Time and time again I see several things happen in Lawn Mower racing that frankly just bug me! ALot of people talk about how we need to help promote the sport, get more racers involved, etc etc. A new guy comes along and is all interested and the first thing these people do is tell them they are doing it all wrong.  They tell them no you cannot build it that way, this won't work, you have to spend money to race, that'll never be fast, do it my way or I won't help you!
    The fact of the matter is, it is really hard to do this "wrong".There are only a few requirements that I feel you "must have" to race lawnmowers; A Safe place to race, a safe mower to race, proper personal safety gear & someone to race against (seriously...the hay bales are pretty easy to beat!) Now granted there are some things that are just plain and simple bad things to do. Though most of us will tell you the best chassis to use for your first build is any free one, that is not always the case. Some mowers just do not have the right starting point and you will be hard pressed to outrun a wheel barrow with them.
    I have seen guys build some stuff that the rest of us think won't even make it around the track....HEY WAIT...the first time I traveled to a race a couple of well known racers told us after wards that was the first impressions of our mowers!

    Yup "Old Blue and the Original Rooster Cruiser were those mowers. After the races everyone commented on how well they ran. "Dang boy's, I gotta say I have never seen stock engine stuff handle and run like yours do."....George Herrin
It was not a fluke they were that good, if it was we would not have been able to build two of them that both ran well! Though the Cruiser is gone, Old Blue is still a force to be reckoned with at our local races!
    Look at us now, just a few short years later and we have top notch Mowchines, 3 mowers sitting stoutly amongst the top 10 in the nation! This is my first point: Let a guy build his cheap mower, help him build it! Too often we tell new guys things such as "Your wasting your time with that, your just going to have to do it over later!" My answer for that...so what! Old Blue ran it's first season with the dreadful Foote 5 speed trans-axle that we all call a worthless piece for racing, and it won races with it. The next winter, Larry pulled it out, tossed it and slapped a peerless up in there and kept on Racing! Pushing guys into buying parts they don't have, and don't have the money for puts them off the sport! Ourt #1 goal should be, get them on the track! Of course we have to do that safely but they do not have to be on $5000 mowchines their first lap. We all know that once your out there you want to go faster and make your stuff break less often, everyone will upgrade! So what if they have to "do it over" later, at least then they will have first hand knowledge of why it has to be done, and they did not miss a week of racing looking for a better transaxle!
    There are some limits however, and part of the burden does belong to the newbie. Time and Time again guys have been told "You do not want to start off on a V-Twin, or "A V-twin does not belong in a budget racer." V-twins are flat expensive and there is no way around that. I can rebuild 4 flat head singles for the cost of the kit on some V-twins! They are harder on the rest of the mower, the weight and power stresses everything else and less than top notch parts end up worn out quickly! But when the new racer won't listen to that there could be a reason. If we have told him "No that won't work" to everything, the important stuff gets lost!
    Alot of racing is done around the country in stock engine classes. Mowers with spray bomb, or even brushed on paint. Trans-axles and steel wheels. Those guys are having alot of fun doing it! We all started some where, and most of us were not lucky enough to strep straight into a champion ride! Next time you decide to dis the newbies ride, make sure you remember what Momma taught you: "If you don't have something nice to say, shut the hell up!