Friday Morning Testing                    By Alan Lagervall   A Primer for the Graham Trucking Cup for Unlimited Lights at Seafair When watching the Unlimited Lights this weekend at Lake Washington there are some distinct differences from the turbine hydroplane series. This is designed to help you understand and celebrate the differences. Unlimited Lights are automotive powered hydroplanes, 20-26 feet in length and ranging from 2,000 lbs up to nearly 4,000 lbs. Engines can be up to 468 cubic inch V-8's with a restricted 6-71 supercharger, or up to 509 cubic inch V-8's with no supercharger. Supercharged Unlimited Lights must start outside of non supercharged (naturally aspirated) Unlimited Lights and supercharged UL's must maintain their starting line lane for one complete lap before moving to an inside lane. This is designed to equalize the competitive opportunity for both types of engines. Non supercharged UL's must hold their starting line lane through turn number one on the first lap. Non supercharged UL's can change lanes after passing the exit pin (buoy) of the first turn if they have an "overlap" on the boat to their inside. An "overlap" consists of the length of the roostertail generated by the lead boat. Supercharged UL's can change lanes after finishing lap #1 if they have an "overlap". Unlimited Lights race on a 1 2/3's mile course and each heat consists of three laps (5 miles). Unlimited Lights must have vertical stabilizers or "tails" and approved, enclosed safety capsule cockpits in order to be legal for ULHRA National Points and Prize Money. All teams must have working radios for communication between pit crew personnel and the driver. The designated radio person operates from the "radio corral" where a ULHRA official informs all radio personnel of situations on the race course. Unlimited Lights have a 5 minute warm-up period (5 minute "gun") and cannot leave the pits before the green flag signals the 5 minute warm-up period is underway. UL's must "score-up" prior to the start to be a legal starter. The score-up buoy is the start-finish line and at Seattle the score-up time will be in the vicinity of one minute thirty seconds (1:30) prior to the start. The Chief Referee will determine the actual score-up time following testing and qualifying runs. An improper score-up results in a one minute penalty. Leaving the pits before the 5 minute "gun" also results in a one minute penalty. Unlimited Lights race on the 1 2/3's mile course however Unlimited Lights will start from the north turn of the turbine course for a longer run to the starting line. The only time prior to the start that the Unlimited Lights can be on the turbine course is after the score-up time prior to the start, otherwise they will receive a one minute penalty. The one minute penalty is added to the overall heat time for the penalized team and usually results in the team losing several positions in the official heat results. Oh yes, one other thing. If you're along the shores of Lake Washington this weekend trying to have a conversation with a friend, and you cannot hear your friend because of the noise of the hydroplanes on the race course..............those hydroplanes are the Unlimited Lights! John Lynch "Voice" of ULHRA Racing Photo Credit: Linda Amundsen   Thursday; From the Pits         By Alan Lagervall   The Gauntlet: Preview #8 Graham Trucking Cup at Seafair "The Gauntlet": aptly named because that's what it is. Five races in six weeks for the teams in the Unlimited Lights Racing Series. It began July 11th and 12th at the spectacular Pepsi Racing Power Cup Challenge on the mighty Missouri River at Chamberlain-Oacoma SD and was followed by the Anderson Broadcasting Radio Waves Regatta in Polson MT, the Tri Cities WA Thunder Cup, and now this weekend, the big Graham Trucking Cup for Unlimited Lights at Seafair in Seattle. The question is, can the Kayleigh Perkins Express be sidetracked? Seattle could be the place. The 21 year old Ms. Perkins, driving the UL-72 Foster Care-Vitamin Water has won all four races on the Unlimited Lights 2009 circuit with the big Graham Trucking Cup for Unlimited Lights at Seafair ahead this weekend (7-31, 8-1 & 2). Fourteen teams qualified for the event by their performances over the first four races. Last weekend's Final Heat featured 7 boats on the front line, with rookie Dan McCullough 5 seconds behind the clock as the trailer boat. Two supercharged hydros, the UL-1 Graham Trucking-Happy Go Lucky-Pump Tech driven by Greg Hopp and the UL-19 Interstate Batteries driven by Ryan Mallow started in lanes 6 & 7 by rule. They maintained their lanes for one lap as required. Hopp and Mallow led the fleet over the line and continued to lead down the backstretch but in turn number two, Perkins overcame their advantage cornering along the buoy line. She started the heat in fourth place, passed Joe Souza in the UL-9 US Army-NAPA Auto Parts in turn #1 and then set out after Mallow & Hopp who had battled tremendously in Heat 2A with Mallow turning the weekend's fastest lap at better than 117 mph to edge Hopp by less than two boat lengths. In the Final, Perkins averaged 108 mph for the victory while Hopp held off Mallow for second. Going into the Seattle race, this is one of only two UL sites where Kayleigh Perkins has yet to win in her short career. The other is Port Angeles WA. It's not for lack of trying. In Perkins' Seattle debut in 2007, Greg Hopp won a drag race to the finish line to win by a couple of boat lengths. Last year's winner, Paul Becker, dominated the Final and Perkins was in second place until, again, Greg Hopp was able to make the pass on the last straightaway. Ryan Mallow and the UL-19 Interstate Batteries could well be one to watch this weekend. The 5 Star Racing team had their best race since winning at Port Angeles WA in 2006, including the quickest competition lap at Tri Cities on Sunday. The 19 is bigger than either the 72 or 1 hulls at twenty six feet in length; the Unlimited Light's limit, and weighs close to 4,000 lbs. That size may prove beneficial when dealing with the rough Lake Washington course that generates constant parallel rollers from the packed logboom. Defending Champion at Seattle, Paul Becker in the UL-14 Miss Critical Logic expected to have a stronger run at Tri Cities. Generally referred to as among the best, if not the best starter in Unlimited Lights racing, Becker uncharacteristically was 5th over the line due to an electrical system malfunction. His team expects that malady to be resolved in time. Greg Hopp's team has also experienced difficulties over the past two weekends. Oil pressure issues have kept the UL-1 from maximum performance and the team spent two races and the time in between in a so far unsuccessful effort to correct whatever ails the UL-1. If Becker, Mallow and Hopp and their teams are on their game in Seattle, watch for one tremendous race as all 3 along with Perkins are very capable of winning. Greg Hopp has won 20 times on the Unlimited Lights circuit and leads all drivers in career UL victories. Two teams damaged at Tri Cities last week have made repairs. The UL-40 King & Bunny's-Pogacha of Issaquah driven by Kelly Stocklin has entered the Seattle event as has the UL-8 Numerica Credit Union. The regular driver of the UL-8 is Kip Brown but he is also driving a turbine hydroplane this weekend. Driver of the UL-8 has not been announced. Wil Muncey will have a different ride this weekend, returning to his familiar "Little Boat that Could" UL-00 Warning Power.com-Trafficade. The Ron Jones Sr hull is one that Muncey has a comfort level compared to the larger Steve Balcer hull that's been campaigned this season. Simply put, Muncey has a lot more seat time in the Jones craft; the hull he made his Unlimited Lights debut and won Rookie of the Year in 2005. He also noted there are distinct differences in how the two boats work that take some getting used to, although Muncey has driven the larger craft to fourth place in the points race and finished third in the first two races of the year. The bigger UL-00 was damaged at Tri Cities when the escape hatch failed, blasting Muncey with a torrent of water. Later the engine dropped a valve and the decision to bring the smaller hull to Seattle was confirmed. "Smokin Joe" Souza and the US Army-NAPA Auto Parts team leaped into 6th place in the points series. With 3 races to