|
 
JULY 23-25 -
www.waterfollies.com
For More Information Contact:
Emily Janikowski (509) 783-4675 or cell (509)
366-2967
emily@waterfollies.com
ULHRA Inc. delivers, again.
An exceptional turnout of fans was welcomed by hot sunny
skies, and racing that was just as hot at the 39th annual Budweiser
Columbia Cup at Tri Cities WA. The event featured the Unlimited Light
Hydroplanes competing for the Security Race Products Trophy, and
Thunderboats, both turbine and piston, competing in the Budweiser
Columbia Cup.
30 ULHRA staff members with a combined 400 plus years of
experience in conducting hydroplane races, orchestrated the event
smoothly and on time. Further, 4 rookie drivers were qualified to race,
and competed in their first heats of Thunderboat (aka Unlimited
Hydroplane) competition. It's the largest number of first time drivers
to compete in one race since 4 were qualified for the Seafair Trophy
race in Seattle WA................in 1956! The four qualified drivers in
one weekend were more than have qualified for that series in the past 4
seasons. Each of the first timers demonstrated the talent capable of
racing in the Thunderboats, and two reached the Final Heat. The four are
outboard veteran J.Michael Kelly, Unlimited Lights veterans Steve Hook
and Vince "X-Man" Xaudaro, and inboard veteran R.W. "Dick" Lynch, who
previously attempted to qualify at this same race, 3 years ago. Lynch is
the brother of the ULHRA announcer, John Lynch
The Tri Cities Water Follies Association turned to ULHRA
Inc. to conduct their "independent" race, in much the same manner as was
done last month by the Freedom Festival in Evansville IN. ULHRA staff
members came together to provide the Tri Cities organization with a
workable plan, and successfully carried out that plan, with less than 3
weeks to prepare.
11 Unlimited Lights answered the call, along with 10
Thunderboats, making the 21 boats the largest two series fleet of the
season. Further it was the largest turnout of Thunderboats so far in
2004.
In the Security Race Products Trophy, top honors went to
George Woods Jr. in the UL-72 Graham Trucking - Red Rocket. Woods
overcame an early lead by the "X-Man" Vince Xaudaro in the UL-929 B&B
Construction. The somewhat battered 929 held together for a strong
second place finish, just ahead of Jerry Hopp in the UL-1 Mike's Hard
Lemonade-Happy Go Lucky. Fourth went to Kevin Aylesworth in the UL-5
Baker Equipment Co, while Harold Mills wound up 5th in the UL-40 Thunder
Valley Racing. 6th place went to Michael Flaherty in the UL-51 Miss Boat
Electric. For heat by heat results from Tri Cities.
http://www.ulhra.org/content/results/results-04tri-cities.htm
For current standings in both series,
http://www.ulhra.org/standings.htm
Al Carstensen made his first UL appearance at the wheel
of the UL-6 BCS Racing entry. Carstensen is the second driver from the 3
man partnership to qualify for UL competition, and it was an impressive
debut. Despite a DNF in the "B" Main , Carstensen showed plenty of
competitiveness, including a 3 lap deck to deck duel in Heat 2A with
Jerry Hopp, winding up 2nd less than a roostertail length behind the
ULHRA's defending champion.
The "B" Main was won by George Woods Jr, after failing
to finish his first heat on Saturday. But by Sunday afternoon the crack
UL-72 crew had the Red Rocket flying around the course, and Woods
impressively dominated the Final.
One potentially serious incident occurred just prior to
the start of Heat 1B. Xaudaro and Mills collided coming down for the
start, and Mills was assessed a one minute penalty. Both boats were
damaged, but were able to continue racing and didn't miss a heat.
Xaudaro was trying hard to be the first Tri Cities native to win on the
Columbia River, and he came close
The fans took to the new "D" shaped UL course excitedly,
which brought the racing closer to the front straightaway shoreline.
