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We thank the teams and officials of the ULHRA for a great 2003 Tastin' n Racin' weekend!

Photo provided by Mark Sharley.
  

Post Race - John Lynch looks back on Tastin' n' Racin'
John Lynch reflects on the weekend
  

Saturday, June 8th - Sunday's Video Review!

A video review of today's action in Issaquah, Washington! Video Feed 1: Tastin' n Racin' - Heat 3A Video Feed 2: Tastin' n Racin' - Heat 3B Video Feed 3: Tastin' n Racin' - "B" Main Video Feed 4: Tastin' n Racin' - Final

Sunday, June 8th - 4:30 PM (Pacific Time)
Greg Hopp pilots the UL15 Mike's Hard Lemonade/Happy Go Lucky to victory!

Tastin' n Racin' Final
This was a not to be missed final that ended the weekend on an exciting note!  This time out, six boat took to the water for the Tastin' n Racin' final.  Within that six boat pack, two battles quickly developed as three boats (UL15, UL38 and UL51) made it a three way dog fight for the lead.  Behind them, the remaining three boats (UL14, UL40 and UL19) battled for the number four spot.  These two races within a race would keep fans entertained through out the race.  In the end, Greg Hopp aboard the UL15 Mike's Hard Lemonade/Happy Go Lucky would take the win over George Woods in the UL51 Security Race Products (a hull that he's really dialed in through the weekend) and Dave Bender (UL38 Golden Nugget Casino).  In the race for fourth, it would be Paul Becker in the UL14 Aurora Rents edging out Kelly Stocklin (whose UL40 Front Page 2003 came alive for the final) and Steve Hook (UL19 Windows SharePoint Services).  Incidentally, Hook had been disqualified prior to the race for a DMZ violation, but ran the final for the fun of racing and the entertainment of the crowd.

1st place ... Greg Hopp - UL15 Mike's Hard Lemonade/Happy Go Lucky
2nd place ... Dave Bender -  UL38 Golden Nugget Casino
3rd place ... George Woods - UL51 Security Race Products
4th place ... Paul Becker - UL14 Aurora Rents
5th place ... Kelly Stocklin - UL40 Front Page 2003

Sunday, June 8th - 3:30 PM (Pacific Time)

Sunday, June 8th - 3:00 PM (Pacific Time)
Photos!  Steve and Becky Maggard share new photos at Issaquah!

The pits of Tastin' n Racin'!

UL 5 Team Freedom	UL14 Aurora Rents	UL15 Mike's Hard Lemonade/Happy Go Lucky	UL17 Ted's Red Apple Markets
UL19 Windows SharePoint Services	UL38 Golden Nugget Casino	UL40 Front Page 2003	UL51 Security Race Products
UL58 SharePoint Portal Services|	UL929 Microsoft Project	UL72 Budweiser - Pocket Mechanic	Becky and Sara!

Sunday, June 8th - 2:20 PM (Pacific Time)

Sunday, June 8th - 2:00 PM (Pacific Time)
Photos!  Patricia Darling shares photos from Saturday in Issaquah, Washington!

Checking in with Saturday's Drivers Meeting.	Steve Hook grabs some food with his UL19 team	The UL15 and the UL72 ready to race	Hard at work repairing the UL929

Sunday, June 8th - 1:30 PM (Pacific Time)

Heat 3A, Tastin' n Racin'
Six teams took to the line this time out and it would be Phil Bononcini in the UL72 Budweiser - Pocket Mechanic holding off a hard charging Jerry Hopp in the UL15 Mike's Hard Lemonade/Happy Go Lucky.  Bononcini grabbed the early lead and held it throughout the race.  In the back field, Kevin Aylesworth's UL 5 Team Freedom would finish third while the remaining three would fail to finish.  The UL14 Aurora Rents and the UL58 SharePoint Portal Services would go down during the heat.  Vince Xaudaro, whose team worked hard to get the damaged bottom of the UL929 Microsoft Project back on the water today, would see the patch work give and the boat quickly take on water.  Vince appears to be done for the weekend.  The entire fleet looked strong for the first few laps, but faltered toward the end.

1st place ... Phil Bononcini - UL72 Budweiser - Pocket Mechanic
2nd place ... Jerry Hopp - UL15 Mike's Hard Lemonade/Happy Go Lucky
3rd place ... Kevin Aylesworth - UL 5 Team Freedom

Heat 3B, Tastin' n Racin'
A great race start to finish.  This was almost the dream heat for George Woods' return to racing.  All five were close to the line at the start.  George Woods (UL51 Security Race Products) and Rick Bridgeman (UL17 Ted's Red Apple Markets) would jump out to an early battle for the lead that would not be decided until the final lap when 1) Rick Bridgeman went dead just prior to the finish and 2) it was announced that both Woods and Bridgeman jumped the gun at the start.  This left the battle for the lead between Dave Bender and Steve Hook.  Bender would take the win with Hook and Kelly Stocklin trailing second and third.  This heat marked the first solid runs for Bender's UL38 Golden Nugget Casino and Kelly Stocklin's UL40 Front Page 2003.  Great to see that the Saturday night's work helped both teams!

