Blade Runners: Lawn mower racing gains traction on P.E.I.

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A group of East Coast gearheads seem to have found a clear-cut way of enjoying the summer heat while quenching their gas-fired thirst for competition. The P.E.I. Lawn Tractor Racing Club might have its roots in something of a joke, but it has morphed into a 35-racer grid competing for dirt track glory.

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With pandemic restrictions beginning to ebb like tides in the Northumberland Strait, crowds are starting to return and watch the spectacle of modified lawn tractors tearing around an oval race track. There’s no shortage of video on the group’s Facebook page, in which wide-tired John Deere ride-on mowers (and other brands) send rooster tails of dirt into the air while sliding around like something from a World of Outlaws race south of the border.

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Blade Runners: Lawn mower racing gains traction on P.E.I. Back to video

Team names include Grass Monkey Race Team — yes! — and photographers such as this local shutterbug do a great job of documenting the action. There’s also video documenting the excitement.

Now that Atlantic Canadians can travel between regions a bit more freely, the P.E.I. circuit is starting to draw competitors from the neighbouring province of New Brunswick. That province also seems to enjoy a healthy dose of lawn tractor racing, particularly in the Woodstock area, a spot from which a couple of drivers made the trek over to the island in order to race in this past weekend’s P.E.I. event.

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Not everyone in New Brunswick is impressed, however. In an alarming display of NIMBYism, local media reports that Woodstock resident Conrad Anderson wrote a letter to his town council in August of this year decrying the sport, calling it “a frivolous and uncaring way to bring pleasure to a few and harm to many,” before nattering that the burning of fossil fuels for fun is “unnecessary, indefensible and unforgivable.” Anderson apparently attended the August 24th council meeting in order to hear his letter being read aloud by elected officials.

Back on Prince Edward Island, the group’s Facebook page says there are at least two more events scheduled for this calendar year, with races planned for October 3rd and 17th. A t the end of each season, all proceeds are donated to a local charity. “Last year, we were able to give $1,500 to the Children’s Wish Foundation,” said Nicole Wilson, Secretary and Treasurer of the P.E.I. Lawn Racing Club.