August, 2000 New UL photos added on Hydros! The new series is a set of on-the-water action shots. The UL-2, UL-10,
UL-23, UL-33 and UL-110 are captured on film this time out. Click
here to take a look! New graphics and updated information added to
the UL-72 site While there, don't miss Phil Bononcini's update as the team works toward the San Diego race. The UL-72 qualified just over 118 mph last year and they hope to improve on that speed this time out. To take a look for yourself, just visit www.impacthydros.com!
We offer our thanks to Al LaPointe, Judy LaPointe and Security Race Products for their support of the team and the series. Be sure to visit their website, www.securityrace.com, for all your racing apparel and safety needs. At the same time that the team offers a warm welcomes to their sponsor on the water, they've launched a new website off the water. Just visit www.bbracing.evisionsite.com for the very latest on the UL-38 team. The page features news, sponsor information, results, photos and more! B&B Racing Enterprises is family owned by the Benders; Dave, Sandi, Gene,
Elaine, Erik "Rudder" and Elizabeth. The team is led by crew
chief Clay Trueman and Gordon Grimm serves as senior crew member and back up
driver. Fred Steiner of Freddie's
Club, passes away Mr. Steiner passed away early yesterday following hospitalization for heart
trouble. He was 56. For more on Mr. Steiner's life, contributions
and accomplishments, please visit today's
Seattle P-I story. We would like to extend our sympathy to his
friends, family and co-workers. New website aims to "cover" the series Jim asks that contributions be scanned at 96 dpi at 100 percent size.
This results in a fairly large file, but still attaches nicely to an e-mail.
You can send your contributions to jimpern@earthlink.net. Lights will be found in Celina this weekend! Yesterday we reported on five teams headed for Lake Pateros. Today it
appears there will be Lights on the water on the other side of the country as
well. We know of three teams planning to attend the Celina Governor's Cup
Regatta in Celina, Ohio. Bob Larimore's UL-23
Index Homes, Tony Stalder's UL-83 Spirit of
Rising Sun and Mike and Mark Wiener's UL-2
Country Boy all plan to take part in the event. This afternoon we have additional information to share on both of this weekend's GNH events. The APBA website has posted the race circulars offering up all the latest details...
If you are near either event, be sure to stop by and enjoy some good racing! Five Lights set to race in Lake Pateros this weekend! Thanks to a quick e-mail update from Doug McIntosh, we've learned that the UL-15 Graham Trucking, the UL-17 Johnsonville Brats/Ted's Red Apple Markets, the UL-20 Overtime, the UL-21 LizardTech and the UL-49 Lake Pateros Motor Inn will be on the water racing with the GNH Division this weekend! You can come join the fun at Lake Pateros on the Columbia River in Pateros, WA this Saturday and Sunday (August 26th and 27th). Driving the boats this weekend, you will see Rick Bridgeman, Wilsey Hamilton and Steve Hook in the UL-17, the UL-20 and the UL-49 respectively. In the UL-15 camp Greg Hopp (better known these days as driver of Fred Leland's U-100 Znetix) will share driving duties with his father Jerry Hopp. For the UL-21, Kelly Stocklin will step in and race in place of Nick Badolato, the team's regular driver. For more
on this story, a great look back on last weekend's
Rainier Valley Heritage Parade and a special congratulatory message for the
UL-72 team, visit the news page of the McIntosh
Marketing Services website! UL-72 Budweiser/Pocket Mechanic will take home top honors this season!
It's an astounding accomplishment when you consider that this team won their first race in Lake Havasu at the beginning of this season. They now prepare to travel to the San Diego Bayfair race as the 2000 Unlimited Light National High Points Champion. In addition, driver Phil Bononcini has secured his first UL Driver's Championship. The team has taken home wins in all five races attended so far this season, with victories in Lake Havasu, AZ; Issaquah, WA; Detroit, MI; Tri-Cities, WA and Seattle, WA. We offer our heartfelt congratulations to a team that has earned the top honors that they now enjoy. If all this were not enough, Phil's five victories during the 2000 season puts him within two race wins of tying Charley Wiggins second place standing in Career Unlimited Light wins. Former driver Bo Schide currently holds the record with twelve wins and three National Championships. The team has a couple more weeks off before traveling to San Diego’s Mission Bay for the San Diego
Bayfair, the final stop on this year's Unlimited Lights Racing Series
schedule. John O'Brien shares a few thoughts following last weekend's Rainier Valley Heritage Parade... As you know, last Saturday the UL-21 took part in the Rainier Valley Heritage Days parade. Immediately after the parade, we traveled to Issaquah to be part of the Issaquah Rotary's Challenge Race. The Challenge Race puts physically challenged kids in soap box derby cars along with an able body child for buddy racing down a soap box derby course. The kids love it. There were over 100 participants. As an added attraction, we had the kids climb up on the boat and have their picture taken in the cockpit of the Miss LizardTech. You never saw such smiles. After that appearance, we made it to the Issaquah Grange for their annual Customer Appreciation Days. The Grange is a 60 year old farmers' coop with 4,000 members. They sell fuel, feed, farm equipment and Western clothes. It was a community ho-down with Hay bale hucking, square dancing, a petting zoo, hot dogs and cider and of course, the hydroplane fit right in. The Issaquah Grange was our fuel sponsor for all the Unlimited Lights at Tastin N Racin this year. Thanks, John O'Brien For more on the UL-21 team, just click
