1996 Thunder on the Ohio
Ohio River, Evansville IN, June 30, 1996
PICO Goes 3 For 4 By Winning Evansville
By Jim Terhune
EVANSVILLE -- Mark Tate did two bad things. He picked the wrong lane, and he mistimed the start.
The mistakes were enough to leave him looking at the disappearing roostertail of PICO American Dream and Dave Villwock, who won the Pontiac Thunder on the Ohio unlimited hydroplane race by 6.4 seconds yesterday.
But even if Tate had put Smokin' Joe's in lane two instead of one, even if he had not been 100 feet behind PICO when the green flag dropped, who's to say the boat that failed to win once in 1995 wouldn't have found a way regardless?
PICO is the hottest thing going currently in the hydro world. It's won three of the four races (Joe's took Kansas City) and has a lead of nearly 1,000 points in the season standings.
"Maybe this is Blue Blaster II," Villwock said, referrring to Bill Muncey's Atlas Van Lines rocket that stomped competitors in the late 1970s and early '80s. "It's a sweetheart."
Villwock grinned widely.
"This is our second week in the boat," he said. "It looks like a pretty good boat, don't you think?"
It's also one that will stay in drydock while the team proceeds upriver to the Budweiser Indiana Governor's Cup in Madison this weekend.
Built specifically for the Evansville race, Villwock said, it lost most of the outer layer of its bottom in the second heat. But crew chief Ken Dryden said he wants to use the boat -- 1994 vintage -- at Madison that won at Phoenix and Detroit because it's heavier and can handle the rough Ohio River water there better.
Miss Budweiser, dominant in every walk of hydroplane life seemingly forever, is 0 for 4 this year after yesterday's distant third, more than 10 seconds behind PICO.
Not since 1988 has the Bud gone winless in the first four stops, but then it recovered to win four of five and the season title. It has won crowns every year since 1986 except '90.
"The ride's been great, and I'm getting used to it," said Mark Evans, who subbed as driver for Chip Hanauer after Hanauer flipped in Detroit. "You've got to run these things on the raqgged edge. I'm getting comfortable enough to let her fly a lot more and figure out the envelope."
Said Villwock: "The Budweiser guys aren't quitting. They didn't have the greatest day today, but they'll be back."
Smokin' Joe's whipped PICO by almost seven seconds in the first heat, then PICO returned the favor by two seconds in the second heat while it was losing its bottom layer. The boats were tied at 1,100 points heading into the final, giving the first choice of lanes to the one with the fastest qualifying time.
That was Joe's.
"It was a tough lane on the inside," Villwock said. "I knew it was big trouble in the warmups. When Tate chose lane one, I said, 'Hey, we got 'em right where we want 'em.'
"But it's a hard decision. Smokin' Joe's chose lane two in Kansas City and won from lane two. You can look like a hero or a zero in seconds. Mark did a great job in attacking as much as he could."
Tate didn't address the lane issue and was gone when it came up. But he still blamed himself.
"I'm very disappointed in Mark Tate," he said. "You just can't give him a four-boat advantage at the starting line. The first time around they aborted (the start) and I was right up there with him. The second time around the corner (to the start) I was right with him again, but when it came time to drop the flag I was back. It was a mistake and very frustrating for Mark Tate because I thought we had an opportunity to win the race."
PICO shot through the first and second turns and emerged with about a 10-length lead over Miss Bud. Smokin' Joe's rallied at the end of the first lap to pass Bud, but Bud responded and they were sponson to sponson moving into the first turn of lap two.
Joe's proved it had too many horses for Bud from then on, but PICO was long gone. It averaged 143.948 mph for the five-lap final on the two-mile course.
"Said Evans: If those guys pick (lanes) two and three and we'get got to take one, oohhh, man, we're going to have our hands full. When we got three, I thought we might be in agood shape. We almost were. But it was rough. I'll need some Advil."
Villwock and his buddies, meanwhile, will probably be seeking champagne.
While the big boys raced without incident, the lesser crafts took turns knocking each other out of the water in the early heats.
Target Stores, driven by Ken Muscatel, knocked a hole in the left side of Miss Exide in Heat 1B and received a one-lap penalty and $300 fine.
