PORT HADLOCK — The lawn mower races, which have become the main attraction of July’s Hadlock Days, are shifting into a higher gear.

“This year is going to be huge,” said Lloyd Crouse, a volunteer who manages the event on the hard-packed gravel track at D Street and Ness’ Corner Road.

“We will draw a lot of people, and it will be a really big deal.”

The race, which has been operating for six years, went national in 2009, becoming part of the American Racing Mower Association circuit.

This year, ARMA has elevated the status of the Hadlock event to “point” status, making it part of a nationwide series of races that lead up to a national championship race.

The Hadlock Days races will be held July 9-10 on a 560-foot track that Crouse built and which he is now renovating in anticipation of the pumped-up event.

He is grading the land along the sides of the natural amphitheater to make room for grandstands to be built around the perimeter.

He also is carving out space for media vans, saying that Seattle’s KOMO-TV is certain to attend and ESPN is a possibility.

While about 2,500 people attended last year’s races, Crouse expects that number will at least double because of the increased number of racers and the national attention that brings.

ARMA’s increased participation includes a semitruck holding 100 spiffy racing mowers that are capable of traveling at 90 mph, although the Port Hadlock track can probably handle those only moving at half that speed.

Crouse heads a volunteer team that has built the track and managed the event with no subsidies, although he plans to sell advertising in order to defray some of the expenses.

“This isn’t a money-making venture,” he said.

“We only hope to make enough money to keep it going next year.”

Even if the event won’t make much of a profit, Crouse feels that it will provide a boost to the area and fill up local hotels and restaurants for the weekend, even though many of the attendees will camp on site and cook their own food.

Crouse, who has been racing for six years, said the sport is easy to learn, highly addicting and not very expensive.

“The most expensive lawn mower you can find is around $1,500, but you can find a used one for much less,” Crouse said.

Aside from the cost of the mower, which is modest by race car standards, racers must pay about $100 in dues and fees to qualify.

ARMA claims to be the fastest growing national racing organization in the United States, with more than 700 members in 35 local chapters.

Women are encouraged to race, either in the regular event or their own division.

Racers tend to be older

Crouse said that lawn mower racing isn’t a young person’s game. The average racer age is 45, with several are much older.

“I’m 69 years old, and I have a couple of mowers that are older than I am,” he said,

Crouse said there are two types of lawn mower races: NASCAR style, in which the racer starts while sitting on the mower, and Le Mans style, in which racers are required to run to their mower.

When planning the race, choosing the NASCAR format was a no-brainer, Crouse said.

“We are all antiques, and we don’t want to have to run and jump,” he said.

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Jefferson County Reporter Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or charlie.bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.