The Unlimited Lights: 1997 in Review The Unlimited Lights Racing Series, featuring the Grand National Hydroplanes, contributed many exciting moments for the fans during the 1997 JASPER THUNDER TOUR, presented by LAS VEGAS. Developed three years ago by UHRA Commissioner Bill Doner as a support series to the Unlimited hydroplanes, the automotive-powered Lights are a training ground for big boat drivers and teams. Indeed, many former GNH drivers are now piloting, or have piloted, the turbine-powered Unlimited hydros. In all, 22 teams and 28 drivers participated at one time or another during the season, a slight increase over 1996. After an eight-race campaign, which included stopovers in two Canadian provinces, the ULRS high point championship went to Ned Allen and Bo Schide, owner and driver respectively of THE ALAMO. Schide had been absent from power boat racing for four years until Allen lured him back to pilot the shining new UL-16. Bo won three races and finished second twice en route to the season title . Designed and built by Jamie Auld, the yellow and blue ALAMO sports a high-tech carbon fiber composite hull, powered by a 506 cubic inch Pontiac V-8 engine, rated at 800 horsepower. THE ALAMO concluded 1997 with 10,129 national points. Then came WILD FIRE (UL-125) with 7086, MISS LEROI (UL-111) with 5919, POCKET MECHANIC (UL-72) with 4733, THE MENACE (UL-445) with 4300, PEGASUS PONTIAC (UL-1) with 2473, HIGH PRESSURE (UL-10) with 2375, MISS LEROI II (UL-110) with 2342, B & B RACING (UL-38) with 2188, and DEEL ME IN (UL-8) with 1975. The season lid-lifter was scheduled for the weekend of May 25-26 at Norfolk, Virginia, a new stop on the UHRA tour, but high winds forced postponement. Both the Unlimiteds and the Lights came back on July 12-13 to honor their commitment. Bob Larimore's defending ULRS champion, the PEGASUS PONTIAC, co-sponsored by AIRTOUCH CELLULAR, got off to a superb start in 1997 by winning the Lights race at Detroit and also the Automotive Gold Cup, that same weekend, on a very rough Detroit River. The driver, Mark Weber, a frequent visitor to the ULRS winner's circle during the past three seasons, was hired to take over the seat in Bernie Little's Unlimited Class MISS BUDWEISER just a few weeks later. The Automotive Gold Cup is a non-points race consisting of a single heat for Grand Prix and Grand National boats. A last-minute boycott by the Grand Prix Class reduced the starting field for the Automotive Gold Cup to four. Despite the extremely inclement river conditions, the Grand National/Unlimited Lights did not let the fans down and put on a rousing display. Weber took the checkered flag at a speed of 84.182, followed by Greg Grenier in NATIONAL DEBT, Dennis Macy in THE MENACE, and Randy Haas in MISS LEROI . PEGASUS PONTIAC unfortunately came to grief at Kelowna, British Columbia. Owner/driver Larimore nearly drowned after a blowover accident. He was badly injured, and the boat was destroyed. The UL-1 was one of the few remaining open-cockpit boats in the GNH Class. (Beginning in 1998, all ULRS hydroplanes must use safety canopies and seat their drivers "indoors"-just as the Unlimiteds have done since 1989.) THE ALAMO took second at Detroit, then grabbed the top spot at Valleyfield, Quebec, which was the only ULRS race site in 1997 that did not have the Unlimited hydroplanes in attendance. The Valleyfield race, which featured double high points, saw Cal Phipps take second with MISS LEROI II, followed by Frank Richardson in DEEL ME IN and Haas in MISS LEROI. Moving on to Norfolk, the Lights had their third winner in as many races in the person of Dennis Macy, driver of THE MENACE. Macy, who was ULRS rookie of the year in 1996, stormed to victory on Willoughby Bay over Phipps in the primary MISS LEROI and Mike Weber (Mark's brother) in PEGASUS PONTIAC/STANDARD CALIBRATIONS. Schide and THE ALAMO became the first repeat winners in 1997 with a victory on the Columbia River at the Tri-Cities, Washington. Schide had failed to finish at Norfolk. THE ALAMO averaged 109.401 in the Tri-Cities Final Heat to George Stratton's 107.982 with WILD FIRE. And at Kelowna, it was THE ALAMO on top once again. The rough waters of Lake Okanogan not withstanding, Bo Schide did 94.446 in the final go-around to 91.417 by Randy Haas in MISS LEROI. One of the most incredible finishes in boat racing history occurred in Kelowna Heat 2-A on Saturday. Schide and