November/December 2018 Propeller Magazine

VOLUME 72, ISSUE 6 • NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2018

APBA.ORG • USA: $5.00

VINTAGE & HISTORIC

Wheeling, Mahogany & Merlot

NGK F1 SERIES

Springfield to Orange

UNLIMITED Andrew Tate U-9 Like Father, Like Son

Quality Personalized Racing Jewelry Boat Pendants and Earrings Any category; guaranteed to resemble your boat

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3- or 4-blade All jewelry with or without diamonds or gemstones of your choice.

All miniatures in 14K Gold (white or yellow) or Sterling Silver Call or e-mail for a quote

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salesinfo@racing-images.com www.racing-images.com

HOW THE APBA HISTORICAL SOCIETY IS HELPING YOU, THE BOATRACER Over the past few years the APBA Historical Society has issued grants to clubs to help upgrade their rescue equipment and purchase new rescue boats to use at races. We are helping these clubs to be the best they can be with this new equipment.

In addition, the Historical Society helps fund several Outboard Driving Schools across the country.

These schools have been very successful in bringing in new members to APBA. The Society is asking you to help with these plans in the form of a donation. The Historical Society is a tax exempt 501(c)3 organization, and your donations are tax-deductible. With the year-end fast approaching, this is a great time to help the Society with a donation, and take a tax deduction for 2018. Contact Linda Likert at APBA, or visit www.apbahs.org .

We hope all of you will help support the APBA Historical Society, and we look forward to a great 2019 season.

PHOTO: DENISE JOHNSON

www.apbahs.org • 586-773-9700

IN THIS ISSUE 17640 East Nine Mile Road, Eastpointe MI 48021-2563 PHONE: 586.773.9700 WEB: apba.org EMAIL: apbahq@apba.org twitter.com/APBARacing facebook.com/APBARacing DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS ACCOUNTING MEMBERSHIP SANCTIONS/ HIGH POINTS PROPELLER EDITOR

Sarah Ealy Linda Likert Sabrina Haudek Cindy Minoletti Tana Moore

s.ealy@apba.org llikert@apba.org shaudek@apba.org cminoletti@apba.org tmoore@apba.org

APBA OFFICERS AND BOARD OF DIRECTORS PRESIDENT VICE PRESIDENT TREASURER SECRETARY LEGAL COUNSEL

Howie Nichols Chris Fairchild Steve Compton Mary Williams Edward Hearn

Adam Allen

Kyle Bahl

Jerry Davids

Fred Hauenstein

Jean Mackay-Schwartz

Jan Shaw

Mark Tate REGION REP TBA CATEGORY REP TBA

president@apba.org VP@apba.org treasurer@apba.org secretary@apba.org legal@apba.org azallen@hotmail.com racerkyle@hotmail.com racer3d62n@hotmail.com fhauenstein@new.rr.com jean84c@earthlink.net janetshaw4994@comcast.net mtate@suncoating.com

COUNCIL-AT-LARGE:

Penny Anderson, Jeffrey Conant, Richard Fuchslin, Patrick Gleason, Sheri Greaves, Alex Jennings III, Jack Meyer, Steve Noury, Rachel Warnock, Bob Wartinger, Matt Yarno

RACING CATEGORY CHAIRMEN Inboard Modified OPC PRO Stock

Dutch Squires Tom Sutherland James Chambers Jr. Kristi Ellison Jeff Brewster

inboardracing@apba.org modifiedoutboard@apba.org jchambe1@tampabay.rr.com prooutboard@apba.org stockoutboard@apba.org

COMMITTEE CHAIRMEN Inboard Endurance Ted Kolby Junior Classes Jeff Williams, Mark Wheeler Offshore Rick Felsen Outboard Drag Chris Fairchild Special Event and Thundercat Robin Shane Vintage and Historic John Krebs H1 Unlimited (interim) Charlie Grooms

ted@tedkolby.com junior@apba.org hawkrace@aol.com chris@fairchildracing.com robin.shane@verizon.net krebs233@yahoo.com cgrooms@cliftyengineering.com

REGION CHAIRMEN 1 TBA 3 Scott Reed 4 Richard Shaw 5 Jeff Titus 6 Eli Whitney 7 Kris Shepard 8 Aaron Wachholz 9 Julian Rucki 10 Rick Sandstrom

REED28N@GMAIL.COM shawracingt2@yahoo.com jstitus2@embarqmail.com donaldeli.whitney@sbcglobal.net racershep46@att.net xtremeh2@gmail.com renegadep28@aol.com info@propshopltd.com

PROPELLER© welcomes unsolicited articles and photos. Views expressed herein are not necessarily those of the publication and do not represent official APBA policy. Advertising herein cannot be construed as an endorsement

by APBA or its members. PROPELLER (ISSN 0194-6218) (USPS 0047-800) is published six times yearly for $35.00 (U.S.) $55.00 (foreign) by APBA, 17640 E. Nine Mile Road, Eastpointe, MI 48021-2563 Periodical postage paid at Eastpointe, MI, and additional mailing office. Postmaster: send addresses to APBA, 17640 E. Nine Mile Road, Eastpointe, MI 48021-2563.

From the Top 2 In Brief 3 Orlando Convention Registration Form 6 Powerboat P1 Plan Major Boat Upgrade 7 From HERE to THERE 8 The End of an Era The Wilson Family’s 40 Years of Racing 9 Timeless: Wheeling 2018 Vintage Boats on the Ohio 10 Wain Trotter’s Passion for Outboards 12 Wake the Lake! NGK Series Rocks Springfield, Ohio 14 NGK Series Finale It’s a Wrap in Orange, Texas 16 Perfect Pennsylvania Race! Lock Haven Goes Big 18 Waiting for a Wisp of Wind Devils Lake Time Trials 20 It’s Tate, U-9 in 2018 Like Father, Like Son 22 Mahogany & Merlot Vintage Shines at Chelan 24 Category Corner Inboard 25 Junior Classes 26 Modified Outboard 27 Outboard Performance Craft 28 Stock Outboard 29 Region Roundup 5, 6, 10, 11 30 Race in Peace IBC ON THE COVER: History lives here! The Hydroplane and Raceboat Museum’s 1958 edition Miss Bardahl U-40 (which won the 1958 Apple Cup with Chelan native Norm Evans at the wheel) was one of two Miss Bardahl Unlimiteds at Chelan. The annual Mahogany & Merlot Vintage event drew 10 Unlimited and 25 limited Inboards to swoop across Lake Chelan. Gleason Racing Photography

1

from the TOP

BY HOWIE NICHOLS, APBA PRESIDENT Playing by the Rules...

As I write this, the 2018 racing season is ending while the final High Point chases are ramping up.

Drivers in contention are doing everything in their power to get those last few points they need to lock it all in.

APBA President Howie Nichols.

Todd Dionne photo

Statement of Ownership, Management and Circulation (as required by the U.S. Postal Service)

Publication Title: Propeller Filing Date: November 1, 2018 Publication Number: 0194-6218 Issue Frequency: Bimonthly (through 11/18) Number of issues published annually: 6 (through 11/18) Annual subscription price: $35.00 Publisher and Owner: American Power Boat Association Contact Person and Editor: Tana Moore Managing Editor: None Known bondholders, mortgagees, and other security holders owning or holding 1 percent or more of total amount of bonds, mortgages, or other securities: None Complete mailing address of American Power Boat Association known/general business office of 17640 East Nine Mile Road publication, owner, editor, publisher: Eastpointe MI 48021-2563 The purpose, function and nonprofit status of this organization and the exempt status for federal income tax purposes have not changed during the preceding 12 months.

Issue date for circulation data below: September/October 2018 Extent and nature of publication

Average No. copies of each issue during preceding 12 months

Total no. of copies (net press run) Mailed Outside-County Paid Subscriptions Mailed In-County Paid Subscriptions Sales through dealers, carriers, street vendors and counter sales (not mailed) Paid Distribution Outside the Mails Paid Distribution by other classes of USPS Mail Total paid and/or requested circulation

Free Outside-County copies: Free Inside-County copies: Free copies mailed at other classes: Free distribution outside the mail: Total free distribution: Total distribution: Copies not distributed:

Total: Percent paid and/or requested circulation:

No. copies of single issue published nearest to filing date

2370 2400 2173 2182 0 0

0 0 0 0 63 65 2236 2247 0 0 0 0 10 12 53 83 63 95 2299 2277 71 123 2370 2400 97% 94.5%

Required publication of statement of ownership in the NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2018 issue of this publication. The editor, Tana I. Moore, certifies that all information furnished on this form is complete.

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I would like to take a second to remind everyone that this is an important time of the year for any racers who are trying to close out their 2018 racing season. I have heard of rules being manipulated during those attempts. This is unacceptable. I caution race teams and officials alike that this will not be tolerated. The rules will be followed, and results will be reviewed to ensure violations do not occur. We all know that APBA has plentiful rules throughout our books, and this is why.

Given all the current changes, moving forward APBA will be utilizing survey platforms to relay information, get your input, and even conduct elections. It is imperative that you verify all the information on the form and make the necessary changes to update Headquarters.

Region meetings and elections should now be in full swing. Headquarters prepared a transition plan for each Region to assist them in conducting these elections. Several Regions took us up on the offer, while several have their own plans in place.

Make sure you pay attention to the meeting notice coming out for any information relayed.

We MUST follow our written rules. If rules are not written in our rule books, they do not exist. We cannot make up rules to suit our needs! If anyone encounters such attempts, it is incumbent on them to inform the Category Chairs immediately.

This is your organization—you have a voice in APBA, and your input is welcomed and desired.

Many members have reached out to provide us with solutions during this transition, and that is appreciated. Obviously, not every suggestion can be implemented, but we do look at the options to try to make APBA the best place to race.

We can make changes to the current rule structure to incorporate rules for situations that are not covered. We need your help to identify these areas.

We are excited that the overall membership numbers increased for the 2018 season, and look to continue that trend.

The 2019 Membership renewals take effect on November 1, and we are happy to announce that no changes to the membership fees will occur.

Planning for the Orlando National Convention is well on its way. We hope to see as many of you as possible in February. Make your plans to attend and be where it all happens.

As always, we ask that you renew as soon as you can. Take the time to verify the information on the renewal form sent to you.

The Board of Directors and I are here to listen to you. Please take the time to drop us an email and share your thoughts.

Every region counts; every member counts.

Get involved with club, region, and national APBA activities!

in brief... steering committee Due to the many changes currently in the works within APBA this year, the Steering Committee made the decision very early in the season not to add new issues or projects to a very busy APBA Board of Directors schedule. The Seminars we are planning for the Convention will be: Propeller Science, Social Media Advertising, Promotion & Marketing, Fuel Science (tentative), and Tools of the Trade (handled by Chris Fairchild). Aside from working on the logistics for the seminars at the APBA National Convention in Orlando Fla., we are launching a new project regarding the driver schools for next season.

We have assembled a team of young, enthusiastic and highly qualified members to kick off a new social media program designed to support all of the prescheduled APBA driver schools, beginning next year.

reserve your room now for the orlando convention!

Looking forward to the APBA Annual Convention? Orlando offers a warm Florida welcome, with SeaWorld just a quick (free!) shuttle ride away. Reserve your room now to take advantage of the special APBA rates, good Feb. 1-Feb. 12. Plan to take some extra time to soak up the sun and see the sights. See you in Orlando!

DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Orlando at SeaWorld 407-354-5028 Group Code: APB

The team will be working with Robin Shane, acting as the Driver School Coordinator for 2019.

By organizing all of the driver schools scheduled for next year, Robin will direct the Social Media Marketing Team to flood the local area of each driver school, in an attempt to fill those classes with potential new boat racers.

bob’s record of records

Robin will coordinate with the hosting clubs to meet their participation goals for their school.

The marketing team will bombard the immediate and surrounding areas with all of the information necessary to sign up prospects. A by-product of this effort will ultimately inform the community hosting the race for that weekend using the tools that have already been developed by our APBA Promotional & Marketing Committee.

In the article on the Devils Lake time trials, Mike and Denise Johnson mentioned that Bob Wartinger set two more records at this year’s event. So we had to ask Bob how many records he has set overall. Here’s his response:

Although we are only in the early stages of this project, we believe that in a very short time we will reap the rewards of this effort. This is just the beginning of many new ideas we have to grow APBA both short- and long-term.

On another subject: throughout this racing season, I have heard of many concerns about what the Board is doing to or for APBA. I’ll tell you what we are doing. We are doing exactly what you, the members, have asked us to do.

We are upgrading our computer system so that we can deliver better service for all of us.

Soon we will be able to post race results on our own new APBA website, as well as having the capability to send the information to other related sites and links. Our new website will be maintained and updated regularly with current events, videos, pictures and results on a timely basis. In the meantime, we are also focusing on cleaning up our convoluted rulebooks, By-laws, Regional design, and job descriptions for many of our officers.

