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Tr re vee / 26 -- PORT PERRY STAR -- Tuesday, May 5, 1987 The mud was flyin' at this tractor race Port Perry Star All in the name of good clean fun It was billed as the Second Annual Seagrave Lawn Tractor Race, but for a dozen hardy competitors, it was the ultimate test of man and machine - 'Under bright; sunny skies Sunday afternoon, the fields and bogs north of Seagrave Park were filléd with the sounds of roaring garden trac- tors, hooting spectators and the grunts and the groans of the com- petitors who had more than their hands full trying to coax the pokey tractors around the gruelling four- lap course When the dust and the mud had settled, Derrick Inwood of Pleasant Point flashed across the finish line Gary McKenzie at the starting line. He ran into trouble, big in fine form, well ahead of second place racer Kevin Hartung-and a country mile in front of Jim Byrom in third and Rod Jones who limped home to claim fourth spot. Inwood, spattered in mud from head to toe said at the finish line his secret for success was 'just a lot of brute force to pull the tractor through the bogs." The prize for his efforts was a small trophy, a cool beer and the honour of popping the cork on a big bottle of bubbly in the winner's circle. ' The four laps took a terrible toll on the racers, especially the bog holes where they sloshed around in trouble at the first bog hole and that was the end for him. A "4 2S %" knee-deep mud water, straining 'every muscle to get the machines through. Of the dozen machines that roared away from the starting line, six fell by the wayside and failed to finish. One of those was pre-race favourite Gary McKenzie who drew the coveted pole position. Driving a mean-looking machine, McKenzie jumped into a quick lead but 200 yards away at the first bog, he bogg- ed down literally and was forced from the race Steve Calder, aboard '"'Gator 8" - managed to finish the race, but a gator mounted on the hood of his machine was headless by the time he sputtered across the line' One competitor muttered he was glad his machine died in the mud because he didn't have the strength to bull-dog it through the bogs. "My heart probably wouldn't take it, anyway," he said wearily. 'Last year's winner Don Beacock managed to finish but he'll have to change his tactics if he hopes to re- gain the coveted crown next year. The race attracted a large crowd of spectators who whistled, cheered and hooted for their favourite. The rules were simple enough: anything goes, but spectators were not allowed to assist the racers in the mud holes. And just why would a group of grown men spend the better part of a beautiful Sunday afternoon driv- ing their lawn tractors through swamp and field? For the fun of it, of course. Of yes, they all kicked in an entry fee of $3 each and the proceeds were * turned over to the Seagrave United Organizers predict that next year, the field will be flooded with racers who want to get a chance to "taste the glory" (and the mud) at the Great Seagrave Lawn Tractor Race' This was the scene at the biggest bog hole through. Gee, even Indy drivers don't have it this as several racers struggle to get their machines tough. Mud-spattered from head to toe, Derrick Inwood smiles hap pily after to 4 MN 7 v 4 Steve Calder pulls the trusty "Gator 8" through the mud. He , managed to finish the tough four lap course. ond his first place finish in the Great Tractor Race. RR