Sunday, 4:32 PM PST update
Tastin' n Racin' 2002 is decided in Issaquah, Washington!

Tastin' n Racin' Final

The race before the final proved to be an exciting buildup for the action on the water which followed.  Two teams found themselves scrambling at the last minute to make the final.  Both the UL-21 Plateau Shell and the UL-23 JW Myers No Fear.com Extreme Racing enjoyed a bit of excitement just prior to the start.  JW and the UL-23 were changing a prop when they discovered that the new prop simply wouldn't go on.  They were eventually able to get the hardware in place, but it was a last moment entry into the race.  Over in the UL-21 camp, Nick Badolato and crew were rushing to fix a hole in the bottom of the boat!

In the final, Phil Bononcini had a great start in the UL-72 Budweiser Pocket Mechanic while Jerry Hopp in the UL-15 Freddie's Club Casino of Renton was just a bit off.  This advantage was one that Bononcini would take on to the win in the first race of the 2002 Texaco Unlimited Light Series.  Phil Bononcini and the entire UL-72 Budweiser Pocket Mechanic team will accept the Freddie's Club of Renton Cup shortly in an awards ceremony in Issaquah.

Five boats went out in the final and five boats returned.  We here at ULHRA.org offer our thanks to all the teams that participated and congratulations on a successful completion of the sixth annual Tastin' n Racin'!

Special thanks are also offered to Patricia Darling and Ed Nelson, the official "eyes of the series" in Issaquah.  Without their observations and calls this coverage would not have been possible.
 

Sunday, 3:12 PM PST update
Results of the B-Main

Tastin' n Racin' B-Main Heat

Dave Bender and the UL-38 Security Race Products presents Miss Silver Dollar Casino looked solid this time out, but it was not to be.  The UL-38 jumped out to the early lead, but had to fight off a fast UL-21 Plateau Shell.  The two would exchange leads and delight the crowd for much of this race.  The UL-38 had the straightaway speed, but the UL-21 had the corners.  This made for a great race to watch.  What changed?  In the third lap, the UL-38 blew a rod and ended the race smoking and too damaged to finish.  Dave is fine, but the mechanical problem ended the fight for first.  JW Myers was in the hunt, but did not challenge the leaders.  His steady pace gave him a strong second and advanced him to the final.
 

Sunday, 2:23 PM PST update
Results of Unlimited Light heat 3B

Tastin' n Racin' Heat 3B

This time out fans were in for a treat as the UL-15 Freddie's Club Casino of Renton and the UL-21 Plateau Shell dueled for the lead.  Badolato had the initial lead, but was over taken by Hopp in the UL-15.  Badolato would then spend part of the first lap catching the UL-15.  Badolato overtook Hopp for the lead as the two passed the start/finish line for the second lap.  The two would battle for the lead the remainder of the race.  JW Myers in the UL-23 JW Myers No Fear.com Extreme Racing entry had to be pleased with his performance as the hull looked solid and the prior day's gremlins appear behind the team.  Myers was just off the leaders' pace for much of the heat.

So how did the results have the UL-21 in third at the end?  Upon post race review, it was announced that the UL-21 was early at the start and was penalized.  The top three were close enough that this moved Badolato into third place, behind Hopp and a pleased JW Myers.

The B-Main

We will be running a B-Main heat later today.  The three boats with the highest points are already in the final.  Those three are the UL-72 Budweiser Pocket Mechanic with 1000 points, the UL-15 Freddie's Club Casino of Renton with 800 points and the UL-19 Spirit of Coeur D' Alene, ID with 750 points.  Tough break for the UL-38 which missed the automatic advance by just 50 points  All other boats in attendance this weekend are invited to compete in the B-Main for entrance into the final.
 

Sunday, 1:00 PM PST update
Results of Unlimited Light heat 3A

Tastin' n Racin' Heat 3A

Well this one was a wild one that had officials comparing notes in the end to confirm a winner.  At the start, the UL-38 Security Race Products presents Miss Silver Dollar Casino and the UL-19 Spirit of Coeur D' Alene, ID were across the line early and found themselves penalized.  This put the UL-72 Budweiser Pocket Mechanic in the lead of the race.  At the exit of the first turn, Bononcini's UL-72 swerved sharply looking a bit out of control and incurred a penalty of it's own for bearing out.  This left rookie starter Kelly Stocklin in the lead for a time even though he was starting back and on the outside of the field.  

Trust us though that this was no boring heat.  With the penalties assessed to three of the boats, they were all still in the race and race they did.  The UL-72, UL-19 and UL-38 dueled and recaptured the lead.  In the end, the UL-38 Security Race Products presents Miss Silver Dollar Casino piloted by Dave Bender would take the checkered flag.