For many years, through hundreds of discussions and arguments in person and on the internet, I don’t recall any APBA member ever say, “APBA is perfect—don’t change a thing.”

In fact, it has always been just the opposite: “We need to change the way we operate. We are dying. What we’re doing isn’t working,” et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. I’m here to tell you, THIS IS WHAT CHANGE LOOKS LIKE! I’m very proud to have served on this Board of Directors for the past two years. They are the right people, in the right place, at this time in our history. Each of these members loves this sport as much as anyone ever has. That is why we do what we are doing. If I am not reelected to serve again, that is fine. I’ll still be here doing whatever I can to help APBA grow and thrive for the next generations.

And, as Arnold said so eloquently, “I’ll be back.”

—John Runne

On my list, I believe that these would have been number 135 and 136 lifetime total records. There have been 57 competition records, the rest straightaway. My first record was set in the fall of 1971, so the average is approximately 2.9 records per season for the 47 seasons.

The world outboard speed record still stands: 176.5 mph.

There are five additional records that I wasn’t able to count due to paperwork glitches.... an inspector lost the inspection records, APBA didn’t put the letters “UIM” on the paper circular in the old days, etc.; so couldn’t count them, even though they actually happened. The total would be over 140 if they had counted.

I never set out to set records; it was just something to play with in the off-season.

About the uncounted records...I have found that, for example, the players with the most completed passes may also have the most dropped touchdown passes or some other record of fails. If you do one thing a lot, other variables enter in (unsuccessful attempts).

Records are like library books; you don’t ever own them, they are borrowed. Then someone else borrows them, and so on, as they are passed around.

The competition accomplishments are just as meaningful, if not moreso, but memories are short so people don’t ask about that. But here goes: my career total is 24 National Championships, counting closed course and High Points, 3 World Championships (Russia), 6 Hall of Champions inductions; a whole lot of racing outside the USA—nine 24 Hour races (one win at Rouen, 3 in Russia). I have been very, very fortunate to be able to play in the sport (and keep a job at the same time).

Bob Wartinger photo by Gleason Racing Photography

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in brief...

Englewood Beach Waterfest is ON! Please don’t listen to any rumors that Waterfest 2018 has been cancelled. We have not cancelled Waterfest and are all working hard to bring you the biggest and best Waterfest with more things to do and see.

We have considered various options this year but we are still planning Paddlefest for November 10, 11 and Waterfest for November 16, 17, 18. Our community needs these events and everything else we can do to stimulate our local economy that has been devastated over the summer.

No one is able to predict the level of red tide in the water and irritants in the air six weeks out, but history has shown the level to be very low or non-existent during the dates of Waterfest.

We are keeping a watchful eye on the Red Tide and will post an update weekly.

We will also be updating our Facebook page on all of the exciting things you will be able to do and see at Waterfest 2018. Visit englewoodbeachwaterfest.com for more.

Let’s all get behind Waterfest and our community. See you at the Beach!

Thank you, Ray LaBadie

Remember When NOW: Nick Imprescia, driver of the “NJI Motorsports” Superboat Class 7 Vee hull, poses with his father, Joey Imprescia, acclaimed National and World Champion throttleman. The photo was taken at the APBA/OPA Offshore race, the St. Clair River Classic, on July 29, 2018, in St. Clair, Michigan.

THEN: RECOVERY, a Skater catamaran, owned and driven

by Stuart Hayim with Joey Imprescia on the throttles, en route to their 1st place finish in the Super Cat class in race #1 at the Offshore World Championships in 1992 at Key West, Florida.

Paul Kemiel photos

4

the champion!

Top O’ Michigan regular Josh Pearson, who placed 2nd in DSR. F. Peirce Williams photo

George Ford, the new 850 Mod Hydro North American Champion, with his trophy (and his greatest fan) at Lock Haven, Pennsylvania.

Jill Glossner photo Richard Shaw T-2 and Courtney Stewart T-720 spar in 1.5 Litre Stock hydroplane at the New Jersey Governor’s Cup. F. Peirce Williams photo

top o’ michigan results Aug 11-12, 2018 - Indian River , MI - Inland Waterway Over 90 boats competed in this year’s event. Congratulations to the 2018 Marathon National Champions and TOMORC! Sunday - ASR MARATHON Sunday - 25SSR MARATHON 1 2 3 4 5

STEPHEN MCCOURTIE 1200 TERRY KERR 900 ROBERT WILKINS 675 JOHN WLODARSKI III 506 ABBY POND 380

Sunday - CSR MARATHON 1 2 3 4 5

NICK JENKINS TIMOTHY ROSS DUSTIN PEARSON JACOB ALKEMA KURT KOVTUN NICK LADD JOSHUA PEARSON PAUL KOTWICKI MATT LADD JIM PURZYCKI

1200 900 675 506 380 1200 900 675 506 380

Sunday - 15SSR MARATHON 1 2 3 4 5

PETER LAUER COLIN SMITH DYLAN RUNNE CHRIS HAGERL NICHOLAS FOSTER

JUSTIN GIEGLER THOMAS ALLEN FRED HOLLERBACK LUKE BOSKER DUSTIN FIEREK

1200 900 675 506 380

And, here are the Thundercat results:

Sunday - DSR MARATHON 1 2 3 4 5

1 2 3 4 5

1200 900 675 506 380

Saturday - BANDIT 1 DAN COLLINS 2 MICHAEL GREEN

400 300 400 300 225

Saturday - EXPERIMENTAL 1 2 3 4 5

KYLE YACKO ADAM LOW SCOTT FALZON JAMES YACKO MARK HODOREK

Sep 15-16, 2018, Landing, NJ, Lake Hopatcong

400 300 225 169 127

Saturday Sept. 15

2.5 LTR M DOUGLAS HAVELL JR., A23 GEEZERBOAT 5 LTR

Saturday - OUTLAW 1 WILLIAM CHERNICK 2 STEVEN BOLHUIS 3 LEE HALLENBECK

new jersey governor’s cup Sunday Sept. 16 same

DOUG RAPP, E79 RSTZ/BAD INFLUENCE ROGER MAHAN, E2 PLEASURE SEEKERS

2.5 LTR S ALFRED THOMPSON, S92 TENACITY 1 LTR

ROBERT WILSON, Y80 OUTLAW

same

1.5 LTR RICHARD SHAW, T2 Y-KNOT SAMANTHA EWANCIO, T314 IRRATIONAL JSS

TOM PAKRADOONI, JS7 ROLLING THUNDER same

SA

JOHN TYLER BRINTON, SA97 LIGHT SPEED III same

SE

GREGORY BARKER, SE9 SLIPPER E JIM CLAUSS, SE29 J & J MARINE

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ORLANDO! Feb. 6- 9 2019 APBA National Convention DOUBLETREE BY HILTON ORLANDO AT SEAWORLD • www.dtresortorlando.com

10100 INTERNATIONAL DRIVE, ORLANDO • 407-352-1100 free INTERNET/PARKING/seaworld shuttle $125 NIGHT/FEB. 1-13, 2019

Check your choice of events below and return the registration form by JANUARY 14th, 2019 to: APBA, 17640 E. 9 Mile Rd. • Eastpointe, Ml 48021-2563 • APBAHQ@apba.org • Fax: 586-773-6490 OR, REGISTER ONLINE: www.apba.org/resources/annual-meeting-2018-4334 ___________________________________________________________________ Last Name

First Name

Region

___________________________________________________________________ APBA National Title (Officer, Chair, Commissioner, etc.]

___________________________________________________________________ Email

___________________________________________________________________ Phone

Thru 1/14/19

l MEETINGS ONLY $50 l MEETINGS AND SATURDAY BANQUET $100 l HALL OF CHAMPIONS SATURDAY BANQUET $55 l CATEGORY AWARDS RECEPTION FRIDAY FREE l INBOARD AWARDS BANQUET FRIDAY $55

Thereafter

Kids Meal (12 & under)

$60 $120 $65

l $35

$65

l $35

Thereafter

Kids Meal (12 & under)

..............................................................................................................................

___________________________________________________________________ Last Name

First Name

Region

___________________________________________________________________ APBA National Title (Officer, Chair, Commissioner, etc.]

___________________________________________________________________ Email

___________________________________________________________________ Phone

Thru 1/14/19

l MEETINGS ONLY $50 l MEETINGS AND SATURDAY BANQUET $100 l HALL OF CHAMPIONS SATURDAY BANQUET $55 l CATEGORY AWARDS RECEPTION FRIDAY l INBOARD AWARDS BANQUET FRIDAY $55

$60 $120 $65

l $35

FREE $65

l $35

Thereafter

Kids Meal (12 & under)

..............................................................................................................................

___________________________________________________________________ Last Name

First Name

Region

___________________________________________________________________ APBA National Title (Officer, Chair, Commissioner, etc.]

___________________________________________________________________ Email

___________________________________________________________________ Phone

Thru 1/14/19

l MEETINGS ONLY $50 l MEETINGS AND SATURDAY BANQUET $100 l HALL OF CHAMPIONS SATURDAY BANQUET $55 l CATEGORY AWARDS RECEPTION FRIDAY l INBOARD AWARDS BANQUET FRIDAY $55

$60 $120 $65

l $35

FREE $65

l $35

..............................................................................................................................

REGISTER BY JANUARY 14TH FOR LOWER FEES l Check Enclosed payable to APBA l

Credit Card (Visa, MasterCard, AMEX, Discover)

TOTAL: $ ___________________________

Credit Card Number _______________________________________________________ Expiration Date (month/year) _______/_______ Security Code ______________ Cardholder’s Name (printed) ______________________________________________________________________ Billing Zip Code ___________________________ Cardholder’s Signature ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

6

Powerboat P1 plan major boat upgrade New 300R engine and canopy to deliver enhanced race performance for 2019 season

Following its fleet of P1 Panther boats being fitted with new carbon hulls ahead of this season and the announcement that they will be repowering next year with the new Mercury Racing 4.6L V-8 four-stroke 300R outboard, international marine motorsport promoter Powerboat P1 has unveiled plans to revolutionise its SuperStock championship and attract a new set of racers by converting to canopy race boats.

Powerboat P1 has embarked on a major programme to significantly upgrade its race boats in the United States in readiness for the 2019 season. Launched in 2011, the monohull Panther powerboat is at the heart of the one-design P1 SuperStock race series.

The hull replacement work on the P1 SuperStock USA fleet was carried out over last winter, with the new hulls being built with an advanced fusion system using a foam core and custom blend resins. The work was carried out in Florida by specialist boat builders, Wilson Custom Composites, whose owner Craig Wilson has almost twenty years of racing experience.

“The strengths we achieved along with almost 800 lbs. weight loss in the hull alone was unheard of, and we are now focused on fitting the boats with a closed canopy which will again involve the use of cutting edge technology and materials‚“ he said.

The new Mercury Racing 4.6L V-8 four-stroke 300R outboard will power the P1 Panther fleet in 2019.

This major upgrade project has been part of Powerboat P1’s development planning for some time, as its Chief Executive Azam Rangoonwala explains: “We saw the move to the new 300R engine, with its anticipated improvement in overall performance including top speeds, as being the optimum time to ramp up safety even further by converting to closed canopy craft.”

Designed, developed and manufactured in-house, the 300R features a heavyduty midsection with solid mounts, race-proven Sport Master gearcase and handcrafted Mercury Racing Rev 4 propeller. The naturally aspirated four-stroke V-8 powerhead provides an astonishing 44% increase in displacement and 40% more bottom-end torque compared to the 300XS it replaces.

Working closely with the key players on all aspects of the upgrade will be Martin Sanborn. He was one of the lead developers of the P1 and then took it to the next level through utilising the resources of the Performance Boat Centre in Florida.

Craig Wilson added: “Powerboat P1 have leapfrogged the marine industry by having the most technically advanced full safety

canopy system and interior available. We will make the P1 Panther a racing work of art.“ Azam Rangoonwala concluded by saying: “The combination of new power and sleek, new hulls will bring an extra Here’s what it will look like.. dimension to the SuperStock series where the focus will be even more on boat setup and driver skill.“ We will be following the progress of the Panther upgrade in future issues of the magazine, and going behind the scenes at the on-water testing sessions in Florida, which are now underway.

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promotional and marketing committee - A Year in Review

From HERE to THERE

BY JEAN MACKAY-SCHWARTZ AND SHERRON WINER, COMMITTEE CO-CHAIRS Since the Promotional and Marketing Seminar presented in January at the APBA Annual Meeting in Chicago, the committee has produced a series of articles for SPIN and PROPELLER to assist clubs with site/race coordination, event promotion, and ways to engage potential sponsors. These tools are designed to get clubs from HERE (a concept) to THERE (an event). In addition, the committee has invited clubs to nominate events for the first annual APBA Best Site Award.

In this issue we will give a brief overview of the articles and suggestions made.

Determining the level of promotion: When coordinating a race, first and most importantly, define the type of event your club will host.