1st place ... Dave Bender -  UL38 Golden Nugget Casino
2nd place ... Steve Hook - UL19 Windows SharePoint Services
3rd place ... Kelly Stocklin - UL40 Front Page 2003
4th place ... George Woods - UL51 Security Race Products

Sunday, June 8th - 12:00 PM (Pacific Time)

Saturday, June 7th - Saturday's Video Review!

A video review of today's action in Issaquah, Washington! Video Feed 1: UL15 Mike's Hard Lemonade/Happy Go Lucky Qualifying Run Video Feed 2: Highlights from Tastin' n Racin' Qualifying Video Feed 3: Tastin' n Racin' - Heat 1A Video Feed 4: Tastin' n Racin' - Heat 1B Video Feed 5: Tastin' n Racin' - Heat 2A Video Feed 6: Tastin' n Racin' - Heat 2B

John Lynch looks back on Day 1 of Tastin' n Racin'...
How about Steve Hook leading after two heat victories with 800 pts, ahead of Phil Bononcini and Jerry & Greg Hopp...both teams have 700 pts.

How about last year's fifth place team, Thunder Valley with Kelly Stocklin, and the new Impact Racing teammate of Phil Bononcini, George Woods; both being unable to get their hydros on a plane and at least make it to the starting line. 

Dave Bender's UL38 Golden Nugget Casino, presented by Security Race Products, got in one very slow lap in testing due to apparent ignition troubles and never ran the rest of the day.  Hopefully that problem is corrected Sunday and this team can again show their strength.

And the nearly biggest surprise of all....how about a heat victory for Kevin Aylesworth of San Diego in the Ron Jones two wing hull. I said nearly, because Aylesworth's Freedom Racing UL5 expired at the exit pin of the last turn, about 500 feed from the finish line, while in the lead. The good news for the San Diego contingent is the hull updates they implrement over the winter via directions from original designer Ron Jones sr. worked. So did the supercharged engine that had been the ULHRA test motor in developing the new engine specs. The always upbeat team is now more than upbeat. They're ready to start really racing after today's performance. So they're spending some evening hours fixing the fuel system "glitch" that cost them a heat victory. Earlier this week, I called this team a "wildcard' because we really didn't know what to expect. Now the field is beginning to discover that they may want to watch out for this rapidly improving orange brigade. 

Day two at Tastin & Racin includes Heat 3 A & 3B, plus a "B" Main to qualify the rest of the field for the "winner take all final". The final is scheduled for 4pm Pacific time on picturesque Lake Sammamish, east of Seattle WA. Today's mid 90's temperatures were unseasonably warm for this area. Sunday's forecast is for more moderate mid 70's temperatures after morning clouds. That should bode well for these powerful engines to perform even better. 

Stay tuned - John Lynch "Voice of the Unlimited Lights 

We were very late getting Heats 2A and 2B run.  The reason?  Regrettably (and we always prefer to start this with the driver is okay) a 5 Liter driven by David Leech flipped in competition.  Brian was transported to a local hospital as a precautionary measure to check out a sore shoulder.  As for his boat... the windshield was broken and the hull was fairly roughed up by the wreck.  We wish Brian our best.

This time out we had one perfect heat and one less than exciting heat.  Here are the details...

Heat 2A, Tastin' n Racin'
Fate was working against the teams again.  The UL40 Front Page 2003, the UL51Security Race Products and the UL38 Golden Nugget Casino were unable to make the start.  That left two boats; Kevin Aylesworth in the UL 5 Team Freedom and, coming off his prior heat win, Steve Hook in the UL19 Windows SharePoint Services.  Aylesworth took the UL5 to the early lead and held it leaving Hook and the UL19 chasing for position.  It looked like Aylesworth had it all wrapped up, but it would not be.  Within 50 yards of the finish, Aylesworth's UL5 encountered a fuel problem (plenty of fuel, just not getting to the engine) and he went down.  Aylesworth could only watch as Steve Hook passed him for his second heat win of the weekend.