With the longer arc of the turns, the drivers had to adjust, but the
effect paid off in enjoyment of the Unlimited Lights competition.
Based on their finishing positions in the "B" Main, Paul
Becker in the UL-14 Miss Software Prototype was awarded 7th place, and
Paul Droullard in the UL-9 Richland Suzuki American Eagle, finished 8th.
Droullard again experienced some handling difficulties as the "Eagle"
drifted wide at the start of the "B" Main, forcing George Woods off the
course. Droullard wound up 2nd on the course in the best run by the UL-9
this season, but the resulting 1 minute penalty relegated him to 5th
place. 3 teams qualified from the preliminaries for the final: UL-1,
UL-5 and UL-929, while the UL-72, UL-40 and UL-51 advanced from the "B"
Main.
In the Thunderboat category, Dave Villwock gained the
advantage on the field by getting Lane 1 in the battle for lanes prior
to the start of the Final. The veteran Miss Budweiser driver went on to
victory and was able to miss a first turn incident that involved Mitch
Evans in the Vacationville.com and J.W. Myers in the Llumar Window Film.
The contact caused the Llumar to spin out of control, and resulted in
serious sponson damage. Myers watched the rest of the race from the
infield near the Turn 1 exit pin, and ultimately needed assistance to
keep the Llumar afloat for the tow back to the pits. Evans was assessed
a penalty and wound up 5th.
Second place went to Steve David in Oh Boy Oberto, and
the Madison IN team piled up 1200 points with 4 consistent second place
heat finishes. Third went to rookie J. Michael Kelly in Jim Harvey's
T-2, Miss APBA and 4th to fellow rookie and Richland WA resident Steve
Hook in the Round Table Pizza presents Conover Insurance. Vince Xaudaro
in the T-00 Miss Windermere and Dick Lynch in the T-20 Miss Warner Auto
Sales did not make the final. Ken Muscatel in the T-25 showed strong
competitiveness in the preliminaries and briefly led one heat, but later
had to withdraw due to mechanical damage. Greg Hopp in the T-100 Spirit
of Tri Cities, presented by Robert Young & Associates picked up two 3rd
place finishes, and a did not finish in the 3 preliminaries. Hopp's boat
was withdrawn by owner Fred Leland and there was insufficient boats for
a Provisional Heat. That move advanced Hook and the T-99 to the Final
where the rules specified he start on the outside since there was no
Provisional Heat.
Next, the two fleets move on to Seattle for the annual Seafair event,
August 6 - 8. The Unlimited Lights will add a 12th boat in the UL-18
Jackie's Purple Thunder, driven by Joe Turner. It'll be Turner's first
appearance since the season opener at Tastin n Racin in June. On the
Thunderboat side, the T-3 is returning to its Evansville homeport, and
the T-20, as of this writing, doesn't have sponsorship to enter. Two
teams that did not compete at Tri Cities, the T-10 with Nate Brown
driving and the T-16 with Terry Troxell, will keep that field at 10
boats.
