In Sod We Trust: Lawn Mower Racing Hall of Fame Announces 2012 Inductees To Join ‘Turfinator’, ‘Sodzilla’ and ‘Sir Lawns-A-Lot’

Northbrook, IL (PRWEB) July 03, 2012

As Americans celebrate their independence from England this July 4th, and prepare to cheer on their 2012 Summer Olympians in London, the United States Lawn Mower Racing Association (USLMRA) has announced its annual inductees into the USLMRA National Lawn Mower Racing Hall of Fame & Museum of America while marking the 20th Anniversary of the sport that came from the British Empire two decades ago.

Gold Eagle® Co., (“Gold Eagle”), who brought lawn mower racing from England to America on April Fool’s Day 1992, and Bruce Kaufman “Mr. Mow It All”, will take their rightful place among the pantheon of honored sod stompers and lawn legends including “Turfinator,” “Sodzilla,” “Sir Lawns-A-Lot,” and “Mr. Mowjangles.”

•     Gold Eagle Makers of STA-BIL® Brand Fuel Stabilizer

In 1992, Chicago-based Gold Eagle brought lawn mower racing from England to America as a promotion for STA-BIL®, America’s top selling fuel stabilizer. With the support of the British Lawn Mower Racing Association, Gold Eagle founded the USLMRA to sanction and present organized lawn mower races for fairs, towns and non-profit organizations across the USA. With one STA-BIL National Championship race in 1992, the STA-BIL Lawn & Garden Mower Racing Series has expanded to an annual 20-race circuit while the USLMRA sanctions 50 Chapters and Clubs nationwide. Gold Eagle’s 20 years of support is one of the longest consecutive sponsorships in all of American motorsports. Gold Eagle and the USLMRA have won numerous awards including accolades from Brandweek Magazine, The Publicity Club of Chicago, The International Festivals and Events Association, Inside PR magazine and the Public Relations Society of America.

•     Bruce Kaufman, “Mr. Mow It All”

As Founder and President of the USLMRA, Bruce Kaufman of Northbrook, Illinois is on the “cutting edge” of American motorsports and has been kicking grass since the USLMRA was founded on April Fool’s Day, 1992. With tongue planted firmly in cheek, the man known as “Mr. Mow-It-All” leads the USLMRA, the nations’ oldest and largest national lawn mower racing sanctioning body, and is responsible for association management, event and TV production, media relations, marketing, sponsorship and finance. He also serves as TV color commentator on the Fox Sports Net “Race Freaks” Lawn Mower Racing telecasts, where his “Mowtivation” is on full display.

“Congratulations from the Old World, where the origins of mower racing stretch back as far as the blades on the wheels of Boadicea's chariot, to the New World, where mower racing has reached peaks as yet unimagined by the Englanders, we send greetings and fond memories to our bladeless brethren across the pond,” said Jim Gavin, Founder and General Secretary of the British Lawn Mower Racing Association, and Inaugural Lawn Mower Racing Hall of Fame Inductee (2009). “From the mower racing field of conflict in Lisle, Illinois where our Knights and your Braves battled with howling engines, tortured gears and over-stretched bodies, amongst the dust, rain, mud and general mayhem to weld together two nations with but a single purpose – Per Herbam Ad Astra – From Grass To The Stars!”

The 4th annual National Lawn Mower Racing Hall of Fame Induction Ceremonies will take place Sunday, Sept. 2 in Delaware, Ohio during the 20th Anniversary STA-BIL Keeps Gas Fresh Finals and U.S. Open Labor Day Weekend Lawn Mower Racing Championships.

Founded in 2009, the USLMRA National Lawn Mower Racing Hall of Fame is a place of honor for Turf Titans who have turned a weekend chore into a competitive sport. The USLMRA National Lawn Mower Racing Hall of Fame & Museum of America is located at Miller Lawn and Power, 1299 Harding Highway East State Road 309, Marion, Ohio.