here to visit internet homepage. The UL-23 team will be testing during the upcoming Celina Governor's Cup in Celina, Ohio. Owner Bob Larimore will drive during the event. They hope to check everything out before heading to next month's San Diego Bayfair. We are also happy to report that both Jose Cuervo and Index Home Systems will be with the team as sponsors in San Diego. To celebrate, they've added the tequila song to their what's new page! For more on the UL-23 team, just click
here to visit their website. We'll continue to update you as the race approaches, but here's an early boat count for the upcoming San Diego Bayfair race: Team, Owner, Driver UL-15 Graham Trucking on display... When not taking
part in this weekend's parade, you can find the UL-15
on display at Wizards Casino this weekend. Our thanks are offered to
Ellene "Ladyspy" Laville for
the quick update on the team. Wizards
Casino can be found at 15739 Ambaum Blvd SW in Burien, Washington. Site updates and redesign continues! We've updated the look of the site and now it's time to update some of the content. Today we worked our way through the team profiles section of the site. Following the review, every team that joined us this season has a profile and every profile from the 2000 fleet has a hull photo. We've also begun adding story links directly to the profiles. If you are interested in a team you can now find all the latest details by simply following the links. Soon we will take a closer look at
teams joining the fleet for the 2001 season and give you a look at what the
fleet may look like next year. Not forgetting about the end of this
season, you may be asking who we expect to see in San Diego? For the
answer, be sure to check back tomorrow! Two Unlimited Light teams join in the Rainier Valley Heritage Parade! The UL-15 Graham Trucking and the UL-21 LizardTech will
join five other hydros as they are featured in this weekend's Rainier Valley
Heritage Parade in Seattle. Click here
for all the details and here
for rundown of the teams taking part in the event. The UL-110 Miss CompAir's picture of the western swing... Tonight Randy and Carl Haas' UL-110 site has been updated with
new information and photos!
Check out the latest stories from their racing adventures in Seattle and
Tri-Cities. There are also new photos from the Detroit and the Tri-Cities
race. Seattle photos are set to debut this weekend. Stop by, take a
look around and see what they've been up to. UL-72 Budweiser/Pocket Mechanic looks back on Tri-Cities and Seattle... Check out the UL-72 Budweiser/Pocket Mechanic site. Some new
information has been added about their two most recent wins, Tri-Cities and
Seattle. We've hear that photos are on the way. Click
here to take a look. The Seafair Pirates join the UL-21 team! John O'Brien and J.C. Courtwright's Issaquah, Washington based UL-21 Unlimited Light team has been named the official team of the Seattle Seafair Pirates. The UL-21 will be pulled into the pits later this morning by the Moby Duck and the Seafair Pirates will be along for the ride. If you are in the Seattle area, you can watch footage from the team's arrival on the noon broadcast of KIRO 7 Eyewitness News at Noon. The team would also
like to thank Issaquah Signs for their fast footwork last weekend pulling
together last minute decals for the boat and their team sponsorship this
weekend. A full UL-23 Team Pegasus update! Talking with UL-23 owner, Bob Larimore, we have learned that he is building a new engine for Seattle! "With the help of our west coast competitors, especially Joe Frauenheim and Phil Bononcini, we have most of the parts at Performance Engine Development in Tacoma and everything else is being shipped in to there. Gary, at the engine shop, is redoing the heads and all the machine work necessary to be ready for the weekend. Dave Crower, at Crower, in southern California is finishing up the crankshaft and shipping some other parts with it. Valves, rings, bearings, and all the other stuff is on the way from Ohio." Looking back on last weekend, Bob added, "We especially want to thank Bryce Foley of Index Homes, our West Coast sponsor, for believing in us and helping secure additional sponsorship to make this all possible." Looking ahead to next weekend, the team has picked up Seattle hotel sponsor Best Western Southcenter! This is the fourth year they have been with the team. For more on the UL-23
team, be sure to visit their website! WORX 96.7 FM in Madison, Indiana will have coverage of this weekends General Motors Cup at Seafair on Lake Washington in Seattle. Jim Hendrick with the Unlimited Radio Network will have reports on WORX 96.7 FM Friday 8/4 and Saturday 8/5 at 5:00 PM EST. URN Sunday 8/6 reports will be at 1:30 PM EST, 4:30 PM EST, 5:36 PM EST, and the live championship heat with the URN can be heard at 6:00 PM EST on WORX. Jeff Ayler and Tim Torrance of
WORX will start the WORX Hydro Show at 4:05 PM EST on Sunday 8/6. Rising Sun
Regatta Race Director Dan Carter will be the WORX Hydro Show guest.
Joining Carter in the studios also will be Milton, KY Unlimited Light hydroplane
pilot Denny Jackson who will race in the Rising Sun, Indiana limited hydroplane
races September 9 and 10 on the Ohio River in Rising Sun, Indiana. Jackson
will pilot a National Modified owned by Joe Marshall of Tennessee in the Rising
Sun Regatta and Carter will inform fans more about the free event September 9
and 10. The Rising Sun Regatta is part of the APBA Mach Series. Click here for updates from July, 2000.
Questions, comments? E-mail the
site's webmaster. |
Joe Frauenhim, Phil
Bononcini and the Issaquah, Washington based UL-72 Budweiser/Pocket Mechanic team have been with the series
since its early days. The team originally came together restoring vintage
hulls and moved over into the Unlimited Lights as a sideline venture. Soon
the racing took center stage and the team's equipment and experience began to
evolve with each passing year. Following a
bad crash in Hawaii at the end of the 1999 season, the team went right to work
rebuilding the new, improved Pocket Mechanic. Help and parts from the
Budweiser team pulled it all together and that set the stage for the team's
success during the 2000 season.
