In the world of racing, Jeff Michaud’s two words are unheard of.
“Cheap entertainment,” Michaud said as he rolled his black lawn tractor toward the racetrack.
“You only have to buy a belt for $20 to $40 — that’s the most expensive part,” said Fred “Fast Freddy” Carroll. “Most of the guys don’t even have a clutch or brakes,” Carroll said. “When you break something, you pick through the dump.”
Most of the tractors are picked up along the side of the road. A quick pulley swap is all one needs to do to juice up a painfully slow lawn tractor. “Then it goes from going 5 mph to 40 mph,” Carroll said.
“That’s the easy part,”he said. “Making them go fast.”
Carroll of Poland and Michaud of Auburn gather every Wednesday with a group of friends for “Garage Night,” an evening of socializing over drinks, lawn mower racing and whatever comes to mind amongst a bunch of friends who have gathered together for more than 20 years.
Steve Ames bought his house in Poland in 1989 and friends have shown up every Wednesday at 5 p.m. ever since.
“We burn a cord of wood every night,” Ames said, pointing to a fire pit big enough to fit a grand piano.
That’s not just talk; the group has done it. Dave Tufts of Minot was downsizing and needed to get rid of an old piano. “It fit perfectly,” Tufts said.
Ames said the guys started racing tractors around the big tree on his front lawn.
“We got bored and started messing around with tractors,” said Ames, who bought land behind his house a few years later to accommodate a larger track.
The track keeps growing. It started as a circle track around the fire pit. It now surrounds a small stand of trees.
“Just about every tree has been hit,” Michaud said. “Fast Freddy has his signature on every one of them.”
“He is hell on wheels,” Randy Stone of Minot said about “Fast Freddy” Carroll. “Everything Freddy drives, he drives fast.”
While chopping down the tractors helps with lap times — “lower the better,” the guys agree — it’s time spent with your machine that makes them fast.
“I found that the guys who don’t get along with their wives and who have a garage … their tractors run good,” Carroll said.
While fast tractors may be the centerpiece to “Garage Night,” they are not the only reason to look forward to Wednesday evenings.
“I look forward to the food more than anything else,” Clement Theriault of Poland said.
“It’s a good bunch of guys, that’s why I come,” added Pete Jenkins of Mechanic Falls.
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- Mark Bowie, left, Steve Ames and Fred “Fast Freddy” Carroll race riding mowers at Ames’ home in Poland. People, some of whom have grown up in the neighborhood, have been stopping by Ames’ place every Wednesday evening for “Garage Night” for more than 20 years.
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