go the Xaudaro-Wilmot team is seeking its first Top 5 series finish. Souza and co-driver Vince Xaudaro both showed they were "on their game" at Tri Cities as both made critically important starts: Xaudaro in the first heat and Souza in the Final. Souza is scheduled to race all heats in Seattle. For the second straight weekend, Rod Bourke will be filling the role for team owner Darren Bartels as the UL-11 Power Punch-ROXY 94.5-K&N Filters. Bartels boat was knocked out of action for the season at Polson MT two weeks ago when the propeller broke, causing the prop shaft to spin out of balance and break up the bottom and transom of the boat. Bourke stepped in with his own hull at Tri Cities as the UL-11 and promptly drove to a fifth place finish. The Unlimited Lights will begin testing and qualifying on Friday morning at 9:30am. Four preliminary heats of racing will be conducted on Saturday afternoon, with the B-Main and Final Heats for the Graham Trucking Cup on Sunday afternoon. KIRO TV Channel 7 and Sports Radio 950 KJR AM will have live coverage of the Sunday race. ULHRA Video will provide live coverage on this website throughout the Seattle race weekend, Friday, Saturday & Sunday. John Lynch "Voice" of ULHRA Racing   14 Teams have qualified for Seattle Fourteen Unlimited Lights teams have qualified by their performances this season for this weekend's Graham Trucking Cup at Seafair, in Seattle WA. Unlimited Lights teams will compete in two heats per boat on Saturday afternoon (8-1)  on Lake Washington with the B-Main and Final Heats on Sunday afternoon (8-2). The teams, sponsors and drivers of the 14 entries include.     Boat Driver     UL-00 Warning Power.com - Trafficade Wil Muncey     UL-1 Graham Trucking - Happy Go Lucky - Pump Tech Greg Hopp     UL-3 Miss Pepsi - Poynor Machine Chris Grant     UL-8 Numerica Credit Union TBA     UL-9 US Army - NAPA Auto Parts Joe Souza     UL-11 Power Punch - ROXY Radio 94.5 - K&N Filters Rod Bourke     UL-13 Hendrickson Irrigation and Design J. Craig Fletcher     UL-14 Miss Critical Logic Paul Becker *     UL-19 Interstate Batteries Ryan Mallow     UL-40 King & Bunny's - Pogacha of Issaquah Kelly Stocklin     UL-56 Miss Diagnosed Bill Strain     UL-58 Montana Brand Tools.com Dan McCullough     UL-72 Foster Care - Vitamin Water Kayleigh Perkins **     UL-98 Miss Atomic Screen Printing Charles Xaudaro     *Defending Graham Trucking Cup at Seafair champion     **Current Unlimited Lights 2009 points leader        Perkins now 4 for 4 Third year Unlimited Light's driver Kayleigh Perkins continued her Final Heat mastery of the 2009 season with a come from behind victory at the Tri Cities Thunder Cup. 8 boats answered the call for the Final Heat and Ms. Perkins was not among the leaders at the starting line. ULHRA rules require supercharged Unlimited Lights to start outside of non supercharged Unlimited Lights. With only two supecharged entries in the Final, Greg Hopp in the UL-1 Graham Trucking-Happy Go Lucky-Pump Tech and Ryan Mallow in the UL-19 Interstate Batteries were required to start in lanes 6 & 7 and hold those lanes for one lap. They won the start impressively and raced toward turn #1. A couple lanes to the inside and right behind them was "Smokin Joe" Souza in the US Army - NAPA Auto Parts. Perkins followed over the line in the UL-72 Foster Care - Vitamin Water, with Rod Bourke and the UL-11 Power Punch - Montana Brand Tools.com - Advanced Auto Glass, and Paul Becker in the UL-14 Miss Critical Logic. Ms. Perkins, with one of the best cornering boats in the fleet quickly passed Souza in Turn 1 and then turned her sights on Hopp & Mallow. She moved moved toward the buoy line and took the lead at the end of lap one. After finishing the first lap both Hopp & Mallow were able to move inside but were unable to overcome the lead established by Perkins and they finished second & third. Paul Becker finished fourth, followed by Rod Bourke, Joe Souza, then rookie Dan McCullough in the UL-58 Power Punch - Montana Brand Tools.com - Advanced Auto Glass who was required to start 5 seconds behind, with Chris Grant finishing in 8th place in the UL-8 Miss Pepsi - Poynor Machine. With the victory, Kayleigh Perkins has now won the first 4 events on the Unlimited Lights 2009 schedule. She leads Greg Hopp in the series points race by 1,955. Hopp was unable to race at the South Dakota Pepsi Racing Power Cup Challenge two weeks ago as he was competing in the Gold Cup at Detroit MI. The points race for 2nd place is quite close with Hopp holding a 290 point margin over Chris Grant, with Wil Muncey in the UL-00 Warning Power.com - Trafficade in 4th only 270 points behind Grant. Paul Becker, the defending champion at Seattle, is just 229 points behind Muncey. In ULHRA racing all heats except the B Main earn teams 400 points for a win, 300 points for second, 225 points for third, 169 points for fourth, 127 points for fifth, 95 points for sixth, 71 points for seventh and 53 points for eighth. Next for the ULHRA teams is the Graham Trucking Cup for Unlimited Lights at Seafair, Friday through Sunday, July 31, August 1st & 2nd. Fourteen teams have qualified by points to race at the Seattle event where there will be two sections of A&B heats with 7 boats per heat on Saturday afternoon, then the B-Main on Sunday followed by the big 8 boat Final Heat on Sunday afternoon. KIRO TV Channel 7 and Sports Radio 950 KJR AM will have live coverage on Sunday. ULHRA Video will provide live coverage at www.ulhra.org of the Graham Trucking Cup for Unlimited Lights at Seafair throughout the three day race weekend. John Lynch "Voice" of ULHRA Racing Perkins and Hopp lead after first round at Tri Cities Kayleigh Perkins in the UL-72 Foster Care-Vitamin Water won Heat 1A while Greg Hopp in the UL-1 Graham Trucking-Happy Go Lucky-Pump Tech took first in Heat 1B. In both heats there was excellent competition.  In Heat 1A Paul Becker in the UL-14 Miss Critical Logic actually crossed the finish line a boat length ahead of Ms. Perkins, but due to a score-up violation before the start Becker was assessed a 1 minute penalty and wound up in fourth place.  Second place went to Charles "Ace" Xaudaro in the Kennewick WA owned UL-98 Miss Atomic Screen Printing.  Third place went to Bill Strain, returning to ULHRA competition after a 2 year absence in his UL-56 Miss Diagnosed and Chris Grant in the UL-3 Miss Pepsi-Poynor Machine-Baxter Auto Parts wound up in fifth place. Jerry Hopp, subbing for Kip Brown who is driving in the Unlimited race this weekend, drove Bob & Kathleen Baker's UL-8 Numerica Credit Union and was headed for a solid second place finish when the supercharged engine let go midway through the final turn.  The Numerica team subsequently withdrew from the rest of the weekend's racing.  A similar result but a different fate befell Rod Bourke in the UL-11 Miss Hotsy.  Bourke's boat, subbing for the damaged Darren Bartel's owned UL-11 was racing strongly in second place when the steering failed.  Fortunately Bourke was able to bring the boat to a safe stop and has made repairs to continue racing on Sunday. In Heat 1B, Greg Hopp was in a spirited duel with Ryan Mallow in the UL-19 Interstate Batteries.  Mallow took the lead up the backstretch on the second lap but by the start of the third lap Hopp regained the lead.  Going into turn #1 Mallow's boat broke the supercharger belt and failed to finish the heat.  Owner Tom Eckenberg indicated they expect to be ready for the second round of heats on Sunday.  Vince "X-Man" Xaudaro made it a second runner-up for the Xaudaro boys as he drove the UL-9 US Army-NAPA Auto Parts to a second place finish.  Xaudaro went to high school in Kennewick.  He and "Smokin Joe" Souza are alternating behind the wheel this weekend.  Souza drove last week at Polson MT while Xaudaro was at the controls two weeks ago in Chamberlain-Oacoma SD.  Kelly Stocklin ran a solid heat to finish third in the UL-40 King & Bunny's-Pagacha of Issaquah.  Fourth place went to rookie owner-driver Dan McCullough in his UL-58 Power Punch-Montana Brand Tools.com-Advanced Auto Glass.  McCullough's team, along with Bourke's UL-11 are both being assisted by Darren Bartels program this weekend in a scenario unique in the history of ULHRA Racing.  Because of his rookie status, McCullough must start 5 seconds behind the clock and stay in the inside lane.  