SAINT JOHN, Washington (June 21, 2009) — It can hardly
get any better than Saturday's USSBA Racing Series opening event at Webb's
Slough in Saint John, Washington.
Matt and Amanda Webb and the now infamous
Slough Crew
were busy in the off-season and it wasn't just mowing the grass.
All new catch fencing and a safety barrier fence has been
installed, taking the level of safety for the racers and the fans to a new
level. The tiers on the side of the hill are nicely manicured,
gorgeous and on Saturday were packed with 5,000 race fans!
You see acres of empty seats at NASCAR races, but not here.
Great job everyone! Also note that Webb's Slough has the absolute BEST track
food in the USSBA series!!!
There was drama, action, emotion, heartache, thrills, and yes
spills this
weekend at Webb's Slough. The weather was in the mid 70's and ripe for
generating maximum horsepower with these water-munching monsters.
Webb's Slough is a tight, technical, driver's track, but the
layout of the track on Saturday was all speed, except for the "kink." The
driver's have another "R" rated name for the small circle at the top of the
track, but we'll call it The Kink. More on that later.
The drama started out when the Lucas Oil Wicked Racing team
of 2008 Super-Modified Champion Dan Morrison discovered a weak valve spring.
After several frantic phone calls into town, the boat was taken offsite to
have the errant spring replaced and Dan would miss the first two rounds of
qualifying.
2008 A-400 defending Champion, Kyle Patrick, running the
Monster Energy sponsored, It's All About Me entry, started fighting engine
demons right off the trailer as the engine popped and missed around the
track. Some respectable times were still being run, but the day was looking
grim and the entire team struggled to find the problems.
Super Modified
With Morrison off the track, the rest of the field set out to
set down some fast times. Cory Johnson and Gary McNeil from British Columbia
did just that by running a 42.470 by round two. No one else was close as the
others were in the 45's or higher. That would change by Q4!
Morrison and McGuire came back into Q3 (session 3 of the
qualifying rounds) and ran a 42.7. In Q4 they would improve to 42.5 but that
was a second off the pace with the Canadians ripping off a 41.55!
TNT Racing's Tim Cummings and Mike Fuller were third with a
42.797. Also of TNT Racing, Dillon Brown and Teri Cummings were fourth with
a 43.5, Lori and Scott Ackerman of 04IC Racing qualified fifth at 43.7, John
Gray and Tom Bailey were 44.8 with rookies Hendersen/Marxen running a 51.3
to round out the top eight.
Robert and Randy Cox and Larry Hines and Jay Carreia were put
on the trailer for the day with a 58.1 and 66.4 times, respectively.
In the finals the Canadians claimed Webb's Slough as a home
away from home. You could have placed a thumbnail over second through fourth
place racers Morrison/McGuire, the Ackermans and Cummings/Fuller. They was
only a mere two and a half tenths between the three.
The Ackerman's were breaking in their new Shotgun hull, Scott
Pump and brand new engine. A great showing for a first run. This hull is
much, much different than anything else on the water and it will be
interesting to see how they progress through the season.
The TNT Teams of Cummings/Fuller and Brown/Cummings will be a
force to be reckoned with before this season is over. These
will be the teams to watch in 2009. They will spoil someone's day every
soon...Stay tuned!
Cory and
Gary
laid down a very impressive, very smooth 40.788 in
the finals and won the Super-Modified class. Very impressive for their sophomore
year in the sport. Cory and Gary get The Smooth Award of the day!
This class is very close and look for the times and the
competition to get even closer as the season wears on.
Group A-400
2006/2007 A-400 Champion Doug "The Prez" Hendrickson and
Hannah Macke came off the trailer smokin' hot and ripped a 41.7 right out
the box raising eyebrows across the pits.
Lucas Oil/Wicked Racing's Hendrickson has been in a slump
since the final Richland race in 2007 and was set out to change all that
Saturday.
But, there were a few others that just want to have a say in
that! Jack and Jack Bright have never lost at Webb's Slough. Monster Energy
sponsored Kyle Patrick and Theresa Gibb wanted this win bad. Kyle and
Theresa are the defending 2008 A-400 Champions and want nothing more...Or
should I say nothing LESS, than the 2009 Class A-400 Championship.
Paul Gahr and Mark Gold of the TNT Racing Team along with
Doug Olson and Andy Gilder, running Dream Catcher, having just moved up from
Super-Mod and Monster Energy's Todd Gary and Andrew Lockner, with their new
go-fast goodies were also going to try and knock down The Prez.
Hendrickson/Macke ended up with a track shattering 40.465 in
Q3 that no one in any class would touch. In Q4, however, The Bright's
eclipsed Doug's 41.690 with a 41.679. Things that make ya go hmmmmm.
Kyle Patrick and the Monster Energy Team were chasing ugly
things in his motor. They'd pretty much given up on the top step of the
podium or even placing as they struggled with an persistent, horsepower-robbing problem in
their powerplant.
In spite of that they still qualified third with TNT's Gahr
and Gold just behind as they tweaked and tuned their gear. There is no racer
on the track that was more exciting about the day's race than Paul. Paul
Gahr is
unofficially awarded the unofficial award of Excitable Boy of the Day.
Olson/Gilder was fifth and Gary/Lockner was sixth as they
moved into the eliminations.
In the 8-cut run Patrick was on top, just squeaking past
Bright, but still not close to Hendrickson. Kyle managed a 42.1, Bright a
42.4, Gahr a 43.8, Olson a 45.3 and Gary was put on the trailer with a 48.8.
And then it was time for Wicked Racing's team of
Hendrickson/Macke. Off the line they were super fast up
the front straight (fastest of any boat out
there) and Doug turned a bit too sharp into the kink! The boat grazed the
bank and was tossed sideways against the tiny island. Still in the water,
and in the running, Doug attempted to turn around and popped the nose onto
the bank ending their day.
Gahr and Gold pulled their fastest time of the day in the
4-cut, but it was nearly 6-tenths out and they parked their boat for the
day. Olson/Gilder ran a 46 and that was the end of their day.
So it was the Master of The Slough against Kyle Patrick. Even
Kyle doubted if there was any beast to unleash in the Monster Energy
machine. And Jack n' Jack were getting faster and faster and faster and
faster. Just like they always do.
In the final, Jack ran a 41.7. His fastest time of the day
and 6-tenths faster than Kyle had run with his ailing powerplant.
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But, finally, the Beast was Unleashed as Kyle and
Theresa dipped into 40-second land with a race winning 40.983. Jack was the
first to congratulate them.
SuperBoats
Defending Superboat Champion, Dave Pfeiler ran very
consistent times from Q3 through the finals and he always seems to know just
how fast to run.
The Monster Energy sponsored Venom boat of Pat Hampl and
Talitha Edwards are running on an engine waiver as they wait for their
highly modified Dodge Viper V10 to be completed.
Pat and Talitha beat Dave, and guest navigator from Wicked
Racing, Debbie Parker, in Q1 & Q2, but Mr. Consistent set the bar and held
it through to the end with Pat and Talitha DNF'ing in the final run of the
day.
That's all set to change at Albany in July as the V-10
arrives! Another cog in the SuperBoat wheel is that Dean Lautenschlager's
boat is rumored to be ready to battle of this championship. This will be
exciting to watch!! Don't miss it.
See you all at Albany, July 25th.