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Major
work on the Red Dot Corporation sponsored UL-40.
After the best season in Thunder Valley Racing history, plenty of work is being done on the UL-40 hull to make the Red Dot Corporation entry more competitive than ever. From the pictures you see here, lots of work has been done and lots more remains, both forward and aft on the 1989 wooden hull, one of the last of the GP hulls built by Jon Staudacher. Photos by Pat Malara with noted exception.
In typical Thunder Valley
fashion, they look upon the effort with humor. One of the
founders of TVR and former Crew Chief Jon (JC) Courtright
exclaimed when they removed the sponson decks, "out popped
the Dead Sea Scrolls!". Now, the hull isn't quite that old,
but one should never complain when they get a good line from
Thunder Valley. It's just that the good lines have been
fewer and farther between, as their race team's performance
has greatly improved. Engine Builder Chuck Dow was pleased that the 2 engines the
team raced with in 2004 performed flawlessly. Dow noted that
many of the engine problems they experienced in 2003 were
actually caused by elements within the hull, and corrections
made by the team last year worked to near perfection. In
typical Thunder Valley fashion, Dow "blamed" this off-season
's work on driver Harold Mills, noting, with tongue firmly
in cheek, "the 40 wasn't used to going that fast!"
John Lynch, Voice of the
Unlimited Lights remembers, "while I didn't know Don well,
he was a consummate professional. He was instrumental in
getting hydroplane race coverage on the then fledgling ESPN
in the 80's. As KING TV Sports Director, Pacific NW racing
fans watched him in the late 70's and 80's. It's a sad day
for those of us in the sportscasting world. Don was
definitely one of the good guys, and an excellent on-air
talent"
Steve Montgomery, a one time
colleague of Poier's and another longtime hydroplane
announcer said "My first TV job was with Don's production
company (Runaway Entertainment) in 1985. His company had a
contract with ESPN to cover a series of limited events, and
we did at least one Unlimited race as well. Much of what I
know about television sports production I learned from Don.
I saw him last Winter when he was in Seattle with the
Grizzlies. Its hard to believe he is gone so suddenly. We
should all be grateful that boat racing was one of the
sports that benefited from his considerable talent."
At long last the 2004 Unlimited Light Season DVD is finished!!! For only $34.99 you will receive:
3 DVDs (yes I said 3) in a decorated box sleeve, containing all the Unlimited Lights heats, B-Mains, Finals and Invitational of the 2004 Season. You will also get interviews by drivers and crew members as well as first place trophy presentations at 4 of the 2004 races. Over a dozen heats that have not yet appeared on the ULHRA website have been done in full length to give you the entire race as it happened and a few others you have already seen have been redone and lengthened as well. Each race is expertly called by your favorite announcer, John Lynch; The Voice of the Unlimited Lights. All of these at high DVD quality. This price includes shipping and handling. And don’t forget that we still have a few copies left of “Little Boys; Big Toys” and the “2004 Bloopers” (sold separately for $10.00) as well as a few of the 2003 ULHRA Season DVDs. (special price of $15.00) Please send orders to: Gold Cup Video PO. Box 2055 White City, OR 97503 Make checks payable to: Becky Maggard Former Rescue diver and UL-929 Crew Chief now becomes G-class owner #3
30 year old David Warren
of Lake Stevens WA has just acquired from Impact Racing, the veteran
Ron Jones Sr. UL-51 hull. This nearly quarter century old racing
craft which has raced two years successfully as an Unlimited Light
will now become the third entry in the new Thunderboats ACCS series,
as the G-329 Baker Equipment Company.
Warren, is a general
contractor; owner of WRC Construction. He's been part of the
Pacific Northwest boat racing scene for over a decade. He began as
a Rescue volunteer and diver. Later, Warren joined the UL-929 team
of Vince "X-Man" Xaudaro, and was named Crew Chief in 2003. In
2004, Xaudaro had his best year ever in UL competition, taking 3
consecutive 2nd place finishes, and winding up third in the UL
standings.
The history of the
newest G-class entry is substantial. It actually began its racing
life in the early 80's with a "J" number, signifying what was then
the non supercharged 7 Liter Div II class. Then after an ownership
change, the boat was converted to "GP", the Grand Prix Class. It
sat idle in a garage for a decade before Joe Frauenheim & Phil
Bononcini acquired the hull as a second team entry, giving the boat
it's third registration letters, "UL" George Woods Jr. led the
effort for Impact Racing's first ever supercharged entry in
Unlimited Lights; himself coming out of an injury forced 10 year
layoff. He drove the then UL-51 to third place in the 2003
standings. When Woods shifted to Frauenheim & Bononcini's red
rocket UL 72, rookie Michael Flaherty took over the driving chores
and directed the venerable hull to 5th place in the 2004 standings,
and picked up his first ever heat victory in the season finale at
Port Angeles Washington's annual Strait Thunder.
Now, the hull picks up
it's 4th letter which might be some kind of record in the larger
hull hydroplane categories. The boat will be registered as G-329.
