Create a feature length documentary which will offer those who participate in the racing of lawn mower tractors the opportunity to talk about their sport in their own words. The project will emphasize the stories behind the racers and the social aspect of racing. Through the use of interviews and racing footage create a narrative that will explore the sport which is sometimes known as the "poor man's NASCAR". The project will focus on the father and son racing team of Jim and Jason Mikula of Michigan and Al Miniker of Wisconsin. The Mikula racing team is one of the more successful teams in the United States Lawn Mower Racing Association (USLMRA). The Mikulas have lost five members of their family to Huntington's disease, a progressive, degenerative disease that causes certain nerve cells in the brain to waste away. The family is very active in the efforts to raise research funds and awareness of the disease and hosts a race in their home town of Sparta, MI to raise research money in order to find a cure or treatment for the disease. It is the aim of the project to give the audience an overview of the disease as well as the steps being taken to find a cure. Al Miniker AKA the Lawn Monkey was a young man with little or no direction and by his own admission was not a nice person. He was on a path to nowhere until he discovered the sport of lawn mower racing and the community which surrounds it. His involvement in the sport has brought him a new outlook on life and a wonderful wife. With his love of the sport and those involved in it Al has become a great ambassador for lawn mower racing. He has found redemption through his participation in the sport. The culture of lawn mower racing will be explored at races and other race related sites in Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Virginia.

The sport of lawn mower racing is enjoyed by a wide variety of Americans with little regard to age, sex, or economic class. It is a fast, exciting, and most importantly an affordable motor sport. Just about every weekend somewhere in rural America there is an organized race taking place. Dozens of racers organized into different classes compete for trophies and bragging rights as there are no cash purses. The races are often part of a county or state fair and are reminiscent of a bygone era when racers and their fans shared a connection fueled by the love of the sport. Scheduling of race and governance of rules are the responsibility of the two governing organizations in the sport, the United States Lawn Mower Racing Association (USLMRA) and the American Racing Mower Association (ARMA). The USLMRA was created on April Fools’ Day in 1992 and ARMA in 2005. Each organization schedules an annual series of local chapter races national points races. Racers who are limited by either finances or time may opt to vie for a local chapter championship. Local chapter races are held within a certain geographic area and most racers within the local chapter are able to travel to these races in a few hours time. Racers who desire to claim the title of national champion participate in a series of national points races held though out the eastern and mid west areas of America. Some racers will travel as much as 20 hours at their own expense to compete in these events. The racers vary in levels of involvement raging from the occasional racer who takes the track a couple times during the season to those who spend every available minute tweaking their mowers and preparing racing strategy. The casual racer may have a mower that he received for little or no money and race when he has time and gas money to get himself and his mower to the nearest track. For the committed racer nothing takes precedence over the scheduled races which allow him or her to accumulate points towards the season’s championship. There is a great sense of community among the racers. Many of the races are fund raisers for charitable organizations such as volunteer fire houses and youth recreational centers. The Mikula family puts on a USLMRA national points race in their hometown of Sparta, MI. During intermissions in the race items are auctioned in order to raise money for the Huntington’s Society of America (HDSA).

It is expected that this documentary will be seen by motor sports enthusiasts, fans of independent films, and anyone who is interested by sports which are perhaps a bit off the beaten path.