Another team heading home early is the UL-13 Hendrickson Irrigation and Design driven by owner J. Craig Fletcher.  For the second consecutive week the team sustained engine damage and could not start a heat.  That team also has returned to its Auburn WA shop to begin repairs.  The third place team in series points, UL-00 Warning Power.com - Trafficade driven by Wil Muncey also wound up with a did not finish in Heat 1B.  In Muncey's case the boat took leap and landed hard in turn number one on the second lap, and the escape hatch failed sending a torrent of Columbia River water into the cockpit.  Muncey was shaken up in the incident but was actively working with his team to make repairs on Saturday night in preparation for the Sunday race schedule. Rookie owner-driver Eric Christensen's UL-35 McCloud's Saloon- Auto Machine Supply of Pasco arrived in the pits late Friday but wasn't ready to run.  The crew is working feverishly, all night if necessary and hope to be on the water for the final testing session Sunday morning at 8:45am.  Christensen has been working on this project ever since he won ULHRA's 4 cylinder Lighter than LIGHTS title in 2006.  Heats 2A & 2B are scheduled for 10:50am & 11:10am Pacific Time on Sunday.  Following the conclusion of Heat 2B, the top 6 teams by points at the Thunder Cup will automatically advance to the 4:40pm Final Heat.  The remaining teams will battle for 2 Final Heat berths in the B-Main at 2:50pm.  John Lynch "Voice" of ULHRA Racing   PRESS RELEASE July 24, 2009 Bremerton hydroplane in Tri-Cities, still looking for first start KENNEWICK, Wash.  – After a last minute alteration to the hull of the UL-35 McCloud’s Saloon met with disapproval from Unlimited Light safety officials last weekend in Polson, Mont., forcing the Bremerton-based hydroplane to withdraw from the Radio Waves Regatta, the team believes it has made the necessary corrections to join the fleet for this weekend’s Lamb Weston Columbia Cup regatta in the Tri-Cities. After arriving in Montana last Saturday, rookie driver Eric Christensen discovered that his boat’s new engine was two inches too deep to be mounted correctly on the UL-35 McCloud’s Saloon.  The fix, which could have placed the hydro on the water for its first run of the season, called for the crew to cut a hole in the bottom of the boat and fit the hull with a slim belly pan - creating another two inches of room for the engine to seat correctly.  A common alteration for the situation. “Unfortunately we just ran out of time.  That can happen with last minute repairs,” said Christensen, who, after working late into the night last Friday to ready his boat for racing, piled his crew into the team’s tractor-trailer rig with boat in tow, for the 8-hour, 500-mile Bremerton-to-Polson drive and a shot at his first Unlimited Light race. “When we finally got to the fix in Polson, there was concern that the epoxies wouldn’t cure in time to hold up.  You don’t want that pan flipping off at 120 mph,” he said.  “The safety officials made the correct decision.” Christensen, his team and the UL-35 McCloud’s Saloon, with belly pan now firmly epoxied to her hull, are in the Tri-Cities for testing and qualifying on Friday for this weekend’s Unlimited Light races at the Lamb Weston Columbia Cup regatta.  Pending qualification on the mile and 2/3 Columbia River course, the team is expected to make their first official run on Saturday among the fleet of 16 Unlimited Light hydroplanes.  For more information on the Lamb Weston Columbia Cup regatta in the Tri-Cities, visit www.waterfollies.com Powered by loud gasoline engines, unlimited light hydroplanes, which range from 20 to 26 feet in length, are a louder, more athletic version of the Unlimited class, putting up roostertails and reaching speeds of 150 mph on the straight-aways.  The UL-35 McCloud’s Saloon boat is also supported by West Bay NAPA Auto Parts, AutoGlass Plus, and Auto Machine and Supply.  For more information on Unlimited Light Hydroplane racing, visit www.ULHRA.org.   -- www.UL35.com -- Media Contact: Mike McQuaid McQuaid & Co. Strategic Communications 206-262-7301 mike@mcquaidcompany.com    Gauntlet Preview #7 16 UL teams ready to crank it up at Tri Cities Crank it up is right.  The mile and 2/3's course on the Columbia River is the quickest course the Unlimited Lights race this year.  Long straight-aways and 1200 foot turns make for very swift runs.  Last year Greg Hopp topped the speed charts at 124.118 mph in this year's UL-1 Graham Trucking-Happy Go Lucky-Pump Tech.  That was the quickest lap ever recorded for the Jamie Auld hull with the most wins of any Unlimited Light hydroplane.  Hopp also owns the overall lap speed record of better than 126 mph set in San Diego in the boat that was formerly known as the American Eagle, built by former owner-driver Paul Droullard, Jim Mowrey, and Ron Jones Jr.  That craft, owned by Bob Schellhase is not entered this weekend but it did win the Port Angeles race last October, one year after flipping on the same course in 2007. Hopp won the Thunder Cup race in dominating fashion last year despite the ULHRA rule that requires supercharged teams to start outside of carburetor fed engine teams, and hold their lane for the first of 3 laps of the five mile heat.  That victory demonstrated the relative equalizing factor of 1200 foot turns compared to tighter courses such as Phoenix AZ and Polson MT. Points leader Kayleigh Perkins in the UL-72 Foster Care-Vitamin Water will seek her first victory on the Columbia River.  Perkins holds a commanding 1404 point lead in the UL standings after winning the first three events of the season. Second place in the points standings is second year team and driver Chris Grant in the UL-3 Miss Pepsi - Paynor Machine.  Grant has been consistent, finishing every heat he's started.  Speed has not been their hallmark, yet, but with the installation of a new fuel return system by co-owner and crew chief David Grant, hopes are high for the tandem wing-single tail hull.  The boat was designed by Ron Jones Sr. and built by the late Terry Troxell. Top challengers include Kip Brown in the UL-8 Numerica Credit Union, and Ryan Mallow in the UL-19 Interstate Batteries.  Both are supercharged engine teams and showed very competitive speeds in their ULHRA season debuts last weekend in Polson MT.  Last year's Seattle winner, Paul Becker in the UL-14 Miss Critical Logic has installed his primary "big" engine for this race.  Becker was the points leader at Silverdale a year ago when, while leading the Final Heat, suffered a season ending blowover accident.  Becker is regarded by none other than Chip Hanauer as the best "starter" in the Unlimited Lights' series. J. Craig Fletcher who's team won the Montana race a year ago, had a very disappointing season debut last weekend with engine problems that prevented a successful heat completion.  The UL-13 Hendrickson Irrigation and Design is expected to be ready for a major Thunder Cup effort. Wil Muncey in the UL-00 Warning Power.com - Trafficade entry will try to forget Polson MT as last weekend he failed to finish a heat, after taking 3rd place in the first two races.  His team remains in third place in the standings and for the Muncey Racing Team, which has competed in Tri Cities both in Unlimited Lights and previously in the Unlimited class, this is the most competitive "ride" that the son of the legendary Bill Muncey has ever brought to the Columbia River. Joe Souza and Vince "X-Man" Xaudaro will share the cockpit in the UL-9 US Army - NAPA Auto Parts.  This veteran hull is developing under the direction of Souza and Xaudaro for owners Jim & Karon Wilmot.  Last year the craft set a personal best speed of better than 110 mph on the Columbia River, a speed that both Souza & Xaudaro believe can be substantially improved upon this weekend. Xaudaro's younger brother Charles will again drive the Kennewick owned UL-98 Miss Atomic Screen Printing for owners Greg & Lora Walden.  The oldest boat in the UL fleet debuted as a 7 Liter Div II hydroplane in 1974 and was designed & built by Ron Jones Sr.  This craft also turned a career best speed at Tri Cities in 2006 when it was owned and driven by Paul Becker, turning a lap speed of better than 113 mph.  That year the then UL-14 hull was second fastest qualifier. UL-11 Power Punch Racing Team Owner Darren Bartels has had a very disappointing season to date.  