If it's sounds familiar to Xaudaro's UL-929, it's by design. The
two teams will be working together. Also, 3-29 is the new owner's
birthday.
As an existing hull, the
G-329 must be a minimum 25 feet in length to race in Thunderboats
ACCS. New construction must be 26-28 feet in length to qualify.
Warren says the hull will be going into ULHRA board member Kelly
Stocklin's shop for addition of transom "shoes" and other
modifications to meet the minimum length. There is another minimum
in the new "G" Class. Race ready hulls, without fuel, must weigh at
least 3500 lbs. With the hull additions, Warren expects the boat to
weigh close to the minimum. It was several hundred pounds over the
2700 lb minimum weight as an Unlimited Light.
Warren says the G-329
Baker Equipment Company will race at all 5 of the first year
Thunderboats ACCS races, in Evansville IN, Valleyfield Quebec,
Canada, Tri Cities WA, Seattle WA and San Diego CA.
Warren says the new
G-329 will sport an entirely new paint scheme, and they will be
ready to test at Spring Training in Tri Cities WA May 14 & 15.
John Lynch
"Voice" of the Unlimited
Lights and Thunderboats ACCS
UL-40 Red Dot Corp. hydroplane driver Harold
Mills honored by Greensboro NC based organization that's working toward
greater diversity and minority opportunity in motorsports.
Steve Clark of Belfair WA has entered
his E222 Thunder Struck in the 2005 ULHRA Lighter than LIGHTS 8 cylinder
stock series. The LTL campaign opens at Issaquah WA with Tastin n Racin
in June, followed by Speedfest in Olympia WA in July. The newest LTL
event, Quicksilver, debuts in August at Silverdale WA the week after
Seafair in Seattle. The series concludes with Strait Thunder in Port
Angeles WA in October. The Lighter than LIGHTS features 4 cylinder and
8 cylinder stock hydroplanes, and this year adds a modified hydroplane
class.
Owner Steve Clark is also the driver of
Thunder Struck. The hull is 17 1/2 feet long and is the last hydroplane
built by Norm Berg (Norberg). It has a Nate Brown reinforced cockpit
and it's powered by a 305 Chevrolet V-8. Clark's best performance so
far was a third place finish at an Eastern Washington race in 2003. At
the LTL events, Clark will be ably assisted by Crew Chief Dennis Lokken
and crewmembers, Carrie, Julie, and Jeff
The fleet continues to grow in both the
8 cylinder and 4 cylinder stock categories. Along with the new modified
class, 2005 will see a significantly larger field of Lighter than LIGHTS
for race fans in the Pacific Northwest. With the ever larger field of
Unlimited Lights, racing will be fast and plentiful at the 4 Washington
State events.
John Lynch
P.R. Director, ULHRA Inc.
In 2004, competition was the strongest and toughest in ULHRA history. Part of the reason was formation of, and race driver confidence in, the new ULHRA Rescue Team. At the beginning of the 2004 racing season, the Unlimited Light Hydroplane Racing Association Inc. stepped up to further develop its racing series by addressing an area of concern. ULHRA Rescue was created. Rescue is a critical area for a racing series such as ULHRA. Throughout the history of this series reliance has been placed on the very capable rescue volunteers at each event, and that service was well delivered. But as the series grew, it became evident that a ULHRA Rescue Team was needed to provide coordinated and knowledgeable assistance at every UL event, in conjunction with the expanded ULHRA Officiating crew. As a result, the race teams and the rescue team grew to know and rely upon each other. That knowledge provided race teams the confidence that should something unfortunate happen on the race course, the best possible coordinated rescue effort was onsite not only to take care of medical emergencies, but also the physical retrieval of possibly damaged race boats and maintenance of race courses. It's no small effort. Many months of planning, interviewing, and scheduling went into the formation of ULHRA Rescue. The first year proved very successful, due to the quality individuals that comprise the team. Jim & Wanda Hightower bring a great deal of experience to their assignments. Wanda handles the assignment of "Water Boss". That means, anything involving the rescue team, such as positioning, dispatching and more, is coordinated by her under the direction of Chief Referee Dave Cossette. That fits her background as a Military Coordinator for Transport and Supply readiness in the field. She served with the Air Force for 8 years and later joined the Air National Guard for 18 years. Jim Hightower has been a scuba diver & instructor since 1969. The 12 year Sheet Metal Foreman previously set up and led diving charters in the San Juan Islands in the early 80's. For the past 18 years he's been a volunteer with Kitsap County Underwater Search & Rescue. He's written a National Association of Underwater Instructors approved course for Public Safety & Rescue Diving, and for the past 6 years has been a certified instructor for hydroplane capsule training. Unlimited Lights and Thunderboats ACCS race drivers must undergo capsule certification every two years, and many elect to do so every racing season.
Jim & Wanda graciously brought many great
assets to the Team, including items used frequently in their Kitsap Water
Rescue program. The Rescue boat with a drop down bow, air floatation bags to
maintain boats above the water line, jaws of life, air saws and other
important gear to save lives. Click here for updates from December, 2004
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