On the first lap of Heat 2B, which began with an all-Evansville-sponsored lineup, Miss Welborn Health Plans bore in on the inside boat, Master Tire, in the first turn.
(In the tight quarters), the left sponson ripped off Master Tire and dropped it dead in the water. Pilot Mitch Evans scrambled to the deck as the only piston-powered hydro in the field began to sink. Evans was rescued and the boat secured with only a rear wing still above the water line.
The heat was red-flagged, the restart delayed more than a half-hour and Miss Welborn disqualified and fined $500.
Upon review, referee Mike Noonan of Louisville said Evans' boat was coming apart before any contact and that Mike Eacrett, driving Miss Welborn, "had no place to go."
Commissioner Bill Doner said he didn't know if the fine would stand. (It didn't.)
Miss Exide missed the heat when it couldn't be fixed in time. When it resumed, Busler's Enterprises lost power before the start, and by the time it fired up again, ARC Construction had more than a half-lap lead. ARC won at the snail speed of 109.814 mph.
(reprinted from Louisville Courier-Journal, July 1, 1996)
VILLWOCK STEERS AMERICAN DREAM TO THUNDER WIN
By Mark Campbell
EVANSVILLE -- After going winless in 1995, Dave Villwock and the PICO American Dream are now 3 for 4 in 1996 with a 933- point lead in the national points standings.
In a sport previously dominated by teams like Bernie Little's Miss Budweiser and the late Bill Muncey's Atlas Van Lines, Villwock's recent charge to the front has possibly sewn the seeds of superstardom. In fact, the Unlimited Hydroplane Racing Association's public relations department often refers to Villwock as "Super Dave."
Following Villwock's latest win at the Pontiac Thunder on the Ohio regatta for unlimited hydroplanes, the driver of the sport's fastest rising team must have started believing those clippings.
After arriving at the winner's podium, Villwock attempted to hoist the O.H. Frisbie Four Freedoms trophy, not the smaller traveling trophy race fans have seen winners lift in victory each year, but the massive, 300-pound version that most winners would not even consider lifting.
With a grunt and tug Villwock cleared the ground with the award named for the Atlas Van Lines chairman who has supported unlimited racing for many years. But, alas, something went wrong, the trophy snapped and hit the ground -- the only real setback "Super Dave" experienced all day.
Villwock retreated somewhat redfaced, but he still couldn't stilfe the smile of a winner -- a winner who is starting to see all the pieces fall into place.
"We were in the right place at the right time and had the right engine and all the pieces stayed together," said Villwock. "This is our second week in the boat. It looks like a pretty good boat, don't you think?"
The American Dream averaged 143.948 mph to edge runnerup Mark Tate and the Smokin' Joe's by about seven seconds. Miss Budweiser, driven by Mark Evans, was third and the U-2 ARC Construction, piloted by Steve David, was fourth. Mike Hanson and the Madison-based DeWALT Tools and Ken Muscatel and the U-14 Target Stores rounded out the final heat while rookie Rick Christensen advanced to the finals in the U-7 Busler's Enterprises but fell one-half lap short of completing the five-lap heat.
Although Villwock was the weekend's second fastest qualifier behind Tate and the Smokin' Joe's, it was Villwock who posted the fastest competition laps on race day. The American Dream recorded the fastest racing lap of the weekend at 151.982 mph in Heat 3A and the second fastest lap on Sunday in the championship heat.
In fact it was Villwock's blistering opening lap in the final heat that built an early lead he was able to sustain over the Smokin' Joe's and the rest of the field throughout the finale.
Villwock, running in Lane 2 after Smokin' Joe's had selected Lane 1 for the final heat, said he timed the start perfectly to beat the rest of the field into the first turn. From that point on it was only a matter of Villwock keeping his equipment in one piece while the rest of the field gave chase. By lap three of the championship, Villwock realized he would not be caught and backed off to cruise to the win.
"I was stretching the boat as much as I could, but I knew I needed to get a lead in the first lap before the water got any rougher," said Villwock.
Villwock said he knew Lane 1 could be troublesome in the final because the inside lane had been rougher than others throughout the day.
