Stan Hanauer Passes Away...

Stan Hanauer passed away at 8pm on April 21, 2011 with his family by his side. To those of us that had the privilege to know him, he was a presence that was a little larger than life on the marine motorsport scene over the last several decades. Quiet and unassuming, his participation in maritime activities began as long ago as World War Two as a hard hat diver at the Brooklyn Navy yard. Whether it was C Service Runabout or turbine powered Unlimiteds, he stayed involved at levels most of us were unaware of. Affable and intelligent he was always interesting and interested.

 

Although no one could accuse him of being loud or imposing, his presence helped create the appealing ambience of a boat race. The race will go on but his participation will be missed.

Photo:  Mark Sharley

UL-72 Foster Care Update

Photos: Julie Sparrowgrove

No Unlimited Light hydroplane with a carburetor fed engine (aka "naturally aspirated) has won more UL races than the red UL-72 Foster Care-Change a Lifetime owned by Joe Frauenheim and Phil Bononcini from Issaquah WA.
 
Since debuting in 1998, this Ron Jones Sr. designed and built UL has amassed 31 race victories, beginning in the 2000 season. That total is second all time to the 34 victories by the Jamie Auld designed and built hull currently owned by Jerry & Greg Hopp which has 34 UL victories, including 21 race wins after being converted to supercharged horsepower in 2002.
 
 Co-owner of the UL-72, Phil Bononcini, drove the hull to its first dozen victories from 2000 - 2002. George Woods Jr. won three times in 2004, and then Michael Flaherty won 4 times from 2005 to 2006. Starting in 2007, Kayleigh Perkins Mallory has won ten times, and while the boat was severely damaged in a fire and explosion at Spring Training on April 21st, the winning for this hull may not yet be done.
 
Co-owner Joe Frauenheim has announced "We're going to fix the boat".
 
When exactly the UL-72 will return to action won't be known immediately, but fix it they will. This team completed repairs in one week from a 2003 blowover accident in Seattle and raced the following weekend.
 
No one is expecting the UL-72 to be ready for the season opener, May 7th & 8th at Entiat WA, but with the UL-72 crew one can never count them out.
 
John Lynch
 "Voice" of ULHRA Racing

Spring Training Report

Six Unlimited Light Hydroplanes tested on Lake Washington today (April 21st) in the annual Spring Training event. They were joined by Dixon Smith in the restored 1962 Miss Bardahl vintage Unlimited and three Lighter than LIGHTS teams.
 
The day went well for the most part but two teams came away with issues. The worst outcome was for the UL-72 Foster Care driven by Kayleigh Perkins Mallory. Returning to the pits from what appeared to be a successful test run, an explosion and fire occurred which seriously damaged the hull and may have been caused by a fuel line or fuel system issue. Ms Mallory was able to jump off the hull and swim back to the pits, apparently in good shape. However the same cannot be said for the 72 hull which was originally built in 1998 by Ron Jones Sr. and is the all time winningest carburetor engine Unlimited Light in history. Last year, the team debuted a NASCAR engine successfully and finished second in the points standings with one victory at Tri Cities WA.
 
The other team that ended their day on a sour note was the UL-9 US Army. In their final test run of the day with driver Joe Souza, the prop struck something in the water. Souza immediately shut down but the damage was done, not only to the prop but also in the engine where the teams suspects they may have a broken crankshaft and other damage. It'll take a complete tear-down of the engine to determine the extent of damage and to find the cause. The UL-9 had been performing very well and now gives the crew and driver real hopes for the 2011 season.
 
There were plenty of positives. This was the debut of a new major team sponsor as Evergreen Moving Systems, an Atlas Van Lines agent, brought back the iconic "Blue Blaster" paint scheme on the UL-00. Driver Wil Muncey is the son of the late Bill Muncey who drove the original U-00 Unlimited to more victories than any other boat & driver combination in history. Muncey's hydroplane had a successful run and he was encouraged with what the team has learned from this craft. The hull, originally built by Steve Balcer, last raced on Lake Washington in 2002 when J.W. Myers drove the then UL-23 in the Graham Trucking Cup. That was the year when Myers, along with Dave Bender, Phil Bononcini and Jerry Hopp all took the white flag with one lap to go virtually dead even. Hopp won the race to the checkered flag followed by Bononcini, Bender, and Myers.
 
To many observers the most impressive performance of the day was turned in by Vince "X-Man" Xaudaro and his "All Black, All the Time" UL-929. Off season sponson work along with a new prop shaft strut seemed to do exactly what Xaudaro was seeking after last season and has put this team squarely in the championship hunt for 2011.
 
Paul Becker, defending UL and Graham Trucking Cup champion in his UL-14 had a successful test as did Rookie of the Year Kevin Eacret in the UL-11.
 
John Lynch
"Voice" of ULHRA Racing

Spring Training Take Two 

Two more teams have announced they will attend ULHRA's annual Spring Training test session. The event will be held on Lake Washington at Stan Sayers Pits in Seattle. The test session is set for Thursday, April 21st from 10:00 am till 2:00 pm.
 
The newest to confirm are the UL-11 and the UL-929.
 
UL-11 owner Darren Bartels indicated they are ready for the season to begin, with a freshly repainted hull. 2010 Rookie of the Year Kevin Eacret returns for his sophomore season behind the wheel. He's the only driver in history to have won both the 4 cylinder, and 8 cylinder titles in ULHRA's Lighter than LIGHTS series.
 
