Country Magazine - The Other Indy 500

Country Magazine - Country Roads-The Other Indy 500 : "When your pockets aren’t deep enough to race a car, the next best thing is a riding lawn mower. At least, that’s what folks in Twelve Mile, Indiana think.

The Twelve Mile 500 Riding Lawn Mower Race has become an institution in Indiana. Since 1963, guys and gals with lots of yard pride have put their riding mowers to the test in Twelve Mile.

“Indiana is a racing state, so we named it the 500 and patterned the rules after the race in Indianapolis,” says Mark Lowe, one of the race organizers.

That means 33 lawn mowers must complete 60 laps around a 1/4-mile track with a pit crew on standby.
There are two divisions—Briggs and modified. Regular mowers race in the Briggs division, while souped-up mowers battle it out in the modified division.

“It’s akin to Joes versus pros,” Mark says. The race began as a fund-raiser for the Twelve Mile Lions Club and is still hometown-run.

So if you’re feeling the need for speed, the race is July 4."