Kart track to host lawn mower racing Ben Rowe wins PASS points crown

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Getting ready to climb on that riding mower to cut the lawn one more time before fall and winter set in? After you finish the chore, make sure you clean off the mower and take good care of it. You might be…
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Getting ready to climb on that riding mower to cut the lawn one more time before fall and winter set in?

After you finish the chore, make sure you clean off the mower and take good care of it.

You might be doing more than just mowing with it next summer.

Like racing it!

Nate and Marti Anderson, owners of the Sebasticook Valley Karting Komplex in St. Albans, are going to add a lawn mower division next season.

“We have registered with the U.S. Lawn Mower Racing Association and we will be the only licensed track in New England,” said Marti Anderson. “We will have eight dates for the lawn mowers next year. The first race will be on June 1.”

The Andersons saw lawn mower racing on ESPN2 and thought it would be a good addition to their race card.

“It’s very big in the Midwest,” said Marti.

The Andersons had researched it on the Internet and did all the paperwork necessary to get licensed.

They have set up a road course in the infield, which is surrounded by their quarter-mile track.

“We think it’s going to be lots of fun. It will be fun to do and fun to watch,” said Marti Anderson.

She said the specifics have yet to be worked out and they will have more information on the lawn mower class at the Northeast Motorsports Exposition in Augusta on Jan. 3-5.

The track will have its final day of racing on Sunday with the gates opening at 9 a.m. Racing will start at 12:30.

They have had six classes all season. Four of the six classes have points standings and the champions in three of those four classes won’t be decided until Sunday.

It has been a “very good year,” said Marti Anderson.

“And we attributed quite a bit of it to the fact Nate and I live here year-round now,” said Marti.

The Andersons had been living in a camper during the season and then moving to their home in Lamoine after the season.

But they built a house facing the Komplex and moved in full-time in January.

“Being here has really helped,” said Marti, who pointed out that they have had shop hours on Wednesday nights from 6-9 in addition to weekend hours.

They will continue with the Wednesday night hours year-round so drivers can purchase karts, kart parts, or racing equipment.

Giving the Komplex a healthy boost has been the addition of a new class: rigid Mini-Winston Cup cars.

“The regular Mini-Cup cars have suspensions. These don’t,” explained Anderson. “We had a 12-race series and averaged around 12 cars per race.

“They’re a good group of guys. They’re not out to win so much as they are to have a good time. And that’s what we foster here. It’s a family atmosphere.”

The other classes have been the kid karts (for 5- to 7-year-olds); box stock for 7-10 years old, a new class in which the engines come right out of the box and can’t be tinkered with; sportsman (10-12); senior sportsman (12-15), and the champ animal class (14-over).

The champ animal class involves an overhead valve engine.

They have averaged approximately 45 karts per race day in the six divisions combined and the Andersons would like to average 75 a week in the future.

“We think that’s realistic, but it might take a couple of years,” said Marti Anderson, who added that attendance has also increased this year from 50 to anywhere from 60-80.

Ben Rowe claims PASS title

Turner’s Ben Rowe claimed the Pro All-Stars Series points championship by a whopping 130 points over defending champ Sam Sessions of South Paris.

The series has concluded its second season of racing.

Turner had 14 top-five finishes in 15 races and racked up 3,240 points. He won five times.

Sessions had four wins and 3,110 points.

Rounding out the top 10 were Chuck Lachance of Cushing (3,050), Woolwich’s Kenny Wright (3,046), Hallowell’s Johnny Clark (3,046), Dave Gorveatt of Charlottestown, Prince Edward Island (3,016), Scarborough’s Larry Gelinas (3,002), Doug Averill of Litchfield (2,912), Falmouth’s Scott Mulkern (2,904) and Russ Hersey of Swanzy, N.H. (2,880).

The Busch North series has two races remaining and Cherryfield’s Andy Santerre holds a 28-point lead over Matt Kobyluck of Uncasville, Conn.

Brad Leighton of Center Harbor, N.H., is third, 53 points Santerre. Scarborough’s Kelly Moore is fourth and Strong’s Tracy Gordon is fifth.

Moore is 178 points behind Santerre and Gordon trails by 226.

The final two races will be at Stafford Motor Speedway (Conn.) on Sunday and Lime Rock Park (Conn.) on Oct. 12.


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