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.

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.

SAINT JOHN, Washington (June 21, 2009) — Between the fans in the stands and the Internet media viewers, we had an estimated 11,000 watch the first race of the USSBA Racing Series! There were people logged on from all over the globe.

Congrats to our video guru, Paul White, his wife and crew, who struggled through the weekend with a tried and true dedicated cell connected that died race morning. A generator that died one hour into the broadcast and several other glitches.

Just mere hurdles in the techno-world. At the end of the day, this is a huge success. Thanks for all of you who watched the first broadcast. I just spoke with Paul on the phone and the Albany race will rock the planet. Stay tuned to USSBA-LIVE!

The real kicker here is when Cory Johnson, of British Columbia, Canada, called his Mom to tell her the good news that he had won his first race.

Her answer? "I know! I just watched you win the race on the Internet!"

In addition to the video, we have a huge gallery of still photos to be placed online in the next couple of days. We have 3,500 photos to review. Paul White will also be editing some highlight reels to come in the near future out of three action packed DVD's he recorded on Saturday.

For the latest and greatest in Sprint Boat Racing, this is the place to be!

ALBANY, Oregon (June 17, 2009) — Psycho Racing, based in Albany, Oregon, announced today that they have secured sponsorship from Monster Energy. Monster Energy produces several energy drinks with Monster Energy being in the forefront.

"It's great to have Monster Energy as a sponsor," Kyle Patrick said, "and we look forward to working with them this season. Psycho Racing is ready for this weekend and we will definitely be unleashing the beast!"

PASCO, Washington (June 2, 2009) — The USSBA has released its 2009 racing rules and by laws. The racing rules are both on the website and the forum. The by laws are only available on the USSBA's private forum that is for paid members only.

Please note that due to the late release of these documents the changes will be loosely enforced for the first race. For race #2, strict enforcement will be implemented, it is, of course, advisable to try and make any changes you can prior to the first race since the majority of the changes are safety related.