HISTORY
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Greg and Dave
About 5 years ago we got together to race. It was the First Annual Lucky Hollow Lawn Tractor Race. It was held at my place in Lucky. Dave won that year. We tied wires to the governors so we could run them wide open. All of the tractors were bone stock and the race consisted of drags, slalom, and pulls. We had good turn out and had about 10 tractors show. One engine scattered and another actually caught on fire, cause they lost their oil cap. Real entertaining!
The next year we had it at Dave's house. We expanded on the format to include poker runs, obstacle course, cross country, and slow race. Needless to say it kept evolving over the years. Along the way we have added hill climbs, reverse drags, burnout competitions and awards for best of show and most stock, etc. Certificates are awarded to the winner of each event. The one with the most certificates wins the trophy. Trophies in the past have been lamp bases with a toy tractor attached to the top.
To host a race all you really need is a couple of flat acres. The drag strip is only 100' long and most of the other events take up even less space.
The tractors over time went thru changes. The most important one is pulley changes. Most tractors have a 3 1/2" on the engine and anywheres from a 5" to a 9" on the rear end. Most of the pulleys can be had for a couple of bucks at your local hardware store. You more than likely want about a 1.5 to 1 ratio front to back, but really it depends on how much power you have. The engine pulleys can be hard to find. Most have a 1" shaft on the engine. You can buy them like this if you look hard enough. Try used lawn mower dealers. Some old pulleys you can just take off and flip them.
Exhaust changes can be made with 3/4" or 1" steel pipe. Using elbows to get the path you want and then you can run it under the running board, where a piece of chrome sink pipe can be clamped for show.
Some people have rigged up gas pedals. I prefer a motor cycle brake lever clamped to the steering wheel. With a long enough cable so that turning the wheel doesn't affect the rpm's. In most cases you will want to beef up the return spring so it doesn't over rev.
The only rule that we came up with is that "Any thing you do to the tractor as far as engines and drives are concerned. Need to be lawn tractor equipment. No 4 wheeler motors or transmissions. It must have come from a stock tractor". This makes it so you don't have to have alot of money to win.
Trans axles come in all kinds . The best setup is a 5 or 6 speed across the shift. Variable pulleys, ( with more than one drive belt) hydrostatic, and "H" patterns don't work too well. With across the shifts you can shift on the fly. It's not good for the trans but, most last at least 2 seasons before giving you any trouble. They can be had new and used on e-bay, even if a little expensive.
"Twin" motors work best. With larger singles working well too. Smaller singles better have some good gearing if they expect to win in the faster events.
The most important part about this is, it's all about having fun. These races last the better part of the day. We always set it up like a picnic. With everyone bringing a covered dish. That way nobody has to pay alot to have fun. Most of the alterations to the tractors don't cost more than $50, unless you want to get fancy, and even then you would be suprised what you can find at yard sales, or even out for garbage.
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