MENDOTA, ILLINOIS -- MAY 31, 2003:

The USLMRA hosted a double header of STA-BIL Cup (Points) Races on May 31st and June 1st, 2003 in Illinois. The first race on May 31st was at Mendota. Greg Honchell (FX Class) and Chuck Miller (BP Class) representated the Ohio Mower Racers at this race. Chuck and Greg both finished in 3rd Place in the BP Class and FX Class, respectively. Two other racers were from Delaware, Ohio, (any Buckeye racer is a newly found family member!) and they were Chris Macri and John Vinka. The final results are:

OREGON, ILLINOIS -- JUNE 1, 2003:

The second STA-BIL Cup (Points) Race of the Illinois double header that the USLMRA hosted was on June 1, 2003. Greg Honchell (FX Class) and Chuck Miller (BP Class) representated the Ohio Mower Racers at this race. Chuck finished in 3rd Place in the BP Class and Greg finished with a very respectible 2nd Place in the FX Class! Way to mow guys! The final results are:

MARYSVILLE, OHIO -- July 26, 2003:

The USLMRA hosted a STA-BIL Cup (Points) Race on July 26, 2003 in Marysville, Ohio. This is always a great place to race at the Union County Fairgrounds. Greg Honchell from Urbana, Ohio; Chuck Miller of Marion, Ohio; Mark Beckett of Ashtabula, Ohio represented the Ohio Mower Racers at this race. The two gents from Delaware, Ohio, also participated (Chris Macri and John Vinka). See how they all finished below:

CELINA, OHIO -- July 27, 2003:

The USLMRA hosted the STA-BIL Cup (Points) Race in Celina, Ohio on July 27, 2003. Greg Honchell from Urbana, Ohio finished in 3rd in the FX Class. Chuck Miller from Marion, Ohio, brought home the checkered in the BP Class. Mark Beckett from Ashtabula, Ohio, tried to participate in the BP class, but his mower didn't start. Chris Macri and Bill Vinka from Delaware, Ohio participated in the AP and SP Classes, respectively. Here's the final results:

GENOA CITY, WISCONSIN -- AUGUST 2, 2003:

The USLMRA hosted the transponder STA-BIL Cup (Points) Race on August 2nd, 2003. Chuck Miller (Marion) and Greg Honchell (Urbana) are Ohio Mower Racers members who participated in this race. Both guys brought home some hardware! The final results are:

GREENFIELD, INDIANA -- AUGUST 9, 2003:

The USLMRA hosted the STA-BIL Cup (Points) Race on August 9th, 2003. Mark Chuck Miller (Marion, OH) and Greg Honchell (Urbana, OH) attended the race from the Ohio Mower Racers and both brought home the checkered flags!! Way to mow fellas!! The final results are:

MANSFIELD, OHIO - AUGUST 30 & AUGUST 31, 2003 - STA-BIL KEEPS GAS FRESH NATIONALS & COORS LIGHT CHALLENGE OF CHAMPIONS:

It was great to have the Nationals in the Buckeye State again!! The Richland County Fairgrounds in Mansfield, Ohio, had such excellent reviews in 2002, that they invited the United States Lawn Mower Racing Association back again for the National event! That's right, fellas, the whole ball of wax! This was a transponder race. Unfortunately, some of the Ohio Mower Racers did not qualify to participate at the Nationals due to the regulations instituted with the USLMRA in 2002. You need to participate at two non-points races in order to qualify. The OMR members still showed up to show their support and pride for the others who did get to participate! The National Championship title stayed in Buckeye Country for Chuck Miller of Marion, Ohio. Chuck was also the 2002 BP Class Champion. Honestly, we can't even remember how many this makes now for Chuck........Greg Honchell of Urbana, Ohio, was trying to hold onto his National Championship title from 2002 in the Factory Experimental Class when he lost the lead when someone hit him from behind with about 1 lap remaining. Greg still finished with a very respectible 2nd Place! Mark Beckett of Ashtabula, Ohio, finished in 10th Place in the BP Class. Chris Macri from Delaware, Ohio, also made a fantastic finish in 4th Place in the AP Class! John Vinka, also from Delaware, finished in 16th Place in the SP Class. Congratulations Greg, Chuck, and Chris on some awesome driving!! There were also some not-so-happy moments on Sunday's Challenge of Champions races. Chuck Miller broke a belt on Sunday while running in 2nd Place in the BP Class. There were also some serious injuries this race day. Tracy Donihue of the Michigan Lawn Mower Racing Association wrecked into some hay bales and had to be carted off in an ambulance with an injured knee. He was overheard telling paramedics not to cut his expensive racing suit! PRIORITIES! Also seriously injured was Janet Witt in the IMOW Class. Janet had just crossed the line for third place in IMOW when she tangled with another racer and flipped her mower. She was alert and responsive, but complained of an injured shoulder before being taking away in an ambulance as a precaution. It is believed she broke her collar bone but is healing well. To all of those injured, our best goes out to you for a speedy recovery! Here's how the rest finished:

The AP Class National race was 20 laps. The entire race took 8:32.913 minutes. The Margin was 0.301. The winning MPH was 17.547!!

The SP Class race was 20 laps. The race took 7:18.362 minutes to finish. The Margin was 0.511. The Winning MPH was 20.531!!

The FX Class Nationals race was 20 laps. The entire race took 7:02.999 minutes. The Margin was 4.698. The winning MPH was 21.277!!

The USLMRA National Point Standings were also announced on August 31, 2003. Where did the OMR Members finish, you ask? Well, it depends on which "Official Results" you refer to. On the USLMRA Web Site (www.letsmow.com), it shows that Chris Macri of Delaware, Ohio, finished in 6th out of 39 racers in the AP Class for the 2003 season. In the SP Class, John Vinka of Delaware, Ohio, finished in 8th Place out of 94 racers for the 2003 Season. In the BP Class, Chuck Miller of Marion, Ohio, finished his winning season with 3rd Place out of 66 racers. Now, on the Yahoo Chat Page, the VP of USLMRA has posted another set of "Official Results" that showed Chuck Miller had won 2nd Place in points for the BP Class. Not sure which is correct. Mark Beckett of Ashtabula, Ohio, finished in 32nd Place in the BP Class. Greg Honchell from Urbana, Ohio, finished with an astounding 2nd Place out of 46 racers in the FX Class for the 2003 Season. That's it for 2003!