1st place ... Steve Hook - UL19 Windows SharePoint Services

Heat 2B, Tastin' n Racin'
This one was, hands down, easily the best heat of the day.  Great racing, strong hulls and solid Unlimited Light competition, start to finish.  If you had to end the day with one race, this was the one that would showcase the word action.  This time out, you would have five teams charging toward the start and dueling start to finish.  A tight race between Phil Bononcini, Greg Hopp and Rick Bridgeman would end with Hopp Racing taking the checkered flag.  Don't worry, we'll show you the race later this evening.  Order of finish...

1st place ... Greg Hopp - UL15 Mike's Hard Lemonade/Happy Go Lucky
2nd place ... Phil Bononcini - UL72 Budweiser - Pocket Mechanic
3rd place ... Rick Bridgeman - UL17 Ted's Red Apple Markets
4th place ... Paul Becker - UL14 Aurora Rents
5th place ... Pingree Conflitti - UL58 SharePoint Portal Services

Interesting side notes...  Will Muncey, son of the late Bill Muncey was racing today in the 5 Liter class.  He raced today wearing his father's helmet.  Changing gears, we checked in with Vince Xaudaro (UL929 Microsoft Project) who had his boat up on tilt looking into the damage suffered heading to the line in Heat 1A.  Vince made it very clear... "She will be ready to race tomorrow."  Way to go Vince!

Heat 2A Draw: UL 5 Team Freedom (Kevin Aylesworth), UL40 Front Page 2003 (Kelly Stocklin), UL51 Security Race Products (George Woods), UL19 Windows SharePoint Services (Steve Hook) and UL38 Golden Nugget Casino (Dave Bender)
Heat 2B Draw: UL14 Aurora Rents (Paul Becker), UL17 Ted's Red Apple Markets (Rick Bridgeman), UL15 Mike's Hard Lemonade/Happy Go Lucky (Jerry Hopp), UL58 SharePoint Portal Services (Pingree Conflitti) and UL72 Budweiser - Pocket Mechanic (Phil Bononcini)

Around the pits...  Hull designer Ron Jones Sr. is on hand this weekend for the racing. Unlimited pilot Mark Evans and wife Elaine brought their 4-seater Unlimited Hydroplane and have it on display. Announcer and hydro commentator Steve Montgomery and wife Debbie are enjoying the racing. Finally, hydro legend Chip Hanauer is on hand taking in the event.

Video, video, video... We've heard from our videographers in the pits of Lake Sammamish. The video has been ready to share, but they are having phone line troubles that will prevent transmission from the pits. You will still get to see the heats, but they will be delayed until the end of competition. Our goal is to prep and deliver the video as quickly as possible following the end of a heat, but sometimes race site conditions don't allow for that to take place. The key here... where once you may not have been able to "see" the race, later today you will be able to watch and hear the action.  Stay tuned!  More heats, more updates plus photos, video and audio at the end of the day!

Heat 1A, Tastin' n Racin'
It seems, as we start the 2003 season, first race jitters are plaguing several teams.  Before a solid crowd and temperatures reaching into the high 80's, the first heat of the 2003 season was run.  Well prior to the start, the UL38 Golden Nugget Casino went out for some late morning testing.  Finding something they didn't like, the team was unable to make the first heat.  That left five boats entering the race.  Five boats would take to the water and two would finish the race.  The UL58 SharePoint Portal Services, driven by Pingree Conflitti, made it 200 to 300 yards and went down.  The UL929 Microsoft Project encountered what we think is some rough water prior to the start and, literally, lost the bottom of the boat.  Vince Xaudaro's 929 is done for at least the day as it is already going to be a late night for the X-man's team.  George Woods' return to race wasn't what he hoped for either.  George's UL51 Security Race Products made it away from the dock, puttered for some time, but went down prior to the start.  The two boats left were the UL72 Budweiser - Pocket Mechanic and the UL-14 Aurora Rents.  The power of Phil Bononcini's championship winning UL72 took the lead and the win.  Paul Becker's UL14 would finish, but it too would not be without a bit of controversy as an early indication had him missing the score-up buoy.  The driver did an extra lap and contested the ruling upon returning to the docks.  An inauspicious start for the 2003 season, but we're hoping those first race jitters are now behind us.

1st place ... Phil Bononcini - UL72 Budweiser/Pocket Mechanic
2nd place... Paul Becker - UL14 Aurora Rents

Heat 1B, Tastin' n Racin'
Regrettably, those jitters would plague the second heat competitors as well.  During the race, officials felt Kevin Aylesworth went outside the course and Aylesworth was told he had been disqualified.  Aylesworth shut the UL5 down and then there was discussion that he should have been only penalized.  By that point, he was down and suffered a DNF.  There was continued discussion taking place regarding the call following the heat.  The UL40 Front Page 2003 failed to start.  The UL17 Ted's Red Apple Markets, a strong, strong hull during Spring Training, hooked and was a DNF.  That left only two hulls contesting for the heat.  Those hulls were the UL15 Mike's Hard Lemonade/Happy Go Lucky (Jerry Hopp) and the UL19 Windows SharePoint Services (Steve Hook).  The UL15 had a solid lead, but a late race yellow flag (due to the other boats position on the course) would cause a cautious Hopp to slow a bit while a hard charging Hook would pass for the win.