Gold Eagle and “Mr. Mow It All” will join Hall of Fame Honorees including:

•     The Organizing Committee of Indiana’s Twelve Mile 500, America’s oldest lawn mower race founded 1963.
•     Jim Gavin of Wisborough Green, England, Founder and General Secretary of the British Lawn Mower Racing Association, founded 1973.
•     “Racing Ray” Mrocks, also known as “Sodzilla”, the first USLMRA member, who heeded the call to sod slinging glory in 1992.
•     Chuck “Boogie Woogie” Miller, the only USLMRA member to compete in every STA-BIL Nationals since 1992.
•     Ken “Turfinator” Smolecki whose mower, The Turfinator, was featured on the TV sitcom Home Improvement and who raced in the legendary British Lawn Mower Racing Association 12-Hour Race.
•     Bill Simpson, who served as the first USLMRA Race Director, adding consistency to race officiating by directing a staff of race stewards and officials.
•     John Nelson “Sir Lawns-A-Lot”, the nations’ first “Mow Ambassador” and Past President of the Lone Star Lawn Mower Racing Association (LSMRA).
•     Dr. Art Neavill, Commerce Township, Michigan, beloved lawn mower racer who tours the country with his son-in-law and wife while intermittently battling cancer.
•     Charles Powell, “Mr. Mowjangles” (1950-2006), LSMRA Founding President, Winner of the 2005 Pain in the Butt Award and National Race Steward.

About the U.S. Lawn Mower Racing Association:
Sponsored by STA-BIL®, America's top selling fuel stabilizer, and founded on April 1, 1992, the USLMRA sanctions and presents organized lawn mower racing across America including the 20-race STA-BIL® Lawn and Garden Mower Racing Series and a network of 50 Local Chapters and Affiliated Clubs hosting more than 140 sanctioned races nationwide every year. STA-BIL® lawn mower racers compete in 11 classes at speeds up to 60 mph with all cutting blades removed from Junior and IMOW to Super Modified. The annual STA-BIL® Keeps Gas Fresh Finals National Championship is televised on Fox Sports Net “Race Freaks.” USLMRA sponsors include STA-BIL® Fuel Stabilizer, HEET® Gas-Line Antifreeze & Water Remover, Start Your Engines!® Fuel System Revitalizer, 104+® Octane Boost, America’s First Octane Boost, DieselPower!® Diesel Additives, ALUMASEAL® Radiator Stop Leak,
NO LEAK® Engine, Transmission and Power Steering Treatments, K&N Filters and Gnomefrenzy.com. For mow info please visit http://www.letsmow.com.

About USLMRA Sponsor Gold Eagle Co., makers of STA-BIL Fuel Stabilizer:
For 80 years, Gold Eagle® Co. has been an industry pioneer in the production and distribution of aftermarket fluids and additives, creating products that help preserve, protect and enhance the performance of engines everywhere. Gold Eagle® Co is a leader in the product development, manufacturing, marketing, and distribution of branded engine performance and maintenance chemicals. Privately held and headquartered in Chicago, Gold Eagle Co. is the manufacturer of leading brands, including STA-BIL® Fuel Stabilizer, HEET® Gas-Line Antifreeze, NO-LEAK® Treatments, 104+® Octane Boost, Start Your Engines® and DieselPower!® Diesel Additives. To view a complete line of Gold Eagle products or learn more about the Company, please visit http://www.goldeagle.com.

2012 STA-BIL Lawn & Garden Mower Racing Series & US Open Schedule

Feb 18-19, Florida State Fair, Tampa, FL
April 28, Windy Hill Speedway, McDonough, GA
May 19, Gusher Days, Oil City, LA
June 2, Cure Mower Cancer Open, Superior, WI
June 9, Lions Club, Englewood, TN
July 4-5, 4th of July Festival, Estacada, OR
July 21-22, Huntington’s Disease Race For Research, Sparta, MI
July 28-29, River Bottom Raceway, Carlisle, IA
August 3-4, Bowles Farms, Clements, MD
August 11-12, U.S. Open V-Twin Shootout, Vestaburg Speedway, Vestaburg, MI
August 18, Westmoreland Fair, Greensburg, PA, Greensburg, PA
Sept. 1, STA-BIL Keeps Gas Fresh Finals, Delaware, OH
Sept. 2, U.S. Open Finals, Delaware, OH
Nov. 3-4, Sam Rogers U.S. All American Open, Stevenson, AL