June, 2001 The latest
from the Canada1 Ministry of Propaganda Doug McIntosh owner of the Canada1 Unlimited Light Hydroplane announced today that the team will be making two appearances in the Eastern swing of the Unlimited Light Racing Series tour. "We are going to be at both Valleyfield and Detroit," said McIntosh in an interview early this week. "It wasn't originally in our plans but our success at Tastin' & Racin' attracted some sponsor interest that is allowing us to make the trip. We will be making some sponsor announcements as we get closer to the events but we are definitely going . We are really pleased to be able to support the class out east, but this trip wouldn't be happening without the help of the Joe and Phil and the rest of the ul-72 gang. I believe that they are truly the backbone behind the growth of the Unlimited Light Series." The Canada1 team will undergo several line up changes for both Valleyfield and the Automotive Gold Cup at Detroit, most notably will be a driver substitution. Veteran inboard racer Mike Cashin of Detroit Michigan will drive in place of regular Canada1 driver Mike McLellan who has work commitments and can't make the trip. "About the time that we put the deal together to race this year I started with Greyhound Canada as a driver, said McLellan from his home in Kelowna British Columbia, " I booked time for the races that I knew we were going to and I don't have the provision to go to other races so, I'll be watching on the net." When asked what he thought about having somebody else drive the boat, McLellan had this to say, " Mikey is going to do a great job. He has known the boss for a lot of years, he was with us at Tastin' and he is a super guy. He really fit in well with the crew. Mike helped me out a bunch in terms of coming up to speed in a boat that I hadn't been in for over a year. I think we are lucky to have a guy with his experience in and out of the boat. McLellan was asked what he thought of a "foreign national" driving the Canada1 "Well, apparently Mike played hockey once in Vancouver, and he could name three brands of Canadian beer when the guys on the crew quizzed him, he'll do great." Mike Cashin is really excited about driving an Unlimited Light again, "Getting to drive a race boat is always good, but when you get to do it at home its even better! I can't thank Doug, Mike and the guys enough for this chance. Mike and I spent a lot of time at Tastin' with our heads together, these guys play the underdog role very,very well. Collectively they use their heads to make sure they are around at the finish. I think I can fit in and do my job as part this race team. They are always a lot of fun." In other job shuffles with in the team rookie crew chief will be replaced for this trip by veteran crew man Jody Patten. "We are in a key production time at Campion Marine, the 2002 prototypes are coming out and its not a good time to be away for a couple of weeks. We know each others role so well that it won't be a stretch for Jody. Don't get me wrong its gonna kill me not being there with the boat, -and missing the Gold Cup! said Treichel. "Its going to be weird not having Mike (McLellan) there" was Jody Pattens first comment, "every race I've been to in the past six or seven years has been as a crew guy on whatever Mike was racing at the time. Cashin is going to be great. The Mikes had a lot of fun at Issaqua (sp) and spent a lot of time talking about how the boat runs, what it likes, what it doesn't. The team has only been together for a short time but the entire group is very tight. Mike (Cashin) fit in right from the start. By the end of that weekend he was definitely one of us. For more updates check out the Canada1
team website at www.unlimitedlights.com
and www.seanet.com/~mms. Demon Chaser
Racing web site looks back on Tonawanda (and more!) Looking
ahead to Valleyfield... For more on the Regates de
Valleyfield, visit them on the web at www.regates.ca. ULHRA President, Joe Frauenheim,
looks back on Tonawanda Hydromania 2001 - Day Three!
Hydromania
2001 - Day Two!
Hydromania 2001 - Day one!
Check out the UL-9!
ABPA circular on Tonawanda!
More on Tonawanda... For additional information on the event
you can contact the United Way of the Tonawandas (the promoters of HYDROMANIA 2001)
at (716) 693-0895. Stephanie Martin is the listed contact for the event
per the Tonawanda Chamber of Commerce. Hope to see everyone there this
weekend!
UL-72 heads east! We look forward to Tonawanda and a meeting of the GNH and GP boats with the lights. Twenty or more big block race boats in the pits should be fun! -- Joe Frauenheim, UL-72 Pocket
Mechanic/Budweiser The latest from the Canada1 (aka UL-14) Ministry of Propaganda... From the Ministry of Propaganda Well Landon, from the UL-72 stopped by this afternoon as he passed through Kelowna on his way east. Canada1 crew guys were laying in ambush and waiting. While Shelley and Mike had him distracted at the kitchen table the Canada1crew dutifully performed a boat switch when no one was looking. It was at the last minute that they realized that the maple leaf was still on the tail of the now UL-72. Just in the nick of time the maple leaf was removed and replaced with a label peeled off of a Bud bottle left over from last nights hot tub party. The newly acquired Canada1 was spirited away to a local brewery for subtle alterations. Hopefully Phil won't catch on when he gets in his "new" boat and finds his knees around his ears. So if the list can just keep quiet maybe we can pull this one over on them eh! The Minister "We've Got A Real Fast One Now Eh!"
Of Propaganda On a more serious note... Canada1 pilot, Mike McLellan let us know that anyone that
was at Tastin' (and everyone that wasn't) will want to check out www.inkphoto.home.dk3.com
and click on cool boats. We agree with Mike, it's a site that's well worth
a look.
Heading to Tonawanda
next weekend? Here's a few things you might not know about the event... More details are on the way
soon. We hope to see everyone at the race! So just who was responsible for watching the gas tank at Tastin' n Racin'?
ULHRA "first look"!
