If you called Bruce Kaufman outstanding in his field, you'd be right -- on two counts. On Labor Day weekend, while most of us were packing picnic lunches or firing up the grill, Kaufman was watching grownups race souped-up riding lawn mowers around a muddy track in Mansfield, OH.
It wasn't just for fun. As president of the U.S. Lawn Mower Racing Association (USLMRA), Kaufman has seen his event, the annual STA-BIL Keeps Gas Fresh Finals and Challenge of Champions, grow from an April Fool's Day publicity stunt into a legitimate sport -- well, sort of. It's now so big, says the self-styled "Mr. Mow It All," that next year he plans to tighten the qualifying rules and hold a separate race for amateurs. "We used to say, 'The mow the merrier,' but this year we had problems because there were just too many dang mowers" -- 117, up from 92 just last year.
Why such success? Could be the Discovery Channel documentary that aired seven times, attracting countless inquiries. Or last year's rollout of the local chapter network, whereby 20 groups nationwide hold 95 of their own races sanctioned by USLMRA headquarters in Glenview, IL, which runs national qualifying events. Or maybe it's the, um, shear zaniness: Besides its anyone-can-do-it appeal, lawn mower racing doesn't take itself too seriously. Just ask the "Minister of Mow," as Kaufman called himself while presiding -- in Uncle Sam getup -- over a racers' wedding. Or ask Sodzilla, Mrs. Mowjangles, or the other 83 contestants.
Punning aside, the competition's fierce. Electronic transponders on mowers time racers to one one-thousandth of a second (necessary when everyone's going, oh, 20 miles an hour). Offers Kaufman, "We may laugh at lawn mower racing -- as well we should—but dig deeper and it's every bit as serious as NASCAR or the Indy 500." Thank sod for that.