After finishing but one heat at the season opener in Phoenix the team was unable to finish any heats at South Dakota two weeks ago.  Then last week things seemed to be coming together until they all came apart; literally.  A broken propeller prior to the start of the first heat tore up the veteran UL-11 hull and it is finished for the season.  Then to make matters worse, Bartels' return to his Bonney Lake home was delayed by problems en route from Montana with the team's hauler.  He's seeking a big turnaround this weekend. Bartels Power Punch Racing Team will be involved with two programs this weekend.  Occasional UL competitor Rod Bourke has leased his program to Bartels and will campaign as the UL-11 Miss Hotsy, for Columbia Basin Hotsy of Pasco.  In addition, the team that Bartels affiliated with last week will stay part of his program this weekend.  The UL-58, owned and driven by Grand Coulee's Dan McCullough will be renamed Power Punch Racing-Montana Brand Tools.com for the Thunder Cup on the Columbia. Another team not to be ignored is Kelly Stocklin driving the UL-40 King & Bunny's - Pogacha of Issaquah.  Stocklin and team majority owner-engine builder Chuck Dow and crew chief Ken Eng have been part of Thunder Valley Racing for a long time and off season upgrades to their 80's vintage hull may lead it to career best speeds this weekend.  Back in 2005 when Harold Mills drove for this team the "Fabulous 40" sped around a somewhat modified Tri Cities race course at just under 113 mph. This veteran team could be one to watch this weekend. John Lynch "Voice" of ULHRA Racing Photo credit:  Mark Sharley     Perkins and Mother Nature win at Polson MT Kayleigh Perkins and the UL-72 Foster Care-Vitamin Water were declared the winner of the Anderson Broadcasting "Radio Waves Regatta" on the Flathead River on Sunday, July 19th.  Ms. Perkins won both of her preliminary heats, totaling 800 points, and she was named the winner when high winds prevented running the Unlimited Lights Final Heat.  Second place with 625 points from a first place and third place finish in the preliminaries went to Greg Hopp in the Ratcliff & Barce at Lambros ERA Real Estate-Pump Tech.  Third place in a career best finish went to Chris Grant in the UL-3 Miss Pepsi - T Machine.  In their season debut the Thunder Valley Racing UL-40 King & Bunny's driven by Kelly Stocklin scored third place & second place finishes, winding up with 525 points and 4th place overall.  The team withdrew from the Final and subsequently the heat was called so Stocklin retains his 4th place finish.  Fifth place, also with 525 points went to "Smokin Joe" Souza in the UL-9 Wheat Montana Bakery & Deli-Gull Printing & Signs, with additional sponsored from Jaxxn's Motorsports and Tailwag Pet Daycare.  Two teams with impressive runs in their second heat could not overcome failure to start their first heats.  Kip Brown in the UL-8 Ms Green Beans Espresso-Pepsi Cola Bottling of Kalispell MT, and Ryan Mallow in the UL-19 Interstate Batteries each won a preliminary heat and finished with 400 points.  Brown wound up 6th with Mallow in 7th based on total elapsed time. Paul Becker finished one heat with a damaged engine in the UL-14 93 Rent-A-Wreck - Miss Critical Logic and was unable to continue.  The team spent many hours replacing their backup engine that was used at Montana and South Dakota with their primary engine for the race at Tri Cities this coming weekend. It was a tough weekend for other teams that scored 0 points.  Wil Muncey in the UL-00 Warning Power.com - Trafficade after his boat lost power, went off course. Wil Muncey in the UL-00 Warning Power.com - Trafficade after his boat lost power, went off course and forced a black flag stoppage of the heat.  Defending Radio Waves Regatta champion J. Craig Fletcher and his UL-13 Celtic Racing entry sustained engine problems on Saturday which could not be corrected.  Michael Flaherty, driving Darren Bartel's UL-11 Montana Brand Tools.com - Poppa Don's Grill for the Power Punch Racing Team had the worst luck.  The boat threw a propeller blade which in turn threw the prop shaft out of balance turning the shaft into "spaghetti" and tearing up the boat's transom.  Owner Bartel's declared that hull is done for the season.  However owner Bartel was not done.  He quickly made arrangments to move his UL-11 program to the UL-58 of Dan McCoullough who just recently acquired the former "Union Dooz" hydroplane from Detroit's Pingree Conflitti and was making his ULHRA debut as owner & driver.  For McCullough his run was shortened by a cockpit warning light indicating a possible oiling problem.   Crew members believe that McCullough may have saved serious damage to his engine by shutting down quickly on his second compettive lap. For the Thunderboats in the second race of The Westport Series, promoting awareness of Prader Willi Syndrome, "still hungry for a cure", there was outstanding racing pitting the G-17 Miss Ted's Red Apple Market driven by Dustin Echols, and the G-10 Titeflex-Wiggins Service & Supply driven by Cal Phipps.  In the second heat Phipps made a classic flying start on the outside, led Echols to the first turn and upon reaching the exit pin had a roostertail length lead and was never headed.  After that Echols was prepared for Phipp's starts and both boats entered the first turn dead even.  From the inside lane with a lighter boat, Echols used to his advantage to pull away to victory in the other 3 heats.  RW Dick Lynch in the G-13 Jet Chevrolet.com-Tempo finished third in the Final.  David Warren in the G-329 Miss Ted's Red Apple Market Too took third in the opening on Saturday heat but sustained irreparable damage and the team withdrew for the weekend. Next for the Unlimited Lights is Round 3 of The Gauntlet at Tri Cities WA on Friday, Saturday & Sunday (7-24, 25 & 26) on the Columbia River.  This is the fastest course the Unlimited Lights teams will race all season and at least 15 "Lights" are expected to compete for the Thunder Cup. Less than halfway through the season, Kayleigh Perkins and the UL-72 hold a commanding 1404 point lead over second place, the UL-3 Miss Pepsi-T Machine driven by Chris Grant.  The Grant Racing Team hasn't been fast but they have been consistent, finishing every heat they've started to this point of the season.  Wil Muncey and the UL-00 trails Grant by 211 points with Greg Hopp and the UL-1 just 140 points behind Muncey.  In Unlimited Lights' racing all heat victories are worth 400 points, followed by 300 for second place, 225 for third, 169 for fourth, 127 for fifth, 95 for sixth, 71 for seventh and 53 for eighth.  Greg Hopp, the winningest driver in Unlimited Lights racing with 20 victories, missed the Pepsi Racing Power Cup Challenge last week in South Dakota in order to race a turbine hydroplane at the Gold Cup in Detroit.  He's expected to pull "double duty" at Tri Cities with his father, Jerry, himself a 7 time winner in Unlimited Lights, also available to race. John Lynch "Voice" of ULHRA Racing   Photo Credit: Mike Niwa     Polson Saturday Report Perkins and Hopp win on first day at Polson MT It was a very eventful day at the races.  Nearly 40 teams have made the trek to the Flathead River at Polson MT for  the second annual Anderson Broadcasting Radio Waves Regatta.  Thirteen Unlimited Lights and four Thunderboat teams were joined by 20 teams in the 5 Liter, 2.5 Liter Stock and 1.0 Liter classes in front of a sizeable crowd.  Thirteen heats will conclude the racing action on Sunday. Kayleigh Perkins and Greg Hopp driving the UL-72 Foster Care - Vitamin Water and the UL-1 Ratcliff and Barce @ Lambros ERA Real Estate - Pump Tech respectively, each won their first preliminary heat in dominating fashion.  Heat 1C had to be black flagged before the start of the heat after the UL-00 Trafficade - Warning Power.com driven by Wil Muncey went dead in the water.    In the Thunderboats "The Westport Series" Dustin Echols in the G-17 Miss Ted's Red Apple Market and Cal Phipps in the G-10 Titeflex-Wiggins Services and Supply traded victories.  Phipps, in the second heat, made a classic flying start on the outside, crossing the line just after the clock struck zero.  He led Echols by a roostertail length exiting turn one and was never headed.   In the first heat, Echols used the inside lane to his advantage as he led David Warren in the G-329 Miss Ted's Red Apple Market Too, and Phipps over the line.  