Can it get too fast?
Posted by Rooster on Tuesday, August 2, 2011
As many know there has been talk in the USLMRA of losing the LeMans starting format. SOmething that it has been said for years would not happen! This season also saw some modifications to the rule books which allowed more modification than ever before to the body of the mowers.Rear bumpers are now allowed in almost every association including
the Oldest National sanctioning body. For years the USLMRA said no to bumpers, bumpers are for bumping and we do not bump! But now we suddenly need them?
I fear for the future of mower racing. When we look at the state of things, whats happening and current trends what do we see? More and more mower races are run at "speedways" with high banked, hard packed clay ovals instead of the grass and loose dirt flat tracks that lawnmower racing has grown up on. With these types of tracks come several things, speed speed speed and ....injury! Even if speeds are only increased by 10 mph injuries are much worse at 40 mph than at 30. Now we are seeing speeds in excess of 50 and 60 mph at some tracks. That kind of speed gets down right out of control! This past weekend a drivers racing days came to a screeching hault when he had an incident at just such a race.
So we allow more modifications to the body, allowing lower, more stable and faster chassis. I will admit that I was for the USLMRA's fender modifications rule. It actually made amot more mowers become more viable race chassis and made building a racer easier.....however...it leads to the same problem!
More and more mower racing moves away from it's grass roots. Mower racing is supposed to be good family fun. An inexpensive and slightly less competitive form of motor sports. Now I know that statement will upset some of the racers, but it is true. Stock car racers when "stuck" behind a slower car will give that guy a nudge, or more, which lets him know that he needs to get out of the way. they have been known to get upset with those who do not "deserve" to be on the track with them. At a mower race it is not uncommon to see one of the front runners "thank" a slower driver for showing up at the race and invite them to come back anytime.
Every year mower racing moves more towards the top performance and strong competition side of motors ports. More refined chassis and bigger and bigger horsepower are what every racer wants. I can not help but believe that this could be the detrimental to the sport. For years the LeMans start has kept some what of a lid on engine building. The start keeps timing from getting to radical and compression from getting too high. The USLMRA has been known for putting Chicanes into the layouts of their tracks. These road course turns coupled with the irregular grass surface helped to keep speeds in check and allow for good racing.
I am not against running in circles all together. The Savannah Vallley Mower Speedway in Tennessee is a great little oval track that allows for plenty of speed without getting too out of hand. At one time it would be considered a super speedway for mowers, but by today's rising standards it is actually pretty tame.
So I know everything changes in time, evolution happens. Do we have to let it get to the point that we start killing drivers? How far away from that are we really? At the same track I just mentioned last year we had a "pile up" wreck, one mower had an issue at the head of the pack and mowers were tangled across the track. Me and at least one other driver were thrown to the ground and several mowers were damaged. This wreck happend at I would guess 30 mph, everyone got up and walked away! What is going to happen when that wreck happens at 60 mph? Serious injury would not be possible but likely!
The faster we get the more frequent and more serious injury will become. Are we going to have to kill a driver before someone decides that maybe we are getting out of hand?
Big tracks, big engines, big fields equal big wrecks and big time hurt!
the Oldest National sanctioning body. For years the USLMRA said no to bumpers, bumpers are for bumping and we do not bump! But now we suddenly need them?
I fear for the future of mower racing. When we look at the state of things, whats happening and current trends what do we see? More and more mower races are run at "speedways" with high banked, hard packed clay ovals instead of the grass and loose dirt flat tracks that lawnmower racing has grown up on. With these types of tracks come several things, speed speed speed and ....injury! Even if speeds are only increased by 10 mph injuries are much worse at 40 mph than at 30. Now we are seeing speeds in excess of 50 and 60 mph at some tracks. That kind of speed gets down right out of control! This past weekend a drivers racing days came to a screeching hault when he had an incident at just such a race.
So we allow more modifications to the body, allowing lower, more stable and faster chassis. I will admit that I was for the USLMRA's fender modifications rule. It actually made amot more mowers become more viable race chassis and made building a racer easier.....however...it leads to the same problem!
More and more mower racing moves away from it's grass roots. Mower racing is supposed to be good family fun. An inexpensive and slightly less competitive form of motor sports. Now I know that statement will upset some of the racers, but it is true. Stock car racers when "stuck" behind a slower car will give that guy a nudge, or more, which lets him know that he needs to get out of the way. they have been known to get upset with those who do not "deserve" to be on the track with them. At a mower race it is not uncommon to see one of the front runners "thank" a slower driver for showing up at the race and invite them to come back anytime.
Every year mower racing moves more towards the top performance and strong competition side of motors ports. More refined chassis and bigger and bigger horsepower are what every racer wants. I can not help but believe that this could be the detrimental to the sport. For years the LeMans start has kept some what of a lid on engine building. The start keeps timing from getting to radical and compression from getting too high. The USLMRA has been known for putting Chicanes into the layouts of their tracks. These road course turns coupled with the irregular grass surface helped to keep speeds in check and allow for good racing.
I am not against running in circles all together. The Savannah Vallley Mower Speedway in Tennessee is a great little oval track that allows for plenty of speed without getting too out of hand. At one time it would be considered a super speedway for mowers, but by today's rising standards it is actually pretty tame.
So I know everything changes in time, evolution happens. Do we have to let it get to the point that we start killing drivers? How far away from that are we really? At the same track I just mentioned last year we had a "pile up" wreck, one mower had an issue at the head of the pack and mowers were tangled across the track. Me and at least one other driver were thrown to the ground and several mowers were damaged. This wreck happend at I would guess 30 mph, everyone got up and walked away! What is going to happen when that wreck happens at 60 mph? Serious injury would not be possible but likely!
The faster we get the more frequent and more serious injury will become. Are we going to have to kill a driver before someone decides that maybe we are getting out of hand?
Big tracks, big engines, big fields equal big wrecks and big time hurt!
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