Alex Stella, 32, and Ivy Coy, 30, are getting married on a lawn mower racing track. “Initially, it started out as a joke,” Coy said about their chosen venue. However, as the couple realized what an integral part the sport played in their lives, the idea became a welcomed reality.
Stella and Coy met after encouragement from their mutual friend and the two got along instantly. Ivy was first introduced to Alex’s involvement in lawn mower racing after they had only been dating for a month; He invited her to the All American Lawn Mower Race in Alabama. “You do what?” she remembers asking. Ivy initially thought the whole thing was crazy but she ended up tagging along with him anyway. “I was blown away by everything,” she said. “The speed, how huge the event was, and how friendly the people were. After the race, I asked if I could hop on a lawn mower and that was that.” Ivy was hooked. “I grew up racing four-wheelers. I like things that go fast and I like dirt,” she said. Stella had found his perfect match.
The couple’s families have their own opinions of the sport that Stella and Coy are so passionate about. While Ivy’s parents and extended family are enthusiastic and curious, Alex’s parents are not as excited. “My parents are lukewarm to the idea,” Stella said. “They’re not always happy with how much time and energy I spend on lawn mower racing”. He admits that he does base his life and schedule around the sport and has even sacrificed his career for it. But, it’s what he loves to do. Ever since he was small, Stella has been obsessed with lawn mowers and tinkering with machinery. He lost interest in it during his teenage years but re-discovered lawn mower racing after seeing a flyer for the Kalamazoo County fair at work one day. “There was going to be a lawn mower race there so I forced one of my friends to go with me to check it out,” he said. After that, there was no turning back. Alex spent all his spare time for the next five months researching, planning, and building his very own lawn mower. He used a hand drill, measuring tape, levels, and welding tools with the plan of “measuring twice and cutting once”.
Although Ivy started out on Alex’s John Deere for her first year of riding, they both now race MTD box chassis: C and B prepared tractors. Ivy’s mower uses a Tecumseh single while Alex’s uses a Tecumseh Twin. They are purple and red, respectively. This year, the couple will get to test out their competitive ness on their new machines. While both claim that their individual competitiveness has “mellowed”, they will test that claim while racing against each other in the same class at a local track.
Ivy and Alex They both want to keep the family-friendly and safety-oriented fun in lawn mower racing. Alex thinks that the increasing popularity of the sport can be both good and bad. “Being one big family and friendliness is the pillar of mower racing,” he said. “However, increasing visibility of the sport could result in people getting involved for the wrong reasons. Lawn mower racing doesn’t get the respect it deserves until someone sees it first hand,” he said. “But, I don’t want to see it get more serious.” Ivy expresses the same fear: “I don’t want it do get to the point where it’s all about money. I would rather have it grow only in the sense that more people learn about the sport, care about it, and come to watch a race.” Both Ivy and Alex are firm believers in passing their “safe and friendly” mentality onto younger or beginner riders.
“Every kid should steal their parents’ rear-wheel or front-wheel drive cars to do donuts in snowy parking lots. That’ll give them some practice with drift and recovery that they can use when racing,” said Alex. His alternative advice is based off a skill-based practice mindset. He believes that racers should be practiced enough in safety and basic handling skills before they are introduced to more power. “Make sure your mower can brake well and handle well before you even look at doing anything to the engine. Spend the money where it matters, first,” he said. Ivy is also cognizant of the high-level of skill that goes into lawn mower racing. The lawn mowers themselves need to be carefully built and modified, with maximization of speed and safety in mind. “Alex taught me how to ride on the John Deere mower and he already had a lot of knowledge about the machines and how they’re built,” she explained. She has seen the incredible amount of work that goes into building a lawn mower and knows that it would be hard to start from scratch on one’s own. Her advice is to buy a chassis that has already been built and use that to get a feel for things before making modifications. They both understand that it’s not the flash or paint-job on your mower that makes a good racer. “Anyone can be someone in the sport of lawnmower racing,” Alex said. “All you need is character and a well-built mower”.
Alex Stella and Ivy Coy are prepared for what married life has in store for them. “Ultimately we would like to mow old together,” Alex said, with seriousness behind his pun. “We want to make the necessary sacrifices to support each other through school and try to get our acts together.” The couple has already made the necessary plans: Ivy is currently pursuing a Bachelor’s Degree in Finance and Alex is set to re-start his academic career once she earns her degree. They are also looking forward to passing on their love for lawn mower racing. They plan to have 50+ acres of land where they can build an established track. They are advocates of people re-discovering the kid-like joy that can come from doing something you love. “People are too serious these days,” Alex said. “Everyone has too many problems and stressors weighing them down.” He wants their future property to have a mower-hedge, potato gun turrets, and a sanctuary for 1980’s GM vehicles.
Ivy and Alex’s wedding is the first step to building the rest of their lives together and they are looking forward tying the knot this May. They are excited to have their friends and families see them wed in a place so important to them. “We even debated letting our friends sit on mowers around the track to watch,” Ivy said. Even though they didn’t go with that idea, Ivy is excited that everyone will now be suckered into seeing what lawn mower racing is all about. Both Stella and Coy are glad that they went with an unconventional way of doing things. “We want to stay away from having boring, cliché wedding and we want our guests to have a great time,” Coy said. “The chicken dance will be played at least two times and participation is mandatory.”
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