"I knew it was big trouble," said Villwock, who had raced from Lane 1 in a preliminary heat. "The heat when I raced Budweiser on the inside I went, 'Boy, it's getting rougher from the boat traffic.' When (Tate) picked Lane 1, I thought, 'Great, we've got him right where we want him.'"
However, Villwock added that the key to making Lane 1 work is to get off to a fast start, be the first boat through turn one and stay out in front where the water is cleaner.
"I might have chosen Lane 1, but I might been vetoed by the owner (Fred Leland)," said Villwock. "Lane 1 can work or not work. It all depends on your start. You can look like a hero or a zero in a matter of seconds depending on your start."
According to Tate, Smokin' Joe's speed when the green flag dropped in the final had more to do with his inability to catch Villwock than the choice of lanes.
"I had no air under the boat at the start," said Tate, noting that boats in the outside lane positions were able to carry a lot more speed into the start than he was in Lane 1.
Tate noted the UHRA rule book states that the pace boat -- the outside hydroplane on the course -- should come to the starting line traveling 110 mph, but on Saturday the actual speed was probably more like 150 mph.
The outside boat must travel a longer course and negotiate wider turns, but yet the UHRA wants all boats lined up for the start -- meaning his boat must travel a slower speed through the corners to keep from getting ahead of the field.
Tate said when the boats hit the start line Smokin' Joe's was traveling about 95 mph to keep from edging too far ahead of the field -- the result was that the outside boats got off to a fast start and he was left trailing the field into the all-important first corner.
Villwock blamed Tate's poor start on rough water. Tate said Villwock was "just being nice" and that he would share the blame with the UHRA rules officials.
Tate said the poor start was his fault, but the rules that resulted in his poor start were a UHRA matter.
From his vantage point, Tate said the race should have been green flagged a lap earlier when all competitors hit the starting line fairly close together but at more comparable speeds.
He said starting the race a lap earlier would have given the fans the race they came to see and deserved. "We were all lined up in a better position," Tate noted. "I actually thought that would have been a better start."
While Tate, the defending Thunder on the Ohio champion from 1995, left the course dejected, Villwock was just happy to finally win at what has been a difficult course for PICO and other teams he has been associated with over the season.
Villwock, a former crew chief of the Miss Circus Circus when Chip Hanauer drove that boat to the driver's championship in 1989 and 1990 and the national team championship in 1990, said Evansville has produced lean results for his current and former teams.
"Chip and I tried to win some races here but we couldn't do it. It's a tough track," said Villwock. However, he credited the efforts of Leland, crew chief Ken Dryden, the rest of the American Dream team and the 5,000 employees of the Progressive Tool & Industries Co. (PICO).
"We worked real hard and built two brand new boats over the winer, built new skid fins and new propellers," Villwock said. "We didn't spend much money; we just worked our tails off. We've got four good crew members and about 5,000 PICO employees who are all really smart people. That's a lot of support. The guys we have ain't bad, but when you get a couple of thousand very bright people working on your boat . . . we don't get a lot of dollars, but we do get a lot of good people."
Villwock noted the combination produced a new racing hull finally capable of giving him a win on Evansville's two-mile Ohio River tri-oval course -- all coming in only the second race for the hull.
He said the new American Dream reminds him of another blue, red and white hull that had strong ties to Evansville -- Bill Muncey's Atlas Van Lines of the late 1970s and early 1980s.
The Atlas Van Lines, commonly known as the Blue Blaster, is the winningest hull of all time with 24 victories between 1977 and 1981. The boat is as legendary in unlimited hydroplane racing as its driver. Muncey, the winningest driver of all time, posted 62 victories between 1956 and when he died in a tragic racing accident at Acapulco, Mexico, in 1981.
"Maybe this is Blue Blaster II," said Villwock, tongue firmly in cheek. "It's perfect when it's running right on the edge. It likes to run up high on plane, but it doesn't pitch up like some boats. It's a sweetheart."
Nevertheless, the "sweetheart" will most likely be sent back to Seattle for repairs. Villwock sustained some damage to the bottom of the boat in a preliminary heat and was fortunate the boat stayed together through the final.
As the unlimited hydroplane circuit heads to Madison this week for the Budweiser Indiana Governor's Cup race, Villwock will attempt to keep his blistering season intact by driving his older, heavier backup boat.
