FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July
30, 2010
For Information Contact:
Chef/Owner John Howie
John Howie Steak
(The
Shops at The Bravern)
11111-NE 8th St., Suite 125
Bellevue, Washington 98004
Phone: (425) 440-0880
www.johnhowiesteak.com
CHEF JOHN HOWIE HAS HIS
EYE ON SOME BIG STAKES!!
John Howie Steak
Sponsors Wil Muncey Driven Hydro in Seafair Cup Race
Bellevue, Washington---While John Howie
may cook steaks rare, he rarely makes a mistake. Right now he has
his eye on some BIG stakes – sponsoring a winning hydro in this upcoming
week’s Graham Trucking Cup Unlimited Light Hydroplane portion of the
2010 Seafair regatta. Always a bit of a competitor, whether in the
kitchen, coaching his sons’ teams or on the field himself, John will
have his John Howie Steak restaurant name on a boat that is shaping up
to be a strong contender for the Cup title.
And who’s driving the hydro (other than
John as seen above?) UL-00 hydroplane driver Wil Muncey. Wil
is the eldest son of Bill Muncey who won a record number of
championships before losing his life in a hydroplane accident at the age
of 52. "Muncey Racing is absolutely
delighted to be sponsored by John Howie Steak this year” says Wil. The
Chef and his restaurants have an outstanding reputation in the
Northwest. Summer, Seafair, Hydroplanes and John Howie Steak.....who
could ask for more?"
Growing up on Mercer Island from the age
of 4, Wil drove in his first motorsport event at 5 years, raced a small
outboard powered boat at age eight, crewed on his first Unlimited
Hydroplane team at age 12 and drove his first Unlimited hydroplane in
1982 at age 29. So far, in 2010, consistency has been the motto. Wil
took the UL-00 to three second-place finishes and a 2nd place overall at
Firebird International Raceways in Arizona. At the July Atomic Cup in
TriCities, continuing the season-long pattern, the UL-00 Atomic Shirt
Co-Warning Power.com finished second. Muncey, in the boat that was
dubbed years ago "The Little Boat that Could" for its surprising
victories over larger craft with more horsepower, drove around Rod
Bourke and held off Bob Smets for second.
In addition to appearing in tomorrow
night’s Seafair Torchlight Parade, fans will have three opportunities to
view the John Howie Steak, meet Wil Muncey and the hydro team,
get autographs, take home a free copy of Thunder and LIGHTS Magazine,
and get their photo taken in the cockpit of the hydro - all by bringing
down a can of food and/or a donation for Food Lifeline. The
appearances, all benefiting this local hunger relief program, are
scheduled for:
Monday, August 2nd
10am-2pm South Lake Union Discovery Center - Seattle
Tuesday, August 3rd
2 - 6pm Fisher Plaza - Seattle
Wednesday, August 4th
10am-2pm The Shops at The Bravern - Bellevue
If John Howie Steak nabs the Cup, Chef
John Howie will be riding high!
####
Unlimited Lights in the Seafair Torchlight Parade.
Saturday
night (7-31) ten Unlimited Light hydroplanes will be among the featured
participants in the annual Seafair Torchlight Parade.
This
parade usually is held the weekend of the race in Tri Cities but because
there is a one week gap between the two Washington State races this
year, nine UL teams are ready to appear in all their "finery". The
Torchlight Parade is a prime highlight leading toward the Seafair race
weekend and the Graham Trucking Cup for Unlimited Lights. A quarter of a
million people watch the parade in downtown Seattle and close to a
million more watch on live television.
Teams participating
include.
UL-00 John Howie Steak
UL-3 Prilosec OTC
UL-5 Miss Kim
driven by Wil Muncey
driven by Chris Grant
driven by Rod Bourke
UL- 9 US ARMY
UL-10 Miss Bison CreekPizza
UL-11 Power Punch Racing
driven by "Smokin Joe"
Souza driven by Austin Eacret
Roxy Radio 94.5, K&N Enginnering
driven by Kevin Eacret
UL-40 King &
UL-72 Foster Care
UL-929 Team Hyundai Dealers
Bunny's Appliances
Triad Racing Technologies driven by Vince "X-Man"
Xaudaro
driven by Mike
Movinski driven by Kayleigh Perkins
The parade begins at 7:30pm in downtown Seattle
and will be televised in Washington State by Seattle's KIRO TV Channel
7, beginning at 7:00pm. For more information go to
www.seafair.com .
