# Racing: any mode of transportation not raced? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Tags:** racing-auto-boat\ **Created:** [November 4, 2021, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racing-any-mode-of-transportation-not-raced/953806 "2021-11-04T18:52:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![carnut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnut/32/3531_2.png) [@carnut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnut)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2021, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racing-any-mode-of-transportation-not-raced/953806/21 "2021-11-05T01:25:44Z")
Awesome. I’ve also seen reclining chairs motorized and raced. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2021, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racing-any-mode-of-transportation-not-raced/953806/22 "2021-11-05T01:35:50Z")
> [@dtilque](#): > > You mean bathyscaphe, since the Bathysphere was a one-of-a-kind, non-self-propelled diving ball. Actually, any one-of-a-kind vehicle would qualify for this thread, would it not? Or even vehicles of a kind so rare that they’ve never met their match. Maybe some of those zany vehicles that only ever get used for parades? ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2021, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racing-any-mode-of-transportation-not-raced/953806/23 "2021-11-05T01:51:10Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Actually, any one-of-a-kind vehicle would qualify for this thread, would it not? Only because I didn’t think to exclude them in the OP. I’m looking for vehicles that could be raced but aren’t. At any rate, the Bathysphere didn’t even have an operator on board. The closest thing to an operator was the guy running the winch on board the ship up above. If the people on board wanted to go up or down, they’d have to tell him over the phone line. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2021, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racing-any-mode-of-transportation-not-raced/953806/24 "2021-11-05T02:05:21Z")
Crawler-transporters. > **[Crawler-transporter](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crawler-transporter)** > > Pages for logged out editors learn more > > > The crawler-transporters, formally known as the Missile Crawler Transporter Facilities, are a pair of tracked vehicles used to transport spacecraft from NASA's Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) along the Crawlerway to Launch Complex 39. They were originally used to transport the Saturn IB and Saturn V rockets during the Apollo, Skylab and Apollo–Soyuz programs. They were then used to transport Space Shuttles from 1981 to 2011. The crawler-transp... ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2021, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racing-any-mode-of-transportation-not-raced/953806/25 "2021-11-05T02:11:46Z")
I can’t find anything that snow groomers were ever raced. I’m sure they have informally, but not too sure that the ski area owners want to risk their million dollar rides in this way. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2021, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racing-any-mode-of-transportation-not-raced/953806/26 "2021-11-05T02:19:00Z")
> [@kanicbird](#): > > Crawler-transporters. Oooh, good one. They need to find an off-month when those aren’t being used and take them out for some action. > [@kanicbird](#): > > I can’t find anything that snow groomers were ever raced. But they do race zambonis. Not that I had any doubts, but I googled and found the expected videos. For example: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/_t7rZCV54kI/hqdefault.jpg "Zamboni race") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_t7rZCV54kI) ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2021, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racing-any-mode-of-transportation-not-raced/953806/27 "2021-11-05T02:24:19Z")
Bulldozer racing [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/nPVStyOovQI/hqdefault.jpg "Three Cat D8's Drag Racing") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPVStyOovQI) ---
**Author:** ![carnut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnut/32/3531_2.png) [@carnut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnut)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2021, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racing-any-mode-of-transportation-not-raced/953806/28 "2021-11-06T03:00:30Z")
Dump trucks race, school busses, motorhomes, semis (cabs only) mini-bikes, segways, and as I mentioned before, recliners. Much of it is darned entertaining. Too bad it all adds to pollution. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2021, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racing-any-mode-of-transportation-not-raced/953806/29 "2021-11-06T03:31:00Z")
Even combine harvesters have races. I knew they had combine demolition derbies. Those are common at state and county fairs, but a quick google found they have races too. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/Vliw7quhOSo/maxresdefault.jpg "combine race (part1)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vliw7quhOSo) ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2021, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racing-any-mode-of-transportation-not-raced/953806/30 "2021-11-06T03:48:49Z")
Has there ever been a race of ride-on lawnmowers? This must make for a boring race unless the mowers are geared up to the max. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2021, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racing-any-mode-of-transportation-not-raced/953806/31 "2021-11-06T03:55:31Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > Has there ever been a race of ride-on lawnmowers? > **[Lawn mower racing](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawn_mower_racing)** > > Lawnmower racing is a form of motorsport in which competitors race modified lawnmowers, usually of the ride-on or self-propelled variety. The original mower engines are retained, but blades are removed for safety. The sport attracts all ages, and is usually entered into in a spirit of fun rather than extreme competitiveness, though many participants do take it seriously. > The earliest record of an organised race involving lawnmowers in the United Kingdom is in 1968 when the Ashton on Mersey Cri... ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2021, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racing-any-mode-of-transportation-not-raced/953806/32 "2021-11-06T03:57:07Z")