RW Dick Lynch in the  G-13 Jet Chevrolet.com - Tempo returned to the pits prior to the start with mechanical woes.  For the second straight week the team was sidelined by a broken rocker arm, and the team has been forced to withdraw.  The UL-11 Power Punch Racing Team will be running a different hull on Sunday.  During the warm-up for Heat 1B, Michael Flaherty's ride threw a propeller blade and severely damaged the bottom and transom of the hull along with ruining the prop shaft and other hardware.  The Darren Bartels owned  hull is done for the year  but they will be racing on Sunday.  A deal was made with Dan McCullough who was attending his first race as team owner of the UL-58 that he recently purchased form Pingree Conflitti.  McCullough's boat wasn't quite ready to race today but now with the UL-11 crew on hand, McCullough's boat has been renamed and renumbered as the UL-11 Montana Brand Tools.com- Poppa Don's Grill, also sponsored by K&N Filters-Power Punch Performance Lubricants and ROXY Radio 94.5 . In the 5 Liter class a wreck during the warm-up period for the first heat took out two boats with severe damage.  Steve Clark, fresh from victory last weekend in South Dakota, spun out when his boat fell in a hole entering turn #2.  Following behind Clark was Helena, Montana's Nick Enderes, a former Polson MT resident, and his boat struck the Clark hydro.  Both drivers survived and Clark noted when his boat spun violently it occurred right in front of Enderes who had no place to go.  Jim Mauldin and Kip Brown won the preliminary heats and in the Final, Brown pulled out the win on the last lap over Mauldin.,   Travis Johnston, Kevin Eacret and Bud McKay rounded out the top 5. In the 2.5 Stock hydroplane class, Dutch Squires won both heats but had to overcome teammate Brian Hanjy to earn the win.  Third place went to Mike Hophine and fourth place to Austin Eacret.  Three of the 2.5's were unable to start the Final Heat but expect to be ready for racing on Sunday. The 1.0 Liter class was won by Robby Dahlquist with Joe Perkins taking second, followed by Bianca Bononcini, Nick Bononcini, and Jere Heiser. Racing resumes at 10:00am Mountain Time on Sunday morning with UL Heat 1C followed by the full Sunday schedule totaling 13 heats of racing.  ULHRA Video will have live coverage on this website. John Lynch "Voice" of ULHRA Racing Photo Credit: Gold Cup Video   Gauntlet Preveiw #6  A Big Fleet in Big Sky Country It's the second round of the 5 races in 6 weeks series called The Gauntlet. This weekend, Saturday & Sunday (7-18 & 19) ULHRA teams will return to scenic Flathead Lake in Polson Mt for the second annual Anderson Broadcasting Radio Waves Regatta. Joining the teams that competed at the incredibly successful Pepsi Racing Power Cup Challenge last weekend in Chamberlain-Oacoma SD will be the defending Unlimited Lights series champion, Greg Hopp in the UL-1 Ratcliff & Barce & Labros ERA - Graham Trucking. Hopp is fresh from competing in last weekend's APBA Gold Cup in Detroit and now returns to the series where he is the career leader in race victories and his team has won more series points championships than any other. Kip Brown, another who raced at Detroit last weekend will make his UL season debut in the UL-8 Baker Equipment-Block Head Machine. The defending champion, J. Craig Fletcher in the UL-13 returns for his first appearance on a race course since last August. Fletcher's program and season came alive last year in a dominating Final Heat winning performance. Another top competitor with 2 wins in the Unlimited Lights series makes his season debut. Ryan Mallow in the UL-19 Interstate Batteries is expected to be a prime contender. It'll be the first UL race for owner Tom Eckenberg since the end of the 2007 season.  The popular Thunder Valley team, led by owner-engine builder Chuck Dow returns with their UL-40 King & Bunny's. Kelly Stocklin will again drive the "fabulous 40" after returning to that seat at Tri Cities last year. Among these contenders only the Hopp Racing team has qualified for the Graham Trucking Cup at Seafair. Also debuting this weekend is Eric Christensen and his UL-35 McClouds Saloon and he too will be attempting to qualify as one of 14 teams to advance to Seattle in 2 weeks. The last chance to qualify for Seattle is next weekend at Tri Cities WA, July 24-26. The Thunderboats will be back on the Flathead River course with 4 teams vying for top honors. Last weekend Dustin Echols was victorious but he can expect strong challenges from the likes of Cal Phipps, David Warren and RW Dick Lynch. Something new for a ULHRA event is there will be 3 APBA classes competing, and they will also earn Lighter than LIGHTS points. The 3 classes include 8 cylinder stock -5 Liter hydroplanes with up to ten entries, plus 5 teams in 2.5 stock and 5 teams in 1.0 Liter hydroplane. Racing will take place both days on the Flathead River right at Polson MT and there is excellent viewing for race fans on both sides of the river. For those who cannot attend, live webcast coverage will be provided by ULHRA video on this website throughout each day, Saturday & Sunday. Check this site for webcast times on Saturday & Sunday morning. John Lynch "Voice" of ULHRA Racing Photo Credit: Tim Crowley and Mark Sharley     UL-35 McCloud’s Saloon Unlimited Light Hydroplane Motor Sports Christensen Racing 3509 Olympus Drive Bremerton, WA  98310 360-981-1940   info@UL35.com www.UL35.com PRESS RELEASE July 16, 2009 Bremerton hydroplane set for inaugural run, Saturday in Polson, Mont.   POLSON, Mont. – Bremerton, Wash. -based Unlimited Light hydroplane, the UL-35 McCloud’s Saloon, is set to compete in its inaugural race, Saturday at the Radio Waves Regatta on Flathead Lake near Polson, Mont.   Rookie driver Eric Christensen of Bremerton will steer the 23-foot Chevrolet 468-powered hydroplane onto the 1 ¼ -mile Flathead Lake course for the first time on Saturday among a fleet of 13 Unlimited Light boats.  The two-day ULHRA-sanctioned regatta features a total of 40 hydroplanes in five separate boat classes.   “The UL-35 McCloud’s Saloon team is excited to finally hit the water – especially in Polson, Montana,” said Christensen, 27, a veteran small boat racer in the 4-Cylinder Lighter than Light class but first-year driver on the Unlimited Light circuit. “The Radio Waves Regatta has a reputation for being an exceptionally well-run event.  The (Polson) community is very supportive of boat racing.”   The leading competition for the UL-35 McCloud’s Saloon includes Unlimited Light Point Standings leader Kayleigh Perkins in the UL-72 Foster Care-Change a Lifetime, also sponsored by Vitamin Water.  The veteran Perkins is coming off of a July 12 Unlimited Light win at the Pepsi Racing Power Cup Challenge on Lake Francis Case on the Missouri River near Chamberlin, South Dakota.  She also won the season’s first ULHRA regatta, April 26 in Phoenix, Ariz.   Along with competition for the Radio Waves Regatta championship, drivers will be accumulating points to qualify for slots at the Seattle Seafair regatta and the ULHRA season points championship.   “The Unlimited Light fleet is very competitive,” said Christensen.  “Some of best drivers in the sport will be in Polson.   Kayleigh Perkins, Greg Hopp, Wil Muncey, Charles Xaudaro and Paul Becker are all fierce competitors.  But realistically, it’s our first race,” said Christensen. “We’ll have our hands full with all of the boats.”   Following the Polson race, the UL-35 McCloud’s Saloon team will compete in Tri Cities, Wash. in the Columbia Cup regatta (July 24 – 26), Seattle’s Seafair regatta (July 31 – Aug. 2), Silverdale, Wash. in the Silverdale Thunder regatta (Aug. 14 – 16) and Port Angeles, Wash., in the Strait Thunder regatta (Sept. 26 – 27).   Powered by loud gasoline engines, unlimited light hydroplanes, which range from 20 to 26 feet in length, are a louder, more athletic version of the Unlimited class, putting up roostertails and reaching speeds of 150 mph on the straight-aways.  The UL-35 McCloud’s Saloon boat is also supported by West Bay NAPA Auto Parts, AutoGlass Plus, and Auto Machine and Supply.  For more information on Unlimited Light Hydroplane racing, visit www.ULHRA.org.   -- www.UL35.com -- Media Contact: Mike McQuaid McQuaid & Co. Strategic Communications 206-262-7301 mike@mcquaidcompany.com

