Latest News
Green Prix
Related Photos
-
Daily Sun photo/ Michael Kormos Bill Goodrich, left, and son Ben show off their 'Pro Stock' lawnmower which they worked on together. Ben drove the lawnmower in this year's Derrick Days parade.
Tools
Father-son duo make tracks with racing mower
Today is Father’s Day and as far as father son projects go this one takes the cup. Bill Goodrich and son Ben of Chatfield took a broken-down Husky lawnmower and turned it into a Pro Stock racer. They drove it in the Derrick Days parade and even entered it in the car show but it didn’t place well because, according to Ben, it isn’t a car.
“Ben is a good kid,” Bill said. “He is very astute, he was the valedictorian of his eighth-grade class at Rice, and I thought it was a good idea that we take on a hands-on, mechanical project together so he will at least know how to change a tire when he gets older.”
“We took our old mower, which was basically a piece of junk, and rebuilt the engine to get it running again.” Ben said. “Then we decided to paint flames up the hood. My dad works at Stewart Collision Center and is really good at painting and body work.”
Other details of the mower include Ford emblems on the front and back, a variety of racing stickers, a Hurst shifter, a custom steering wheel and tachometer, a nitrous bottle, and a deck lifter topped with a chrome skull named Bob.
“The brake pedal is a sawed-off piston head, the key chain is even an old spark plug gap gauge,” Bill said. “We have paid attention to every detail.
“We try to add a little bit each year; it gives us something to do in the winter when baseball is in the off-season and there’s not much to do. This year we are going to add a wheelie bar and it really will be able to do wheelies. The most important thing is, it still mows.”
Ben, 14, is going to be a freshman at Rice High School this fall and plays select baseball for the Ennis Lions. He lives with Bill, mom Denise, who teaches sixth grade at Rice, sisters Maya, 15, and Lacy, 4, but is spending most of the summer with his grandmother Margy Cooper of Corsicana who recently retired from First Finance. “She is retired now so I stay with her most of the summer helping with yard work,” Ben said. This summer Ben said he will be playing baseball and studying for UIL history with practice sessions held every other week.
Lawnmower racing has become America’s new “grass roots” motor sport. Racers turn a weekend chore into a competitive sport and there is even a U.S. Lawn Mower Racing Association with competitions televised on Fox Sports Net and the Outdoor Channel. There has also been a video game released called “Lawnmower Racing Mania” for Xbox and PC.
On the Net:
www.letsmow.com
—————
Click here to e-mail Michael Kormos.
Click here to Soundoff on this story.
- Latest News
-
-
Wintry weather ahead for Texas
Freezing temperatures are expected starting Tuesday and continuing through Friday as two wintery fronts blow through north and central Texas, according to the National Weather Service.
-
Students participate in UIL debate contest
On Jan. 28, students from Kerens High School, Mildred High School and Rice High School competed in UIL District 14-2A cross-examination debate
-
Preserving history
Following the Navarro County Commissioner’s Court meeting, an informal meeting was conducted between the Corsicana Preservation Foundation,
-
Court goes to the crime
Saturday’s raid on an illegal cock-fighting ring in western Navarro County meant nearly instant justice, and Justice of the Peace Kirby Hill was the judge on call.
-
Exploring the opportunities
Carlton Williamson wandered between the decorated aisles picking up brochures from the University of Houston, University of Texas
-
Wreck snarls traffic
Firefighters and trucking company personnel await a wrecker for an 18-wheeler involved in an accident Monday night
-
Commissioners OK backhoe bid
The Navarro County Commissioners Court approved buying a new backhoe for Precinct 3, and approved a bid price list change for road materials when the group met in regular session Monday morning.
-
CISD to hold special called meeting
The board of trustees of the Corsicana Independent School District will hold a special called meeting for discussion with TASB consultants
-
Local Beat 2/9/10
A list of meetings and events throughout Navarro County
-
Entertainment Beat 2/9/10
A list of entertainment events throughout Navarro County
- More Latest News Headlines
-
Wintry weather ahead for Texas