But the other teams will shed no tears for the PICO team. Villwock's backup boat won at Phoenix in May and claimed the 1996 American Power Boat Association Gold Cup in Detroit in June.
Tate will be trying to repeat as champ in Madison and Mark Evans and Bernie Little's Miss Budweiser, now 0-4 in 1996, will be trying to end Miss Bud's worst opening for a season since 1988 when the Budweiser went winless in four events before backup driver Tom D'Eath won at Syracuse and went on to claim the 1988 national championship.
(reprinted from the Madison Courier, July 1, 1996)
© Madison Courier. Used by permission.
RIVER TAKES BITE OUT OF COOPER'S BOAT
By Eric Crawford
On a day when the Ohio River claimed a moderate amount of unlimited hydroplane wreckage, it took the biggest bite out of a hometown boat.
Evansville's Ed Cooper Jr. watched as his piston-powered U-3 Master Tire entry had its entire left side sheared off by rough water in Heat 2B of yesterday's Pontiac Thunder on the Ohio, then looked on in dismay as the craft nearly sank before rescue workers could stabilize it.
Driver Mitch Evans, who built the boat along with his brother Mark, escaped unharmed after the U-99.9 Miss Welborn Health Plans and driver Mike Eacrett pinched him off in turn 1.
Race officials at first blamed Eacrett, disqualifying him from the heat and fining him $500. But video replays later showed that the U-3 had begun to fall apart before entering the turn.
"We got pinched in, and I had to turn it pretty sharp," Evans said. "It's the kind of turn that 999 times in 1,000 we're able to make OK, but I guess it was just this boat's time. The stress of making that tight a turn in that rough water was just too much, and the sponson cut clean off."
Only the rear wings and horizontal stabilizer were visible above the water as the boat was towed back to shore. Damage was extensive, and will cause the team to miss next week's race in Madison.
"Basically, when something like this happens you just have to take a saw and start cutting until you run into parts that are good," Cooper said. "Then you build it back up from there.
"We've had repair jobs before, but nothing like this. With the motor, it's just a matter of taking things apart and cleaning them out.
"It's disappointing, especially to have it happen here. We felt we were running very well. Now there's a lot of work ahead of us, but we have a good sponsor in Mill Bay Casinos out west, so we want to do it right."
Miss Budweiser driver Mark Evans rushed to the U-3's pit area after the accident to check on his brother and the boat.
"It's hard to see something like that happen," Evans said. "With your brother out there in a boat you helped build, you feel like there's a little part of yourself out there. But the important thing is that they'll both get to race another day.
Eacrett, meanwhile, was still fuming after hearing of the UHRA sanctions.
"It was a tough call," UHRA chief referee Mike Noonan said. "I felt like when he made a course correction in front of Mitch, Mitch really had no place to go. After the fact, everybody's talking about the boat was already coming apart. I had no knowledge of that and can't base the call on that."
That didn't satisfy Eacrett.
"The tape shows I was all in the clear," he said. "His boat started breaking up, then started coming into my roostertail. Even Noonan said he made a mistake."
There was actual contact in Heat 1B when the U-14 Target Stores boat bore in on Mike Jones and the U-9 Miss Exide. The resulting bump tore a four-foot hole in the left sponson of the Exide, ending its day. Target driver Ken Muscatel was handed a one-lap penalty and fined $300 for the incident.
"I tried to move out, but I hit a hole and we bumped," Muscatel said. "I never even felt it. It wasn't intentional."
Jones said the Exide team could be out for a while, noting that the U-9's hull is molded, which makes repairs tricky. He estimated damage at $20,000. "That's just part of the sport," Jones said.
"He slid into me. It was a jolt. When two 6,000-pound boats hit at more than 100 mph, you're going to feel it."
Muscatel didn't escape damage, either. Following that heat, his craft lost its canard wing, which allows the driver to maintain altitude control.
"Basically, without it, if the boat starts to flip over, there's not much you can do to stop it," Muscatel said. "But that's the way drivers raced for years, so I had no problem running without it the rest of the day. It was a rough day, but we came up with our second straight sixth-place finish, so I'm fairly pleased.