Please note that the reason the speeds listed above may look a bit slow is the penalties assessed on the three heat leaders.  Extra penalty led to slower times around the course.

Looking around the pits, KIRO television has a massive set-up in play this weekend as they film the race for distribution.  The weather is perfect and the sun is out.  It's a great day in Issaquah!
 

Sunday, 12:20 PM PST update
Results of Unlimited Light heat 1A change...

After a full review by officials, it was determined that Doug Brow's UL-3 The Little Store of Friday Harbor WA did not cut off Phil Bononcini in the UL-72 Budweiser Pocket Mechanic.  Brow's penalty during the heat has been overturned and he now has the win in the first heat of the 2002 season.  Here's an updated look at heat 1A's order of finish:

After a fair bit of work last night, we have one team out for the weekend and a new one on hand.  The damage sustained by Doug Brow's UL-3 The Little Store of Friday Harbor WA has ended the team's weekend early.  In his place, Vince Xaudaro's UL-929 Xaudaro Racing team has joined the fleet for the final day of competition.  Work responsibilities prevented Vince from making it until today, but the 2001 Rookie of the Year is excited to be here!

Here are your draws for Unlimited Light heats 3A and 3B:

Heat 3A: UL-40, UL-19, UL-38, UL-72
Heat 3B: UL-21, UL-929, UL-23, UL-15

We have already had some action on the water as Mark Evans piloted the UL-72 Budweiser Pocket Mechanic, Greg Hopp piloted the UL-15 Freddie's Club Casino of Renton and Kelly Stocklin piloted the UL-40 Texaco M&M Deli for some early testing / exhibition runs that delighted the fans.

Today, the vintage car show is in full swing and it is quite a sight.  Nearly 300 cars are in attendance.  Event organizers have arranged them in eight rows of over 30 cars a row and it is a gorgeous site to see.

Vendor space is also proving to be a premium this year as Tastin' n Racin' has enjoyed roughly twice as many vendors as last year.  Great news!

We would also like to offer a warm welcome Jody Patton and Larry Zbeetnoff who are on hand this weekend representing the upcoming Kamsack, Saskatchewan Thunder on the Duck race, the next stop on the 2002 Unlimited Light Hydroplane Racing Association race schedule.
 

The following article was printed on June 7th in the Seattle Times covering the activities at this year's Tastin' n Racin' festival.  The article is titled "3-day festival to offer hydroplanes, rides, cars"  Our thanks are offered to the APBA website for the pointer to the story.
 

We are pleased to share our first gallery of photos from Tastin' n Racin'.  ULHRA Commissioner Patricia Darling took the photos and has our thanks!  Click here to take a look.
 

The pits should be active tonight in Issaquah as the Unlimited Light fleet works hard to prepare for tomorrow's racing and the final.  Let's run down the latest on the four teams that encountered problems this afternoon...

	UL-3 The Little Store of Friday Harbor WA - Doug Brow's UL-3 looked very solid today, but that final heat will make for a bumpy night as the hull threw a rod which reportedly took it's toll on the engine.
	UL-38 Security Race Products presents Miss Silver Dollar Casino - No serious concerns here.  In heat 2A, the UL-38 had the activator linkage come off the font canard.  Rather than run unsafe, Dave Bender brought the boat back to the pits.
	UL-21 Plateau Shell - At the end of the day today, the UL-21 will need a "new valve and a new valve spring".  They are working on the hull at this time.
	UL-23 JW Myers No Fear.com Extreme Racing - JW Myers had a frustrating afternoon as carburetor problems continued to plague the team.  As they tried repeatedly to fire the hull, the battery finally gave out.

We wish each of the teams our best as they are hard at work finalizing plans and equipment for tomorrow!
 

Tastin' n Racin' Heat 2B

Though only two boats made it to the start, it was a good heat to watch as Bononcini held the lead, but a smooth running Steve Hook made valiant runs to catch him.  Hook would catch Bononcini on the straight-aways but lose him in the turns.  In the end this fact would give Bononcini the win in Heat 2B.
 

Tastin' n Racin' Heat 2A

Everyone is amazed at the speed and power being shown by Doug Brow's UL-3 The Little Store of Friday Harbor WA.  Once driver Brow gets dialed in with his greatly improved ride, this is going to be a team to beat!

Tastin' n Racin' Heat 1A

Phil Bononcini and the UL-72 Budweiser Pocket Mechanic may have taken the win, but they actually crossed the finish line second.  Phil lead the first lap and a half, but a hard charging Doug Brow in the UL-3 The Little Store of Friday Harbor WA pulled ahead of the 2001 National Champion.  During that pass, race officials determined that Brow cut Bononcini off and assessed him a one minute penalty.  That penalty also allowed Steve Hook, who was running solid in the UL-19 Spirit of Coeur D' Alene, ID, to secure a second place finish.  Brow finished third.  JW Myers' UL-23 did not get to start.  Last minute engine concerns had the team working inside the carburetor as the slings passed them by this time out.

