'Mow Down Showdown' dazzles at Lake County Fair
The professionals stepped into their full-body racing suits and readied in the pits.
Their rides?
Lawn mowers - you know, the machine used to cut grass - tore through a dirt course dotted with hay stacks at the Lake County Fair Saturday.
Don't be fooled by the landscaping staple. Racing mowers is a serious sport with a serious following.
The U.S. Lawn Mower Racing Association, based in Northbrook, put on the contest - a first for the fair - and a pre-race parade.
The fair continues with another display of speed and power: a demolition derby at noon Sunday.
Tyler Frazier of Van Buren, Indiana, replaces a drive belt on his mower before Saturday's "Mow Down Showdown" at Lake County Fair in Grayslake.
Joe Lewnard/jlewnard@dailyherald.com
Racers line the pit area at the "Mow Down Showdown" Saturday at Lake County Fair in Grayslake.
Joe Lewnard/jlewnard@dailyherald.com
Competitors kick up dust while negotiating a turn Saturday during the "Mow Down Showdown" races at Lake County Fair in Grayslake.
Joe Lewnard/jlewnard@dailyherald.com
Brian Bennett of Coffeyville, Kansas, fills the tires on his mower while his son, Gage, watches before the "Mow Down Showdown" races Saturday at Lake County Fair in Grayslake.
Joe Lewnard/jlewnard@dailyherald.com
Competitors in the "Mow Down Showdown" lawn mower races speed around a turn Saturday.
Joe Lewnard/jlewnard@dailyherald.com
Participants compete in the "Mow Down Showdown" races Saturday at Lake County Fair in Grayslake.
Joe Lewnard/jlewnard@dailyherald.com
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