John Lynch
"Voice" of the Unlimited Lights
|
Unlimited Light Final Heat |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Place |
|
Driver |
Boat |
Speed |
Points |
Total* |
|
1st |
UL 72 |
George Woods Jr. |
Graham Trucking-Red Rocket |
112.720 |
400 |
830 |
|
2nd |
UL
929 |
Vince Xaudaro |
B&B
Construction of Tri Cities |
105.792 |
300 |
1017 |
|
3rd |
UL 1 |
Jerry Hopp |
Mike’s Hard Lemonade/Happy Go Lucky |
103.995 |
225 |
1065 |
|
4th |
UL 5 |
Kevin Aylesworth |
Baker Equipment Company |
98.823 |
169 |
707 |
|
5th |
UL 40 |
Harold Mills |
Thunder Valley Racing |
88.872 |
127 |
587 |
|
6th |
UL 51 |
Michael Flaherty |
Boat
Electric Company |
88.003 |
95 |
564 |
|
7th** |
UL 14 |
Paul Becker |
Miss
Software Prototype |
n/a |
71 |
359 |
|
8th** |
UL 9 |
Paul Droullard |
Richland Suzuki presented by Apollo Spas |
n/a |
53 |
338 |
|
* Includes Qualifying |
|
|
|
|
|
|
** UL 14 awarded 7th place Final Heat points
based on B-Main |
|
|
** UL 9 awarded 8th place Final Heat points
based on B-Main |
|
|
Unlimited Light B Main |
|
|
|
|
Place |
|
Driver |
Boat |
Speed |
|
1st |
UL 72 |
George Woods Jr. |
Graham Trucking-Red Rocket |
104.496 |
|
2nd |
UL 40 |
Harold Mills |
Thunder Valley Racing |
95.121 |
|
3rd |
UL 51 |
Michael Flaherty |
Boat
Electric Company |
91.264 |
|
4th |
UL 14 |
Paul Becker |
Miss
Software Prototype |
88.149 |
|
5th |
UL 9 |
Paul Droullard |
Richland Suzuki presented by Apollo Spas |
72.336 |
|
UL 6 |
Al Carstensen |
BCS
Racing Enterprises |
dns |
|
Unlimited Light Heat 2 B |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Place |
|
Driver |
Boat |
Speed |
Points |
Total |
|
1st |
UL 72 |
George Woods Jr. |
Graham Trucking-Red Rocket |
111.058 |
400 |
400 |
|
2nd |
UL
929 |
Vince Xaudaro |
B&B
Construction of Tri Cities |
110.737 |
300 |
700 |
|
3rd |
UL 40 |
Harold Mills |
Thunder Valley Racing |
96.035 |
225 |
450 |
|
4th |
UL 51 |
Michael Flaherty |
Boat
Electric Company |
93.486 |
169 |
469 |
|
Unlimited Light Heat 2 A |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Place |
|
Driver |
Boat |
Speed |
Points |
Total |
|
1st |
UL 1 |
Jerry Hopp |
Mike’s Hard Lemonade/Happy Go Lucky |
104.581 |
400 |
800 |
|
2nd |
UL 5 |
Al Carstensen |
BCS
Racing Enterprises |
102.044 |
300 |
300 |
|
3rd |
UL 6 |
Kevin Aylesworth |
Baker Equipment Company |
98.894 |
225 |
525 |
|
4th |
UL 9 |
Paul Droullard |
Richland Suzuki presented by Apollo Spas |
92.473 |
169 |
338 |
|
5th |
UL 14 |
Paul Becker |
Miss
Software Prototype |
91.930 |
127 |
352 |
|
Unlimited Light Heat 1 B |
|
|
|
|
Place |
|
Driver |
Boat |
Speed |
|
1st |
UL
929 |
Vince Xaudaro |
B&B
Construction of Tri Cities |
104.484 |
|
2nd |
UL
51 |
Michael Flaherty |
Boat
Electric Company |
91.015 |
|
3rd |
UL
40 |
Harold Mills |
Thunder Valley Racing |
69.947 |
|
UL 6 |
Al Carstensen |
BCS
Racing Enterprises |
dnf |
|
UL
17 |
Rick Bridgeman |
Ted's Red Apple Market |
dns |
|
Unlimited Light Heat 1 A |
|
|
|
|
Place |
|
Driver |
Boat |
Speed |
|
1st |
UL 1 |
Jerry Hopp |
Mike’s Hard Lemonade/Happy Go Lucky |
101.377 |
|
2nd |
UL 5 |
Kevin Aylesworth |
