Mower Racing League Coming to The Valley
The sports scene in The Valley has been exciting this summer, and the fall may be even more exciting. The Strong River Valley Mower Racing League is going to have its inaugural race the first Saturday in September. The league will hold races the first and third Saturdays of each month during the racing season.
The league is the brainchild of Mack Speed, and the track will be on his rural property in The Valley. The track will be named The Valley Motor Speedway. Speed is somewhat of a local celebrity in The Valley. He’s been racing since he can remember; he’s raced everything from go-karts to stock cars. Many Valleyans thought Speed would be a NASCAR driver one day, but an unfortunate hog hunting accident cost him a chance at NASCAR.
Recently, Speed was watching some racing blooper videos on Youtube, and he came across some mower racing bloopers. Speed said, “That mower racing has always looked awesome to me. I had an epiphany that I needed to build a mower racetrack on my property. If you build it, they will come right?” Mack got on his tractor and started building the track that same day. It’s an 800 ft. circular dirt track. He hopes to join the U.S. Lawn Mower Racing Association and adopt their rules. There will be no grandstand or bleachers. Speed envisions everyone bringing their lawn chairs to the races.
Speed said, “I envision this being a family friendly event that people look forward to every first and third Saturday. It will hopefully be something that Valleyans can get behind and get excited about, and I hope it will draw racers and spectators from outside The Valley too. I don’t know of anything like it in our region. Who knows? I might try to make a little money too.”
Also, the SRVO will have commentary given by Speed the Monday after the races. The twice monthly commentary from Speed will be called “Mack at the Track.” Speed said, “I ain’t much of a writer, but I’ll do the best I can. Hopefully, y’all can get “Stretch”, “Bull”, or Ima to proofread my commentary.”
The league is looking for marketing partners, so call 1-800-5SR-VMRL if interested.