THE ALAMO had just outrun Stratton and WILD FIRE over the finish line, 97.575 to 97.321. Then Stratton's boat became airborne, pitched skyward, and did a complete backward somersault (a la SLO-MO-SHUN V in 1955). WILD FIRE landed upright…and kept on running! The engine did not shut off! Stratton then steered the boat back to the pits under its own power. The crowd applauded as George stepped ashore, white as a sheet but uninjured. WILD FIRE suffered damage to its right rear and right sponson. MISS BUDWEISER owner Bernie Little immediately offered the assistance of his team to help the WILD FIRE continue in the race. Thankfully, the boat's builder, Ron Jones, Sr., was in town and supervised repairs. WILD FIRE was fixed in plenty of time to compete on Sunday at Kelowna. With five down and three races remaining on the ULRS calendar, THE ALAMO had a commanding lead in national points. Indeed the Ned Allen team possessed 6220 markers to 3446 for Dennis Macy's UL-445. The UL-16 would clearly take a lot of dethroning. Predictably, THE ALAMO clinched the season title with one race (Honolulu) still to be run. But the story of the 1997 campaign does not end there. On the contrary, those fans attending the races in Seattle, San Diego, and Honolulu witnessed one of the great racing comebacks. After flipping in Heat Two and not finishing in Heat Three at Kelowna, WILD FIRE and George Stratton came on like gangbusters and won all three races. Stratton, in his first full season after a career spent mostly in the flat bottom classes, climbed from fifth to second place in national points during the last two months of the season. In so doing, the WILD FIRE and owner Kim Gregory established themselves as a solid threat for 1998 honors in the Unlimited Lights Racing Series. Another highlight of late-season action during 1997 was the encouraging debut of rookie David Leach in the MISS SEAFIRST (UL-11) at Seattle. Leach replaced his brother-in-law Brian Reynolds in the UL-11 cockpit when Reynolds was hired to take over the wheel of Bill Wurster's Unlimited hydroplane, the CHAPLIN'S VOLKSWAGEN/SUBARU/MAZDA, in the Texaco Cup main event. Reynolds won four ULRS races during 1995 and 1996 with MISS SEAFIRST and FLYIN' HAWAIIAN. He drove the fastest Unlimited Lights heat in history with a clocking of 119.897 at San Diego in 1995 with FLYIN' HAWAIIAN. Leach, a veteran of the Northwest 5-Litre Class inboard wars, survived a protest-ridden Final Heat at Seattle to claim an overall second place on Lake Washington ahead of Dave Bender in PETE'S WICKED ALE, Schide in THE ALAMO, and Haas in MISS LEROI. One of the most consistent campaigners of 1997 was Phil Bononcini's POCKET MECHANIC. Bononcini and partner Joe Frauenheim participated in all eight ULRS races and qualified for every Final Heat. Phil drove most of the time with Doug Brow taking the wheel for two heats at San Diego. The team's highlights were a fourth at Kelowna and a fifth at Detroit. One sponsor in particular-GRAHAM TRUCKING-made a favorable impression in the second half of the season. They bankrolled Jerry and Greg Hopp's UL-14 as well as Fred Leland's Unlimited Class U-98. GRAHAM TRUCKING also put up the prize money for the three Northwest ULRS races and-in so doing-saved the Tri-Cities event from cancellation. The UL-14 took eighth place at both the Tri-Cities and Seattle with Greg Hopp at the wheel, while the U-98 finished sixth at Seattle with Jerry Hopp driving. Jerry, by the way, works for GRAHAM TRUCKING. Season champions Bo Schide and THE ALAMO finished the year with a second place at Pearl Harbor. George Stratton and WILD FIRE beat them over the finish line in the Final Heat, 107.698 to 104.973 in a race that counted for double high points. But Schide had the satisfaction of turning the fastest heat of the weekend-and of the entire season-with a reading of 115.253 to Stratton's 114.973 in Heat Two. THE ALAMO's fastest lap was an eye-popping 119.064 on lap three of Heat Two. The addition of the Unlimited Lights Racing Series to the JASPER THUNDER TOUR presented by LAS VEGAS has put the "thunder" back into thunderboat racing. The Unlimited Lights are to power boating what the Indy Lights are to Indianapolis competition. The ULRS has certainly lived up to Commissioner Doner's promise to provide plenty of competitive action for the fans. More is certain to follow in 1998. 
Questions? Comments? Contact
the series! |