Perkins Successfully Defends South Dakota Title

It's tough to beat Paul Becker and Vince Xaudaro to the starting line in Unlimited Light Hydroplane Racing. They are two of the best "starters" in the series. However, while spotting those two a slight advantage at the beginning, in the end it was all Kayleigh Perkins in the UL-72 Foster Care-Change a Lifetime, also sponsored by Vitamin Water. Ms. Perkins first overcame Xaudaro, driving the UL-9 US ARMY-NAPA Auto Parts on the back stretch of the first lap and drove around Becker at the end of lap 1. She went on to an impressive victory in front of a large throng of fans along Lake Francis Case on the Missouri River at Chamberlain-Oacoma SD. It was her second consecutive victory at this race which began impressively in 2008 only to be even more impressive in 2009. The organizing committee, River City Racin' led by President and Founder Tom Davis again attracted many thousands of fans from several states, way beyond the local population of less than 3,000. Other race sites are beginning to take notice and looking at the South Dakota program as a model to emulate.

Third place went to Wil Muncey in the UL-00 Warning Power.com-Trafficade after a challenging weekend. In his first heat on Saturday Muncey's boat failed to leave the pits due to a faulty starter. On Sunday Muncey won the remaining preliminary heat despite losing the front canard of the hull on the final lap and damaging the propeller in the process. In
the Final Muncey raced without the canard and with a borrowed prop. Fourth place went to consistent Chris Grant in the UL-3 Miss Pepsi, the renamed T-Machine in honor of the event's Title Sponsor. Xaudaro failed to finish the final due to a dislodged battery cable, and Michael Flaherty in the UL-11 K&N Filters-Power Punch Oil Supplements was unable to start the final as the 11 team was plagued by fuel system problems all weekend.

As a result of the outcome of the Pepsi Racing Power Cup Challenge, Kayleigh Perkins now holds a better than 800 point lead on the second place team in the Unlimited Lights national points. Wil Muncey is in second and that's a career best for the Muncey Racing Team. Chris Grant and the UL-3 make it three red boats atop the points after 2 races.

It was a test of survival for the Thunderboats in the first round of The West Port Series, bringing awareness to the Prader-Willi Syndrome. Dustin Echols in the G-17 Miss Ted's Red Apple Market and Cal Phipps in the G-10 Titeflex-Wiggins Services and Supply had a strong battle in the first heat, won by Echols, with Phipps in second followed by David Warren in the G-329 Shade Vineyards of Volga SD-Block Head Machine in third and RW Dick Lynch in the G-13 Jet Chevrolet.com-Tempo in fourth place. In the second heat Echols failed to finish, while Phipps drove on to victory over Warren and Lynch was unable to start due to a broken rocker arm in the engine which sidelined the largest boat in the G-fleet for the rest of the day.

Prior to the Final, the Wiggins Hydroplane Racing Team was plagued by ignition issues and simply ran out of time to complete repairs before the start of the heat. This matched Echols, driving a boat that the co-owner Rick Bridgeman said had an engine the questioned whether it could last the 5 mile distance, and the consistent Warren. In the end
the G-17 engine did survive propelling Echols to a 3 roostertail length victory over Warren. As the teams head for the next stop on The Gauntlet, Warren leads The Westport Series points race by 25 markers over Echols with Phipps 125 points back in third. That's a career best for David Warren, from Lake Stevens WA.

The closest racing of the weekend was in the Lighter than LIGHTS 8 cylinder class where Steve Clark in the E-222 Power Punch-Mattson Construction swapped the lead all weekend in 4 heats with Bud McKay in the E-10 West Sound Electric-GEICO of Lakewood WA. The largest margin of victory was two roostertail lengths. One heat found Clark winning by 2 boat lengths and in the other two heats, Clark eked out victory in the sprint to the finish line, by less than 5 feet! Clark was presented the Minox Digital Camera Photo Finish Award. Another great story from the
LTL event was Chris Dreewes. He's the crew chief for and son of Debi Muncey, owner of the UL-00 driven by his step father Wil Muncey. He also spent countless hours with many volunteers completing a brand new hydroplane just in time for the Chamberlain-Oacoma event. Dreewes was able to successfully complete two heats on Sunday in the E-360 Warning Power.com and was presented the Mechanix Wear "Grace Under Pressure" Award for his efforts and accomplishments.

The USSBA Sprint Boats put on several excellent rounds of their brand of "against the clock" racing on a modified slalom type course set right in front of the fans along the shoreline. In the end, 17 year old Dillon Cummings, the youngest driver in Sprint Boat racing here in the USA, earned the victory. The Stout Tool Corporation "Crew Chief" Award that usually goes to the winning crew chief of the Unlimited Light B-Main, this time was presented in the name of Dillon Cummings to the USSBA so all teams in that organization can utilize the amazing Stout Portable Bandsaw.

The Gauntlet continues with Round 2 at Polson MT this Saturday & Sunday (July 18 & 19) on the Flathead River just off of Flathead Lake. The Anderson Broadcasting Radio Waves Regatta will include the Unlimited Lights, Thunderboats in The Westport Series, plus 3 classes of APBA hydroplanes that will compete both for APBA points and ULHRA Lighter than LIGHTS points. The classes include 1.0 Liter, 2.5 Liter Stock (4 cyl LTL) and 5 Liter (8 cyl LTL). Live coverage both days will be available on this website provided by ULHRA Video.

John Lynch
"Voice" of ULHRA Racing

Photos: Mark Sharley

From the Lighter side...
Clark inches out Pepsi Racing Power Cup Challenge LTL win
By Bud McKay

CHAMBERLAIN-OACOMA, South Dakota - John Lynch, "The Voice" of the Unlimited Lights Hydroplane Racing Association, may have coined a new addition to the South Dakota motto "Great Faces, Great Places and Great Races."

But it was the Lighter-Than-LIGHTS that put on the great racing action at the spectacular Pepsi Racing Power Cup Challenge presented by River City Racin' July 11-12.

Two boats out of the tiny town of Belfair, Wash., got everyone's hearts racing as well as they dueled in classic-deck-to-deck racing action, from flag-to-flag, in three of the four heats run on the picturesque Missouri River.

Steve Clark, driving the Mattson Construction Presents Power Punch Lubricants, earned his second LTL final heat win Sunday literally inching out his neighbor to the north side of town, Bud McKay, in the West Sound Electric Presents GEICO of Lakewood, at the finish line.

The win in the final heat capped off a perfect four-win racing weekend for Clark and his Mattson Construction Presents Power Punch Lubricants team. And winning all four heats was Clark's top goal going into the weekend.

"With us not being able to go to Phoenix for the season-opening race, I was already in a huge hole for a chance at the high points," Clark said. "For me to remotely have a chance, I knew I had to have a perfect weekend."

But it didn't come easy for Clark. He had to work the hardest he said he ever did. From the start of heat one, Clark and McKay battled deck-to-deck, swapping the lead through the four-lap, mile-and-a-quarter-long course.

Clark had the speed out of the corners; McKay had the speed in the straight-aways. Clark pulled out a two-boat-length margin of victory in the first heat.

In the second heat, his margin of victory was four feet.

In the third heat, both McKay and Clark jumped the gun and earned minute penalties. The WarningPower.com, driven by Chris Dreewes, of Monroe, Wash., had finally made it out on the course in the third heat after having to be towed in for the first two heats.

Once McKay saw that he jumped the gun, he broke the cardinal rule of racing -- race flag-to-flag no matter what -- and slowed down to run alongside Dreewes who, as a rookie, must run five seconds behind the field at the start and remain to the outside.

"I had no idea Steve jumped, too," McKay said. "I wish I had that heat to do over again."

Clark would win by his largest margin of victory for the weekend - about ¼ lap.
 
While McKay was dejected, cheers were roaring out of the Warning.Power.com camp.
 
"Finally, I got to have a little fun," Dreewes said. "It wasn't the fastest I've ever been, but it was nice making all four laps and not being towed in."
 
It was the maiden voyage of the brand-new Karelson hull. The boat, owned by Dreewes' mom, Debi Muncey, was at best 75 percent ready to go for the race, but took a gigantic team effort by the entire UL-00 team to get the boat ready.
 
In both the first two heats, the boat came back to the pit area sinking. But Dreewes kept her on top of the water for the third heat to finish his first race since ripping the sponson off his old hydroplane in 2007.
 
For the winner-take-all final heat Sunday, McKay caught the big break he needed when Clark had a miscue before the start.
 
"I was about to cut the course when my (radio) connection came loose," Clark said. "When I looked down to put it back in, I was already past the only place on the course where I could legally cut the course. I was in the wrong place and had the hammer down from then to the finish."
 
McKay saw in the mirror that he had received a gift. "I went for it and made that little, heavy sweetheart-of-a-boat go as fast as she would go," he said. "This was the break I needed."
 
Dreewes, while running, was still battling a fuel issue, gave both boats the room to race. McKay lead every lap going into the final lap when Clark caught up to McKay half-way down the final back stretch.
 
