of

(10:39):
paint and body design usually judged on esthetic creativity, attention
to detail and use of color, as well as paint skill.
The themes encouraged or vintage patriotic science fiction cartoon and
haunted trees must include decows, hydro dips, vinyl wraps or

(11:04):
metal engraving. Unfortunately, that's all the time that we've got
for today's episode of the Lawnmower Versus sports Car Podcast. Folks,
if you had a pocket full of money burning a
hole in it, which would you rather buy some crazy,
souped up lawnmower to impress all your friends or a
sports car? Well think on it, and until next time.

(11:25):
I can't thank you enough for listening.