Posts Tagged ‘mike ratel’

Petworth Documentarian Wants Cash to Complete Lawnmower Racing Doc

Posted by Dave McKenna on Jun. 30, 2009, at 4:11 pm

Mike Ratel's got a trailer for "On Your Mark, Get Set, Mow!"

But without some more funds, the rest of his lawnmower racing movie will end up on the cutting room floor.

Ratel, who lives on Upshur Street NW in Petworth, alleges that a project that has roots in trying to let the world know about a subculture where frustrated Dale Jr.'s tweak their ride-ons until they can cut the grass at 50 MPH has grown into something deeper. He wants to tell the story of the Mikulas of Sparta, Mich., who, along with being the First Family of lawnmower racing in their region, are also big-time fundraisers for Huntington's Disease, a degenerative illness that has killed five members of the clan.