Steve David experienced a scary moment at the start of the final heat in his U-2 ARC Construction craft when an electrical short produced smoke in his cockpit.
"We just had some kind of electrical malfunction and it produced a little smoke, but it was nothing that caused him to back off the gas," team owner Jim Harvey said. "We'll take the fourth-place finish, but we're not too competitive since losing our national sponsor. We're in the position of having to take what we can get in this."
(reprinted from the Evansville Press, July 1, 1996)
[several mid-race reports]
The Budweiser camp apparently will go with their new boat, the so-called Turbine V, today. It will be the maiden voyage for the craft, constructed over the winter by Ron Brown and his Big Red Gang crew in Seattle. The boat previously has been in back-up roles at Detroit and Kansas City. Driver Mark Evans allows as how it seems a little more comfortable "and more predictable" than the Turbine III sister ship.
This is Mike Eacrett's first race anywhere but on the West Coast. Before his ride in the U-99.9 Miss Welborn Health Plans, he has previously been aboard only the boat that was eventually destroyed in Tri-Cities during qualifying for the 1994 race (U-Twenty-Four, Oh Boy! Oberto/Pork Jerky and O Boy! Oberto) during the 1990, 1991, 1993 and 1994 seasons.
A delegation of businessmen representing the Clay County Economic Development Council and other business interests in the North Kansas City area are here observing, circulating and talking about what makes the Freedom Festival tick for Evansville...in order that they might transport home the ideas and build a similar community event around the Kansas City Hydrofair.
As is almost always the case, Mark Tate and the Smokin' Joe's was first onto the water for the race day warmup session. He tooled around at 127.121, while the Miss Budweiser (T5) joined in the fun at 148.871.
Dave Villwock, taking advantage of cool temperatures and placid water, ripped off one of his better laps of the week -- 158.190 -- serving notice that he is a strong contender for a third win in this fourth event of the Unlimited Hydroplane Thunder Tour '96, presented by LAS VEGAS.
Leland Racing teammate Mike Eacrett tested at 139.095, while Ken Muscatel approached his qualifying speed, too, with a best circuit of 137.360.
Mark Evans, between those two, was back on the water with the Turbine V, but at the reduced speed of 123.850.
Just as he began it, Mark Tate closed off the one- hour test session with a lap of 130.077. Heat 1A is scheduled to begin in two hours, or at 11 a.m. local.
* * *
Fighting off a determined first-lap challenge from season point leader Dave Villwock in the PICO American Dream, Mark Tate gunned his Smokin' Joe's around a sunny but breezy Ohio River course this morning to record victory in Heat 1A of the 18th annual Pontiac Thunder On the Ohio.
Tate's initial circuit of the two-mile layout, while considerably under record speed, nevertheless displayed his mastery of the inside lane. He hugged the buoys, particularly in the top half of the course, and used the advantage to repell Villwock, who had led all the way up the backstretch. A tight tour of this essentially tri-cornered course regained the lead for Smokin' Joe's as PICO slid out wide exiting the turn for home.
The third "corner" is actually at the start-finish line, where the course angles left as it heads toward the downriver turn.
The first lap speed was 149.409 and Tate didn't slow much after that, rattling off two more laps in the 147 bracket to record a 148.048 average for the six-mile heat. Chip Hanauer in the Miss Budweiser set the Evansville heat speed record of 154.185 during the 1993 race.
Rick Christensen lost power on the second lap in his Busler Enterprises, but got it going again to mark the eighth consecutive heat (counting seven heats in Kansas City June 9) that all boats who actually started have completed the prescribed number of laps.
Unlimited Hydroplane Racing Association officials evidenced some minor concern over the continuing wind from the south during the break between the two sections of Heat 1.
But there soon was something else of considerable more substance to talk about as the boats circled in readiness for the flag start to Heat 1B. Ken Muscatel, starting out up the back stretch with his Target Stores entry, veered out and made contact with Mike Jones' Miss Exide. The latter was forced to slow appreciably. Muscatel was penalized one lap and fined $300 for the encroachment.