John Lynch
"Voice" of ULHRA Racing
Tri-Cities' Atomic Cup Recap
Kayleigh Perkins survived a disappointing preliminary round of
heats on Saturday, to take the victory on Sunday (7-26) in the Thunder
Cup at Tri Cities WA (7-26).
Ms. Perkins, who is to be married next weekend, drove around Paul
Becker's failed UL-14 "The Yellow Boat" on the last lap when Becker's
ride went dead in the water while leading by about a roostertail length.
The UL-72 Foster Care-Triad Racing Technologies hydroplane with
the Toyota NASCAR engine overcame mechanical woes on Saturday to claim
victory on Sunday after Perkins advanced from the B-Main earlier on
Sunday.
Continuing
a season-long pattern, Wil Muncey in the UL-00 Atomic Shirt
Co-Warning Power.com finished second. Muncey, in the boat dubbed
years ago "The Little Boat that Could" drove around Rod Bourke and held
off Bob Smets for second. Bourke, driving the UL-5 Miss Kim finished
third, just ahead of the charging Smets in the UL-20 Smetco.com.
Fifth place went to rookie Kevin Eacret in the supercharged UL-11
Power Punch Racing Team-Advanced Auto Glass-K&N Engineering, and
sixth to Chris Grant in the UL-3 Prilosec OTC-Atomic Screen Printing.
John Lynch
"Voice" of ULHRA Racing
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Atomic
Cup Waterfollies |
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Kennewick, WA
July 23-24, 2010 |
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UL TOTAL
POINTS AND STANDINGS - SUNDAY
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Saturday |
Sunday |
Bonus |
Total |
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Boat # |
Driver |
Team |
Points |
Points |
Points |
Points |
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UL 00 |
Wil
Muncey |
Atomic
Screenprinting/Warning Power.com |
300 |
300 |
|
600
|
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UL 3 |
Chris
Grant |
Prilosec
OTC |
225 |
95
|
|
320
|
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UL 5 |
Rod
Bourke |
Miss Kim |
700 |
225 |
|
925
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UL 9 |
Joe Souza |
US Army |
Withdrawn |
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UL 10 |
Austin
Eacret |
Eacret
Racing |
0 |
0
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|
0
|
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UL 11 |
Kevin
Eacret |
Power
Punch Racing/Advanced Auto Glass |
0 |
127 |
|
127 |
|
UL 14 |
Paul
Becker |
The
Yellow Boat |
800 |
0 |
|
800
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UL 20 |
Bob Smets |
Smetco.com |
625 |
169 |
|
794 |
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UL 40 |
Michael
Movinski |
Rockstar
Energy Drink/King & Bunny's Appliances |
300 |
0 |
|
300
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UL 72 |
Kayleigh
Perkins |
Foster
Care/TRIAD Technologies |
225 |
400
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|
625 |
|
UL 77 |
Dan
McCullouch |
MPH Auto
& Marine/Butch's RV & Boat Storage/Miss Coulee |
300 |
0 |
|
300 |
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UL 83 |
Wil
Muncey |
Atomic
Screenprinting/Warning Power.com |
Withdrawn |
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UL 929 |
Vince
Xaudaro |
Ice
Harbor Brewery/Conover Insurance |
0 |
0 |
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0
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B-Main Heat |
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SPEED |
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| UL 72 |
Kayleigh Perkins |
Foster Care/TRIAD
Technologies |
100.92 |
| UL 11 |
Kevin Eacret |
Power Punch Racing/Advanced
Auto Glass |
99.73 |
| UL 3 |
Chris Grant |
Prilosec OTC |
83.23 |
| Final
Heat |
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SPEED |
POINTS
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| UL 72 |
Kayleigh Perkins |
Foster Care/TRIAD
Technologies |
106.45 |
400 |
| UL 00 |
Wil Muncey |
Atomic Screenprinting/Warning
Power.com |
96.09 |
300 |
| UL 5 |
Rod Bourke |
Miss Kim |
94.03 |
225 |
| UL 20 |
Bob Smets |
Smetco.com |
92.93 |
169 |
| UL 11 |
Kevin Eacret |
Power Punch Racing/Advanced
Auto Glass |
92.17 |
127 |
| UL 3 |
Chris Grant |
Prilosec OTC |
61.48 |
95 |
Atomic Cup - Tri Cities Waterfollies - Day Two
Plenty of twists and turns
were witnessed on the Columbia River today. There were two restarts of
preliminary heats. There was one disqualification. Some surprising
performances occured, both positive and negative, and it all ended on a
good ol' deck to deck dual that wound up in a victory by less than a
boat length. The Atomic Cup patrons, and there were many thousands on
both sides of the Columbia River, got their money's worth.