Will it be a race with limited visibility, perhaps due to a remote site location, several miles from food, lodging and other amenities? Does the site offer excellent water conditions, but a limited spectator base due to the location, sometimes referred to as “racing for the cows”? Or will it be a high-visibility event offering a competitive racing show for spectators? (And yes, your event can be both.) Answering these basic questions will help your club determine the level and budget for promotion and will help you determine the type of media to use.

Finding the right balance between all available forms of advertising—from traditional media to social media—to reach your potential fan base can seem daunting. Answer a few more questions and you are on the way to developing a marketing plan for your club’s event. What am I selling? Who are the potential customers? What is the budget? How much time can I devote to publicity?

Promoting your event via social media: You can reach a wide audience with costs ranging from zero to $30, especially if you use the Facebook “boost this post” option.

Facebook is unquestionably the largest social network platform. Every minute, Facebook users “like” more than 4 million posts and share over 2.46 million pieces of content.

Marketing on Facebook may be simple and inexpensive. However, posting for optimum exposure of your event requires good timing and format, and should include a “call to action.”You must be passionate about your event and convey why everyone in your target audience should attend. Facebook’s reach is too huge to ignore. This is the social media site where your current and future spectators hang out.

Consider using Instagram to connect to a wider, younger audience. Owned by Facebook, Instagram started as a network for sharing images. Through photos and videos, you can create a marketing message that sparks interest, encourages fans to follow along, and draws them into your race. “A picture is worth a thousand words,” and your story on Instagram is conveyed through your photo or video. The brain processes images almost instantly, and we remember visual messages better than text.

Promoting your event via traditional media: If your club has a limited publicity budget that does not allow large expenditures for media buys, consider no-cost/lowcost marketing and promotional tools. Pre-event advertising flyers and posters are very effective. Look for talented club members to help with artwork, or contact the APBA Promotional and Marketing Committee for contacts who can help with artwork and flyer design. A simple flyer serves two purposes when expanded to create an 11”x17” poster. Try online printing services; depending on color/quantity ordered, costs can range from $40-$200.

No-cost advertising also works well. Post event information to local newspapers

8

and electronic monthly community calendars and distributing press releases to local newspapers. Send press releases out at least 3 weeks prior to the event, and be sure to follow up again 1 week before the race. Member clubs can also reach out to a variety of audiences via the APBA Facebook page, SPIN (email blasts) and PROPELLER. Promoting your event, club and racing onsite: Schedule cards with race dates are good resources to distribute onsite and give spectators additional information.

Remember, this may be the first boat racing event for many and we want to enhance their experience by supplying them with information.

Create a “Welcome Center” at the entrance to your event. Spectators can be greeted with a WELCOME banner available from the Stock Category. Banners are also available from the Inboard Category as well as APBA banners from Headquarters. From here, your club can distribute additional promotional materials. Several categories, including Stock, Modified, Inboard and J Classes, have publicity materials available and are just a quick phone call or email away.

The Committee recently created a template for club promotion that can be downloaded from www.apba.org/resources/apba-promotionalandmarketing-committee. You may insert your club/race pictures and logo and (always) contact information. List your race dates on the back, and you are on your way! Cards can be printed 2 to a page from your home computer.

Conclusion: Planning a marketing and publicity campaign is a process: set a plan, develop a budget, and execute. It is critical to check your progress during the execution, and follow up after the event. Check your spectator numbers to see what is working and what is not.

This is our last article for 2018. It has been our pleasure to help APBA clubs with another successful race season. The Promotional and Marketing Committee looks forward to seeing many of you in Orlando, when we will present the third Promotional and Marketing Seminar and announce the club achieving the 2018 APBA Best Site Award.

Do you need help with marketing decisions? Can we help you plan flyers, posters, or schedule cards? We are always an email away; part of our effort through APBA’s Promotional and Marketing Committee, to get you from HERE to THERE. Jean MackaySchwartz: jean84c@earthlink.net Sherron Winer: winer.sherron@gmail.com Wishing you all Happy Holidays!

You can download a Hero Card/Race Schedule template and tailor it for your club and events.

A 40-year hydroplane racing legend—my dad

The End of an Era

BY VALERIE WILSON

My dad, Durward Wilson, Sr. started racing Inboard hydroplanes in 1978. At the beginning of his career, my brother DJ and I would go everywhere with him and Mom. At the ripe age of 9, I was traveling all over the East Coast and Midwest.

Dad started off in the 280 class. I thought it was strange that they called it the “kamikaze class.” I soon learned why—drivers were freaking crazy to race in that class. His first hydro was a Farmer; then he graduated to a faster boat. I learned as I got older that my dad was kind of amazing.

He could build just about anything. I watched him build his own engines, take a hydroplane that he had purchased from Ray Lynn (who had flipped this hydro, called Budget Buster), and strip it down to the stringers. He built a conventional picklefork hydroplane from the bottom up for what we now call the 5 Litre class. Man, would that boat fly! Sometimes Dad would say, “I don’t know how I held onto her, I swear my arms stretched 2 feet!” I suppose he wasn’t about to find out what it was like to hit that water, going that fast. My brother DJ tried the 5L out a few times, but decided he wanted to stick to stock car racing.

In the winter of 1988, I asked Dad, “Hey, how about I sell my barrel horse and get a T boat?”This was when the Pink Panther came to be. By the summer of 1989, I was following Dad up and down the East Coast from Valleyfield, Quebec to St. Pete, Florida. He was building engines for my little T boat (then the 1200cc class) and mentoring me into a boat racer. He always tried to put me out front.

My dad was my biggest fan and my worst critic. He wanted me to win. He would always be the one who held my boat for me before I would go out on the course. I can still hear his words right The PINK PANTHER, the before I’d hit my time clock to go out: last raceboat in the “Get that inside lane and have fun,” Wilson family line. so that’s what I did. I always focused on timing, other boats surrounding me, and using that strategy on how to fight for that inside lane. It seemed to work, because when you are in a stock class, the inside lane is the

fastest way around the course. Dad would also ask me, “Well, how does the boat feel? How is it running?” Over time, I could come back to the docks and answer his questions, saying, “I’m not getting enough fuel,” or “It feels like there is no top end coming out of the turn.” I could let him know how high the RPMs were running. Dad was such a good teacher! I would get right in that engine with him. I’d help him change the jets, adjust the float. I (L-R) DJ, Durward and think at one time I could have put the top end of a Valerie Wilson. motor together.

This is all because we love the sport of Inboard racing.

I always say, “We don’t have blood in our veins; we have motor oil.” Pink Panther has brought us to 2nd in the nation many times, and a North American Championship. Her many drivers over the years include my nephew Ryan Wilson, and towards the end my brother DJ Wilson.

This year, the Wilson family is ending a 40-year

Back in the day: Durward Wilson in the E-54 racing against E-82.

career in the world’s most challenging motorsport.

It has been a great ride, and we owe it all to my dad, Durward Wilson, Sr. I will end with a quote: Passion for something that you do can really keep you focused, because you love what you do.

—Unknown

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Timeless: Wheeling 2018 beauty and power of the past, present on the ohio river PHOTOS BY F. PEIRCE WILLIAMS Over Labor Day Weekend, the Wheeling Vintage Raceboat Regatta welcomed a fleet of 48 beautiful boats to Heritage Port. The park’s riverside ampitheater is perfect for watching these loud and proud racecraft churn up the Ohio River. With West Virginia mountains framing the river, historic bridges and buildings, it’s easy to forget what year (or even what century) this is. Food vendors, families and a host of volunteers contributed to the festive atmosphere.

The weather cooperated—a blessing, given what happened a week later. Massive rain caused the river to crest over 2 feet above flood stage. Heritage Port, the pits and grandstands that had been full of activity during the Regatta were completely submerged. Timing is everything...

As always, Race Director Debbie Joseph and Vintage Rep Dan Joseph of Wheeling were the drivers behind this event. The event team included Referee Barry Pray, Assistant Referee Jay Marshall, Scorer Kristen Cox, Risk Manager David Edwards, Vintage Inspector Rich Evans, the Niagara Dive Rescue Team, and a host of volunteers.

Thanks to everyone who came to Wheeling! #13 “Danger Zone,” a 1964 Patterson owned

by Ty Glasgow of Triadelphia, WV.

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The 1972 Lauterbach GP-17 “Midnight Miss” owned by Graham Coddington of Queensland, Australia.

BOATS RUNNING AT WHEELING S-07 Blue Chips (Jed Wolcott, Ft. Lauderdale, FL) S-12 Fools Gold (Mark Cravens, Bloomington, IN) S-13 Chain Reaction (Anne Glasgow, Triadelphia, WV) S-94 Hi-Q (Bob Moore, Red Bank, NJ) S-103 The Judge (Dan and Debbie Joseph, Wheeling, WV) S-421 Little Fission (Brian and Julie Joseph, Triadelphia, WV) A-5 Mahogany Rush (Hugh Long, Danville, KY) A-41 Something Special (Brian and Julie Joseph, Triadelphia, WV) A-77 Hot Shot (Rick Beatty, Beavercreek, OH) A-22 Glori-Kat (Bob Bramlage, Cincinnati, OH) A-711 Gemini (Richard Harris, Hamilton, OH ) A-711 Gemini (David Bridgeman, New Martinsville, WV) F-77 Barracuda (Tim Settle, Brookville, OH) F-97 Roman Candle (Jim Gardill, Glen Dale, WV) F-888 Jade Dragon (Dan and Debbie Joseph, Wheeling, WV) E-19 That’s That (John St. Peter, Pelham, NH) E-22 Chuck Wagon (Steve Wace, Brockville, ON, Canada) E-37 Hire Voltage (Bill Whitehouse, Cincinnati, OH) E-132 Screamin’ Meemie (David Kappel and Jack Wolf, Wheeling, WV/Fayetteville, NY) E-156 Sin (David Kappel and Jack Wolf, Wheeling, WV/Fayetteville, NY) E-160 Heatwave (Harry and Kathy Holst, Sauble Falls, ON, Canada) E-686 Helter Skelter (Phil Kunz, Dayton, OH) N-56 JustaPest (Bill McTague, Batavia, OH) N-56 JustaPest II (Rick Beatty, Beavercreek, OH) N-97 Gee Bee II (Butch Strutz, Liverpool, NY) N-100 Speculation (Kester Hamilton, Ottawa, ON, Canada) N-116 Prime Mover (Mark Cravens, Bloomington, IN) N-160 Mai Tai (Lloyd Halsey, Hamilton, OH) H-88 Miss Mahogany (Dean Berry, Pataskala, OH) H-266 Miss Supersonic (John Kirschner, Sparrows Pt, MD)

H-97 Bluewater Special (Chris Hall, Hampton, VA) GP-17 Midnight Miss (Graham Coddington, Queensland, Australia) GP-182 Xanadu (Bob Hampton, Clayton, NY) GP-200 Lauterbach Special (Dave Richardson, Palatka, FL) JS-78 Flyin’ High (Bill and Kathy DeGlopper, Grand Island, NY) Danger Zone (Ty Glasgow, Triadelphia, WV) NM 117 Fantasy (Mark Cravens, Bloomington, IN) Compulsion (Bob Mueller, Alton, NH) Obsession (Bob Mueller, Alton, NH) 169 Sleekcraft (Rob Kaufman, Salem, OH) 1937 Dennis Point Menace (Bill Edwards, California, MD) 578 Melvin (Jon Edwards, California, MD) 51 (Fuzzy Norris, Valley Lee, MD) Randy’s Boat (Chris Lawrence, Clements, MD) J-101 American Expre$$ (Tom Bailey, Bushwood, MD) DISPLAY BOATS: S-149 Ike (Nellie Roth, Cincinnati, OH) 5 Runabout (Eric Hoeft, Powell, OH) H-1 Miss DeSoto (Dan Joseph and David Kappel, Wheeling, WV)

Fuzzy Norris of Valley Lee, Md., driving his X One More Time, a 1975 Allison.

Jim Gardill driving his F-97 “Roman Candle,” a 1961 Colcock 266 class hydroplane.

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Kiekhaefer/Mercury Outboard Motors

Wain Trotter’s Passion for Outboards

BY HARRY AND KATHY HOLST, OWNER/DRIVERS OF HEATWAVE, E-160 HYDROPLANE At the young age of 14, Wain Trotter and his father became interested in racing a Mini Max Sea Flea with a 5 HP Evinrude. In no time at all, this was changed to a KG4H Hurricane Kiekhaefer Mercury with a racing lower unit complete with short shaft. The first boat had a KG4 Rocket Hurricane outboard, and was called “Fra-Bi-Wa.”The name was derived from the guys that helped Wain to get started: Frank Ardron, Bill Edwards and Wain himself.