As they came around the final corner, McKay tried to force Clark wide through the turn.

"I tried to push him into North Dakota," McKay said. "Buthe can just flat out get out of the corners faster than I can, and that did me in."

"Bud gave me a good push to the outside, and I knew it was coming, so I just tried to keep it even and fast. I had
the hammer down going flat out and just begged her, 'Come on, baby! Come on!' Then I hit a hole and said, 'Oh no!'"
When the "Belfair Navy Fleet" crossed the finish line, Clark had no idea he won.
 
"I thought he got me by an inch or so," Clark said, "I called over the radio, 'Who won?' but no one said anything back. I asked again, and still silence. When I got to the dock, they still didn't know because we didn't have an official on the dock. But they came running to our boat to let us know we won. Wow! That was a race!" McKay said he knew Clark won.
 
"It was just inches, but he was pulling on me little by little," said the West Sound Electric Presents GEICO of Lakewood drive. "All I could think about was why did I eat that roast beef sandwich earlier in the day? If I was half-a-pound lighter, I'd win. And I'd get that great Minox digital camera (that goes to the winner of the closest finish), too."
 
Clark said that he's battled deck-to-deck many times since he's been racing, but never like this.
 
"Sure, one heat here or there, but not like this - not every time out," he said. "That's always nice. And always nice to watch, too, for the fans. But I have to admit that it's even nicer when you win."

There may be a reason the teams were so evenly matched. Both engines for the teams were worked on by Matt Mattson, of Mattson Construction, of Poulsbo, Wash. Mattson is a crew member for McKay's Namron Racing Team.
 
"Former team member, "McKay said jokingly after the race. "Seriously, if it's not for Matt, neither Steve nor I are here. He not only did the engine work for both of us, he got us additional sponsorship from Newton Construction, out of Kingston, Wash., that helped pay for the fuel to make the trip."
 
Clark led the way for the LTLs earning the "additional awards" by being a slam-dunk, no-questions-asked-winner for the Minox digital camera for the "Photo Finish" award. Dreewes, while performing crew chief duties on his own hull as well as the UL-00 (as well as emergency reserve as crew chief for McKay's boat), earned the "Grace under Pressure" crew chief award and winning the prestigious Mechanix Wear gloves.

McKay, the three-time defending high points champion for 8-cylinder LTLs, leads the 2009 series high points with
2,450 points; Clark has 1,850 points; Kevin Eacret sits in third with 1,200 points; and Dreewes ends up with 825
points - Clark, McKay and Dreewes earned 250 bonus points for making the trip to South Dakota.
 
 Next up is this weekend's Radio Waves Regatta on Flathead Lake, in Polson, Mont.

 

G-329 Announces New Sponsorship

Roostertail Racing is proud to announce the title sponsor for the 2009 Radio Waves Regatta in Polson, Montana on Flathead Lake will be Teds Red Apple Market out of Westport, WA. At the 2009 Pepsi Power Cup Challenge in Chamberlain, SD the G-329 Roostertail Racing team finished 3rd in Heat #1, 2nd in Heat #2, & 2nd in the Final event and is now leaving Chamberlain, SD with point lead in the Westport Series sponsored by the Westport Chamber of Commerce, & The Prader-Willie Syndrome Awareness.
 

Mike Langford (crew chief G-329)

Pepsi Racing Power Cup Challenge Saturday 7-11-09 report

The second annual Pepsi Racing Power Cup Challenge is underway with a strong first day of competition before a very sizeable crowd. Officials of the organizing committee, River City Racin', said ticket sales were well ahead of last year and first day attendance was excellent.

In the featured Unlimited Lights class, Kayleigh Perkins took a heat victory and a second place in the "round robin" format. There are 3 preliminary heats and each team makes two starts prior to the Sunday afternoon Final. In the first heat, Vince "X-Man" Xaudaro won the start and led for nearly two laps in the UL-9 US ARMY-NAPA Auto Parts before Ms. Perkins in the UL-72 Foster Care-Change a Lifetime took command and won by two roostertail lengths. For Xaudaro, filling in this weekend for "Smokin Joe" Souza who stayed behind in Tacoma, WA with a backlog of work at his automotive service center, it was the best performance yet by Xaudaro-Wilmot Racing since Vince combined efforts last season with Jim & Karon Wilmot. Xaudaro had intended not to race this season and concentrate on rebuilding his own Unlimited Light hull but because expanding business forced Souza to miss the South Dakota race Xaudaro stepped in. Souza will be back behind the wheel next weekend at Flathead Lake in Polson, MT.

Third place went to Chris Grant in the renamed for this weekend UL-3 Miss Pepsi in honor of the race's title sponsor. Michael Flaherty in the UL-11 K&N Filters-Power Punch Oil Supplements returned to the pits prior to the start.

In the second heat Ms. Perkins was penalized a lap for an infraction prior to the start. Paul Becker in his UL-14 Anchor Grill & Shipwreck Lounge-Miss Critical Logic won the start and the heat in his return to action after last August's devastating flip at Silverdale WA. Chris Grant again finished third while Wil Muncey in the UL-00 Warning Power.com-Trafficade did not start due to a malfunctioning starter. Crew Chief Chris Dreewes said the problem would be corrected for the next heat tomorrow morning which will match Muncey with Becker, Flaherty and Xaudaro.

 

The Westport Series for the G-Class Thunderboats began with a lot of question marks. Would the rebuilt G-17 Ted's Red Apple Market, damaged a month ago, prove competitive after repairs? Would the G-10 Titeflex - Wiggins Service & Supply, inactive for nearly two years be competitive? What about the G-329 Miss Schade Vineyards-Block Head Machine and the G-13 Jet Chevrolet-Tempo?

Answers:

1. Dustin Echols in the G-17 demonstrated that the repairs to the hull by the Shockwave Racing Team out of Olympia, WA were quite successful in rolling to victory. 2. Cal Phipps in the G-10 showed all that boat needs is some time on the water to fully get the engine and handling package together, while finishing a strong second place. David Warren in the G329 and RW Dick Lynch in the G-13 both showed their teams have improved from a year ago, while finishing 3rd & 4th respectively.

In the Lighter than LIGHTS series the closest racing so far matched two 8 cylinder stock teams; Steve Clark in the Power Punch-Mattson Construction E-222 and Bud McKay in the E-10 West Sound Electric-GEICO of Lakewood.

In the first heat the two veteran 8 cylinder campaigners swapped the lead several times before Clark wound up winning by 2 boat lengths. In the second heat McKay led for much of the race in another deck to deck two boat duel only to have Clark pull out the victory right at the line. It appeared the margin of victory was less than 4 feet which would certainly appear to put Clark in position for this weekend's Minox Photo Finish Award.

The third LTL entry, the brand new E-360 Warning Power.com owned by Debi Muncey and driven by her son Chris Dreewes, had fuel flow problems and was unable to start either heat. Dreewes and a number of volunteers had made a tremendous effort just to get that boat ready for its first race. While disappointed not to make a start today, Dreewes felt they had corrected the problem and he's looking forward to making his first LTL start as a driver, in nearly two years.

Also on hand are six members of the USSBA, the United States Sprint Boat Association out of the Pacific Northwest. Led by Dan Morrison and Doug Hendrickson of Wicked Racing, the two rounds of competition by the Sprint Boats appeared to garner appeal with the fans. This is the second time USSBA has been at a ULHRA event and on the Missouri River they are able to more closely approximate their typical style of racing compared to the limited space available at Firebird Lake in Phoenix last April.

ULHRA Video will continue live coverage on this website of the Pepsi Racing Power Cup Challenge tomorrow (Sunday 7-12) from Chamberlain-Oacoma, South Dakota. The first heat is tentatively scheduled for 10:30am Central Time. Check this website Sunday morning for webcast times.

John Lynch
"Voice" of ULHRA Racing

Photo Credit: Mark Sharley
 

Pepsi Racing Power Cup Challenge Friday 7-10-09 report

Two days of exciting racing on Lake Francis Case on the Missouri River gets underway Saturday in Chamberlain-Oacoma SD. The second annual Pepsi Racing Power Cup Challenge, produced by River City Racin' will begin shortly after 10:00am, Central Time with testing for all boats followed by qualifying for the Unlimited Lights.