At
the end of the day four teams advanced to the FInal heat on Sunday
afternoon, and four more will transfer from Sunday's B-Main three and
half hours earlier.
Paul
Becker driving the UL-14, dubbed for this weekend "The Yellow Boat", was
the only dual preliminary heat winner. He defeated Wil Muncey in the
UL-00 both times, the first following a deck to deck dual for nearly
three laps. The second heat Becker won by three roostertail lengths.
Unfortunately for Muncey he was subsequently disqualified for taking two
extra laps after taking the checkered flag. Each lap resulted in a one
minute penalty and two penalties in a
heat
generate automatic disqualification. Team owner Debi Muncey indicated
they may appeal the loss of 300 second place points. Despite the DSQ the
Muncey team has secured one of the 4 prized slots on the Final Heat on
the basis of quicker elapsed time compared to two other boats with 300
points each, thereby not having to race through the B-Main to get to the
Final.
Rod
Bourke in the UL-5 Miss Kim won one heat and and took second place in
the day's finale, the restarted Heat 2A, by less than a boat length
behind Bob Smets in the UL-20 Smetco.com. The Lake Stevens WA driver
battled the final two laps against Smets from Wilsonville OR in an
outstanding deck to deck race. Friday night Smets' crew installed their
big block 509 cu in V-8 engine, replacing their 468 engine they tested
on Friday. Those extra inches provided the margin of victory which
appeared to be less than ten feet.
Defending
race and series champion Kayleigh Perkins had one of those days where,
if not for her bad luck she'd have had no luck at all. The UL-72 Foster
Care-Triad Racing Technologies with the NASCAR Toyota Truck engine
installed had problems in both heats either with fuel flow or some other
related malady that kept the craft from running at full speed. Perkins
was able to overcome the problems and set the fastest speed of the day
at better than 112 mph in the first heat but was unable to get to the
starting line in the second heat.
For
the first day back racing in three years with the "All Black, all the
time" UL-929 Ice Harbor Brewing Co - Conover Insurance, Vince Xaudaro
was not able to parlay initial fine performance with solid heat
finishes. Both times the Kennewick WA native ended up on the end of a
tow line. This virtually new craft in its first time on the water since
August 2007 had some "teething" issues today but showed that once ironed
out the 929 will be a strong player.
Mike
Movinski couldn't get his newly acquired UL-40 Rockstar Energy
Drink-King & Bunny's Appliances started in the first heat. The Wyondotte
MI racer is adapting to supercharged engines for the first time. In the
second heat the rookie driver ran well, finished third, and was elevated
to second after the disqualification of the UL-00.
For
Dan McCulloch in the UL-77 MPH Auto & Marine/Butch's RV & Boat Storage,
he ran a strong second place in his
first
heat but was unable to start the second heat. Chris Grant in the
Prilosec OTC UL-3 finished third in his second heat of the day after a
did not start (DNS) in the first round.
Two
other rookies, from the Eacret family, had one of those days. Both boats
looked capable but neither was able to start a heat. Kevin Eacret in the
UL-11 Power Punch Racing Team-Advanced Auto Glass-K&N Engineering had
steering issues both times and will be working an "all nighter" to try
to correct the problems. Cousin Austin Eacret in the UL-10 Eacret Racing
Team entry also got on the course for both heats but wound up dead in
the water prior to the start. The team believes they are gaining on the
issues and hope for some success on Sunday.
"Smokin Joe" Souza scratched from the day's action
with the UL-9 US ARMY. Souza's team ran into unexpected fuel injection
problems with their supercharged engine and were unable to get off the
trailer. However the team drew many kudos from many sources, as did the
Vince Xaudaro race team as both the UL-9 and UL-929 are spectacularly
appearing race boats...........and the 9 boat was built over two decades
ago.
The B-Main will start at 12:45pm Sunday, Pacific
Daylight Time, and the Final will be at 4:15pm.
Live
coverage of both heats can be seen on ULHRA's live webcast on this site.
