Sunday - Unlimited Light Final - Congratulations to Greg Hopp, Jerry Hopp and the entire UL-15 Freddie's Club/Mike's Hard Lemonade/Happy Go Lucky team! They make it two in a row following today's Olympia win.
The final was shaping up to be a real contest between the UL-15 (Hopp), the UL-38 (Bender) and the UL-23 (Myers) and was a great fight for first until Dave Bender's UL-38 gave out near the start of lap three. Greg Hopp's UL-15 was able to pull ahead for the win! No word yet on what let loose on the UL-38. In addition to congratulating the winners of the 2002 Olympia Speedfest, we must also tip our hat to JW Myers and the UL-23 team. Plagued with problems through the first few races of the season, it is good to see the hull running up front where it belongs for a second race weekend. Pingree Conflitti, a rookie this year continues to build on his strong start to the 2002 season and shows no plans of stopping. His win in Valleyfield and continued strong finishes serves to solidify that this team as a strong contender for first. Vince Xaudaro's UL-929 came together for the final. Not letting the rough waters get the best of him, his UL-929 was described as spending more time in the air than in the water this time out. Vince was walking the hull around the course riding the edge from start to finish. Following the race, Greg Hopp drove the UL-15 right over to the stands where the fans were cheering, climbed out of the boat, stood on the sponson and showed his appreciation and excitement. Sunday - Unlimited Light B-Main
Two boats opted to enter in the B-Main, two boats finished and two boats advance to the final! Xaudaro seems to have his steering problems fixed and the San Diego based UL-5 also looks good. Your line-up for the final ... the UL-5, the UL-15, the UL-23, the UL-38, the UL-58 and the UL-929. Sunday - A few notes from Olympia The B Main Heat is up next. Invited into the B Main are the UL-40, the UL-19, UL-929, the UL-5, the UL-17 and the UL-25! The top two boats in B-Main will advance to the final. Already in the final, we have the UL-15 (Hopp), the UL-23 (Myers), the UL-38 (Bender) and the UL-58 (Conflitti). As we mentioned earlier, the UL-72 blew an engine and has scratched for the day so they are not listed in either heat. At one point today, event organizers opened the pits allowing fans to meet the teams and get a close look at the Unlimited Light fleet. Sunday - Unlimited Light Heat 2B
This race was described as "a true barn burner". There were two solid races this time out, one for first and one for third! The battle for first raged between Jerry Hopp (stepping in for son Greg in the UL-15 today) and Dave Bender (UL-38) while the battle for third was between Kelly Stocklin (UL-40) and Steve Hook (UL-19). Bender picked up a monetary fine for bearing out during this heat. At one point Bender went so wide that it forced Hopp to make a hard right to avoid the 38. During that hard right, Hopp bumped his head on the canopy. He's okay, but talking with Jerry's son Greg following the heat, he explained (laughing) that Jerry was seeing four Benders/UL-38s and, as he eventually took the win, four checkered flags. Greg will be driving in the final. In the battle for third, the UL-40 looked strong, but a hard charging Hook in the UL-19 hung with him. Stocklin would eventually secure third. Sunday - Unlimited Light Heat 2A
Bononcini (UL-72) and Myers (UL-23) were racing before the heat even began this time out. The two were "bashing" for position turning heads from the word go. The UL-23 and the UL-72 put on a great race for first with "Ping" Conflitti's UL-58 right there in contention. On lap two, Bononcini ran into problems. From JW Myers view in the UL-23, he could see parts begin flying from the motor of the 72. The engine simply gave out and blew up. Bononcini's UL-72 went down as the UL-58 and the UL-23 took over the contest for first. In the end, Myers in the UL-23 would beat Conflitti. It was a solid race from green to checkered. The UL-929 made it out, but encountered steering problems. Rather than take a risk, the hull returned to the pits. Saturday - Unlimited Light Heat 1B
Heat 1B saw a three way battle for first that was clearly a crowd pleaser. The Lights are the headliners this weekend in Olympia and the series is living up to the title! Dave Bender (UL-38), JW Myers (UL-23) and Kelly Stocklin (UL-40) fought for the front spot START TO FINISH. The UL-38 and the UL-23 were side by side the entire heat. The UL-40 would loose ground in the turns, taking them a bit wider on the turns, but would catch back up to the front in each straightaway. Vince Xaudaro was struggling a bit in the rough waters. Looking at the speeds, you may notice they are a bit lower than prior races. The nature of the Black Lake course explains the speeds. The first turn is vary narrow and the fleet has to scrub off speed to thread the needle each lap on the 1.25 mile course. Speeds are much faster during qualification as, alone the boats can take the turn faster. Saturday - Unlimited Light Heat 1A
Heat 1A saw a tight side-by-side battle between Greg Hopp in the UL-15 Freddie's Club/Mike's Hard Lemonade/Happy Go Lucky and Phil Bononcini in the UL-72 Graham Trucking presents Budweiser/Pocket Mechanic! This was a race to see as the two put on a classic duel before the fans at Black Lake. Pingree Conflitti ran a strong third, but was unable to challenge the leaders this time out. Steve Hook hooked the UL-18 Graham Trucking/Windermere, but was able to finish the heat despite the delay securing the fourth place spot. Joe Turner made it out on the water in the UL-18 Graham Trucking/Windermere, but was unable to maintain the run to the start. Jody Patton's UL-25 is on the way to the pits at this time, but missed the heat. During qualification, Greg Hopp drove the UL-15 and John Church drove the UL-5. ULHRA Statistician Ed Nelson is said to be drying at this time. Ed was down at the docks, dressed to kill. During a test run, JW Myers soaked Ed, head to toe, as he went out onto the course. Qualification times from Olympia
Side note - Boat builder Ron Jones Sr. is on the public address system in Olympia announcing until John Lynch arrives! Here are your draws for Heat 1A and Heat 1B... Heat 1: UL-15, UL-18, UL-58, UL-19,
UL-72, UL-25 Let's run down the teams attending this weekend's Olympia Speedfest!
Your web coverage team is off site this weekend covering the race through the help of several individuals in the heart of the action in Olympia, Washington. We have yet to confirm all of this weekend's team names/sponsorships. As we firm everything up, we'll update the table and the coverage. Checking around the pits... The plan for the weekend... The
latest on the Columbus Park Speedfest Directions: From Olympia on I-5 exit at Exit #104 (Hwy 101), take 2nd exit, West Olympia, Capital Mall Exit, stay left go under freeway follow Black Lake Blvd about 4 miles to Columbus Park on left. Hotel Accommodations available at WestCoast Olympia 360-943-4000 for $69.00 per night be sure to mention the race to get the discounted rate. Camping is available at Columbus Park 360-786-9460 for $16.00 per night. We hope to see lots of
racing fans there! The early word!
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