Tastin' n Racin' Heat 1B

A great start to this heat saw close competition between the UL-15 Freddie's Club Casino of Renton, the UL-38 Security Race Products presents Miss Silver Dollar Casino and the UL-21 Plateau Shell.  All three boats were together putting on a great race for the fans.  Kelly Stocklin in the UL-40 Texaco M&M Deli, though not an actual rookie driver, is somewhat new to the UL's and had to start the race "in the weeds" on the outside.  He ran well and looked solid start to finish.  Returning to the story of the three front runners, the field of three became two when the UL-21 went down and had to restart after going through the UL-15's roostertail.  Badolato and the UL-21 went up a bit as he traveled through the water, but thankfully, came down safely.  In time, Greg Hopp in the UL-15 simply overpowered and pulled away from Dave Bender in the UL-38.

What has Jerry Hopp been up to while son Greg was at the helm of the UL-15?  Jerry has been running a Sport C in competition this weekend jumping out after each heat to grab the headset to talk his son through the UL heats.  You just can't keep that guy down!

We have the draws for heats 2A and 2B:

Heat 2A: UL-38, UL-15, UL-40, UL-3
Heat 2B: UL-72, UL-19, UL-21, UL-23 

The draw was performed by Conner Minnoch, age 5.

An accident in the Pro Stock class delayed the running of 1A and 1B.  The driver of that boat was taken to the hospital as a precaution.  Heat 2A should get underway in about an hour.  The weather in Issaquah has greatly improved over the morning.  The sun is out and crowds are solid for the 6th Annual Tastin' n Racin'!
 

We are pleased to share speeds from qualifying:

Notes from around the pits...

	Rick Bridgeman is serving as the driver's rep for the weekend.
	The UL-40 Texaco M&M Deli had a solid first lap, but went down during the second and resulted in the slower time listed above.
	JW Myers did not register a time as he was simply out testing the engine and putting the hull through it's paces.
	The UL-19 Spirit of Coeur D' Alene, ID did not go out during qualifying.
	We are pleased to report that Steve Hook is back behind the wheel of an Unlimited Light in 2002 piloting the UL-19 Spirit of Coeur D' Alene, ID.  Great to have you back Steve!!!
	Bud Gilbert has been spotted helping out with the UL-38 Security Race Products presents Miss Silver Dollar Casino.
	Seen around the pits... Dave and Pam Villwock, Ron Jones Jr., Ron Jones Sr., Stan Hanauer, Joe Turner, Gary and Beth Michaels, Jody Patton and many, many others.
	The event is running a bit behind schedule.  We will post racing results as they happen!

They've just completed the Saturday morning driver's meeting in Issaquah.  During the meeting, the qualification ladder was set for the eight teams currently in the pits.  Qualification will begin at 11:00 AM.  Here's the ladder:

UL-15 Freddie's Club Casino of Renton
UL-72 Budweiser Pocket Mechanic
UL-23 UL-23 JW Myers No Fear.com Extreme Racing
UL-19 Spirit of Coeur D' Alene, ID
UL-38 Security Race Products presents Miss Silver Dollar Casino
UL-40 Texaco M&M Deli
UL-3 The Little Store of Friday Harbor WA
UL-21 Plateau Shell

We also have the draws for heats 1A and 1B:

Heat 1A (set to run at 12:30 PM):  UL-72, UL-23, UL-3, UL-19
Heat 1B (set to run at 1:30 PM):  UL-21, UL-38, UL-15, UL-40

Heats 2A is scheduled to run at 2:45 PM with Heat 2B following at 4:00 PM.

KIRO television is already set up and running on the initial installment of "Hydro Thunder" (click here for details on getting the broadcast in your area).  Weather this morning started out drizzly and a bit chilly, but the day is brightening and the rain has stopped.

In a bit of ULHRA news, Pat Malara has some new help in the administration of the series.  Bob Hendrickson has joined the team and is on-site this weekend.

All on-site medical exams were completed this morning and the drivers are good to go!  Chief Medical Examiner Frieda Eng has our thanks for helping see to the health of the fleet.

Food vendors are set up and the series has already enjoyed some warm drinks as the vendors begin filling the air with an amazing mix of smells.  Who can race when there's so many good things to eat?

The chief referee for the weekend is Dave Cosette.  Rick Sandstrom is working with a different event today, but will be on site tomorrow.  Peter Thomson is the chief inspector this weekend.  He's also receiving help from Bill Thompson.