John Lynch
"Voice" of ULHRA Racing
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Atomic Cup
Waterfollies
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Kennewick, WA July 23-24, 2010 |
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UL TOTAL POINTS AND STANDINGS
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Saturday |
| Boat # |
Driver |
Team |
Points |
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| UL 00 |
Wil Muncey |
Atomic Screenprinting/Warning Power.com |
300 |
| UL 3 |
Chris Grant |
Prilosec OTC |
225 |
| UL 5 |
Rod Bourke |
Miss Kim |
700 |
| UL 9 |
Joe Souza |
US Army |
Withdrawn |
| UL 10 |
Austin Eacret |
Eacret Racing |
0 |
| UL 11 |
Kevin Eacret |
Power Punch Racing/Advanced Auto Glass |
0 |
| UL 14 |
Paul Becker |
The Yellow Boat |
800 |
| UL 20 |
Bob Smets |
Smetco.com |
625 |
| UL 40 |
Michael Movinski |
Rockstar Energy Drink/King & Bunny's
Appliances |
300 |
| UL 72 |
Kayleigh Perkins |
Foster Care/TRIAD Technologies |
225 |
| UL 77 |
Dan McCullouch |
MPH Auto & Marine/Butch's RV & Boat
Storage/Miss Coulee |
300 |
| UL 83 |
Wil Muncey |
Atomic Screenprinting/Warning Power.com |
Withdrawn |
| UL 929 |
Vince Xaudaro |
Ice Harbor Brewery/Conover Insurance |
0 |
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| Heat 1A |
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| UL 14 |
Paul Becker |
The Yellow Boat |
400 |
| UL 00 |
Wil Muncey |
Atomic Screenprinting/Warning Power.com |
300 |
| UL 20 |
Bob Smets |
Smetco.com |
225 |
| UL 3 |
Chris Grant |
Prilosec OTC |
DNS |
| UL 9 |
Joe Souza |
US Army |
DNS |
| UL 11 |
Kevin Eacret |
Power Punch Racing/Advanced Auto Glass |
DNS |
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| Heat 1B |
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| UL 5 |
Rod Bourke |
Miss Kim |
400 |
| UL 77 |
Dan McCullouch |
MPH Auto & Marine/Butch's RV & Boat
Storage/Miss Coulee |
300 |
| UL 72 |
Kayleigh Perkins |
Foster Care/TRIAD Technologies |
225 |
| UL 929 |
Vince Xaudaro |
Ice Harbor Brewery/Conover Insurance |
DNF |
| UL 10 |
Austin Eacret |
Eacret Racing |
DNS |
| UL 40 |
Michael Movinski |
Rockstar Energy Drink/King & Bunny's
Appliances |
DNS |
| Heat
2A |
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| UL 20 |
Bob Smets |
Smetco.com |
400 |
| UL 5 |
Rod Bourke |
Miss Kim |
300 |
| UL 929 |
Vince Xaudaro |
Ice Harbor Brewery/Conover
Insurance |
DNF |
| UL 10 |
Austin Eacret |
Eacret Racing |
DNS |
| UL 72 |
Kayleigh Perkins |
Foster Care/TRIAD
Technologies |
DNS |
| UL 77 |
Dan McCullouch |
MPH Auto & Marine/Butch's RV
& Boat Storage/Miss Coulee |
DNS |
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| Heat 2B |
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| UL 14 |
Paul Becker |
The Yellow Boat |
400 |
| UL 40 |
Michael Movinski |
Rockstar Energy Drink/King &
Bunny's Appliances |
300 |
| UL 3 |
Chris Grant |
Prilosec OTC |
225 |
| UL 00 |
Wil Muncey |
Atomic Screenprinting/Warning
Power.com |
DQ |
| UL 11 |
Kevin Eacret |
Power Punch Racing/Advanced
Auto Glass |
DNS |
Sunday B-Main 12:45
Final 5:15
Boats
UL 77
UL 14
UL 40
UL 5
UL 72
UL 20
UL 10
UL 00
UL 11
UL 929
Tri-Cities Waterfollies - Day One
Day one at Tri Cities WA was eventful. For some it
was splendid and for others deflating, but there are two days to go.
Points
leader Kevin Eacret in the UL-11 Power Punch Racing Team-Advance Auto
Glass-K&N Engineering went dead in the water during what appeared to be
a successful test. In checking with the rookie driver afterward Eacret
revealed the boat shut down when a fuel line broke sending methanol into
the engine well instead of the engine. Eacret indicated there was no
serious damage and they are ready to race on Saturday. His lap speeds
reflected mere testing and finding timing marks as he was clocked at
under 90 mph.
The
quickest speed was by defending race and series champion Kayleigh
Perkins in the UL-72 Foster Care-TRIAD Racing Technologies with the
NASCAR small block V-8 built by TRIAD for Toyota racing teams. Perkins'
speed checked in at 114.6 mph and team owner Joe Frauenheim was
encouraged, saying with TRIAD techs on hand they are gaining a handle on
the engine program each time on the water. The Toyota badged engine was
built for the NASCAR Truck Series.
