Belt Sander Racing Is Exactly What It Sounds Like (And It’s Awesome)

Even at the amateur level, racing is expensive. You need tools to fix what breaks, a helmet to protect your skull, and, of course, a race car. But there are cheaper ways to go racing: Every year, a restaurant in Reading, Pennsylvania, called The New Bertie’s Inn holds a belt sander race.

Yes, you read that right.

“Belt sander” isn’t the nickname given to a type of race car, and it’s not the name of a cool but enigmatic track that you’ve never heard of. We’re talking about the tool used for sanding flat wood surfaces. For racing purposes, it’s fitted with a wood seat so that a brave soul can sit on it.

It looks like each team consists of two people. The first is the person sitting on the belt sander, who is somewhat optimistically referred to as the driver. The second runs behind the driver holding the extension cord that powers the speeding sander. The teams line up at the starting grid and race off when the checkered flag drops. Competitors are seemingly allowed to use their feet to stay balanced (and sometimes, to go faster), and the first person to reach the finish line, which is a stack of hay bales, wins the race. The prize? Who cares. Racing a belt sander is cool enough!

This isn’t the type of race that requires a pit crew, but there’s a stack of spare belt sanders and dozens of new belts ready to go if needed. And, the best part about the belt sander race is that it raises money for charity. It sounds like Bertie’s Inn picks a different charity to donate money to each year. In 2023, the event raised over $16,000 for a Pennsylvania-based charity called Mary’s Shelter. It hoped to beat that number in 2024.

First held in 1992, the belt sander race has recently outgrown its status as a small, community event. “We had over 750 people attend [in 2024]. We will need more bleachers next year to view the race,” said Patty Miravich, the owner of Bertie’s Inn.

One lingering question is whether racers are allowed to modify their sander. What’s next, belt sander tuning? Race-derived sander belts?

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