The race itself was never in doubt, with Mark Evans wheeling the "Turbine V" Miss Budweiser -- the new boat in its maiden race -- across the line first and never looking back to pull even with Smokin' Joe's at 400 points apiece.
* * *
The pre-Heat 1B shunt involving the Target Stores and Miss Exide resulted, ultimately, in both boats being absent from their respective sections of Heat 2. The Exide is out of Heat 2B and could be through for the day, unless the crew can somehow repair a long, deep slash inside the left sponson, where the boat was rammed by Ken Muscatel, driver of the Target Stores. The latter's boat is okay, but the crew got behind the eight-ball and was unable to get the boat onto the course in time for Heat 2A.
That left four of the top five qualifiers in this battle of the hot boats, with the lane choice inverted according to the points garnered from Heat 1. Top qualifier Mark Tate and the Smokin' Joe's was thus in the outside lane, with Miss Budweiser and PICO American Dream inside of him. This was enough of an advantage for Dave Villwock to get a lead and keep it with an average heat speed of 148.659, fastest six miles of the day so far. Tate barely trailed the length of a roostertail but could not make up the difference as Villwock strategically slid a little wide coming out of the turns and thus protected his lead. The Budweiser, its turbine popping, was a safe third, far ahead of Mike Hanson in the DeWALT Tools entry.
* * *
An aborted start to Heat 2B, perhaps prompted by confusion on the part of U-99.9 driver Mike Eacrett as to what lane he was supposed to be in, cost the further services of the hometown boat, Ed Cooper's piston-powered U-3 Master Tire, driven by Mitch Evans. The boats were at the second buoy of the downriver turn when Eacrett, who was supposed to be in the second lane, dashed across in front of Evans, who was maintaining his position in Lane 1. Trouble was, the left sponson was shearing off Evans' boat.
"I just kept turning left," Evans said. "I could feel the sponson going away. I did a flat spin and there was a wall of water where Eacrett went by."
The race was red-flagged to a halt. Eacrett was disqualified from the heat and fined $500 by chief referee J. Michael Noonan. Fred Leland, owner of Eacrett's boat, demanded to see film of the incident.
Rescue workers managed to reach the stricken craft in time to save it from sinking, although one boat towed in the sponson and another towed in the remainder of the hull.
The re-start, reduced to just two boats, was an easy victory for Steve David in the U-2 ARC Construction, marking the fourth different winner from the first four heats. The river was then closed to allow barge traffic to pass. The delay for the re- start cost some 35 minutes.
* * *
The current Budweiser/O'Doul's High Point boat and driver, PICO American Dream and Dave Villwock, continued to roll in Heat 3A. From the inside lane, the red, white and blue boat leaped to a half-roostertail advantage emerging from the downriver turn and sailed on to 400 more points in each category.
Mark Evans, still seeming to lack the requisite power to stay with PICO and Smokin' Joe's, came home a solid second, but was never a threat to the winner.
In Heat 3B, Mark Tate kept pace with Villwock by steamingrolling the ARC Construction and DeWALT Tools boats. Mike Eacrett and the Miss Welborn Health Plans were originally in the heat but lost fire before the start. The result gave Tate an identical 1,100 points to Villwock -- and the all- important lane choice thanks to his fast qualifying time.
* * *
EVANSVILLE (Special, June 30) -- "Super Dave" Villwock and the PICO American Dream proved hotter than the 96-degree temperatures bathing this Ohio River city today, roaring to their third victory in four tries on the Unlimited Hydroplane Thunder Tour '96, presented by Las Vegas.
This one was the 18th annual Pontiac Thunder on the Ohio and, save for one second-place heat finish to eventual runnerup Mark Tate and Smokin' Joe's, Villwock and the Detroit-sponsored PICO were perfection personified. Villwock, with earlier wins at Phoenix and in the Detroit Gold Cup, never looked back while firing off three heat wins in a row. He averaged 143.948 miles an hour over the five-lap final around the two-mile, tri-cornered river course.
A brand new Miss Budweiser, the so-called "Turbine V," made its debut today but the team's losing streak continued. Mark Evans finished third as longtime owner Bernie Little went oh-for-four at the start of a season for the first time since 1988. Steve David in the ARC Construction entry was fourth.
