Tellico Bill is one of the premier drivers in professional lawnmower racing. That is not a misprint. When we were out camping this weekend, my group of friends decided to be a little spontaneous and pull over when we saw the sign that said “Lawnmower Racing Tonight!” We showed up for this event clearly out of place, but with a smile none the less. Within the first few minutes I could tell this was way out of my comfort zone with the country music and all the overalls and denim, but I did feel welcomed at least. We got a short history of how lawnmower racing hasn’t always been a redneck sport from one of the proudest mamas of one of the top racers and we were ready to cheer.
I have to admit, as the drivers (some weren’t even in double digits age wise yet, while others were… well, I’ll just say mature) started their warmups around the tiny little track, I wasn’t expecting much. We watched all the different divisions come out and display their rides and warm up the engines a little, but we were still just happy to be there. Just before the races began, the announcer said the pits would be open to go and check out the mowers and meet the drivers, so what better way to learn the sport than to go and meet the experts. We met multiple generations of some families that were carrying on the family name and some that were the only ones in their families that knew about it. It was quite the culture shock within my own country, but it was fun to get to know everyone.
The most surprising of the bunch was one of the oldest competitors that is originally from the Jersey shore (almost as out of place as I felt). Tellico Bill told us how he had moved down south a little over a decade ago and does lawnmower racing as a fun hobby. They have about two big races a month all over the Southeast and Bill hooks up his trailer and hauls his mowers wherever the competition takes him. He says it’s a good way for him to compete with anyone of any age. He told us one story of a recent race he had in Arkansas. He was the only one to show in one of his divisions, so he automatically won a first place trophy. Another one of the younger divisions also had only one competitor, so Tellico Bill lined up with a 9 year old for a “just for fun” race. Now the engines for the adult mowers are much more powerful than the kids, but a few laps before the checkered flag, Bill let up and let the kid pass him and the crowd went wild. “I already had my trophy and tons of wins under my belt, so I let the kid beat the Big Bad Wolf.”
As I talked more to Bill, I could see a healthy love for competition and sport that we too often neglect. I won’t get into some sports rant, but I will say that there is a healthy dose of competition that we need in our lives to push us out of our steady, comfortable lives. A lot of people are uncomfortable with competition because so many people (mostly males) paint it in such a negative light. We have swung the total opposite way now and call everyone a winner and look down on people that even want to remotely push themselves in a competition. As I watched Tellico Bill interact with the other drivers, even the 21 year old that had just destroyed him in two races, I could see a love for the sport (never thought I would say that about lawnmowers). There’s a bond built there that only forms on the field, or track. I enjoyed my day at the race track this weekend, and it was refreshing to see some people that could give it their all, but still have a love for the other competitors.