With the help of his dad and brother Norm, they built a Skatcat. Hearing of an event at Footes Bay in Canada, they entered and ended up placing 2nd. At this event, Wain met a young Harry Wilson, son of Harry and Lorna Wilson who ran the Miss Canada back in 1934—the first husband-and-wife speedboat racing team. Years later, Wain met Harry again at a regatta.

By then he owned “The Specialist” N-75, a Karelsen vintage wooden hydroplane, and Wain let Harry take her out for a run.

When Wain was about 18 years old, he ran the #188 A Class Hydro. His favorite motor was a 30H Turbo-Four Hydro Kiekhaefer. While running at an event in Montreal, he and his father met a gentleman who had a Kiekhaefer engine and said that if they were interested in it, to stop by and they could purchase it. When they arrived, the motor was in pieces in two bushel baskets. They bought it for $200.00 CDN. Wain’s dad rebuilt the motor and they ran it on a 10’6” boat with a top speed of around 50 mph.

Wain finds it fascinating that, after 50 years, these engines are still being used.

Two individuals who were very instrumental in influencing Wain to get started in racing and in his lifelong hobby were Don Christy and Bob Henry. Don Christy won the A.C. Kiekhaefer Trophy for the highest overall total points in APBA Stock competition for five years in a row. Bob Henry drove race cars, sponsored by Kiekhaefer Mercury outboards, in the late 1950s and early ’60s.

In the years 1966-69 Wain was quite an accomplished racer, who either won or placed in 6 major events in Canada. In 1966 he won at Sparrow Lake in the Open Sea Flea and 25 HP Open classes; in 1967, he won CRH at London, Ontario; placed 2nd in the Open Hydro class; won the 10 HP Special class at the Footes Bay Regatta; and took 2nd place in the 1969 Regionals in the OPBRA.

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When Wain retired from racing, he had one A Stock KG4H and one C Stock 30H Kiekhaefer. Today he has a combined total of 8 KG4 Rocket Hurricane and KG7 Super 10 Hurricane outboards in his collection, as well as many lower units, cylinder heads, upper cowls and spare parts, including carburetors.

Wain no longer owns his vintage hydroplane “Specialist” and is focused on his collection of Kiekhaefer Mercury outboards, taking great pride in his hobby and passion and preserving the history of these very popular outboard motors. “TDO” (Those Dam Outboards) are here to stay if Wain has anything to do with it!

Clockwise from top left: Wain in his workshop (don’t be envious!); his original Kiekhafer Mercury Service Manual, which he consults regularly; the lineup of immaculate Mercury motors; Wain with one of the complete motors, looking brand new; a closeup of the back of one of the Mercs; a lineup of lower units; and Wain driving the N-75 Specialist, a Karelsen wooden hydroplane. Photos by Harry and Kathy Holst, and N-75 photo courtesy of Wain Trotter.

Now retired from regular work as well, he enjoys rebuilding the engines and using them on small Sea Fleas and hydros. Fans and collectors seek him out regularly for his expertise and knowledge, asking him to repair engines, or to sell one of his prized Kiekhaefer Mercury outboards. Wain even has an original Kiekhaefer Mercury Service Manual in immaculate condition, and refers to it regularly.

We have been friends of Wain’s for about 10 years running our Vintage hydroplanes at various APBA events. Over these years, his enthusiasm for the sport of boat racing and his passion for the Kiekhaefer Mercury outboards has never wavered.

It is great to know a man who has the history of the sport and motors deeply rooted in Atherley, Ontario, Canada.

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Wake the Lake!

BY VALERIE COLLINS • PHOTOS BY PAUL KEMIEL Steve Merleau, Formula Lights winner at Springfield, Ohio.

Springfield, Ohio hosted the F1 Grand Prix “Wake the Lake 2” presented by Coldwell Banker/Heritage Roediger August 10-12. Five rounds of the NGK Spark Plugs Formula 1 Championship produced five different winners in F1 and F-Lights!

Over 40 sleek raceboats arrived to electrify fans: 22 Formula 1 rockets and 8 Formula Lights, plus Stock Outboards, J Hydros, Vintage, R/C Model boats and Dustin Terry, F1 winner.

the itch. “When I arrived and saw the F1s on the course, I couldn’t sit still, but I had to remember that I am 61 years old. I’d better just watch.”

Sunday was gorgeous and sunny, with glass-smooth water. In F1 Heat 3A, #03 Dustin Terry jumped ahead and sailed to the win, with #27 Proffitt pressuring him.

Campbell joined other Chatfield stars like Bob Thompson, sponsor of “Just Add Water”, “Arcadian” and “Overton’s”. F1 driver Chris Fairchild ran the #201 in tribute to Thompson’s extraordinary driver, Ken Stevenson, who died in a 1983 race. Over 35 years later, his son Brandon Stevenson and Bob Thompson had an emotional meeting.

Heat 3B was a different story. After the flag dropped, chaos erupted in turn 2. #24 Spencer Love collided with #71 Kerr, rolling Love and causing Kerr to submarine.

Right behind was rookie points leader, #99 Travis Yates. Kerr resurfaced directly in front of him. Yates had nowhere to go, and plowed into the #71. All three boats were out for the weekend, but all drivers were okay.

Others at the joyous “Camp Chatfield” reunion included Don Johnston, Ben Robertson, Jr., Mike Downard, Dana Delk, Rick Hoffman, Bill Seebold, Jr., Jim Booe, Dee Berghauer, Jim Nerstrom, Al Stoker, Roark Summerford, and Chris Fairchild, who helped establish the site.

Chatfield’s current “Arcadian” driver Mark Proffitt uses the team’s traditional #27.

Rescue crews cleared the debris. When the restart flag dropped, all eyes were on #53 Greg Foster, who jumped to the lead. Foster’s team had fought gremlins all weekend. Now running strong, Foster took the win, with #20 Rinker in hot pursuit. Further back was #2 Hawkins, battling with #94 Wyatt.

Racing began Saturday with four F1 qualifiers on a tight, 1.1-mile 5-pin course with a tricky right-hand turn. Each driver had 4 minutes plus 1 lap to run for the fastest time and a chance to take pole position in their first heats. #27 Mark Proffitt earned pole for Heat 1A; series points leader #20 Ashton Rinker earned pole for Heat 1B; each led wire-to-wire in his heat.

wakeboarding. Fun-loving fans also enjoyed tailgate parties, VIP tents and driver autograph parades.

This site is the only private circle boat racing facility in the U.S., now owned by the Clark County Fairgrounds.

The lake has a long boat racing history; it once was the private test lake for legendary team owner and engineering genius Bill Chatfield. His business, Micro Enterprises, developed cutting-edge outboard technology. Some of the sport’s best drivers honed their skills there, including F1 ace Rusty Campbell.

Campbell retired from racing 18 years ago, but still gets

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In the reverse-order Heat 2A, #03 Dustin Terry led until the very end when #27 passed him to take the win.

Another surprise; F1 rookie Austin Cheatham stunned the crowd by finishing 3rd in the McCollough Racing Team’s #5, normally driven by Reuben Stafford.

Heat 2B was rough-and-tumble, with several boats jammed together in the first turn. #2 Tracy Hawkins dashed out front with #20 Rinker close on his tail. In the traffic jam, #85 Mike Makus lost his picklefork; #55 John Edde lost his steering. Makus continued until damage caused him to stuff his boat, ending his weekend.

At the restart, Rinker zipped around Hawkins, followed by #94 Rusty Wyatt. But video footage showed that Rinker had made a false start, giving Hawkins the win.

On Sunday afternoon, 17 boats lined up for the F1 Final, with #27 Mark Proffitt “Arcadian” on the pole. Beside him were #2 Tracy Hawkins, #03 Dustin Terry, #94 Rusty Wyatt and #20 Rinker.

As the flag dropped, Terry leapt off the dock and in front of the pack, getting by both #27 and #2. Jumping into 3rd was #20 Rinker.

Around lap 6, Foster passed Hawkins, on a mission to find his way to the front. When #27 Proffitt passed #03 Terry in lapped traffic, Rinker took advantage and moved into 2nd place – leaving #03 to deal with a fire-breathing #53 Foster in 4th. As soon as Foster got around Terry, #55 John Edde went dead on the course.

The race was yellow-flagged, giving Terry a second chance to lead.

Dustin Terry of Thibodaux, La., repeated his great start, jumping from 4th to 1st at the drop of the flag, with Rinker right on his hip at the first turn. Foster and Hawkins maintained 3rd and 4th. #27 Proffitt dropped back to 5th.

Terry held a comfortable lead as Rinker and Foster battled behind him. Foster darted in and out, searching

for an opening. As the race neared its end, Foster made his move and nudged past Rinker, but his sponson dipped too hard and he hooked right. Rinker sailed around him to finish in 2nd place.

Powerboat Championship is red hot, having no repeat winners. Five races have produced five different winners in both Formula 1 and Formula Light classes. For current points standings, visit www.ngkf1.com.

Dustin Terry said, “We drove hard all weekend, then the stars aligned. We lost the lead once (but) the guys calmed me down and said, ‘Let’s just get a good restart.’

And that’s what we did. Hopefully we can carry that momentum into Orange, Texas. That’s what you need at the end of the year.”

The NGK Spark Plugs Formula 1 Final 1. Dustin Terry #03 12. Mark Proffitt #27 2. Ashton Rinker #20 13. David McMurray #57 3. Greg Foster #53 14. Tim Kraft #15 4. Tracy Hawkins #2 15. Jim Robb #13 5. Rusty Wyatt #94 16. John Edde #55 6. Wesley Cheatham #4 17. Austin Cheatham #5 7. Fred Durr #96 18. Richard Young #33 8. John Fleming #9 - Mike Makus #85 DNS 9. Chris Fairchild #62 1 - Spencer Love #24 DNS 0. Mike Klepadlo #35 - Travis Yates #99 DNS 11. Jeff Reno #34 - Rich Kerr #14 DNS

The restart hit Rinker hard, but was not disappointed.

“We came from 5th and we finished 2nd, so I’m happy with Rinker Racing, Lickity Split Ice Cream and Dumford Irrigation helping us get here. And my crew chief, James Chambers, and my wonderful crew — I couldn’t do it without them.“ Up until the final, Foster’s weekend was a chore. “We struggled Friday and Saturday. Sunday morning we changed some more things. All of a sudden, it clicked.

The boat started running good, but we were so far back on the dock, it took a long time to fight my way through.

I almost had 2nd place when I almost spun out, but got back into 3rd. Ended up on the podium and that’s nice!”

After the awards ceremony, the top 3 drivers and their boats headed for inspection, where boats were weighed and motors torn down and measured to match manufacturer specifications. Inspectors discovered Dustin Terry’s #03 entry had a technical violation. While his final finish position will stand, he lost all weekend points and prize money, and paid a fine.

Eight Formula Lights competed on Saturday. Points leader #8 Jeremiah Mayo from Richmond, TX easily bested the field, but the reverse order heat was not so easy. Mayo, starting next to last, pulled through the field to finish 3rd. The winner was #77 Dan Trosen, followed by #66 Steve Merleau. Merleau came back in Heat 3 and took the win, followed by Mayo and 14-year-old Grant Schubert in #13.

Cheatham and #01 Kelly Ireland.

When the flag dropped, Cheatham pulled into 3rd. Tight racing brewed between leader Merleau and 2nd-place Mayo; behind them battles raged between Cheatham and Trosen, and between Ireland and Schubert.

At about lap 10, Trosen took out a turn buoy and dropped out. With only 7 laps left, everyone knew that the restart would likely determine the winner. First off the beach was #66 Merleau followed by #8 Mayo, who drove hard but couldn’t catch him. Third place went to #40 Austin Cheatham, and Schubert ended up 4th.

Merleau explained, “If I could just win that third heat, that would set me up in pole position, and it would to be hard to get around me. That’s exactly what we did, even with a restart. I calmed down, we came off that beach just as good as the first time, and took it for the win.”

The NGK Spark Plugs Formula Lights Final 1. Steve Merleau #66 5. Thomas Schlarb #47 2. Jeremiah Mayo #8 6. Debby Mobley #45 3. Austin Cheatham #40 7. Kelly Ireland #01 4. Grant Schubert #13 8. Dan Trosen #77 Springfield F1 Grand Prix “Wake the Lake” is now one of the drivers’ favorite places to race.

For the start of the F-Lights Final, Merleau sat on pole, followed by Mayo, Trosen, Schubert, #40 Austin

#20 Ashton Rinker picked up more series points; 137.5 points ahead of #2 Tracy Hawkins. Greg Foster moved into 3rd while #4 Wesley Cheatham sits in 4th.

The Rookie Points Chase has #99 Travis Yates with 637 and #55 John Edde with 609. Edde was driving a leased boat after hitting a metal buoy in Pittsburgh. Yates also had some repairs to do before the final in Orange, TX. Competition in the NGK Spark Plugs Formula 1 Above, retired driver Rusty Campbell shares a laugh with legendary team owner Bill Chatfield.

Below, the F1 start: 22 of these sleek rockets showed up in Springfield.