Paul
Becker in the UL-14 The Yellow Boat, as he called it, clocked a speed of
112 mph on his quickest lap, signifying his team is ready to mount a
challenge for their first Tri Cities' victory. Becker refers to his
racer as "The Yellow Boat" because a planned association with one of the
nation's military branches has not yet been OK'd. Meanwhile pitted next
to Becker is the brightly painted UL-9 US ARMY driven by "Smokin Joe"
Souza. Theirs was a disappointing day. The crew has worked tirelessly
for 90 days repairing and upgrading the hull, and changing to a
supercharged engine. With such a short time span for major work and
conversions everything had to go perfectly to get done on time, and
little "gremlins" slowed the progress. The team is still working to get
Souza on the water this weekend.
The
X-Man and the "All Black, all the time" UL-929 is back on his home race
course. A dazzling new paint scheme for the Ice Harbor Brewing
Co-Conover Insurance also depicted another team putting in incredible
hours to get this rebuilt and upgraded race craft on the water. Vince
Xaudaro had one timed lap at 90 mph but mainly was checking systems on
the first time on the water in three years with this hull. It measures
about a foot longer than before at just under 25 feet in length with new
sponsons and canard and the back half of the boat is almost entirely
new. Plus it sports a new 509 cu.in naturally aspirated engine. This may
not be the weekend considering its newness but when this craft rounds
into form, expect Vince Xaudaro, formerly of the Tri Cities area to once
again be a very serious challenger on the Unlimited Lights' circuit.
Two
of the smaller craft in the UL fleet are two of the real solid
participants. Rod Bourke in his UL-5 Miss Kim turned a lap at just under
102 mph while Bob Smets in the UL-20 Smetco.com checked in just under
101 mph.
Two
other rookie drivers are on hand and both got some time on the water.
Austin Eacret did not record a time but did run briefly in the UL-10
Eacret Racing, owned by Pat Rankin of Louisiana. Eacret becomes the 15th
"graduate" of ULHRA's "Lighter than LIGHTS" series for entry level
racers.
Mike
Movinski of Wyondotte MI purchased the UL-40 program from Chuck Dow and
the Thunder Valley Racing Team. Movinski turned a fast lap of 96 and a
half mph in the 'Rockstar Energy Drink - King & Bunny's Appliances, a
craft that definitely has more to offer as Movinski gets comfortable
behind the wheel.
David
Grant, lead wrench and team co-owner did not get son Chris Grant on the
water in the UL-3 Prilosec OTC but he does expect to be ready for the
8:00am session Saturday morning. The team has rebuilt their big block
V-8 Pontiac and are expecting greater performance than the team has
shown. Their hope is they won't lessen their reliability which last year
propelled them to third place in the standings. Meanwhile, Dan McCulloch
in the MPH Auto & Marine-Butch's "RV & Boat Storage" Coulee Miss turned
a lap just under 99 mph on the 1 2/3's mile course. McCulloch is in his
second season of UL racing and Tri Cities marks his first "return trip"
as owner-driver.
FInally it's already been a tough weekend for
Muncey Racing and their two hull Atomic Screen Printing-Warning Power
.com program. On the way from their Monroe WA homeport their hauler lost
a turbocharger and the rig had to be left behind for the weekend,
creating a 10 hour journey that usually takes less than 4. Then today,
their big UL-00 hull had some mechanical problems and had to be retired
for the weekend. Muncey will race their smaller UL-00 on Saturday and
Sunday, the hull that earned three solid second place finishes at
Phoenix in April to put the team in second place in the season points.
Final testing is at 8:00am Saturday followed by
Heats 1A & 1B at 10:25 and 10:40am Pacific Daylight Time. The second
round of preliminary heats will be just prior to 5:00pm with the B-Main
and Final for the Atomic Cup on Sunday.
The draw for Heats 1A & 1B.
Heat 1A Heat 1B
UL-00 Wil Muncey UL- 5 Rod Bourke
UL- 3 Chris Grant UL-10 Austin Eacret (R)
UL- 9 Joe Souza UL-40 Mike Movinski (R)
UL-11 Kevin Eacret (R) UL-72 Kayleigh Perkins
UL-14 Paul Becker UL-77 Dan McCulloch
UL-20 Bob Smets UL-929 Vince Xaudaro
John Lynch
"Voice" of ULHRA Racing
FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE: July 22, 2010
Contact:
Muncey Marketing 360-805-0805
ATOMIC
SCREENPRINTING WON’T MISS WATERFOLLIES
Racers always find a way….