Baker Equipment Company |
100.528 |
|
3rd |
UL 14 |
Paul Becker |
Miss
Software Prototype |
89.709 |
|
4th |
UL 9 |
Paul Droullard |
Richland Suzuki presented by Apollo Spas |
83.629 |
|
UL 72 |
George Woods Jr. |
Graham Trucking-Red Rocket |
dnf |
|
Unlimited Light Qualifying |
|
|
|
|
|
Place |
|
Driver |
Boat |
Speed |
Points |
|
1st |
UL 1 |
Jerry Hopp |
Mike’s Hard Lemonade/Happy Go Lucky |
121.187 |
40 |
|
2nd |
UL 72 |
George Woods Jr. |
Graham Trucking-Red Rocket |
119.617 |
30 |
|
3rd |
UL 6 |
Al Carstensen |
BCS
Racing Enterprises |
112.319 |
23 |
|
4th |
UL
929 |
Vince Xaudaro |
B&B
Construction of Tri Cities |
109.731 |
17 |
|
5th |
UL 5 |
Kevin Aylesworth |
Baker Equipment Company |
105.823 |
13 |
|
6th |
UL 40 |
Harold Mills |
Thunder Valley Racing |
100.137 |
10 |
|
7th |
UL 14 |
Paul Becker |
Miss
Software Prototype |
97.375 |
7 |
|
UL 9 |
Paul Droullard |
Richland Suzuki presented by Apollo Spas |
dnq |
0 |
|
UL 17 |
Rick Bridgeman |
Ted's Red Apple Market |
dnq |
0 |
|
UL 51 |
Michael Flaherty |
Boat
Electric Company |
dnq |
0 |
|
UL
117 |
Ron Doumont |
Escapius Maximus |
dnq |
0 |
|
Thunderboats Final Heat |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Place |
|
Boat |
Driver |
Speed |
Points |
Total* |
|
1st |
T 1 |
Miss Budweiser |
Dave
Villwock |
135.939 |
400 |
1640 |
|
2nd |
T 6 |
Oh Boy! Oberto |
Steve David |
133.250 |
300 |
1217 |
|
3rd |
T 2 |
Miss APBA |
J.
Michael Kelly |
126.864 |
225 |
834 |
|
4th |
T 99 |
Round Table Pizza Presents Conover Insurance |
Steve Hook |
120.131 |
169 |
697 |
|
5th |
T 3 |
Vacationville.com |
Mitch Evans |
112.632 |
127 |
1357 |
|
T 8 |
Llumar Window Film |
JW
Myers |
dnf |
0 |
848 |
|
* Includes Qualifying |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Thunderboats Heat 3 B |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Place |
|
Boat |
Driver |
Speed |
Points |
Total |
|
1st |
T 3 |
Vacationville.com |
Mitch Evans |
135.685 |
400 |
1,200 |
|
2nd |
T 6 |
Oh Boy! Oberto |
Steve David |
134.494 |
300 |
900 |
|
3rd |
T 100 |
Spirit of Tri Cities Presented by Robert
Young & Associates |
Greg
Hopp |
127.873 |
225 |
450 |
|
4th |
T 00 |
Windermere Real Estate |
Vince Xaudaro |
119.566 |
169 |
296 |
|
Thunderboats Heat 3 A |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Place |
|
Boat |
Driver |
Speed |
Points |
Total |
|
1st |
T 1 |
Miss Budweiser |
Dave
Villwock |
145.126 |
400 |
1200 |
|
2nd |
T 2 |
Miss APBA |
J.
Michael Kelly |
117.314 |
300 |
596 |
|
3rd |
T 8 |
Llumar Window Film |
JW
Myers |
112.468 |
225 |
825 |
|
4th |
T 99 |
Round Table Pizza Presents Conover Insurance |
Steve Hook |
106.926 |
169 |
521 |
|
T 20 |
Miss Warner Auto Sales |
Dick
Lynch |
dnf |
0 |
394 |
|
Thunderboats Heat 2 B |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Place |
|
Boat |
Driver |
Speed |
Points |
Total |
|
1st |
T 3 |
Vacationville.com |
Mitch Evans |
141.022 |
400 |
800 |
|
2nd |
T 6 |
Oh Boy! Oberto |
Steve David |
139.817 |
300 |
600 |
|
3rd |
T 25 |
Silver Dollar Casino presents Miss Rock |
Ken
Muscatel |
131.796 |
225 |
394 |
|
4th |
T 2 |
Miss APBA |
J.