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NGK Series Finale Showdown on the Sabine, Orange, Texas

BY VALERIE COLLINS • PHOTOS BY MOTO MARKETING GROUP The NGK Spark Plugs Formula 1 Powerboat Championship Series brought 47 of the world’s most exciting race boats to Orange, Texas for the 11th Annual”Showdown on the Sabine” hosted by the Orange Convention & Visitors Bureau.

Racers from all corners of the country gathered at the City of Orange Boat Ramp to see who would win the final race of the season on the circuit’s sub-30-second 1-mile short course, and who would be crowned 2018 Champion in F1, F-Lights, Tri-Hull, Modified Outboard and J Hydro. #20 Ashton Rinker, running for “Rinker’s Boat World”, who made every podium this season, did well enough in the F1 heat races to start in the 5th position in the Final. He ran down all challengers to take his second 2018 victory.

Rinker, of Riverview, Florida, is the son of 2017 F1 champion Terry Rinker, who surprised everyone by coming out of retirement to race once more with his son. Ashton has led the Series points chase since midseason, and was happy to loan his backup boat to his father for one more go.

All Ashton needed to cinch the 2018 Championship was to make the Final and win at least one heat, which he did on Saturday.

He said, “That made Sunday a lot smoother. And that’s when I decided to tell my dad, ‘Hey, get in the backup boat and run the 3rd heat and the Final with me.’”

Some racers drive more conservatively with a title in the bag, but Ashton Rinker wanted to end the season in a blaze of glory.

“I told [crew chief] James Chambers, ‘Set the motor up for us to win, because we drove all the way here; we’re finishing this season with a win.’”

When the flag dropped, polesitter #03 Dustin Terry took the lead with #2 Hawkins and #4 Cheatham close behind. In 4th place was #62 Chris Fairchild running for the McCollough Racing Team.

But Fairchild could not hold off #20 Ashton Rinker, who got around the #62 and sent him back to 5th.

As Rinker began to chase down the three boats in front of him, #99 Travis Yates (a hot contender for the 2018 Rookie of the Year title just 6 points ahead of Rookie #55 John Edde coming into the Final) went dead on the course, resulting in the first restart of the Final.

The restart was fortunate for Rinker, as now the top three boats were within striking distance. Rinker first passed #4 Wesley Cheatham in his “Trinity Excavators” Hoffman hull. Cheatham put up an impressive battle to hold off Rinker. A few laps later, Rinker ducked inside to shoot past the second-place #2 Tracy Hawkins and his “Tuttle Enterprises” purple and yellow Seebold. On a mission, Rinker then used a similar move to pass the race leader, the McCollough Team’s #03 Dustin Terry.

But soon afterward, a second red flag flew, this time for dislodged buoys. On the restart, #03 Dustin Terry’s boat didn’t fire off the dock, giving Rinker an easy opening to roar to the front all the way to the checkered flag.

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Finishing second behind Rinker was battle-scarred #2 Tracy Hawkins. Hawkins had come to Orange in second place in points, hoping he could win the F1 Series Championship, which he has not been able to accomplish in his illustrious 40-year racing career. But a series of snags challenged Hawkins before and after the race.

Sunday morning, Hawkins discovered a crack in his best prop.

He went to Keven McCollough from the local McCollough Racing Team, who has a reputation for helping other teams.

“I raced to McCollough’s pits and ask Keven if he knew anybody that could weld a prop. He called his buddy Eric, a welder about 20 minutes north. I jumped in my truck, told Chief Referee Doug Rea that I would miss the drivers’ meeting, and hauled butt to this guy’s house. He welded it up, ground it down and I jumped back into my truck. I got back 20 minutes to 12:00, just as they were lining up to put the boats in the water!”

That wasn’t Hawkins’s only close call that day. While running in third place in the Final, Hawkins lost his rear cowling. Soon after, he was struck by another boat that bent his steering arm.

Hawkins explained, “We were coming out of the corner and Terry Rinker was right behind me. My microphone was stuck open on my radio, so the team couldn’t tell me he was there. I looked up and he was climbing on my deck to give me a kiss with his pickle fork. I can’t believe I didn’t rip a hole in his boat with my steering bar, since it bent my steering bar up.” During the restart, Hawkins’s crew was able to bend the bar back down, which gave him a chance to finish second in the race and in 2018 F1 points.

Taking third place was #4 Wesley Cheatham “Trinity Excavators”, who also moved up to third in 2018 final standings. The four top boats battled within 15 boat lengths of each other, keeping the crowd on their feet the entire race. #53 Greg Foster “CB Technologies”, previously in 3rd in points, lost his cowling and canopy after a barrel roll on Saturday, which moved him back into 4th in points.

Cheatham said, “Rinker, Tracy and I just battled it out in the top three spots. Three heats; 3 different line-ups; three different winners.”

Hawkins and Cheatham race out of the same shop in Willis, Texas, so they are essentially teammates, but on two separate teams.

But would Cheatham ever make a risky pass around his mentor, Hawkins? Cheatham responded with a grin, “I would never, ever want to be in the shop where we are both doing woodwork on our boats from a mistake I made. I just am not willing to live that life!”

Cheatham doesn’t have a big corporate sponsor, but races with the help of his mom and stepfather, Don and Connie Tyburn of Trinity Excavators. He credits his family for getting him where he is. “My mom and dad, and my stepmom and stepdad. Glyn and Donna Mathews. They have all helped me tremendously.”

The 2018 F1 “Rookie of the Year” title was sealed by #55 John

Edde “Renegade Products.” He finished a tight, season-long battle by squeaking ahead of rookie #99 Travis Yates “JH Performance Boats” by a mere 6 points.

Rinker shared his championship recipe: “Keeping your ducks in a row makes you successful. That’s what I did this year, and that made it easy for me to get on the podium every race to win this Championship.” He added that next year’s plans include adding a new boat from overseas. Rinker gave special thanks to the “Rinker Racing” crew: James Chambers, Jamie Sullivan, Frank Force and Lori Rinker.

Formula 1 Results at Orange, TX: 1. #20 Ashton Rinker 12. #03 Dustin Terry 2. #2 Tracy Hawkins 13. #24 Spencer Love 3. #4 Wesley Cheatham 14. #69 Jimmie Merleau 4. #10 Terry Rinker 15. #57 David McMurray 5. #34 Jeff Reno 16. #55 John Edde 6. #9 Johnny Fleming 17. #13 Aaron Wachholtz 7. #53 Greg Foster 18. #17 Dylan Anderson 8. #5 Reuben Stafford 19. #15 Tim Kraft 9. #32 Merv Bjork 20. #99 Travis Yates 10. #62 Chris Fairchild DNS #91 David Johnigan 11. #8 Jeremiah Mayo

Above, the top three F1 drivers (L-R) Tracy Hawkins, Ashton Rinker and Wesley Cheatham.

At right, Ashton Rinker #20 ducked inside to shoot past the second-place #2 Tracy Hawkins in “Tuttle Enterprises”.

The Formula Lights points leader coming into Orange was #8 Jeremiah Mayo “JH Performance Boats”, who had a healthy 92-point lead over #40 Austin Cheatham “Clover Construction”.

That lead shrank after Heat 1, when Cheatham finished 4th and Mayo 9th. But Mayo won the next two heat races and the Final to win both the event, and the 2018 NGK Formula Lights Championship title.

The F-Lights Final came to a wild end, as leader #8 Mayo and #66 Steve Merleau tangled together while in a fierce battle for first place, sending Merleau tumbling and bringing the race to a halt. The race was declared complete, and after penalties were assessed, the F-Lights results were: 1. #8 Jeremiah Mayo 6. #01 Kelly Ireland 2. #28 Andy Versace 7. #2 Travis Thompson 3. #42 Hans McCauley 8. #17 Chris Hughes 4. #66 Steve Merleau 9. #40 Austin Cheatham 5. #13 Grant Schubert

Tri-Hull Results at Orange, TX: 1. #52 Chris Rinker 2. #10 Jerry Rinker 3. #8 Jeremiah Mayo 4. #33 John Ottinger 5. #56 Travis Yates 6. #110 Darryle Middleton

7. #54 Darren Ware 8. #2 Charlie Donaldson 9. #97 Cory Walker 10. #99 Devyn Brown DNS #25 David Wills

J Hydro Results: 1. #16 Jack Schubert, 2. #1 Riley Teague, 3. #3 Austin Terr, 4. #5 Shane Butler, 5. #4 Brayden Cheatham.

The 2018 NGK Spark Plugs F1 Powerboat Championship conducted a total of six races throughout the year: Port Neches, TX; Gulfport, FL; Nashville, TN; Pittsburgh, PA; Springfield, OH; Orange, TX. Look for the complete 2018 Championship winners in the APBA Yearbook, and check www.ngkf1.com for the latest on the Series.

Below, Steve Merleau #66 and Jeremiah Mayo #8 get a little close in Formula Lights.

The F-Lights Rookie of the Year title was a tight match, and the outcome came all the way down to the Final. #13 Grant Schubert gathered 13.5 more points than #01 Kelly Ireland, to take the 2018 Rookie of the Year honors.

Always a great show, the Tri-Hull class circled the course in a thunderous fury, led by #52 Chris Rinker, followed closely by his 75-year-old father, #10 Jerry Rinker. “Scary Jerry” closed in on Chris midway through the race, but Chris staved off his hardcharging father to take the victory.

However, “Scary Jerry” still owned the season. The NGK 2018 Tri-Hull Championship was earned by #10 Jerry Rinker “Rinker’s Boat World”. He had a fantastic season, scoring a win at Nashville, TN and a second place at Gulfport, FL. Finishing in third was #8 Jeremiah Mayo, who had his hands full all weekend long, racing in three different categories for a grand total of 13 races during the Showdown on the Sabine”.

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Perfect Pennsylvania Race!

BY JILL GLOSSNER • IMAGES BY GLEASON RACING PHOTOGRAPHY

Lock Haven, Pennsylvania held its own version of an Outboard Nationals over Labor Day weekend

Hard-charging Tim Sidor out front in the C Stock Hydro Dash for Cash. Tim generously donated his prize money to the guy who loaned his engine.

The mountains roared as over 500 entries descended on the Susquehanna River in Lock Haven for a three-day program of boat racing. Thanks to our U.S. A-Team, two drivers from England joined us this year to race in OSY400, CSH, and 20SSH. Wayne Moyse and Daniel Drake got the experience of a lifetime—both racing and cooler bobbing in Lock Haven! Once opening ceremonies were complete, J Hydro started the program, and 52 heats of Stocks, Mods, PROs, and Js followed.

Northeast Divisional Champions were crowned on Saturday in Stock, Mod and J. As the evening closed in, a memorial for longtime racer Shanon Bowman was held, along with a tremendous potluck dinner in the pit area. Stories were told and old times reminisced. Shanon wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.

Thanks to his niece Erica, and Kelly Pomphrey, for coordinating and “feeding the five thousand!”

Not to be outdone by Saturday, Sunday brought another glorious day of sunshine and tough, competitive racing in 50 heats, including the 850MH North 18

American Championships and the Dash for Cash. In 850 MH, George Ford of Michigan started the weekend with a DNF on Saturday, but turned it around on Sunday with a win, earning him the North American Championship crown.

Then came the “Dash for Cash”. Twenty CSH drivers anxiously tuned their motors.

Two elimination heats would pare down the 20 entries to a two-heat, 12-boat final. As the first final heat started, drivers Dave Breisacher and Tim Thompson tried to lead the pack over the line, but were just a bit early and got disqualified.

Hard-charging Tim Sidor led the entire race, followed by Joe Silvestri and Billy Allen. In the second heat, everyone timed their start perfectly. This heat was led wire to wire by Billy Allen, followed by Brent Tate and Joe Silvestri. Tim Sidor, knowing he had already won the first heat while Tate had not finished that heat, tabulated points in his head while driving from the fifth to fourth position. When the race was done, Allen prevailed—only to lose his position in inspection. Tim Sidor was crowned the Dash for Cash winner!

Tom Sutherland, 250 Mod Hydro.

Michael Smith 62N and Karissa Mitchell 50S racing AX Runabout.

Michael won a JR Divisional; brother George won J Hydro.

Karissa beat the boys in AX Hydro.

Peter Lauer 1US and John Wlodarski 24J charge ahead in ASR. Lauer continued a winning streak in ASR and 15SSR; John took a Divisional win in B Stock Hydro.

Mike Akerstrom scored a true Divisional win in C Stock Runabout.

When asked what he was going to do with the $1,000.00 prize money he replied, with tears in his eyes, “I’m going to donate it to the guy whose motor I used. He has leukemia and can use it better than I can.”Who says boat racers don’t have class?

Speaking of class, the racers were asked to bring canned goods or donate to the Lock Haven Area Salvation Army at registration as a way of giving back to the community that has welcomed us for

50 years. As usual, they came through. Four large boxes and a large bag of canned goods and $80.00 were donated to the Salvation Army. You can check it out on the Lock Haven Salvation Army website.