Just announced – Muncey
Racing’s UL-00 Unlimited Light hydroplane has entered the
competition at TriCities, WA Waterfollies event as the MISS ATOMIC
SCREENPRINTING. Greg Walden of Atomic Screenprinting in Kennewick,
Washington said, “I have attended almost every Atomic Cup, Gold
Cup, and Atomic Cup since racing began here in 1966. Our family
looks forward to the great event every year...it is a part of our
history. I met my wife of 28 years here at the races, in 1977; the
year that Bill Muncey won his 6th Gold Cup. Since we were unable to
get our own boat ready for the season, we wanted the Atomic Screen
Printing name out there during the Lamb Weston Columbia Cup. We are
proud to have our family owned business involved with this 4
generation racing family and hope the river is good to Muncey Racing
this weekend.”
Atomic Screenprinting was
established in 1998 in Kennewick, WA and is a family owned and
operated business. 2010 is the 45th running of the hydroplane races
on the Columbia River July 23-25.
The driver for the UL-00
will be Wil Muncey, who finished in second place at the season
opener in Phoenix, Arizona. Muncey said, “I am honored to drive for
Atomic Screenprinting and extremely pleased that the sponsorship has
come together for the TriCities event. I and the rest of the UL-00
racing team are looking forward to the returning to the Atomic Cup
and visiting our good friends in eastern Washington.”
Schedule and ticket
information for the event can be located at
www.waterfollies.com.
TRI
CITIES PREVIEW
(Kennewick
WA)
The big course
with the big speeds awaits the Unlimited Light Hydroplanes this weekend.
Tri Cities WA
on the Columbia River annually produces some of the fastest speeds and
racing in Unlimited Lights' competition. This weekend should be no
different.
It's been
nearly three months since the last UL race in Phoenix AZ at the end of
April. The scheduled race in South Dakota had to be cancelled due to
flooding of the Missouri River. What this delay has done is given teams
even more time to be fully prepped for the high rpm 1 2/3's mile race
course, made even longer with the ULHRA's unique starting line concept
for this site.
Because the
Unlimited course here is 2.5 miles long and both series share the same
starting line, the UL start-finish line is essentially the exit pin
(buoy) of turn #2.
To make the
start more fair for all teams, the UL's “pace lap” covers the entire 2.5
mile course and the run to the starting line for the “Lights” is the
same as the turbines. ULHRA still utilizes the traditional “clock start”
but now the “timing marks” for each driver's individual starting
procedure cover the entire two and a half mile oval. That requires a
different type of boat setup, compared to the tight 1 º mile course at
Phoenix, not to mention significant testing time before heat racing
begins on Saturday morning.
Entering the
Atomic Cup at Tri Cities is points leader and rookie driver Kevin Eacret
in the UL-11 Power Punch Race Team-Advanced Auto Glass-K&N Engineering.
Eacret is no stranger to “Racing, ULHRA Style”. He's the only driver in
the Lighter than LIGHTS series for entry level race teams to have won
titles in two separate classes; 4 cylinder stock and 8 cylinder stock.
Eacret came from behind at the year's final race in San Diego to take
last year's eight cylinder championship. He's an active crewman as well
as driver, and he scored the most points through three preliminary heats
at Phoenix before the Final had to be cancelled due to a sand storm.
This is the same UL-11 hull that was on display at this race a year ago,
because the week before in Polson MT the propeller broke and completely
tore up the bottom and the transom, necessitating a winter long rebuild
project led by Bartels and Eacret.
Right behind in the points is veteran Wil Muncey
in the UL-00 Miss Atomic Screen Printing-Warning Power.com. Muncey will
have both boats from the team's fleet at Tri Cities and will test each
hull before selecting which one he'll race. In the variety of engine
packages utilized in the Unlimited Lights' series, the Darren Bartels
owned UL-11 and the two Muncey UL-00 hulls represent three of the engine
choices. The 11 has a 468 cubic inch V-8 with a restricted supercharger,
while the larger UL-00 has a big block 509 V-8 and the smaller UL-00 has
a small block V-8, both naturally aspirated (carburetor). Unlimited
Lights' rules not only allow seven engine packages, hulls can range from
20 feet in length to 26 feet in length. Depending on engine choice
Unlimited Lights' minimum weight can be as low as 2,000 lbs with a small
block engine, up to 2700 lbs minimum for the supercharged engines. There
is no maximum weight and some teams exceed 3,000 lbs.
