Belt-sander racing

As for the origin, I have yet to find online, though 22yrs ago I worked for Joe Laforce, the owner of Jessica's Pub in North Brookfield, MA setting up belt sander racing on his bar on Saturday nights. It was a 4 lane track with runners and lights...back when AOL was $12 for 12hrs and $2.95 each hour after... So maybe that will help with its origens.

Belt-sander racing is the practice of racing belt sanders competitively. Belt sanders were one of the first power tools used in the growing field of power tool drag racing wherein a pair of stock or modified belt sanders are placed in parallel wooden channels and fitted with long extension cords. Each heat begins when a common switch or individual switches triggered by the racers energizes them, causing the sanders to race towards the end of the track spitting wood dust along the way. Both stock sanders and modified sanders race down a 75 foot (23 m) long track. Sanders of all shapes and sizes can go very fast, or very slow depending on the power of the motor. The fastest time on a 75-foot track was 2.2103 seconds recorded by Dudley Harper's Sudden Death Racer of San Marcos, Texas. Sudden Death raced on that date at the Legends Raceway in Rockport, Texas. The peak velocity of that belt sander at the finish line was in the range of 50–60 miles per hour (80–97 km/h).

Fundraising

For more than two decades, Bertie's Inn in Reading, Pennsylvania has held a fundraiser called Bertie's Inn Belt Sander Race. Riders sit on and race hand-held belt sanders on a 40-foot-long plywood track. All team entry fees ($50), food sales and T-shirts sales are donated to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. Their most recent race was July 12, 2014. The next race will be held on July 11, 2015.