Monday’s attendance was about half of Saturday’s and Sunday’s, but the racing was still exciting to the spectators and participants, and the program was complete by 2:30 pm.

As always, there are many people to thank...the race teams for coming, the DVORA members who worked tirelessly to make sure everything was working and ready, the judges stand workers who put in MANY hours, turn judges/boats, the Lock Haven Jaycees, and EMT Boyd McKinney, who mans our safety boat the entire time it is on the water.

This year was exceptional, and all of the compliments have been appreciated. It is what keeps us going back for more!

The Winners *JH-George Smith, Mexico, NY; JR-Michael Smith, Mexico, NY*; AXH-Karissa Mitchell, Columbus, OH; AXR-Thomas Long, Cape Coral, Fla.; ASR-Peter Lauer, Harbor Springs, Mich.; *CSR- Mike Akerstrom, Westford, Mass.; 25SSR-Michael Young, Old Lyme, Ct.*; 15SSR-Peter Lauer, Harbor Springs, Mich.; ASH-Abby Pond, Richmond, Va.; *BSH-John Wlodarski, Newton, NJ*; CSH-Joe Silvestri, Strongsville, OH; 300SSH-Tim Sidor, Rockford, Mich.; 15SSH, Abby Pond, Richmond, Va.; 20SSH-Val D’Agostino, Baltimore, Md. (*true Northeast Divisional winners are NE residents)

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Rockey Stone Memorial Kilo and Buzz Thorsen Quarter Mile

Waiting for a Wisp of Wind STORY AND PHOTOS BY MIKE AND DENISE JOHNSON The 2018 time trials at Devils Lake featured a new name on the quarter mile course, honoring longtime Oregon boat racer and leader Buzz Thorsen; Buzz even graced us with his presence Saturday afternoon. Race Director Craig Selvedge orchestrated a smooth running, efficient event.

Another feature of this year’s event was a shifting forecast. Winds hovered at the verge of perfect record water, but not quite until Sunday morning. That didn’t stop the record-makers, though. Saturday saw Bob Smiley establish a quartet of records with the new 125cc Mod Fireball motor in runabout (52.462 1/4, 54.123 kilo) and hydro (55.952 1/4, 57.638 kilo). Another Bob (Wartinger) set a UIM mark over the quarter mile at 74.688 in OSY400. John Peeters pushed Rich Fuchslin’s 500ccMH to a record of 91.556 over the same distance. Other quartermile records included Daren Goehring in DSH at 84.443, and Ken Hehr Jason Williams added to his 750ccMH Nationals win with a kilo record.

The Master: Bob Wartinger set two more records on the weekend.

Time Trials veteran Daren Goehring bumps the DSH quarter-mile mark.

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with his second record in a week in 350ccH at 97.826 (Ken showed his aerial abilities on a later run). Jason Williams increased the 750ccMH kilo mark to 97.576.

Sunday dawned with no wind to speak of. Records continued to fall. Wartinger ran a CSH kilo at 76.267. Peeters had a trio: quarter-mile in 125ccH at 84.905 and 175ccH at 84.785, and a kilo in 500ccMH at 92.818 to give Fuchslin’s rig both records. Morgan McMurphy, wrapping up his first season of racing, established a region record in JH at 35.349 at a quarter mile. The only Inboard entry of the weekend came all the way from Jersey; Rob Garrantano set Speed Skiff records at both distances (1/4 - 86.956, kilo - 86.401).

Sixteen records out of nearly 30 entries - the lake in Lincoln City, Oregon is one fast stretch of water.

Ken Hehr set two speed records in 350ccH, and may have hit a new altitude mark as well.

Denise Johnson photos

Rob Garrantano set marks at both distances in Jersey Speed Skiff.

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Like father, like son...

It’s Tate, U-9 in 2018

BY OWEN BLAUMAN, H1 UNLIMITED Things were already looking good for Andrew Tate in the U-9 for 2018.

Detroit clinched it. On Sunday, Aug. 26th, Tate drove the U-9 Delta/Realtrac, to his fourth race win of the H1 Unlimited Hydroplane Racing Series, claiming the 102nd APBA Gold Cup running on the Detroit River.

not affect the order of finish.

Tate powered in front of Jimmy Shane in the U-1 Miss HomeStreet at the start of the race, and never lost the lead.

Tate finished the five-lap final on the 2.72-mile racecourse with an average speed of 155.460 mph, nearly 2 mph faster than Shane. His speed of 154.601 mph on lap two was the fastest lap in the final.

With the season High Points Championship wrapped up, Tate went on to cruise to victory at the season finale in San Diego. Fans were hoping to see another sizzling duel between frontrunners Tate and Shane.

Unfortunately, an igniter failure delayed Shane and the U-1 at the dock; frantic repairs got them going just seconds too late for the start. It was a tough ending to a hard-luck season for the dedicated U-1 team.

But they’ll be back...

Fourth place went to Dustin Echols, driving the U-440 Bucket List Racing with an average speed of 84.710 mph.

The U-7 Spirit of Detroit and driver Bert Henderson were disqualified when he entered the restricted area.

Tate not only etched his name in the record book for winning the APBA Gold Cup, but the fourth-generation boat racer became part of the only father/ son duo to do so. His father Mark Tate won the oldest trophy in motorsports in 1991 and 1994.

With the Detroit win, Tate clinched the H1 Unlimited Series High Points Championship, and will be awarded the U-1 number in 2019.

“Kudos to the crew. They gave me a rocket ship. The inside lane is always an advantage, and we had a good start,” said the 29-year-old Tate, who ran second to Shane after the first lap in the final.

Last year, Jimmy Shane and the U-1 Miss Homestreet were just about unbeatable. This year, Shane was white-hot in qualifying, often laying down the fastest laps—but victory eluded him.

Shane won all four preliminary heats his team entered, but finished second in the winner-take-all final with an average speed of 148.864 mph.

A disappointed Shane said afterward, “We should have come away with the Gold Cup win.

Unfortunately for us, it didn’t work out. Andrew won, and congratulations to them.”

Third place went to the U-11 Reliable Diamond Tool presents J&D’s, driven by Tom Thompson with an average speed of 113.325 mph. Thompson was penalized one minute for a line violation, but it did 22

For Andrew Tate it was both a relief and a disappointment not to compete with Jimmy Shane again, because, “To be the best, you have to beat the best.”

The U-99 withdrew with mechanical issues; Tom Thompson in the U-11 and Brian Perkins in the U-21 went dead in the water. Perkins was able to restart; Thompson was not.

Next year will be a whole new set of surprises. For this year, a very happy Andrew Tate and the entire Jones Racing team can celebrate an amazing five wins out of six races, and the National High Points title. Congratulations to all for a hard-fought season. Bring it on in 2019!

Above, 3rd generation racer Andrew Tate with dad Mark. Both are APBA Gold Cup winners.

Below, Tom Thompson in the U-11 Reliable Diamond Tool presents J&D’s and Jimmy King in the U-3 The Roostertail,the only pistonpowered Unlimited on the circuit.

F. Peirce Williams photos

Above, Andrew Tate rejoices over his APBA Gold Cup victory. At right, the trophy itself, representing over 100 years of competition.

F. Peirce Williams photos At far right, a disappointed Jimmy Shane, who won the most points in Detroit, but not that glorious Gold Cup. Paul Kemiel photo

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MAHOGANY & MERLOT 2018 STORY AND PHOTOS BY MIKE AND DENISE JOHNSON

The 1958 Miss Bardahl chases the 1955 Miss Thriftway.

The heart of fall brings an end to the boat racing season in the Northwest. An early snow dusts Snoqualmie Pass. Fall colors make their appearance over Blewett Pass. The Wenatchee Valley begins processing the apple and wine grape harvests.

For the past nine years, the resort town of Chelan, Washington has welcomed Mahogany and Merlot, one of the premier vintage race boat events in the country. Each year, the Hydroplane and Raceboat Museum (HARM) presents vintage Unlimited and Inboard hydroplanes, and antique and classic mahogany runabouts.

The setting is an alpine lake, fifty miles long; a year-round playground that attracts thousands from both eastern and western Washington. Water sports, hiking, wine and cider tasting, golf, and Nordic skiing are some of the attractions. The Apple Cup on Lake Chelan, which coincided with the annual Apple Blossom Festival held 37 miles down the road in Wenatchee, was a spring event on the Unlimited circuit from 1957 through 1960.

This year, ten vintage Unlimiteds appeared to run at the event. They were joined by 25 limited Inboards from the Vintage division. Several boats travelled a long distance for the event, notably the

Ken Muscatel driving the U-17 My Sweetie.

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The 1957 Miss US IV, with the Miss Wahoo replica in the background.

Miss US IV from Nebraska. Two Miss Bardahls were featured: Dixon Smith’s 1962 version, and HARM’s 1958 edition (which won the 1958 Apple Cup with Chelan native Norm Evans at the wheel). Two of Ken Muscatel’s collection, the 1954 My Sweetie John Francis and the 1973 Pay n Pak, each made a couple of exhibition runs. Inboard heats included the Deepwater Special, Madam Blue, two Calypsos, and Miss Vitamilk.

The Calypso on the inside, the Calypso II on the outside.

S1, S37 and S77 duel at Spanaway, Washington. Gleason Racing Photography

Category corner

INBOARD

BY DUTCH SQUIRES, INBOARD CHAIRMAN Congratulations to all Inboard teams, officials, rescue teams, volunteers, and race committees on a fantastic 2018 APBA Inboard Racing season.

Our season ended with five very successful championship events. A lot of hard work, year-long planning and teamwork made it happen. Racer participation at our Championship events was up from recent seasons. A special congratulations to our champions on a job well done. Your hard work and dedication to be the best is worthy of special recognition. I hope one thing that can be said by our Inboard members is that WE HAD FUN.

It is now time to go to work on 2019. I want to remind all members that you are welcome to participate in our Inboard Commission meetings in Orlando. We are working toward more time spent on how to make our sport better and less time on rule changes that often have little effect. We plan to have discussions on calendar review, use of drones, class structure, School Boat, promotion and marketing, and many other topics. If you have an idea, send it to Don Melillo at inboardracing@ apba.org. If you do want to propose a rule change, get it in early as we plan to do our rule change work

early. You should send it in NOW. Plan to attend our APBA Inboard Awards ceremony on Friday evening while in Orlando. It is special to honor our National Champions (High Points Champions) for their outstanding season. There will also be a few annual awards presented to some awesome Inboard members. It will be a great evening. Plan to be there.

To a special racing season, 2018...

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George Smith running AX Hydro at Lock Haven, Pennsylvania.

Gleason Racing Photography

Looking toward 2019...

JUNIOR CLASSES

BY MARK WHEELER AND JEFF WILLIAMS, JUNIOR CLASSES COMMITTEE CO-CHAIRMEN The APBA Junior Classes Committee will meet at the APBA Annual Convention to award championship events and discuss rule changes.

The convention takes place in Orlando, FL from February 6–10, 2019. For more information on the convention, go to https://www.apba.org/ resources/apba-annual-meeting-4334.

In Orlando the Junior Classes Committee will choose from among bids for the 2019 Divisional Championships, future National Championships, and future North American Championships. To make a bid for a championship event, speak up at the Junior Classes meeting in Orlando or email your bid to junior@apba.org.

Already set for the Junior Classes are the 2019 National Championships—Wakefield, MI (July 22-26)—and 2019 North American Championships—Constantine, MI (June 22-23).

To request a rule change, please email it by January 1, 2019 to junior@apba.org.

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As your family prepares for the 2019 season,

keep in mind that APBA has equipment for the Junior Classes that you can order from the APBA shop at https://apbashop.com. You can purchase a complete, new Mercury J/AX engine, already converted for racing. Also available are Mercury J/ AX long blocks, which are complete powerheads without the starter, fuel system or ignition. For those families racing with OMC J/AX engines, the APBA Shop has both J and AX restrictor plates.

Parents: Remember, APBA memberships and safety equipment make great Christmas presents!

MODIFIED OUTBOARD

BY TOM SUTHERLAND, MODIFIED OUTBOARD CHAIRMAN It’s that time of the year when those of us who have had exceptional years are trying to figure out what it will take to make it into the Hall of Champions.

Among others, Steve Kohlenstein, Austin VanOver, Kelly Hannon, J. Michael Kelly and Nate Mitchell are having a very good season this year.

commissioners have been cut to three.

Please be sure to get involved in your Region activities this fall. With the current APBA Region restructuring, business may not be as usual. You will still have elected commissioners, but appointed

This was the first year for the new 125 Mod classes.

They were raced consistently in the Midwest, with propeller selection and development being a major

If you have any proposals or concerns for the Commission at the National Meeting in Orlando, please send them to your commissioner or to me at tls@wengco.com. They will be brought up to the Commission in Orlando.

part of the learning curve. Most of the available engines have been sold, but the Mod Commission is planning to have more engines available for the 2019 racing season.