UL-929 owner-driver Vince "X-Man" Xaudaro says the "all black, all the time" hydroplane is ready to go. It was brought back to racing in 2010 after three years of repairs following a big accident in 2007 at Silverdale. Xaudaro says they've made extensive revisions to the sponsons and installed a longer & deeper propeller shaft strut in an effort to improve the performance curve over last year. At the time of the 2007 accident, Xaudaro was leading the national points' race. The Bartels and Xaudaro teams will join the UL-00 driven by Wil Muncey and the UL-9 driven by "Smokin Joe" Souza, and others that have yet to announce their plans.
 
The public is invited to attend. There is no admission charge and there will be informal opportunities for driver autographs.
 
John Lynch
"Voice" of ULHRA Racing

Spring Training

The annual Spring Training pre-season test session is just ahead for the Unlimited Light Hydroplane Racing Association, Inc. This opportunity for Unlimited Light and Lighter than LIGHTS teams to test their off season upgrades is again being produced by ULHRA, Inc. and the Hydroplane & Race Boat Museum. Vintage race craft from the Museum "fleet" will also be on hand.

The testing program will be held on Lake Washington at Stan Sayers Pits at Genesee Park on Thursday, April 21st. On the water testing will be conducted from 10:00 am till 2:00 pm. There is no admission charge for the public to view the test session and there are informal opportunities to meet drivers and collect autographs.
 
The Unlimited Light series presents the most diverse lineup in hydroplane racing. The series began as an outgrowth of the APBA Grand National class which itself had evolved from the old 7 Liter Class. The category "Unlimited Light Hydroplane" went into effect in 1995 when UL's were the designated "support series" at Unlimited hydroplane racing events. Then in 2001 a new organization, ULHRA, Inc. took command of the series and now enters its eleventh season of racing as a sanctioning body. Today, the Unlimited Lights race at specific ULHRA sites along with select Unlimited events including Seattle.
 
Over the years the category of "Unlimited Lights" has expanded to where today there are seven different engine combinations approved for competition. These range from small block V-8 automotive engines, to big block V-8's, with teams having the option to utilize carburetors, or superchargers. It's the only series in hydroplane racing that has successfully paired supercharged engines with specific restrictions, along with non supercharged engines in a series where the goal is to provide each engine "option" an equitable opportunity to compete.
 
In 2010 the seventh engine option debuted, a NASCAR stock car purpose built 358 cubic inch racing engine that was designed to race for 500 miles. That same engine now runs a series of 5 mile heats in the Unlimited Light's series. One team, the UL-72 "Foster Care" driven by the winningest active driver in the series, Kayleigh Perkins Mallory, was the "launch customer" for this new engine option in 2010. Despite some "teething issues" in transitioning an engine from high banked paved ovals to racing on the water where conditions change with every lap, the 72 team scored one victory and two second place finishes, taking second place in national points. After the season was completed and following a thorough inspection, team owner Joe Frauenheim commented that the Triad Racing Technologies Toyota engine needed zero repairs...only routine maintenance. Getting more "mileage" or in this case, more races per race engine was a goal of this engine option to help reign in the costs of "Racing, ULHRA Style" for the teams.
 
One advantage of the NASCAR small block racing engine is it weighs roughly 175 lbs less than the big block V-8's. Since the majority of Unlimited Light hydroplanes weigh less than 3,000 lbs, a 175 lb weight reduction, percentage wise is very significant. Are small blocks competitive? Definitely. For the first time in history, one race in 2010 saw three small block teams driven by Perkins Mallory, Wil Muncey and Rod Bourke, finish 1, 2 3 in Unlimited Lights competition.
 
UL race craft also have evolved over the years. Now, teams can run hulls that range from 20 feet in length, to 26 feet in length. The various engine options have their "minimum weight" designations which range from 2,000 lbs up to 2,950 lbs. There is no maximum weight mandated in this series.
 
A major rules change takes effect in 2011. For the first time in several years, supercharged teams will be fighting for lanes, all lanes, in the warm up period. ULHRA does not designate lane assignments for racing heats. However since the 2007 season in order to provide an "equitable opportunity to compete", supercharged teams had been required to start in lanes outside of the carburetor teams and maintain their outside lane for one complete lap. Those two provisions have been removed for the 2011 season for all supercharged teams that weigh at least 2,950 lbs. The change was approved after an extensive review of UL racing over several seasons by ULHRA's Director of Competition Howard Shaw. This action may lead to an increased the number of supercharged teams competing in the UL series.
 
The biggest event on the UL calendar is the annual Graham Trucking Cup for Unlimited Lights at Seafair in Seattle on the first weekend in August. Teams "qualify" to compete at Seattle during the races that precede the Seattle event. Due to pit area restrictions the Unlimited Lights are limited to fourteen teams at Seattle, which breaks down into four preliminary heats of seven boats per heat plus a B-Main (last chance qualifier) and Final.
 
Spring Training on April 21st is also an opportunity to debut new team sponsors. One team has announced such a debut; the Muncey Racing UL-00 driven by Wil Muncey. I'm told by the driver that this new sponsor "will be a memorable and impressive addition to Marine motor sports". Who is it? Well, he won't let me tell you that. You'll find out at Spring Training on April 21st at Lake Washington in Seattle.
 
John Lynch
"Voice" of ULHRA Racing.