CHERRY GROVE – The stands were packed, and the dust was flying in Cherry Grove, as the afternoon amped up with some speedy lawn tractor racing. The seventh annual lawn tractor races were hosted by the Cherry Grove Ag Society on Aug. 24.
Event organizer Aaron Pottelberg said, “From pure grassroots racing, the event has evolved into a full family event with a bouncy castle, kids carnival and the ever-popular Brant Pedal Tractor Races. The event also features a fully licensed beer gardens, local vendors, and a raffle that helps support the Cherry Grove Ag Society.”
Spectator Sheryl Connery described her experience as “unexpectedly exciting and very much expectedly hilarious.”
“I came from out of town and my friend said they were going to watch lawn mower races and I thought ‘what-in-the-redneck?’ But I'm having a time,” said Connery. “I just can’t believe how fast they’re going. Parts are flying off as they’re driving. There’s one racer in a cookie monster onesie. I just bought a bucket of poutine. What's not to like?”
According to Pottelberg, the Cherry Grove races started six years ago “with a friendly neighborhood rivalry.”
The first year there were six mowers and about 30 people showed up.
“This year, we had 43 mowers and over 650 people entered the gates.”
The races include stock, modified, and super modified classes, explained Pottelberg. While modified mowers can have a few minor changes only costing a few hundred dollars to run, modified mowers can have internal modifications such as full engine swaps that allow the machines to really rip.
“It's all in fun though, as competitors win the coveted Cherry Grove Lawn Tractor Blade and bragging rights until next year,” said Pottelberg.
Contestant Heine Westergaard is also involved with the Vermillion River lawn mower racing club, which is associated with the Vermillion Ag Society. Westergaard says lawn tractor races are gaining traction and ag societies all around north-eastern Alberta are supporting one another in their efforts to put on races.
Westergaard says it’s not only a supportive and friendly group of organizers and ag societies, but a lighthearted and welcoming group of racers that make the events a positive experience.
“There is a huge amount of camaraderie. Somebody breaks down, there's three guys over there to help you to put it back together again or get it going,” says Westergaard.
Westergarrd explains the event is something accessible and fun that the mechanically inclined can get involved in, without having to spend a lot of money. The racing schedules are designed to be one day events so the average working person can attend and still have time to get their Sunday chores done.
Westergaard describes some of the racing lawn tractors as Frankensteins.
“It’s hodgepodge. We have one guy whose race mower has parts from a combine, parts from a ‘52 Chevy, and then it’s got a lawn mower frame, and a motorcycle frame. He said it cost him way too much at only $350.”
He adds, “It’s a family event... You see young kids come in, they sit in the stands, and they get a taste for it. They say ‘We got a lawn mower sitting at home. Can we do something like this?” And you sure can.”
Working on the machines gets young people off their electronic devices, and into mechanics.
“They start to create positive bonds with other people in a social atmosphere. It gets the youth involved in something that's positive and engaging, and it is so fun to watch,” continues Westergaard.
Results
Stock class: 1st place - Janine Penney, 2nd place - Valeria Power, 3rd Place - Finn Zacharias
Modified class: 1st place - Nathan Zacharias, 2nd place - Richard Jurick, 3rd place - Aaron Pottelberg
Super modified class: 1st place - Aaron Pottelberg, 2nd place - Lyall Czernick, and 3rd place - Peter Lewis