Please remember that, despite changes to the APBA Regions, racer schools still work. They may be our most effective way to bring new people into the sport.

Justin Ivy 11-Z and Brian Williams ran a tough race in 500 Mod Hydro at Lock Haven, Pennsylvania. Gleason Racing Photography

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Tri-hull drivers #10 Jerry Rinker, #8 Jeremiah Mayo, and #56 Travis Yates whirling at the NGK Series finale at Orange, Texas. Moto Marketing Group photo

OUTBOARD PERFORMANCE CRAFT

BY JAMES CHAMBERS, OPC CHAIRMAN Mark your calendar... The APBA Annual Meeting is in Orlando, Florida February 6-9, 2019. It is across the street from SeaWorld, and very close to both Universal Studios and Disney World. Lots of fun, and warm weather too!

The 2018 season is over, and the 2019 Commissioners have been elected from each Region. We had a very exciting OPC season, with several series and clubs putting on wonderful events. Hats off to all. You worked hard and drove hard. With that said, we need to be thinking about the 2019 season. When I receive the meeting schedule from APBA Headquarters I will contact each commissioner to plan for our commission meeting in Orlando in February.

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Now is the time to review the current OPC rule book and what rules may need to be updated and what new rules may be reviewed and added. Please let me know what you think should be a part of the Commission discussions. Ideally, some of the discussions and/or rules can be reviewed, etc. by the commissioners via email before the Annual Meeting. Then we will have more time to deal with the biggest issues when we meet face to face.

My thanks to everyone for supporting OPC racing in 2018. Hope to see all of you next year. A special thank you to the 2018 Commissioners for all your help. My thanks in advance to the 2019 Commissioners and for your participation at the upcoming APBA Annual Meeting.

(L-R) Ashton Rinker with Crew Chief James Chambers, who helped Ashton win the 2018 NGK F1 Championship. James was also instrumental in the phenomenal career of Terry Rinker, Ashton’s dad. Paul Kemiel photo

STOCK OUTBOARD

BY JEFF BREWSTER, STOCK OUTBOARD CHAIRMAN Other than safety, I have to assume that most of us that consider growing our sport should be a very important priority of our leadership. Through the past few years we have had many members step up and do their very best to promote our sport, and the payoff is beginning to show.

Promotion can come in so many ways that it becomes second nature to many of us. Just taking a few minutes at a gas station to explain what is on your trailer can assist in our promotion. We all have stories about this situation, and usually the questions are quite funny. “Where is the motor?”

“Are those bobsleds?”“How fast does that go?” etc...

Often, the question comes from a local person who seems to have all the time in the world to talk and doesn’t realize you still have six hours to go.

Our Stock Outboard promotional brochures come in handy for this. We keep some in the door pocket of our tow vehicle, and you never know what can happen from that little bit of information. The brochure will direct an interested person to our

website, where they can contact us easily with more questions. Ask any time if you would like some, or need a few more to refill.

Our driving schools continue to have great success.

Those who have taught them know that they are a ton of work, but the payoff is huge—especially when your new driver brings his family and his friends into the sport also. That payoff quickly multiplies!

If your club is not hosting regular schools and you would like to get involved, ask and we will find you the help you need. It is my hope that we can also have more “standalone” driving schools in our future. In this type of setting, we can spend more one-on-one time with the students. In any situation, those schools that are before, during or after a race add to the excitement and success of the event. After the school, offer students the opportunity to race. Have a rig or two available for this purpose. There is plenty of equipment out there to use for the asking. Provide free entry fees and a

T-shirt from the event to help make it enjoyable.

Very few will walk away from our sport after getting to go through the school and, especially after having the thrill of racing with us also!

Over the past five years, we have held off the downhill slide in membership. Our racing member totals each year are usually up or down by only a handful. Several months ago, I noticed we were way ahead in our membership numbers from previous years. Although I try to stay optimistic, I held my excitement at bay until the following month’s report to make sure this data was correct.

Sure enough, we were almost 30 members above last year, and we still had our busy fall schedule coming up. As of last week, our Stock Outboard membership is up 38 members and I am thrilled beyond belief. If you are one of the members responsible for this, I say thank you on behalf of all of us!

Let’s keep on growing this together!

Dave Deck (left) instructs a new driver on race boat operation in one of his personal driving schools that was held near Cleveland, Ohio this fall.

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Jeff Link, shown here at Lake Minden, is a new racer in California.

Nancee Gillis photo

REGION ROUNDUP

REGION 5 Sure was an interesting few weeks preparing for the Region Meeting in October.

The APBA Board of Directors revised the boundaries for the APBA Regions. Now Region 5 includes all of Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Alabama, Bahama Islands, Puerto Rico and Ecuador.

The Board of Directors also revised APBA Article 17.

The new By Laws outlined a nominating and voting procedure. This called for the Region Secretary to set up a schedule for nominating Region Officers, etc., via email, and then a 2nd schedule for voting for the nominated candidates. This was very different from previous procedures in Region 5, where all voting took place during our Region Meeting by those in attendance.

My husband (Jeff the Region 5 Chairman) immediately reminded me I was the Region 5 Secretary, therefore in charge of doing all this. I must say THANK YOU to APBA Director of Operations, Sarah Ealy. I contacted her with my request for all Region members and their contact information. I also needed to be able to know who could vote for certain category positions and commissioners. It took all of 3 days to receive everything I needed. WOW! I am impressed with all the help I received. THANK YOU, APBA HQ! I sent out emails (and a few letters) to all 186 Region 5 members for nominations via a Nomination Ballot, and then did it again for the Election Ballot. I am currently tabulating these results and will have the results available at our Region 5 Meeting. This will determine all the Region 5 Officers, Activity Chairmen and Category Commissioners for 2019.

We already have a healthy race schedule for early 2019.

It includes Bradenton, Florida; Tavares, Florida; Lakeland, Florida; Gulfport, Florida; and Jessup, Georgia.

The APBA Annual Meeting is in Orlando, Florida from Wednesday February 6, 2019 thru Saturday, February 9, 2019. It is located within a block of Sea World. I hope many of you will take advantage of the Florida location and COME ON DOWN!

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There will be several very interesting seminars as well as Board Meetings and Commission meetings. Friday night the Inboard Category has a awards banquet, and at the same time the Stock, Mod, PRO and OPC categories have an awards evening. Lots of fun and a great way to support APBA, your categories and your friends.

By the time this comes to print it will be Holiday Time!

It seems funny as I write this in September.. but HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO EVERYONE and HAPPY NEW YEAR. See you in Orlando! Thanks for listening...

—Sally Titus REGION 6 Memorials—please take a moment to reflect on the names of those who have left us recently: Mickey Retman, veteran member of BOX21 (Dayton, Ohio area); Pingree Conflitti, Detroit area Inboard hydro driver/ owner (Union Dooz). Our condolences to their families and friends.

APBA Region 6 activities: Well, it is 2019, in APBA-speak right now. Things are a little different, but I don’t know any details, as this missive is being composed at the beginning of October. So, don’t look for a lot of insight here except that we will be racing for sure in 2019!

Let’s look at the busy mid-August/September 2018 racing across APBA Region 6 (pre-2019 Region 6, that is).

Outboard racers were busy throughout! SO/MOD/PRO events drew over 100 entries each, which leads to great competition and participation!

Kittanning, Pa – braving the Allegheny River, 37 class awards were earned by these intrepid racers. Leading the pack were John Wlodarski III (we’ll just call him Wlo III here) and Nate Mitchell, with 4 wins each; Frank Novotny garnered 3 wins, while Eric Keerps, J. Toccalino, Logan Sweeney, Mike Smith, Mac Miller, and Tom Sutherland grabbed 2 each. Hats off to the Three Rivers Club, Mary and Jeff Williams, and all who put on the Riverbration and brought boat racing back to Kittanning!

Region 6 bids them a fond farewell and great luck in the future, as the new region structure unfortunately moves

this renewed race out of Region 6. (Yes, this is a sour grapes protest.)

The Dayton Record Runs lit up Eastwood Lake, Dayton, Ohio’s famed double record course, with ¾ mile one day, 1 mile next day. Plenty of entries showed up—over 300 on the two days. Plenty of classes competed, as 48 final heats were run off in the two days. Only a scorer can appreciate how many qualifying heats were run.

It makes for a longgggg dayyyyy or two. Some drivers had beaucoup d’success: Peter Lauer and Wlo III (see above) garnered 4 wins each; Colin Smith, Austin VanOver, Dan Koschka, and Mikey Pavlick earned 3 wins each; Brian Boyd, Grace Lisius, Jared Pavlick, Jason Hay, Josh Pearson, and Kyle Roskowski found the winners’ circle twice each. That dozen drivers took home 2/3rds of the trophies available! Looks like the James Gang, roaming the Midwest, taking home the loot! Congrats to all, including the 16 other individual winners; that’s a total of 28 different drivers being champions over the weekend. That’s competition!

Grass Lake, Michigan’s Wild Ones Regatta – on the depths of Grass Lake, Ma Nature allowed Saturday, but rather selfishly took home Sunday. Well, here’s Saturday: over 100 entries ran heats and finals, marathons, J Classes, you name it; Stock Outboard was on point. Only four drivers managed multiple wins: Cody Olson (JH and JR), Josh Pearson, Peter Lauer, and Terry Kerr (whodat?).

Congrats to Jared Pavlick (AXR) and Karissa Mitchell (AXH), as these younger racers prepare to enter the more senior competitive ranks!

Hillsdale, Michigan’s American Legion Championships – same days, one hour away from Grass Lake, no double for me this year, was in the shop dodging raindrops (wimping out) in our corner of the Mitt! Managed to get 13 MOD and PRO class finals run on Saturday, but only 5 on Sunday (Baw Beese has some shelter but not quite enough this time). Big winners? Dan Koschka and Kyle Roskowski grabbed 3 wins each, while Amy Sweeney, Jason Hay, and Logan Sweeney earned 2 wins each.

Nice place—how long has racing been going on there?

Well, Cadi dug out a box last night, had a sticker for the HILLSDALE JAYCEE BOAT REGATTA, SUNDAY, JULY 18,

1971! Site? Baw Beese Lake, Hillsdale, Mi! Good sign we are still racing APBA hydros and runabouts on this site, 47 years later! IOA, be proud!

That weather was crappy, but the following weekend (15-16SE2018), the sun shone on Big Rapids, as the MHRA and race committee put on the Mecosta County Regatta. Again, over 100 entries supported this race.

Here’s a name to follow: Pavlick. Between Mikey Pavlick and Jared Pavlick, 8 wins; Jared got his in the AXR (Sat/ Sun) and AXH (Sun/Mon) classes (Karissa Mitchell snuck in and stole the Saturday AXH race—attagirl!). Peter Lauer also had 4 wins, Dustin Fierek had 3 wins, and 2 wins each went to Dan Pearson, Jacob Alkema, Josh Pearson (hey, those Pearsons are flying under the radar, the Pearson name has 4 wins!), and Kori Ladd (JR Sat, JH Sun). Our other Junior winners are Nathan Kowalski (JR Sun) and Alden Merrill (JH Sat); I have not seen Alden’s name before, if he is a first-time winner, I hope he can swim. A traditional dunking is in order.

Time now for Springfield, Ohio, the location of the Springfield Formula 1 Grand Prix! This race weekend featured a blend of outboard racing types, with top of the line OPC tunnel boat competition from the Formula 1 and SST45 tunnel boats (this is professional level racing, boys and girls) coupled with strong fields of CSH Stock Outboards and 750cc MOD Hydros! Great racing site, as it is really laid out like a stadium, with natural shores to absorb waves and unlimited viewing lines. The lake is adjacent to the Clark County Fairgrounds. Ashton Rinker ruled the full field of 18 Formula 1 boats, and Steven Merleau topped the SST45’s; while Dana Holt and Mikey Pavlick took CSH honors, and Brian Palmquist and Eric Keerps triumphed in 750 Mod Hydro. If you are keeping score, that’s the second APBA regatta at that site this year, the first being the Collegiate Electric Boat Championships in June. Hopefully, more are coming to the site!

Inboards got active for their second Region 6 race in 2018! Caesar’s Creek inaugural race weekend found 4 Inboard hydroplane classes plus Vintage hydros running on the virgin waters of Caesar’s Creek State Park, near Waynesville, Ohio (southeast of Dayton). While testing had occurred this past spring on a more remote spot on the lake, this site at the beach is prime for spectating and enjoying boat racing. The boats on hand provided lots of action. Too much, in one respect, although so close to the end of the racing year, you got all winter to fix it. Bumper boats is not stylish, but no one was hurt.

This first time race was put together in about 6 weeks

by Greg Kreitzer, Kevin Kreitzer, and the DMBRA (Dayton Motor Boat Racing Assn) did a fine job. Greg is already planning on improvements for next year!

