RACE OF THE PINES

We were lucky enough to attend the Race of the Pines (www.raceofthepines.com) this year in Pinehurst North Carolina and it was an amazing event. Golf Carting Magazine had a VIP tent along with about 20 other companies like Navitas, Golf Carts Modified, Golf Cart Mafia, Kart Kings and a bunch of local businesses. The VIP section was setup with the best view of the actual races and had a big 2 story bar with ice old beer.

The Race of the Pines is an annual fundraising event that benefits veterans and will feature: Golf Cart Races, Golf Cart Pageant, SBN BBQ Competition, Beer Festival, Parachuters, Great Live Music, Food Trucks, and Celebrity Judges Phil Ford & Richard Petty.

The event was brought you by an amazing charity organization, the VGA (Veterans Golfers Association) www. vgagolf.org/ and they did an amazing job, congrats to Josh and all the event staff that worked and volunteered. As well as the Richard Petty Foundation www.pettyfamilyfoundation.org.

The VGA is dedicated to enriching the lives of Veterans and their family members through the camaraderie and sportsmanship of golf. Annually, the VGA hosts more than 450 local tournaments across the country, culminating in a VGA

National Championship each fall.

The VGA develops programs that allow our members to compete, socialize, and remain physically active through the game of golf. Through local league play, regional tournaments, and national qualifiers, the VGA helps reinforce values like integrity, respect, and perseverance through the game of golf. Additionally, the VGA offers family-oriented activities that help Veterans and their family members increase the amount of quality time spent together, and be more active in their communities.

After we arrived and parked we got to enjoy a bunch of custom golf cart builds that were brought in from various builders, some really cool innovative designed and amazing craftsmanship when into all these carts. There was even 2 of our featured cover store carts there on display. Had an amazing time chatting with all the builders and company owners.

Then it was time to get some food and man let me tell ya the BBQ food trucks they had were great. We all enjoyed some authentic pulled pork sandwiches as we washed them down a few beers and got a table to watch the races.

Around 2pm the races started and they had a great setup, huge screen with names and times were displayed so everyone could see them and I’d say there was about 20 carts in the actual races. They did a drag rase style with a max speed of 40mph, had laser starters and time calculators, it was very professional and well done. The crowd was cheering along.

Unfortunately we had to leave a little early to drive back to Charleston but I hear the Golf Cart Modified guys won some awards for racing and best of show. All together this was a great event and we hope to work with them more closely in the future to expand this one day even to a whole weekend.

For more information visit: www.raceofthepines.com and if you would like to donate to a worthy cause please visit: www.vgagolf.org and www.pettyfamilyfoundation.org