The Thunder Tour continues up river next Sunday in tiny Madison (pop: 13,300) with the Budweiser Indiana Governor's Cup.
* * *
HEAT 1A (11:00)
Ln Boat # Name Driver Pos/Pts Speed
1 U-10 Smokin' Joe's Mark Tate 1/400/400 148.048 #
2 U-100 PICO American Dream Dave Villwock 2/300/300 141.659
3 U-2 ARC Construction Steve David 3/225/225 130.027
4 U-3 Master Tire Mitch Evans 4/169/169 114.887
5 U-7 Busler Enterprises Rick Christensen 5/127/127 96.120
# - Fast Lap: U-10 (1st), 149.409
HEAT 1B (11:30)
Ln Boat # Name Driver Pos/Pts Speed
1 U-1 Miss Budweiser Mark Evans 1/400/400 139.263
2 U-6 DeWALT Tools Mike Hanson 2/300/300 130.679
3 U-99.9 Miss Welborn Health Plan Mike Eacrett 3/225/225 126.748
5 U-9 Miss Exide Mike Jones 4/169/169 101.227
4 U-14 Target Stores Ken Muscatel 5/127/127 -- *
* - Penalized one lap and $300 for colliding with the U-9
HEAT 2A (12:30)
Ln Boat # Name Driver Pos/Pts Speed
3 U-100 PICO American Dream Dave Villwock 1/400/700 148.659
5 U-10 Smokin' Joe's Mark Tate 2/300/700 146.511
4 U-1 Miss Budweiser Mark Evans 3/225/625 141.827
2 U-6 DeWALT Tools Mike Hanson 4/169/469 128.232
1 U-14 Target Stores Ken Muscatel DNS/0/127
HEAT 2B RERUN (1:35)
Ln Boat # Name Driver Pos/Pts Speed
2 U-2 ARC Construction Steve David 1/400/625 109.814
1 U-7 Busler Enterprises Rick Christensen 2/300/427 105.587
- U-3 Master Tire Mitch Evans WD/0/169 #
- U-99.9 Miss Welborn Health Plan Mike Eacrett DSQ/0/225 #
- U-9 Miss Exide Mike Jones WD/0/169
# - Original running saw U-99.9 collide with U-3, causing sponson to
fall off the U-3. U-99.9 disqualified, U-3 done for day
HEAT 3A (3:00)
Ln Boat # Name Driver Pos/Pts Speed
1 U-100 PICO American Dream Dave Villwock 1/400/1100 146.140 #
2 U-1 Miss Budweiser Mark Evans 2/300/925 142.165
4 U-14 Target Stores Ken Muscatel 3/225/352 121.783
3 U-7 Busler Enterprises Rick Christensen 4/169/596 108.595
# - Fast Lap: U-100 (1st), 151
HEAT 3B (3:30)
Ln Boat # Name Driver Pos/Pts Speed
1 U-10 Smokin' Joe's Mark Tate 1/400/1100 148.745
2 U-2 ARC Construction Steve David 2/300/925 139.223
3 U-6 DeWALT Tools Mike Hanson 3/225/694 132.180
4 U-99.9 Miss Welborn Health Plan Mike Eacrett DNS/0/225
PROVISIONAL HEAT (4:00)
Ln Boat # Name Driver Pos/Pts Speed
1 U-14 Target Stores Ken Muscatel 1/-/354 137.410
2 U-99.9 Miss Welborn Health Plan Mike Eacrett 2/-/225 134.857
FINAL HEAT (4:40)
Ln Boat # Name Driver Pos/Pts Speed
2 U-100 PICO American Dream Dave Villwock 1/400/1500 143.948 #
1 U-10 Smokin' Joe's Mark Tate 2/300/1400 140.344
3 U-1 Miss Budweiser Mark Evans 3/225/1150 138.113
4 U-2 ARC Construction Steve David 4/169/1094 127.865
5 U-6 DeWALT Tools Mike Hanson 5/127/821 124.309
T U-14 Target Stores Ken Muscatel 6/95/447 122.579
6 U-7 Busler Enterprises Rick Christensen DNF/0/427
# - Fast Lap: U-100 (1st), 149.8
(Reprinted from UHRA.com)
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