Next in the
points battle are two more teams that reflect contrast. Bob Smets Oregon
based UL-20 Smetco.com is a smaller UL but with a very potent engine
package, demonstrated by two heat victories at Phoenix. Only a DNF (did
not finish) in one preliminary heat kept Smets from the points lead. The
same can be said for the UL-72 Foster Care driven by defending race and
series champion Kayleigh Perkins. She too won a pair of preliminary
heats at Phoenix but also suffered a DNS (Did Not Start).
The contrast
between these two teams is the 72 hull is nearly twenty five feet long
and almost three feet longer than the 20. Smets runs a big block V-8
while Perkins' ride changed engines this year from a very successful big
block V-8 to a Truck Series 358 cubic inch V-8 engine built by Triad
Racing Technologies for the Toyota teams in NASCAR. The Triad Toyota
engine turns higher RPM than the big block V-8 but some say it doesn't
have he same level of torque for acceleraion out of corners. How well
does it perform in an Unlimited Light hydroplane compared to racing up
to three hundred miles on a paved oval? The big course on the Columbia
River should be a very telling venue.
In only three
years of Unlimited Lights' racing Ms. Perkins has won nine races and is
fourth all time in UL race victories. The UL-72 team is the winningest
active team in UL racing with 30 race victories since the year two
thousand, all with this same Ron Jones Sr. hull, and compiled by drivers
Phil Bononcini (12), Patrick Haworth (2), George Woods Jr (3), Michael
Flaherty (4), and now Kayleigh Perkins (9).
A key player
this weekend is expected to be Paul Becker, owner-driver of the UL-14 GO
NAVY- Miss Critical Logic. Two years ago Becker was on top of the UL
world when he won at Seattle, only to suffer a serious blow-over
accident at the next race in Silverdale WA. Last season it took all
summer before the team began returning to pre-accident form.
Now with a full
off-season of preparation, Becker is once again among the top contenders
and proud to represent the US NAVY as a former NAVY flyer, now a
commercial airline pilot.
A hometown favorite returns with his vaunted “All
Black, all the time” UL-929. Vince “X-Man” Xaudaro, a 1985 graduate of
Kamiakin HS will be racing the Ice Harbor Brewing Company hydroplane in
its first time on the water since a devastating accident three years ago
on the same Silverdale WA race course that two years ago put Paul Becker
out for the season. Coincidentally, both drivers had led the national
points race prior to their accidents. Certainly Xaudaro would've
preferred to have some testing time on the repaired and upgraded UL-929
before this weekend but there just wasn't time. So, testing for that
hull and for the rest of the UL fleet at Tri Cities, will begin at 8:30
am Friday morning. Xaudaro's team fitted their new engine and test fired
just before departing their Bellevue WA shop for the Tri Cities. You can
be certain there will be a sizeable number of “X-Man” fans at the race
he wants to win more than any other. It was at Tri Cities where
Xaudaro's interest in boat racing first developed as a teenage race site
volunteer.
Last year Xaudaro and “Smokin Joe” Souza
ride-shared. They co-drove the UL-9 for Jim & Karon Wilmot. This year
with Xaudaro back with his own 929, Souza combines the roles of Team
Manager and Driver. The US ARMY entry is very important to Souza as it
represents 12 years of his life serving as a Sgt. First Class. He says
it's an honor and a privilege to represent the ARMY to potential
recruits. And this year that representation hits new levels..........of
sound and performance, that is. For the past three seasons the UL-9 hull
has been racing carburetor engines. This is the same boat that debuted
supercharged engines in the Unlimited Lights series in 2001 as the
Thunder Valley UL-21 and this year they go “back to the future”. A new
468 cubic inch restricted supercharged engine, assembled by S&J Engines
from Spokane WA, will make its debut this weekend. Up to 15 volunteer
crewmen have been working feverishly for several months and this weekend
culminates that effort when the upgraded and now supercharged (again)
UL-9 takes to the Columbia River course.
Other challengers bear watching. Veteran small
block limited driver Rod Bourke has always run well at Tri Cities in his
UL-5 hydroplane. Rookie Mike Movinski from Pennsylvania enters the UL-40
Rock Star Energy Drink, for years campaigned by engine builder Chuck Dow
and the Thunder Valley team. Last year's third place team with a great
record of reliability, the UL-3 Grant Family Racing Team driven by Chris
Grant, enters this weekend with more than reliability in mind. They want
to contend for the win with their tandem wing hull and have been working
hard to get more speed out of the boat and engine combination. Also,
second year owner-driver Dan McCulloch of Grand Coulee WA will be ready
with his UL-77 “Coulee Miss”. 2009 was a major learning curve for
McCulloch and his team. They acquired the racing program from Detroit's
Pingree Conflitti in June, and spent the rest of the season in “on the
job training”. Those lessons learned in 2009 should pay dividends in
2010.
