Results of the 2002 San Diego Final!
Another great Unlimited Light final is in the books! At the start it was the UL-37 Little Store of Friday Harbor jumping out to the early lead. He would be challenged by the UL-15 Mike's Hard Lemonade/Freddie's Club/Happy-Go-Lucky at each turn and it would be the UL-15 taking the lead by an edge at the start of Lap 3. That lead would be one he would stretch out through the heat. The battle for second would rage as a hard charging Cal Phipp's UL-10 Frazee Paint would catch and pass the UL-37. Just before the finish two boats, the UL-72 and the UL-40, would go down. Congratulations to Jerry Hopp who is enjoying his second race win of the 2002 season. For the team this victory marks the third straight race win. Jerry's son Greg drove during this year's Olympia race taking that team win. Who's in the final? When is the final? Morning test session Unlimited Light Heat 2B Results
What a fight for first! It was a war between the UL-15 and the UL-37 every step of the way. The UL-37 led at the line and held the lead into turn two with the UL-15 on the outside a half roostertail back. The UL-23 was well back in third. The UL-37 continued to lead until the start of lap three when the UL-15 stuck his sponson tips out in front. In turn one, the UL-37 being lane caught up to the UL-15. Going into the final turn the UL-37 got really loose walking sponson to sponson, but was able to stay with the UL-15 coming out of the turn. From there it went down to a photo finish at the line with the UL-15 edging out the UL-37. What a race! The UL-5 made it away from the dock, but didn't make the heat. The UL-10 didn't make it away from the dock. Unlimited Light Heat 2A Results
This time out Phil Bononcini and the UL-72 Pocket Mechanic looked like the team to beat. Bononcini jumped to the early lead over second place running Vince Xaudaro. Early on in the heat, Bononcini again lost power and could not finish. This left the door open for Dave Bender to score more points toward taking the National Drivers Championship. Oddly enough, that door would close for Bender during the heat. Bender, riding a high wave, almost went airborne and came down hard. Though he tried to refire, he would not be able to finish the heat. That DNF made it mathematically impossible for him to take the points lead and nailed down Phil Bononcini's Driver Championship. Bononcini's team had already wrapped up the Owner/Boat Championship. As a side note, Bender would take that ride toward the end of the race. He was leading at the time. Vince Xaudaro, who was right there in the hunt. He trailed second to both Bononcini at the start and Bender toward the end making it a solid race every step of the way. Vince earned his win. Notes as we look toward Heat 2A and
2B... - Race notes were provided by John Lynch, the Voice of the Lights! Here are your draws for
Unlimited Light Heats 2A and 2B Unlimited Light Heat 1B Results
Lead changes, a surprise loss of the points leader and close racing... if you aren't part of the UL-72 Budweiser/Pocket Mechanic team, it was a good heat to watch. At the start, the boats lined up UL-15 (lane 1), UL-19 (lane 2), UL-72 (lane 3), UL-37 (lane 4) and UL-5 (lane 5). The surprise of the heat came right at the start of heat 1B as Phil Bononcini and the UL-72 Budweiser/Pocket Mechanic went down and would not refire. This left Jerry Hopp and the UL-15 Mike's Hard Lemonade/Freddie's Club/Happy-Go-Lucky uncontested for the first lap. Suddenly, out of nowhere, Doug Brow and the UL-37 Little Store of Friday Harbor would make a charge and present a solid challenge to the UL-15. In fact, by the entrance to last turn of the last lap, he took the lead! Hopp would charge back and take the lead by the exit of the turn, but it proved to be an exciting finish to a great heat. Unlimited Light Heat 1A Results
This time out, it was Dave Bender taking the win in a hard fought heat. With the victory, Bender still holds a mathematical chance of taking the Unlimited Light Driver's title for 2002. At the start of this heat, the boats lined up UL-929 in lane 1, UL-23 in lane 2, UL-38 in lane 3, UL-10 in lane 4 and UL-40 in lane 5. Coming out of the first turn, it was Vince Xaudaro jumping to the early lead and holding that lead through lap one. As the fleet came out of the first turn, it was Vince (UL-929) vs. Dave Bender (UL-38) vs. Cal Phipps (UL-10). By the second turn, Bender would fade just a bit, but by the first turn of lap two, he would catch and pass the "X-Man", Vince Xaudaro. From that turn until the start of the last lap, it would be a side-by-side Bender/Phipps battle. Just as the fleet started the final lap, Cal Phipps lost power and went down. This secured the race for Dave Bender and the UL-38 Silver Dollar Casino / Security Race Products team. Kelly Stocklin held strong throughout the heat and secured a 3rd place finish. JW Myers was amazing in qualification, but couldn't find that same speed in the heat. By the way, that qualification position for JW Myers was the fastest qualification speed for JW and the UL-23 team ever. PHOTOS!
Our first photos from San Diego Here are your draws for
Unlimited Light Heats 1A and 1B Qualification standings following this morning's session!
Saturday
Testing/Qualification ... 10:00 AM, Saturday Qualification standings following day one!
Friday
Testing/Qualification ... 3:30 PM, Friday Qualification standings
following the first session...
Friday Testing/Qualification ... 2:00 PM, Friday There are lights on the water here in San Diego! Jerry Hopp just had the UL-15 out for a run. As he came in, the UL-37, UL-38 and the UL-5 went out. Trading positions, the UL-72 and the UL-23 took to the course as the initial mix of hulls returned. Also out late in the session, the UL-929, the UL-40 and the UL-10. The UL-19 was the only hull that didn't go out. Hopp was even able to get in both his requested test runs. A successful half hour on the water for the Lights! A side note... Speeds came in sporadically during the session. We'll try and get a full summary for you following the test. Where's last year's race winning UL-110 Haas Racing Team? There's been a lot of rumors lately regarding the future of the Haas Racing Team. They've missed a couple races and some around the series had speculated that they may be hanging up the racing helmet. We are pleased to report that, following a conversation this morning with Carl Haas, that couldn't be further from the truth. The team's hull suffered damage in Detroit and repairs have been underway since that time. The original plan was to have the UL-110 at this race, but delays in the repair prevented the boat making it the event. Carl and several other members of the UL-110 team are here enjoying the competition this weekend. The 2003 UL-110 will be a "heavily rebuilt hull" which should put them back at the front of the pack. Carl was positive in discussing future team sponsors and he's excited about the team's future with the series. The pits are alive in San Diego! As we approach our first qualification/testing session of the afternoon, we have a ten boat field here in San Diego. In the space that follows we'll run down the qualification ladder (which will also give you a rundown of who is in the pits)! UL-15 Mike's Hard Lemonade/Freddie's Club/Happy-Go-Lucky Why do we have the UL-15 listed twice on the ladder? That's a good question. As first reported by John Lynch, "To help address the parity issue Jerry Hopp, at San Diego, will test three different blower drive ratios as we continue the blown engine learning curve actually on the water and not in the dyno cell." During Hopp's first run, he will be running the hull exactly as it was run in Seattle, 10% overdrive. Essentially, the supercharger is turning 10% over the crankshaft speed. In the second run, he will be running the exact same set-up only with a 1 to 1 ratio. The Lights take to the water at 2:00 PM today! 
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