I just knew it.People are that way. 😆 ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2021, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racing-any-mode-of-transportation-not-raced/953806/33 "2021-11-06T04:02:58Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > People are that way. 😆 Yes, that’s why the thread. As best I can tell, if there’s a reasonably common vehicle used in transportation, there are people out there that will race them. Or even vehicles that aren’t really a form of transportation, such as bulldozers and combines. The exceptions are not common vehicles, such as bathyscaphes and snow groomers. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2021, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racing-any-mode-of-transportation-not-raced/953806/34 "2021-11-06T05:55:03Z")
[![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/J0eF8CU7Rz4/hqdefault.jpg "Sesame Street:Baby Sports:Walker Races") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0eF8CU7Rz4) ---
**Author:** ![Capn\_Carl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/838e76/32.png) [@Capn\_Carl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capn_Carl)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2021, 7:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racing-any-mode-of-transportation-not-raced/953806/35 "2021-11-06T07:28:21Z")
I once participated in a chair race. We were seated and scooting the chairs around a table. What’s that? “Was this race in a bar?”, you ask? Wow, I’m impressed that you guessed that. ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2021, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racing-any-mode-of-transportation-not-raced/953806/36 "2021-11-06T15:23:11Z")
Hey, I participated in a chair race that didn’t take place in a bar. It was in my office, for charity, and the teams consisted of a person sitting in a wheeled office chair and a second person who pushed the chair across the course. The competition ended when someone got smashed into a wall and management decided that we’d done enough for charity. ---
**Author:** ![carnut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnut/32/3531_2.png) [@carnut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnut)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2021, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racing-any-mode-of-transportation-not-raced/953806/37 "2021-11-06T23:06:13Z")
I used to attend an annual event called the Lawn Mower Grand Prix where we raced riding mowers around a course lined with empty beer cans. We provided them by bringing and drinking beer. You would have a second added to your time for each beer can you crushed when it was your turn to do your laps. It was loads of fun until some idiot decided to use nitrous as fuel and made many of us nightmarishly sick. The owner of the locale declared funky fuels illegal and also that the next event would be the last because there were people showing up that he didn’t personally know (including nitrous guy). I get that. But I do miss the event. ---
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2021, 9:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racing-any-mode-of-transportation-not-raced/953806/38 "2021-11-07T09:24:34Z")
There used to be a lot of them going up Mount Washington in Pittsburgh, some for cargo and some for people, prior to the Liberty, Fort Pitt, and Wabash tunnels being bored through to facilitate transportation. I’m sure some of the operators raced each other. And since the Duquesne and Monongahela Inclines still exist, I’m sure if the owners had the inclination they could set something up. ---
**Author:** ![That\_Don\_Guy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/that_don_guy/32/538_2.png) [@That\_Don\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/That_Don_Guy)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2021, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racing-any-mode-of-transportation-not-raced/953806/39 "2021-11-07T17:47:57Z")
> [@kanicbird](#): > > Elevators David Letterman used to have “elevator races” on his show - at least, the NBC version. Not sure if the CBS studio had elevators or not. > [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > Has there ever been a race of ride-on lawnmowers? This must make for a boring race unless the mowers are geared up to the max. I remember an episode of _Home Improvement_ where Tim showed his wife a racing mower that he said was from something like “the U.S. Lawnmower racing team.” ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2021, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racing-any-mode-of-transportation-not-raced/953806/40 "2021-11-07T18:25:28Z")
> [@dtilque](#): > > Yes, that’s why the thread. As best I can tell, if there’s a reasonably common vehicle used in transportation, there are people out there that will race them. Or even vehicles that aren’t really a form of transportation, such as bulldozers and combines. The exceptions are not common vehicles, such as bathyscaphes and snow groomers. > [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > Sesame Street:Baby Sports:Walker Races This reminded me of a racing sport that was founded in Silberg, Kirchhundem. Germany, which is just around the corner from me. It’s “Bobby Car Racing”, a Bobby Car being a famous German brand of walker cars for toddlers, the first vehicle of almost every German child since 1972. > **[Bobby Car](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bobby_Car)** > > A Bobby Car is a toy car designed for children from the age of around twelve months. The Classic model is red, made of plastic and is about 60 cm long and 40 cm high. It has four wheels. The car has been produced by the BIG company since 1972 at sites in Fürth and Burghaslach in Germany. After the death of the Bobby Car inventor Ernst A. Bettag in 2003, the Simba Dickie Group took over the company. The name Bobby Car is protected. Since 2005, a new Bobby Car has been produced for which the Classi... Some enthusiasts formed a club, and established the first Bobby Car race event in the nineties, nicknamed “Silbergstone”, which for a while was even the (un)official World Championship. I attended one race about 25 years ago, and it was fun. Of course in the meantime, there are even motorized Bobby Cars. [http://www.minicartclub.de/racing.html](http://www.minicartclub.de/racing.html) (German website) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racing-any-mode-of-transportation-not-raced/953806.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racing-any-mode-of-transportation-not-raced/953806.md?page=3)