While racing at nationals in Iowa this past year, I saw some guy with a mean looking Horizontal opposed on an fxs.  He was having issues with it at the time, but had glowing revues for it's performance when it was behaving.  I came across a stock one recently, and I could probably get it.  I have seen only 2 of these so far, and I was wondering are they desirable for racing?  Is this worth snagging up?  Also did they ever make a pressure lube version of this horizontal version? 

was nice meeting you michigan folks.i`m new to this forum,so bear(beer)with me.Todd will keep me in line,I hope.you have some nice running mows.Hope you met up with Ken alright,on your way home.and had a nice trip,back.Sorry i wasn`t more hosbitable sat.only had 1/2 a beer.called it an early nite.hope you enjoyed your visit,and make it back sometime.

We had a great time out in Illinois. You guys are quality people and it was a pleasure to race with you all on a rockin' track!  I have to say, your track was very safe with all the room there was to pass and have your own line.  The straights and corners were proportional which allows you to get your gearing right and be just fine out there!  Not to mention the speed...  Track was super fast.  What a blast and thank you guys for your hospitality.  Seems like going out west to Iowa and Illinois the people out there are quality with positive fun attitudes.  See you next year for sure! 

I am supposed to be driving for Norm.  didn't realize it was during the Potterville banquet.  I want to go racing!  It is part of the midwest series, so yes.

I just got off the phone with the promotor for this event.  This is what he said:

$10 to get into the gate, not sure what Rich is charging to race. 
The track will be available to test and tune on when daylight is available in the morning.  So go figure around 8 am if you want to get there and check out your set up.  

12:00 -  There is a national anthem where we will all go out to the drag strip portion with our mowers and do a little meet and greet with the crowd (go shake their hands and get them fired up).  It is IMPERITIVE we do not spin our tires or do any burnouts on the drag strip portion due to wires getting torn up and damage to the surface area potentially causing a hazardous condition for the drag racers.  In fact, last year a mower did doughnuts and it took them about an hour to repair the damage done to the wiring.  

Racing will commence after the national anthem.   It takes place at the same time as the drags.  Plan on races starting at 12 though.  Obviously we need to get teched in, so the earlier you get there the better.  Rich Webb is the one who is in charge of our portion of this event.  If any of this information is incorrect, please fix it!  Thanks!  Hope to see everyone out there.  PS... on a good day they can get around 5000 + people showing up.  

any body from wisconsin or minnesota interested in going? I would like to go but need a traveling partner or two. that's along ride for a broke guy like me

You could bring some apple pie with you for sale to help pay for the trip! 

Thanks guys!! A huge thank you to all the racers that came and supported our first ever national race it was a huge success!! For those of you that didn't make it you missed a great time and some awesome racing hopefully you can make it next year!!

We were sad to have missed your race.  Also, there were a lot of people we met in Iowa we wished to have seen. We heard the speeds there were incredible, and would love to get going that fast for sure! I'm just glad our friends from Florida who came had a safe and good time!  See you guys next year!

I didn't spend the night, but I raced both days. I won my stock class, and got to beat several others in the next step up class [pro stock]. I HAD A BLAST!

You didn't spend the night?  You missed hanging out with Shrek.  I wish I had missed it as well....     
I ended up noticing what felt like the shift keys going out on my 039.  Looking down I could see the shifter pitching up and down, and figured my case mounting bolts became loose.  Actually ended up being the trans plate with broken welds, and torn box tubing where the heat affected zone was from the welds.  Too many races on that chassis...  Time for some MTD surgery. 

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I got smoked by mini sprint but i got laped once. Ill pst the feature race of fxt and fxs soon.

John,  You forgot to mention that you were passed by Shrek....  Twice. 

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We really should mention how well the track was maintained by the staff.  I would say the the staff was on the ball with track upkeep and preparation.  It was of professional caliber for sure.  Also, the staff was so motivated and effective, they were actually able to find my e-clip for the output shaft of my 700 on the track.  Not in a million years would I ever expect that, let alone for it to be found 15 minutes after it fell off. 

Thank you for setting up such a unique track!  The road course idea was brilliant. It was definately a drivers course, not a horsepower course.  The tight rights and left allowed for multiple ways to set up to pass other people.  There were so many opportunities for you to make a mistake or for others.  Usually you are only afforded one or two places on a track to pass people, sometimes none.  I can think of at least four or five spots you could get by people if you set up correctly.  Another wonderful thing was that it really didn't matter if you had an extremely expensive high power mower.  If you couldn't turn right you would be subject to getting passed by a low budget machine that had a better combination of left and right turning ability.  Not only was this totally refreshing race this track compared to an oval, it seemed to also make racing a governed class, even an IMOW (which is usually follow the leader) an exciting class to watch.  The tight turns seemed to make it a better track for the traditional chassis. 

It should be noted that the speeds seen on this track were not as fast as most traditional oval track national races I have been to.  So I would say if wrecks were to occur, they would be at much slower speeds making this track a safer one to race on, while still retaining if not boosting the excitement factor with the ability to pass through the roof.  From an insurance vs. racers standpoint, this would be an ideal situation. 
I hope the USLMRA considers this venue and track set up for next year as a national race.  With the exception of the tracks roughness, which was due to weather and this being the first time mowers ever raced on it, the concept was awesome.