Forklift Drag Racing: The New Olympic Sport?

The London 2012 Olympic Games have officially begun: Charlotte, North Carolina, hosted the US and Canadian Olympic Canoe Slalom Trials in April and Saturday afternoon television broadcasts now feature a variety of prequalification competitions. America’s favorite Olympians are taking over TV commercials, billboards and apparel. Michael Phelps endorses Subway’s healthy sandwiches as a filling snack at his workout, while Shawn Johnson shows off his grace and agility in the latest Cola commercial. London will take center stage for the world this summer as more than 204 countries and territories cheer on their teams. Even forklift drivers are gearing up for their Olympic Games debut by refueling with Doritos and Funyuns. Hey?

In Dallas, Texas, forklift operators and their coworkers host their own version of the Games: the 200-meter forklift drag race. Using traffic cones as lane lines, drivers accelerate their favorite forklift into the warehouse fleet and take off at an impressive 10 miles per hour. Featured on YouTube, Erik’s Hyster “gets spanked by the old Mitsubishi” in the middle of a parking lot. With that kind of backing, perhaps the forklift brand should consider sponsoring the 2020 Olympics. Forklift companies make both internal combustion (IC) and electric forklifts. Because diesel forklifts are built for speed and endurance, they are preferred over gas or propane forklifts for drag racing.

Organizations such as the Canadian Materials Handling and Distribution Society hold annual competitions to promote forklift safety and proper handling techniques. The CMHDS BC Forklift Championship is an obstacle course that requires drivers to maneuver tire lift trucks and order pickers through tight aisle spaces and around cones, pylons and barrels. Proficiency points, total completion time, and written proficiency test scores determine the gold medalists in each field. Bumping into obstacles deducts points from the overall score, but is still a crowd pleaser.

While forklift drag racing or forklift rally will not be accepted as an Olympic sport for London 2012, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has approved two new sports: tennis, mixed doubles and women’s boxing. London will showcase a total of 26 sports and 39 disciplines over its two-week stretch between July 27 and August 12. No matter how exciting forklift drag racing may seem, watching Usain Bolt, the world’s fastest man, break another world record. because the 100 meter race is much more entertaining and impressive. Take heart, forklift racers, keep practicing nimble turns around those barrels and just maybe your dream of Olympic glory will finally come true.