1st place ... Steve Hook - UL19 Windows SharePoint Services
2nd place ... Jerry Hopp - UL15 Mike's Hard Lemonade/Happy Go Lucky

It was a relaxed start to the day as Tastin' n Racin' begins to take shape and prepare for a day of intense on the water activity.  We are proud to report that boat representation at the event is strong!  We have eleven Unlimited Light teams and well over 40 teams across the classes.  There are so many 5 Liters in attendance that they are being run in two classes.  The weather is solid (around 82 degrees at this point) and fans are in for a treat of food, racing and fun!

During the driver's meeting, the draws took place for heats 1A and 1B.  Here's how the two heats will shape up...

Heat 1A Draw: UL38 Golden Nugget Casino (Dave Bender), UL51 Security Race Products (George Woods), UL929 Microsoft Project (Vince Xaudaro), UL72 Budweiser - Pocket Mechanic (Phil Bononcini), UL58 SharePoint Portal Services (Pingree Conflitti) and UL14 Aurora Rents (Paul Becker)
Heat 1B Draw: UL19 Windows SharePoint Services (Steve Hook), UL 5 Team Freedom (Kevin Aylesworth), UL15 Mike's Hard Lemonade/Happy Go Lucky (Greg Hopp), UL40 Front Page 2003 (Kelly Stocklin) and the UL17 Ted's Red Apple Markets (Rick Bridgeman)

Our chief referee for the weekend will be Dick Price.  Dick has a lot of experience working with the Inboard ranks and we welcome him to the event!  We're hoping to see Dave Cossette back with us in the pits again today.  This year he's taking it a bit easier than most simply enjoying the action as he recovers.  Keep getting better Dave!

Testing and qualifying are underway and we're return with all the details (along with the early heat results) soon.

We are pleased to report that we have the expected eleven boats in the pits!  Teams here include...

* denotes Microsoft entry
7 boats run naturally aspirated engines
UL5, UL17, UL40 and UL51 run restricted supercharged engines.

We have one additional boat we are watching for at this time.  That would be Joe Turner and the UL18 Mo Jo. If we have twelve boats that qualify, we'll run 4 boat heats in the Heat 1A, 1B, and 1C format. If we remain at eleven, Heat 1A will have 6 boats and Heat 1B will have 5 boats.  Each boat will see two heats of racing action on Saturday (plus testing and qualifying Saturday morning).  Heats 3A & 3B, plus the "B" Main and Final will take place on Sunday.

The pits of Lake Sammamish State Park are live with activity as the Unlimited Light Hydroplane Racing Association officially kicks off it's 2003 season this evening in Issaquah, Washington.  At this time, ULHRA drivers Greg Hopp and Pingree Conflitti have been spotted walking through the pits.  In attendance this evening we already have the UL-5 Team Freedom from San Diego, the UL-15 Mike's Hard Lemonade/Happy Go Lucky, the UL-17 Ted's Red Apple Markets and the UL-58 SharePoint Portal Services (our first Microsoft entry to arrive).  We just heard from Gene and Dave Bender's UL-38 Golden Nugget Casino team.  They are currently stuck in traffic in Portland, Oregon but are well on their way.  Also on the highway at this time... the UL-40 Front Page 2003 and the UL-72 Budweiser/Pocket Mechanic.  Several other boats should soon be on the road as well.

Also in the pits, we have two 5-Litre/National Modifieds... the E-41 (Larry Garcia/The Joker Hydroplane) and E/NM-4 (Bryan Richards/Miss Shoreline Sign and Awning)

It's currently 89 degrees with a slight breeze.  Beautiful weather!

One interesting side story!  Pingree Conflitti's daughter, a twenty-three year old law student, is going to take the UL-58 SharePoint Portal Services out for a few test laps.  We love seeing new drivers jump into the sport and hope she has a fun and safe ride.

Also spotted in the pits... ULHRA's own Patricia Darling, Mel Cossette, Dave Cossette and Jim Riley.  It's really great to have Dave Cossette with us for Tastin' n Racin'.  Dave was injured in a motorcycle accident in April and we are especially thankful that he could return to the Lights again this year!  Dave has been the Unlimited Lights' Chief Referee at Tastin' n Racin' for the past few years and a constant friend to the series.