SAINT JOHN, Washington (August 29, 2009) — Between the
19,000 fans who watched the live
broadcast and what looked to be well over
3,000 fans (waiting official figures) attending live, at the track, well
over 20,000 watched Saturday's barn burner of a race at Webb's Slough sprint
boat racing facility located in Saint John, Washington.
There was a barn dance scheduled at the fairgrounds that
night, but the USSBA Sprint Boat Racing Series boats burned down the barn
during the day. Rumor was that a massive hay ride took the place
of
the barn dance.
The racing was fast and furious at the beautifully manicured
facility set among the rolling wheat fields in Eastern Washington.
Super-Modified
This class delivered 14 boats to race. Cory Johnson and Gary
McNeil, in the #55 Liquid Addiction boat was the #1
qualifier. Since
acquiring their new boat, they have been über-fast in their sophomore year
of spring boat racing. They are the surprise team of 2009!
After their nasty, hull-ripping crash at Albany last month,
it was obvious there were no getting-back-in-the-saddle issues with these
two racers! They were fast right off the trailer and they were not taking
names. Credit goes to John "Dutch" DeRooy for re-assembling Liquid
Addiction.
Lori and Scott Ackerman qualified second and are
getting a
handle on their brand-spanking new hull, pump and motor combo. Though Scott
says the current power-plant doesn't have enough horsies for this new setup.
However, they did quite well and made it into the 4-cut! Lori & Scott's new
boat is a John DeRooy Shotgun creation.
Tim Cummings and Mike Fuller in the #99 TNT Jeepers Creepers
boat had an engine-popping issue that haunted them all day. In spite of
that, they were fast all day long, qualifying third.
2008 Super-Mod Champion, Dan Morrison and Cara McGuire in the
Lucas Oil/K&N #10 Wicked
Racing boat have seemingly lost their smoothness
that won them that championship. In 2008, they ran on glass. This year, it's
more like sand. We'll talk more with Dan and Cara at Albany to understand
the demons they are dealing with this year. They qualified fourth.
Dillon Brown-Cummings and Teri Cummings, of TNT Racing, are
one of the crowd favorites
in
2009. Mainly because they are both so damn cute!
Dillon, the youngest driver in the series, and his Step-Mom,
Teri have risen to the top very quickly this year and will be a factor for
the championship before it's all said and done. Dillon and Teri qualified
fifth.
John Gray and Tom Bailey qualified sixth after missing race
#2 after frying a motor. It was like they had never left. John and Tom
pushed the #611 Diamond Racing boat right into the finals with a very
impressive showing of a new motor.
Qualifying seventh was Dennis Hughes and Gabe Parkins. I
recall talking to Dennis at Friday Night's Show and Shine in downtown Saint
John and I asked: "You ready
to
take it?" (Meaning first place) Dennis replied, "Not sure if I can take it,
but I'm not taking my foot off the throttle."
And Dennis stood by his word as in the final qualifying
round, he clipped an island causing him and Gabe to pull a nasty 540° upside
down into the water.
SEE VIDEO HERE.
We do not see this very often, but every
time it happens it
seems to take forever for anyone to surface. Right as the Slough Crew
arrived, from every corner of the track, Dennis popped up. Gabe was not to
be seen. The crew lifted the boat and eventually Gabe popped up, totally out
of breath. The crowd literally sighed, as did the entire USSBA family. See
COMPLETE photo sequence
HERE.
Due to water in the engine Dennis and Gabe scratched.
And then there's Ron Fisher. He retired from the USSBA Sprint
Boat Racing Series last year, missed the first race of the year and has been
in the eliminatio
ns
ever since. We're nick-naming Ron the Brett Favre of Sprint Boat Racing!
All kidding aside, Ron's boat is up for sale. Check the
classified section. Ron did qualify eighth, but was scored as seventh for
the eliminations after
Dennis' scratch. And Ron, you can race with us forever! Everyone enjoys your
company and humor.
Robert and Rodney Cox, in the #049 Obsession machine
qualified ninth. They struggled with some oil burning issues but made it
into the eliminations.
Those not making it into the eliminations rounds were:
Castillo/Weeks
SaxtonPowell
Henderson/Sleeman
Hines/Carreia
Powell/Saxton
In the eliminations the competition was insane!
In the 8-cut, Morrison/McGuire were quickest at 50.419.
Dillon was second at 50.666. Cory was third at 51.057 (even after a spin!)
and the Ackerman's were fourth at 51.616.