ULHRA Video will have live coverage of
the Unlimited Lights at Tri Cities all through this weekend, beginning
around 8:30 am Friday morning (11:30 am Eastern time). Check the home
page at
www.ulhra.org for
times and log on details.
John Lynch
“Voice” of
ULHRA Racing
FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 20, 2010
Contact:
Muncey Marketing 360-805-0805
DENSO Iridium
PowerÒ
Named Official Spark Plug of the Unlimited Light
Hydroplane Racing Association
Whether it’s a big block
supercharged V-8 or two stroke one liter engine, they both have
one thing in common – spark plugs. It’s been suggested that a
crew chief will have achieved the ultimate level of power plant
efficiency when all he adjusts is the air to gas ratio and the
spark plugs on his engine. To help him reach that pinnacle is
the Official Sparkplug of the Unlimited Light Hydroplane
Racing Association (ULHRA) for 2010, DENSO Iridium PowerÒ.
One of the world’s leading
manufacturers of automotive systems and components, DENSO has
just been named the first official spark plug of the ULHRA. One
of the benefits offered to the participating Top Ten ULHRA teams
is a season supply of DENSO’s famous iridium alloyed spark
plugs.
Already manufacturer’s
standard equipment in many of the worlds more popular
automobiles, “DENSO is pleased and excited about the partnership
with the ULHRA,” said Larry Fidance, manager, Marketing
Department, DENSO Sales California. “Marine motorsports is a
high profile way to demonstrate our product and maintain
branding in many marketplaces that are unique. The automotive
powerplants in these boats demand a high quality product where
DENSO can be showcased in a fun and exciting way.”
All DENSO Iridium PowerÒ
spark plugs are pre-fired and can withstand temperatures up to
4000 degrees. The properties of DENSO’s patented iridium alloy
have enabled this manufacturer to create the worlds smallest
center electrode that is .4 millimeters in diameter. The tip of
the ground electrode is tapered cut, which reduces quenching and
improves firing performance. For more information about DENSO,
go to
www.densoiridium.com
.
Leading builders of
hydroplane engines were consulted and helped determine the spark
plug suppliers that were most suitable. Any current ULHRA team
that is participating in the 2010 circuit and also comprise one
of the Top Ten Teams of the 2009 season in nationally earned
points will be awarded enough DENSO products to carry them
through the season. “It is great when a manufacturer of DENSO’s
prominence sees the benefit of using a family oriented sport to
promote their products”, said Paul Becker, an owner/driver and a
member of the ULHRA’s Board of Directors.
Another board member and
owner/driver Vince Xaudaro went on to say, “This is another
practical example where the ULHRA and its sponsors are providing
the kind of support the average team can use. Every component
has a cost and a competitive team doesn’t want to cut economic
corners in any case.” Xaudaro Racing recently rebuilt their
severely damaged hull and intends to compete with it for the
first time since reconstruction at the Tri Cities Water Follies
on the Columbia River in Washington State, July 23 - 25.
The
Unlimited Light Hydroplane Racing Association is a high
performance automotive-powered class of inboard hydroplanes that
continues to gain popularity especially with fans seeking
affordable, exciting family entertainment. The thundering
engines produce a sound that turns heads, pumps adrenaline, and
compels innocent bystanders to transform into hard-core racers.
For more information regarding the Unlimited Light Hydroplane
Racing Association, please visit
www.ulhra.org.
#####
Hydroplane
exhibition coming to Commencement Bay
For the first time, the annual Maritime Fest
along Tacoma’s Thea Foss Waterway will showcase as many as six
“unlimited light” hydroplanes, cousins of the unlimited
hydroplanes that have run for more than half a century.
The racers will circle a course located between the Temco
grain terminal and the head of the Thea Foss Waterway on Aug. 28
and 29.
Sponsored by the Foss Waterway Seaport, the exhibitions and
display of the boats will be free to public viewing.
When not in the water for two daily races, the hydros will be
available for photographs and inspection near the Seaport’s
parking lot at 705 Dock St. “People can touch and see the boats,
and kids can sit inside and have their pictures taken,” said
Earla Harding, the Seaport’s event coordinator, this week
Read more:
http://www.thenewstribune.com/2010/07/16/1266573/hydroplane-exhibition-coming-to.html
Hope to see you there!