This event has attracted 19 teams in four categories including UL, Thunderboats, 8 Cylinder Lighter than LIGHTS and the USSBA Sprint Boats.

Qualifying for the Unlimited Lights earns teams 10% points; meaning the #1 qualifier will earn 40 points (10% of a heat victory 400 points) followed by 30 points for the 2nd fastest qualifier, 23 points for 3rd, 17 for fourth, 13 for fifth and 10 points for sixth.

The UL's are led by Kayleigh Perkins, points leader in the UL-72 Foster Care-Change a Lifetime who won the first race of the year at Phoenix AZ. Wil Muncey in the UL-00 Warning Power.com finished third in the season opener and Chris Grant who finished 4th in the UL-3 "T-Machine" are set to challenge.

Michael Flaherty in the UL-11, K&N Filters-Power Punch Oil Supplements is looking to improve on a disappointing Phoenix race where the team finished only one heat. , Vince "X-Man" Xaudaro in the UL-9 US Army-NAPA Auto Parts, also sponsored by Deschutes Brewing Co. and Jiffy Lube returns for a one race assignment. The ULHRA Board member and co-owner of the Xaudaro-Wilmot racing entry is filling in for "Smokin Joe" Souza who was forced by business demands at his auto repair shop to miss this weekend's race. Souza will return behind the wheel of the UL-9 next weekend in Polson MT. Also, making his 2009 debut following last August's devastating flip is Paul Becker driving his UL-14 Anchor Grill and Shipwreck Lounge-Miss Critical Logic.

Four teams from the G-Class Thunderboats will contest Round 1 of the 4 race "Westport Series". Defending series champion Dustin Echols in the G-17 Ted's Red Apple Market will be challenged by David Warren in the G-329 Schade Vineyards, RW Dick Lynch in the G-13 Jet Chevrolet.com Tempo, and returning to Thunderboat racing after a year's hiatus, Detroit's Cal Phipps and the Milton & Charlie Wiggins G-10 Titeflex-Wiggins Service & Supply from Rainbow City, Alabama.

Live webcast coverage of the Pepsi Racing Power Cup Challenge can be seen right here throughout this weekend.

John Lynch
"Voice" of ULHRA Racing
 

From the Lighter Side...
By Bud McKay

CHAMBERLAIN-OACOMA, South Dakota -- Three Lighter-Than-LIGHTS hydroplanes will compete in this weekend's Pepsi Racing Power Cup Challenge. The LTLs are smaller-versions of the more familiar Unlimited Light hydroplanes, but can hit speeds up to 115 mph in 8-cylinder stock engines.

The first at the race site is the three-time defending series high points champion Bud McKay, from Belfair, Wash., in the West Sound Electric Presents GEICO of Lakewood.

The next boat to arrive today will be the WarningPower.com, driven by Chris Dreewes, of Monroe, Wash.

Expected in the pits Friday morning is Belfair's Steve Clark in the Mattson Construction Presents Power Punch
Lubricants.

McKay, who currently sits in second place in the series high points for the 2009 season, has the boat pretty much
ready to go.

"We're in good shape, and all seems to be fixed from last year's trouble," McKay said. "The new skid fin is picture
perfect, and the boat's turning better than ever -- we're still bogging down coming out of the turns, but it's a weight-issue, and not much we can do about that."

McKay's referring to his boat weighing in at more than 1,900 pounds with him in -- far more than the minimum
1,250 pounds for the class. And McKay said it has nothing to do with him tipping the scales at 303 pounds.

"Lucky for me, I have Matt Mattson on the team and getting the most out of the engine that we can," McKay said.
"Matt's a treasure."

McKay's teammate and Belfair neighbor Clark feels the same way about Mattson -- in fact, Clark's boat is running with
one of Mattson's engines out of his boat.

"This is the third engine we've tried this year to make it work," Clark said, who's not raced since blowing his engine after winning the Silverdale LTL race in August. "We put the engine on the dyno on Monday and she sounded good. She's going to be a runner."

Not only did Mattson help both boats, he also helped the two Belfair teams in securing another sponsor for the South Dakota-Montana races -- Newton Construction of Kingston, Wash.

For Dreewes, this is his first time back in a boat in two years. The last time he raced was in Silverdale 2007. That's where he tore the sponson off his boat in turn 2 and still managed to bring the boat back to the pits.

This race will be the first in a new boat, owned by his mom, Debi Muncey. When the boat left Monroe, it was still needing some work done. Well, talking with Dreewes -- a lot of work.

Photos: Jerry Werdal and Mark Sharley

"The Gauntlet" Preview #5

The Gauntlet": aptly named because that's what it is. Five races in six weeks for the teams in the Unlimited Lights Racing Series. It begins July 11th and 12th at the spectacular Pepsi Racing Power Cup Challenge on the mighty Missouri River at Chamberlain-Oacoma SD. An excellent field is expected for this second annual regatta. Here's a look at two classes that will be racing at Chamberlain-Oacoma.

They don't race together. They don't even race on the same type of course except they will both race on the Missouri River. But they do bring their own brand of excitement and entertainment to the Pepsi Racing Power Cup Challenge.

They are the Thunderboats and the Sprint Boats.

Thunderboats, aka the G-Class, are a bit larger than Unlimited Light hydroplanes, with bigger, more powerful engines, and a program this year titled The Westport Series, named for the famous Washington State coastal fishing town. South Dakota opens the 4 race Westport Series and four teams are entered at Chamberlain-Oacoma. This new series will continue one week later at the Anderson Radio Broadcasting Radio Waves Regatta in Polson MT on Flathead Lake.

It's rather difficult to handicap this Thunderboat race simply because there are a lot of unknowns. Last year the G-17 Ted's Red Apple Market driven by Dustin Echols won the Thunderboat Series Points Championship and finished 2nd in South Dakota. However Echols and the 17 had a serious accident about a month ago and major repairs have been required. This will be the first time on the water since the accident.


The Jet Chevrolet Tempo G-13, the largest of the G-class boats at 28 feet and over 4,000 lbs, had mechanical issues all last season. Driver-Team Manager R.W. Dick Lynch is encouraged that the problems of last season may have been corrected. However, this weekend will be the first time in the water for the "13" but if the "Tempo" runs like it has in previous testing it could be a very interesting competitive development.



David Warren and his G-329 sponsored by Schade Vineyards returns for his third consecutive visit to the Missouri River race course. Warren was part of the exhibition 2 years ago, and the first regatta a year ago. He has the oldest boat in the G-Class, built in the early 80's by Ron Jones Sr. Each year the team has made positive strides and now the G-329 is looking to challenge the front runners.

The intriguing team, from Alabama, is the G-10 Titeflex - Wiggins Service and Supply driven by Detroit's Cal Phipps. This boat was idle in 2008; not by design but that's just how the year worked out. In 2007 this boat was very impressive in a race at Seattle and Phipps is a very talented driver.

Put these 4 together and there could be some great racing when the Thunderboats are on the water this weekend. Oh, that name Thunderboats? Where did that come from? When they start those engines, you'll know!

The Sprint Boats? That's a different kind of story. These craft made their ULHRA debut at Phoenix in April. While the hydroplanes race around a 1 1/4 mile oval, the Sprint Boats are more like slalom skiers. Their course will wind through the race course buoys in a course that may run from 60 - 90 seconds. Like a slalom skier, these boats race against the clock on single boat runs, and they'll make quite a few runs over the course of the weekend. Fans in Phoenix gravitated to these big block, big horsepower, tiny (about 13 feet long) runabout hulls with jet outdrives and roll cages. Why roll cages? These boats commonly race on courses cut out of the ground with a series of channels.......and they go from channel to channel and the course can be adapted by the referree any number of ways. Plus, when a race craft misses a turn on a typical Sprint Boat course it often winds up rolling over the terrain rather than the water, hence the roll cage. They are the USSBA "Sprint Boats" and six of them are scheduled to be competing at Chamberlain-Oacoma SD, July 11th & 12th. If you can't see them in person along with the rest of the Pepsi Racing Power Cup Challenge presented by River City Racin' and ULHRA, then log on to this website this weekend and watch the live video webcast.

John Lynch
"Voice" of ULHRA Racing

Photos - Mark Sharley and David Coe
 

"The Gauntlet" Preview #4