ULHRA Commissioner Patricia Darling
reflects on the first race of 2001! There were even more food vendors than last year and all seemed to be quite busy. The smells were wonderful! Booths of crafts, t-shirts, jewelry and all sorts of "cutesy" things --- they had it all. There were some fabulous antique cars, one Leland unlimited boat and shiny motortcycles. The bands were good fun and the beer garden looked pretty popular. It was a fine family event and you saw kids climbing and riding things with squeals to accompany. Of course it was a treat to see Jim Ranger, Leif Borgeson (and son Bo), Steve Reynolds, Steve Montgomery, Mike Jones, Ken Muscatel and others. The boats were just great. Our Unlimited Light fleet was really polished and the colors this year make for easy identification. All the other classes had good racing as well. A little rain dampened us periodically on Saturday, but Sunday was mostly sunny. Of course you already know the outcomes of the heats, and we did have some good ones. No doubt the best was the B Main where Vince Xadauro (in Steve Hook’s boat) almost got a second!!!! The whole crowd was cheering. As for the final ... it was exciting to see the yellow and red boats dueling it out for the win. Jerry Hopp and the entire team went up for the award ... it was very nice. Best of all, it was a safe weekend. It was also a busy weekend and it was a perfect start to the 2001 season. Diane Patton did triple duty -- as our registrar, our scorer and the scorer for the other classes in attendance. Bill Thompson is terrific and worked with me in the corral as well as inspecting (aided by Wes Patton). Dave Cossette is such a good guy -- wish he could come to more of our races ... he’s quiet and fair ... and definite. Thanks to all who made this weekend happen and who also made it so special! Looking forward to the next one! - Patricia Darling, ULHRA Commissioner New photos! The links to watch for more
from last weekend's race
Here are a few news articles covering the event...
As more links turn up, we'll be sure to
point you to the coverage. Here on the ULHRA website, we've heard from
hydroplane photographer Alan Lagervall and he's
working on some of his shots. He plans to send us a few when they
are ready. Great news! As always, there's much more to come... UL-3 Bounty Hunter team shares
photos and an update following Tastin' n Racin' After getting the minor bugs out of the engine, the Bounty Hunter and Doug were running like the wind! It was very exciting to get our first win on Saturday when Doug won Heat 2A. He walked off the dock grinning from ear to ear! What a way to start off our year! On Sunday it looked like we were going to be in the top 2 places in Heat 3A, but an unfortunate penalty took us from 2nd place to 4th. (Check the "Results -Tastin’ and Racin’" site for all the race results.) Even though we did not run in the final race on Sunday, we watched an awesome finish by Greg Hopp in the Freddie’s Club UL-15. Congratulations Greg! Thank you to everyone who came out to see us. We would like to give a special thanks to Brian Reynolds and Mike Campbell for their help with the boat. Also, great to meet Cheryl and Steve from I-90 Marina. Looking forward to seeing everyone at Black Lake July 7& 8. By then, John and Christine will have welcomed their new addition Audrey, to the family.
"Although we had some rather unfavorable weather for the most part, the water conditions were ok, and we probably had 7-8K in attendance on Saturday, and then with improving weather conditions we had 20K on Sunday - according to the park. The supercharged UL-21 entry made a real hit with most. Just the sound of that thing running was like a freight train on the water! We just didn't compensate for the total additional fuel requirements and kept running out of gas. On Saturday, we were in third after leading both the UL-38 and the UL-72 across the line, through the first turn (on the outside!) and completely up the back stretch. Nick looked over and they were on his inside hip and he said he "had plenty left". And so they were able to out turn us in turn three. On Sunday we lead UL-17 on another great start and held them deck to deck and then five or six boat lengths, then ran out of gas. We'll work on these items, and get them addressed." To learn more about the UL-21 team, visit them on the web at www.seanet.com/~mms/thunder.htm. New photos from Tastin' n Racin'!
Freddie's
Club Lite wins ULHRA Tastin' n Racin' Event Co-owner and driver Greg Hopp took the checkered flag in the "winner takes all final" after not initially qualifying for the final. Although the team placed first in Heat 1A, they failed to win another heat until the "last chance" heat, putting them into the final. Exceeding an average lap speed of 102 mph, Greg Hopp went nose to nose through most of the final heat against the UL-72 Budweiser/Pocket Mechanic. It was not until the last half lap that the winner was realized. "Somewhere I kept thinking we could win this thing, but then I'd think 'no'," says Greg Hopp. "But deep inside I knew we could win." This is only the second event that the Hopps have used their new UL-15 boat. Formerly the UL-16 ALAMO, the hull was the three-time Unlimited Lights National Champion. Co-owner Jerry Hopp says fans should expect much more from the boat once they dial it in. "It was a new boat for us and we took it to Entiat, WA to test it," explains Jerry Hopp. "We found some real problems before we brought it here. But it accelerates well and is very light on its feet!" This weekend's results place the Freddie's Club Lite second for the 2001 Series Championship, just behind the UL-72. Freddie's Club Casino is the most famous non-tribal casino in the region, with its luxurious, yet comfortable atmosphere, ideal for both conversation and gaming. The Freddie's Club staff continues to share in the original vision of founder Fred Steiner - to have friendly dealers that build a rapport with the public, and personalize service for each customer. The Freddie's Club staff works very hard to ensure that each patron has a unique experience. At Freddie's Club Casino in
Renton, you can be sure to find a place to relax and have fun, with the
"Friendliest Dealers in Town" - making sure that you have a great
time. Tastin' n
Racin' Results! Initial Speedvision Broadcast dates for Lake Sammamish:
Click here for updates from May, 2001.
Questions, comments? E-mail the
site's webmaster. |
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Hopp Racing's UL-15,
"Freddie's Club Lite" wins the first event of the 2001 Unlimited Light
Hydroplane Racing Series today at Issaquah, WA.
