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Chamberlain-Oacoma SD:
Prelude to NAC.
Challenge in 2012 where Interstate 90 crosses the
Missouri River in South Dakota. event produced by River City Racin' and the Unlimited Light Hydroplane Racing Association, Inc. The full slate of APBA limited inboard classes is on the sanction, and with the Syracuse NY event suffering the fate that befell Chamberlain-Oacoma last year (flooding) this year's event provides racers and fans alike a great opportunity for East and West, North & South to compete, and provide South Dakota with an exciting prelude to the North American
Championships next year.
a rare "double dip". The Unlimited Lights' hull size ranges from 20' to 26'. Thus, most National Modified (NM) and Grand National Hydros (GNH) are also legal to race in the Unlimited Lights event at South Dakota. For racers in these larger boat classes wanting more from their racing weekend, an NM or GNH team that races in their own class and as an Unlimited Light will have up to four heats of racing on Saturday, and up to another
four heats of racing on Sunday.
(16th). The racing facility includes 150 feet of dock space, plenty of cranes, and a launch
ramp. headquartered, and cabins are also available plus a variety of hotel accommodations. Downtown race attendees will find fine shopping opportunities, and even an Ice Cream
shop.
and
www.goboatracing.net web sites.
Thunder N Lights Magazine - Now on Sale
The wait is over... you can get your copy now
Send Check or money order for $5 along with your address to:
Unlimited Light Hydroplane Racing Association 375 E Sunset Way Issaquah, WA 98027
Hydros Visit Wenatchee Apple Blossom Parade
Wenatchee for the 90th annual Wenatchee Apple Blossom Parade. Boats gathered at Don Sangster Motors and Evan’s Used Car Superstore where Don Sangster and Garrett Evans graciously provided their pick-up trucks to pull the boats down the parade route. The caravan drove to Triangle Park and pulled into their designated area. With over 2 hours to wait for the pre-parade to start, the teams joined the Wenatchee Kiwanians for breakfast. It was early, it was tasty, it was fun! Like the parade, the park breakfast is a tradition, feeding hundreds of participants and parade goers alike. The color guard stood at attention, the siren on a Duke’s of Hazard era sheriff’s vehicle wailed and the parade was set in motion! Banner carriers, Marissa Bartels, Bailey Mannie & Marina Bartels led the way. Drivers Paul Becker, Vince Xaudaro, Kevin Eacret & Dan McCulloch stood astride their hydroplane cockpits, while the rest of the team members positioned themselves on the boats. The sun peeked through the clouds on a just in time, as needed basis. Suddenly the teams were in the parade waving, smiling and having fun.  Spectators waved, spectators yelled and cheered! Wenatchee loved the hydros. And the teams had a blast! It was a thrill to be part of the Wenatchee Apple Blossom Festival this year and the teams are looking forward to racing next year in downtown Wenatchee at Confluence Park. They can’t wait to go back in 2012!! After the parade festivities were over the boats headed up-river to Entiat to prepare and set up for the upcoming race. On Saturday there were just a few hours to prepare for testing, and only a couple boats made it on the water. The UL-1 discovered engine problems and had to put in their backup engine. The UL-11 also developed engine problems and borrowed parts from the ailing engine of the UL-1. Both teams were up late preparing for Sundays race with the 1’s crew leaving the pits at midnight and the 11’s crew leaving at 2:30 AM. Rod Bourke was making some adjustments to his engine and somehow dropped a valve into the cylinder. He thought he was going to be done for the weekend, but during a “Break” from working on the UL-11, Crew Chief, Scott Main came over and lent a hand. Using a coat hanger fed through the sparkplug hole, a penlight, some mojo and tenacity; after an hour or so, Scott was able to lift the valve back through the guide, and the UL-5 was back in business. Scott also helped on several other teams throughout the weekend, enabling three other boats to continue racing. David and Chris Grant had an issue with their ring gear, and with Scott’s assistance made the adjustments that allowed their engine to start. After what appeared to be a successful test Sunday morning, the UL-3 seized their oil pump. Again calling on Mr. Main, Scott took another break from the UL-11 and tried in vain to fix the UL-3’s oil pump. The damage was just too severe, and that was the end of the Grant Race Team’s weekend. Heat one started with five boats, The UL-1, UL-5, UL-11, UL-77 and the UL-929. The UL-5 driven by Rod Bourke had lane one, followed by Paul Becker and the UL-1 in lane two, Vince Xaudaro with the UL-929 in lane three, Kevin Eacret, driving the UL-11 in lane four, and Dan McCulloch piloting the UL-77 in lane five. It was a good start with Paul Becker and Rod Bourke leading the charge, followed closely by Vince Xaudaro and Kevin Eacret. Nearing the exit pin of turn one, Kevin Eacret, in the UL-11 passed the UL-929 and made a rocket fast straight-away shot at Paul Becker in the UL-1. By the time the boats made it to the Start / Finish line, Paul Becker held the lead with Kevin Eacret overtaking. Out of turn one again it was Kevin Eacret in the UL-11 ahead and gaining distance from the UL-1. Kevin took a commanding lead for the rest of the race and won the first heat of the 2011 season. All five boats left the beach and returned under their own power. Finish order for Heat 1 was the UL-11, UL-1, UL-929, UL-5, and the UL-77. Heat two, the Final, started a bit strange, when Dan McCulloch in the UL-77 cut the course at score-up and was disqualified. In the process of doing this, Paul Becker in the UL-1 went through the rooster tail of the UL-77 and took on a load of water, suffered some hull damage, and was never able to get the boat back up to speed. It looked like a good start for Vince Xaudaro in the UL-929 and Rod Bourke in the UL-5, with the UL-11 closely behind. The start was under review with the UL-929 leading the race and the UL-5 directly on his hip; the UL-11 took a hop in turn one and was trailing by a full rooster tail going down the backstretch. The UL-929 took an impressive lead and the final running order was the UL-929, UL-5, UL-11, UL-77 and the UL-1. But wait, the start was under review, remember? The referee’s determined that both the UL-929 and the UL-5 had jumped the gun. So let’s take a look at the finish order now. The UL-11 wins the race, followed by the UL-1, UL-929, and the UL-5. Again, the UL-77 was disqualified. Wrapping up the first weekend of racing in 2011, the standings and points look like this.
UL-1 Paul Becker Miss Sammamish Mortgage / WW College SCI 600 points UL-929 Vince Xaudaro Miss Hyundai Assurance 450 points UL-5 Rod Bourke Miss Vestus Foreclosure Group 338 points UL-77 Dan McCullough Coulee Miss 127 points UL-3 Chris Grant Prilosec OTC / Kelly Excavating & Site Development 0 points The UL-72 is still undergoing repairs from the fire and explosion that occurred at Spring Training afew weeks ago and was unable to attend the Apple Blossom Cup. Darren Bartels and Donnie
Smith
River City Racin...Just around the corner
Father's Day weekend is when east & west can come
together. The annual Pepsi Racing Power Cup Challenge, produced by River
City Racin' ,
www.rivercityracin.org ,in Chamberlain & Oacoma, South Dakota,
welcome APBA racers and the Unlimited Light Hydroplane Racing
Association, June 17th & 18th, 2011.
Apple Blossom Festival, Entiat, WA
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