Cummings/Fuller, Gray/Bailey, Cox/Cox, and Fisher/Grove were
eliminated.
The 4-cut prompted Cory to visit the 49-second land. No one
else ventured there and Morrison and Ackerman were eliminated by just tenths
of a second.
So that placed Cory and Dillon; Gary and Teri, head to head
in the finals. This was Dillon's first visit to the finals. The live
audience were rooting for them both! Great racing is what they came for, and
they were about to get the very best!!
Dillon and Teri were up first and ran their fastest lap of
the day at 49.547. Cory has already run a 48 (second lap) in qualifications,
so the crowd watched with bated breath.
It was not Cory's fastest lap. There were a few bobbles
and
small mistakes, as Dillon had also made on his lap. The anticipation could
have been cut with a combine!
Cory and Gary smoked the track with a
lap just .179 seconds faster than Dillon and Teri and took the win!
Group A-400
No one loves The Slough more than Jack Bright Sr. and Jr.
With his first year spin-and-win and then winning the next three races
through 2008, Jack was King of The Slough.
However, Monster Energy sponsored; Psycho Racing, Kyle
Patrick and Theresa Gibb knocked Jack off his perch the first race of the
season and took the win.
Also, in this trinity of controversy and competition is
none
other than two-time (2006/07) Champion, Doug Hendrickson and Hannah Macke.
Doug and Hannah have not won a race since 2007. Doug is also
President of the USSBA and many times that enters into the fray when trying
to race. Nevertheless, Doug was also President when winning the two
Championships.
Doug Olson is coming off his first professional win the the
USSBA Series. He had won a race in an early beginner's series 7-8 years ago,
so Doug was coming off his win high.
Paul Gahr is hungry, but in his sophomore season, still has
things to learn. His new navigator, Joshua, whom also happens to be his son,
has livened this TNT Racing Team to new heights!
Todd Gary is still trying to make his way into this class
after a fairly successful outing in his rookie year in Super-Modified.
During the qualifications, everyone was tiptoeing through the
31 turns, though Kyle and Theresa ripped a 51 in Q1!
Kyle was also fastest in Q2 with a 51.369. Q3 had
Hendrickson/Macke on top at 49.068, the Brights at 49.147, Kyle at 50.194,
Paul and Joshua Gahr at 52.070, Doug Olson and Andy Gilder at 55.993 while
Todd Gary and Andrew Lockner DNF'd.
For the eliminations, Todd Gary, of the Psycho Racing Team,
could not start because of engine issues.
Doug Olson pulled a 55, Gahr ripped a 51, Kyle and Theresa
ran a good run, but not as fast as Q4, with a 49.521. Doug and Hannah
screeched the fastest lap of the day of all classes in Q1 with a 48.635!
In the 4-cut, the Gahrs slipped to 52's. Olson/Gilder got
stuck in the mud and while Andy was trying to physically shake the boat
loose, I have to believe it was the crowd that CHEERED it loose! When Doug
finally broke the boat free, the entire crowd rose to its feet and screamed!
But, it was a 74-second lap and Doug was eliminated.
Kyle and Theresa ran a 49.334. Doug and Hannah squeaked a
48.967, taking the two rivals into the finals.
Kyle and Theresa gave it all they had, just knicking an
island, but still running a respectable 49
.614.
Doug and Hannah reciprocated with their fourth consecutive
48-second lap at 48.872 and took the win, breaking a year-plus-long drought.
Superboats
Other than one DNF, Pat Hampl and Talitha Edwards, of the
Monster Energy, Psycho Racing Team was letting Dave Pfeiler and Amanda
Vestal know that they were serious about running Superboats.
Pat and Talitha's Viper V-10 motor was running at full peak
and ready to take a prisoner! The Viper boat was fast and Dave and Amanda,
in the #5 Climax boat, struggled to keep an even keel.
In the eliminations, Pat and Talitha ran a quick 51.722 and
when Dave and Amanda reciprocated, their drive line broke 75 yards from the
finish and they coasted into the spin-out pool and into the tires and could
not come back for the finals. Congratulations to Pat and Talitha for their
first win!!!
Venom has shown its colors. Look for Climax to show its
full
power at the two-race weekend at Albany where it's all placed on the line
for the championship! Venom is a mere 6 points behind two-time Superboat
Champion, Dave Pfeiler and Amanda Vestal.