Michael Kelly |
131.344 |
169 |
296 |
|
5th |
T 99 |
Round Table Pizza Presents Conover Insurance |
Steve Hook |
123.085 |
127 |
352 |
|
Thunderboats Heat 2 A |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Place |
|
Boat |
Driver |
Speed |
Points |
Total |
|
1st |
T 1 |
Miss Budweiser |
Dave
Villwock |
149.409 |
400 |
800 |
|
2nd |
T 8 |
Llumar Window Film |
JW
Myers |
148.496 |
300 |
600 |
|
3rd |
T 100 |
Spirit of Tri Cities Presented by Robert
Young & Associates |
Greg
Hopp |
130.971 |
225 |
225 |
|
4th |
T 20 |
Miss Warner Auto Sales |
Dick
Lynch |
123.165 |
169 |
394 |
|
5th |
T 00 |
Windermere Real Estate |
Vince Xaudaro |
120.253 |
127 |
127 |
|
Thunderboats Heat 1 B |
|
|
|
|
|
Place |
|
Boat |
Driver |
Speed |
Points |
|
1st |
T 3 |
Vacationville.com |
Mitch Evans |
135.054 |
400 |
|
2nd |
T 6 |
Oh Boy! Oberto |
Steve David |
134.675 |
300 |
|
3rd |
T 99 |
Round Table Pizza Presents Conover Insurance |
Greg
Hopp |
131.488 |
225 |
|
5th |
T 25 |
Silver Dollar Casino presents Miss Rock |
Ken
Muscatel |
127.664 |
169 |
|
7th |
T 2 |
Miss APBA |
J.
Michael Kelly |
119.486 |
127 |
|
Thunderboats Heat 1 A |
|
|
|
|
|
Place |
|
Boat |
Driver |
Speed |
Points |
|
1st |
T 1 |
Miss Budweiser |
Dave
Villwock |
145.790 |
400 |
|
2nd |
T 8 |
Llumar Window Film |
JW
Myers |
144.567 |
300 |
|
3rd |
T 20 |
Miss Warner Auto Sales |
Dick
Lynch |
118.554 |
225 |
|
4th |
T 100 |
Spirit of Tri Cities Presented by Robert
Young & Associates |
Greg
Hopp |
dns |
0 |
|
Thunderboats Qualifying |
|
|
|
|
|
Place |
|
Boat |
Driver |
Speed |
Points |
|
1st |
T 1 |
Miss Budweiser |
Dave
Villwock |
163.162 |
40 |
|
2nd |
T 3 |
Vacationville.com |
Mitch Evans |
161.146 |
30 |
|
3rd |
T 8 |
Llumar Window Film |
JW
Myers |
158.646 |
23 |
|
4th |
T 6 |
Oh Boy! Oberto |
Steve David |
147.468 |
17 |
|
5th |
T 2 |
Miss APBA |
J.
Michael Kelly |
145.962 |
13 |
|
6th |
T 100 |
Spirit of Tri Cities Presented by Robert
Young & Associates |
Greg
Hopp |
145.725 |
10 |
|
7th |
T 99 |
Round Table Pizza Presents Conover Insurance |
Steve Hook |
141.443 |
7 |
|
8th |
T 20 |
Miss Warner Auto Sales |
Dick
Lynch |
138.462 |
5 |
|
9th |
T 25 |
Silver Dollar Casino presents Miss Rock |
Ken
Muscatel |
138.164 |
0 |
|
10th |
T 00 |
Windermere Real Estate |
Vince Xaudaro |
132.236 |
0 |


Questions, comments? E-mail
the
site's webmaster.
Copyright © 2004 Unlimited Light
Hydroplane Racing Association
|