Detroit’s Metro Detroit Chevy Dealers Hydrofest features the ultimate Unlimited Hydroplane prize: the APBA Gold Cup, the oldest motorsport trophy contested annually— older than the Indy 500! This year marked the first time a son has followed in his father’s footsteps to earn the APBA Gold Cup. Congrats to Andrew Tate! Andrew’s

dad, Mark Tate, won it twice, so Andrew still has work to do. Evidently, the Jones Racing team was happy with Andrew, as they kept him in the driver’s seat and he earned Unlimited Hydroplane National High Point Championship for their team! Andrew is a local boy, from Walled Lake, Mi., so the Gold Cup was a feel-good weekend for the area!

Club news: Marine Prop Riders continue an annual tradition on Saturday evening, 10NOVEMBER2018, with the Marine Prop Rider Club Awards Banquet, at the Concorde Inn, just north of Mt. Clemens, Mi on Gratiot Ave. $27 per head, a little more than previous years.

Cash bar opens at 6, with bench racing, conversations, renewed contacts, and trading lies as usual, followed by the buffet and dessert at 7PM. When that’s over, and the belches settle down, recognition and speechifying begins, as the MPR Club trophies for racing class high points and MPR annual special awards are doled out to the recipients. The awards culminate in the coveted Marine Prop Rider of the Year, which is traditionally passed on from the hands of the previous year’s winner to this year’s honoree! Fun time for all; be there! Contact Mario Maraldo for reservations!

More MPR news: there is a distinct possibility that Inboard hydroplane boat racing is returning to Pontiac Lake next summer! Racer Bob, Ray Dong, and others have been working diligently to restart the tradition of Quake on the Lake; I am hoping for continued good news in the MPR regular meetings, first Wednesday of each month. Inquiries will begin regarding reviving the Stony Creek site also.

If Quake can restart, coupled with the addition of Indiana to Region 6, Inboard hydros will be racing four sites in 2019: Rocky Fork 20-21JULY2019, already on the APBA race calendar (good job, Jim Sechler), Evansville (Labor Day weekend), Caesar’s Creek, and Pontiac Lake.

That’s four more than none, and a good start to reviving Inboard racing in the region.

When one couples the continuing efforts of the Three Rivers Club, MHRA, and IOA, within the new area that encompasses Region 6, a ton of boat racing will occur, and continue to occur. Add to this total the OPC tunnel boat circuits that race in the area, especially on the Ohio River, Trenton Channel, Springfield (Powerboat Nationals, Formula 1, APR Superleague). APBA boat racing is strong in Region 6 in 2019!

—Don (Eli) Whitney REGION 10 Our 2018 Racing Season in the Northwest is officially a wrap! The season concluded October 6-7 in Chelan, Washington. Ron Morrison gives a quick report on our busy vintage group: “The Region 10 Vintage gang closed the racing season with the West’s premier Vintage hydroplane event, the 9th Mahogany and Merlot regatta at beautiful Lake Chelan. The sponsor, the Hydroplane and

Raceboat Museum, saw a record boat count of 10 Vintage Unlimiteds, 25 Vintage Inboards, and 4 PRO Outboards. Several APBA national Vintage officials were in attendance, discussing issues and plans with the Vintage participants.

“Next up will be the annual APBA Region 10 meeting on October 27th. Region Vintage Coordinator Jim Olson has a full agenda for the Vintage session at the meeting. The group will announce new Vintage leadership for the region for 2019, discuss ‘stand alone’ Vintage events with at least one new Vintage-only event near certain for 2019, and rule changes.

“A regular topic is the ever-increasing number of race-ready Vintage rigs in the region. While the field at Region 10 events still varies considerably, at those events with high participation, four heats are now needed to accommodate the Vintage field. Looking ahead, four new Vintage rigs are set to debut in 2019.”

Our Inboard clubs wrapped up their season just 2 weeks before M&M, holding their season closer just up the road a piece from Chelan, in Manson WA. Jim Codling reports on the end of the Inboard season: “Club elections are now well underway for the coming season for all 3 western clubs. And they’re planning for the 12 regattas they run. Please come and sign up to volunteer to help work in the field so these events can happen. We cannot keep asking the current guys and gals to do it—we need more help!

“The region banquet will be history by the time you get this in the magazine. Rick Sandstrom remains Chairman until his term is up next year.

“We are still working on goofy ideas for a clock. Tell me: If you needed a new front tire for your car, would you run out and buy a new car? NO, I don’t think so.

Please talk to your club commodore about spending your money for a new clock before we at least get the current one looked at and serviced. Lordie!

“Both Oak Harbor and Chelan came off well, and the local groups were very pleased. They did want some Grand Prix boats there, but they cannot pull off that kind of cash for the roaring big guys. However, the SE, 2.5s and 5 Litres did just fine.

“At Chelan we lost a longtime crew member and friend Anthony Newton. He passed away in his sleep at the race site. May he rest in peace.

“See ya all at the banquets!”

OPC finished their season with a Sport C show over at Manson. Mike White’s notes follow: “Our racing season has come to a end here in Region 10 for most. There is a possibility that a couple of Sport C’s may be heading down to California’s Region 11 (now 9) for one last race. Our fall meeting, banquet and awards ceremony will be October 27th.

“Thank you to Seattle Inboard, Tacoma Inboard and

31

Seattle Drag and Ski for the great regattas they put on this past season.

“Sport C teams attended 7 races, F-150/GT-1 teams hit 3 races, and 45SST attended 1 race. Next season we hope to get more boats out of shops, garages, and storage sheds, and on the water.”

Down in the South Sound, Chis Fanaris and the Tacoma Inboard crew give us their take on the 2018 season: “Hello, race fans, we have been racing hard here in the Pacific Northwest. Our Pateros race seems like forever ago because it was the first time that 4 races in 5 weeks were on the Region 10 schedule. Pateros weather conditions were super smoky from fires in the area, but it didn’t stop us from putting on a great race.

A well-deserving family took home the big trophy for the weekend. Congrats to Kip Brown on getting surprised and, for once, being speechless!”

“The Western Divisionals at Spanaway were the next stop on our whirlwind tour. We saw some competitive racing on the fantastic race course. The entire Cracker Box fleet made the long haul from California and put on one heck of a show. It was a treat to see new upcoming drivers receive those beautiful Western Divisional trophies. Congrats to Shane Baker on winning the Yapachino award. Congrats to Travis Ulsh and Marissa Bartels on your victories as well. We were all excited to see Crazy 8’s team take home the overall win for the weekend.

“Thank you, volunteers and club members, for putting in work at both Pateros and Spanaway events. We could not have done it without you.

“Oak Harbor was our next race the following weekend, and it was cool to see TIRA’s Windjammer take that big ol’ trophy home. SD&S ran that one with the Hydros for Heroes gang, and they did a bang-up job, including helping out with the racers’ potluck on Saturday night.

I can’t wait to see what’s in store for next year’s race on Whidbey Island. Manson’s race on Lake Chelan was the 4th race in a row for Region 10. Some weather delays occurred, as in Oak Harbor. All in all, Manson was successful; and I think it was because of the overwhelming support from the city of Manson and the race committee.

“On to club business: the passing of a great friend, teammate, and board member left a vacancy in the Vice Commodore spot. Our last meeting was spent nominating and voting to fill these critical club positions. That brings up the next topic: recruiting new participating members to our club. Region 10 races are put on by clubs, and these clubs are made up of owners, drivers, crew, and family that compete at the races. Please consider joining a club and helping out where you can. Our joint club approach is continuing to improve, so jump aboard.

“As we close out the 2018 racing season, we prepare for our awards banquet and the region fall meetings,

32

as well as the popular December meeting where we eat breakfast together in our jammies and take care of club business.

“Don’t forget about the National Meeting in Orlando, Florida, February 6-9, 2019. It is a great place to participate in APBA workshops, and is an avenue in which we can make the critical changes that APBA needs.”

The outboard season concluded with two record events, Lawrence Lake, and the Rockey Stone/Buzz Thorsen Kilos. Ana Cappelletti tells it like it was: “WOW...What an amazing season SOA had this year.

The Hydroplane and Raceboat Museum showcased the J Classes at Seafair and, with the help of Prism Graphics, wrapped all of the Js as one of the Unlimiteds in the pits! The kids got to hang out with the drivers, but also showed fans where it all begins for most, and where you can get to one day! It was a great tradition that we hope to continue.

“On to Eatonville for the PRO Divisionals and NAC for D Stock Hydro.

“PRO Divisional winners: 125CCH- Taylor Anderson 350CCH- Ken Hehr 700CCR- Zach Malhiot CRR- Jim Nilsen CServH- Jim Nilsen KPH- Colton King OSY400- John Peeters 1100R- Dwight Malhiot CSerR- Jim Nilsen CRH- Jim Nilsen And the North American Champion in DSH was: Dave Anderson “Congrats to all of the winners! There were 182 entries for the weekend!

“The following event was at SeaTac the weekend of September 8th and 9th. Our Mod Divisional winners: “500CCMH- Ryan Magnuson 200CCMH- Kelly Hannon 200CCMR- Preston Reitz 850CCMH- Jayson Shrock 750CCMH- Daren Goehring And the NAC winner of CSH was: Kyle Bahl “More congrats are in order for all of the winners!

There was a great turnout of boats, and a lot of help from both the community and our racers.

“We rounded out the rest of the season at Lake Lawrence with a great turnout! There was testing on Friday and the weather really held out. It was still cold, but the sun came out and we had some good racing water. Saturday saw good weather for the most part, as it at least waited until the end of the day to dump rain! We had some good racing with a 3/4 -mile record course. Five records were set:

KPH- Colton King BSH- Kyle Bahl DSH- Ron Magnuso 350ccH- Ken Hehr 700ccR- Dwight Malhiot “Once again, congrats to everyone!

“Saturday night was a great event put on by the PRO category racers. They had quite the spread of food, but beyond that, the fact that it brought everyone together was the best part about that night! A great time was had by all; we hope an old tradition will be brought back yearly.

“Some of our Region 10 racers travelled to Lincoln City, OR for the kilos. We had 17 records set over the weekend;16 of them were outboards.

“SOA has had a lot of great events this year and we are definitely looking forward to the 2019 season!”

Thanks to all of you who followed us up here in the Northwest corner of APBA. If you raced with us in 2018, thanks for coming, and we hope you come back. And, if you didn’t, we hope to see you in 2019. Trust me...the water is FAST! —Patrick Gleason R-19 REGION 9 Welcome racers and fans of the new Region 9, formerly Region 11: In September, three Crackerbox teams joined our neighbors to the north in Region 10 to support the class up there. Team P28, 99P and P111 all traveled up to Spanaway and had a great weekend. Richard Rucki and Brian Schmeltz in the P28 took first place for the weekend, with 99P coming in second and the P6 in third.

Kyle Masuen drove to first place on Saturday to win the Western Divisional. Kyle and Shana got treated to a bath in the lake for his first-time first-place win.

Lake Minden Fall Spectacular put on by NCOA was an exciting weekend of racing in Stock, OPC, Vintage and Crackerboxes. We had some new faces in the classes, always good news.The Vintage boats ran some laps to show off to the crowd. Brad and David Ingham, who bought the 300SSH at the Mossdale race in June, brought their boat for the first time to race. David was introduced to his first race on Saturday in the 300SSH class and Brad was in the 20SSH class. They also ran in the CSH, David took first place and was introduced to the lake for his first win. Jeff Link is a new racer who is finding his way into the boat racing family with his yellow boat and gear. Jeff is a great addition to the Region family. Nick Hoot has come back to racing from a long vacation and ran in the 20SSH and CSH classes.

Welcome back to racing, Nick, you also got to experience the lake for your first win in CSH. Ron and Ryan Haskins made their first race with the help of Julian Rucki. Julian drove the first heat of the day, to give Ron an idea how the boat handles as a rider. In the second heat, Julian

turned the wheel over to Ron. They had a great weekend and are looking forward to many more races to come, including the season-ending “Quake at the Quarry” at Mossdale.

We have two new future racers in the Region 9 family: Courtney Lynn Maurer, daughter to Chase and Brittney; and Riley Irene Schmeltz, daughter to Timothy Schmeltz and Payton Hensley. Courtney will be a fourth generation and Riley a third generation racer. We look forward to seeing you both on the water in nine years and seeing the family of racers continue to grow. The Hoot girls will be joining the race team here in a few years themselves but at the moment they have been busy helping handing out awards at the banquet and races.

The big news was John Peeters setting two records for Rich Fuchslin at the Devil’s Lake Kilos time trials in Lincoln City, OR. The Lil Fox Racing team owner Rich Fuchslin and driver John Peeters set the 500ccMH ¼ mile record at 91.596mph on Saturday and on Sunday in the

kilo at 92.818mph. Terry Klem from Stockton was also on a mission to raise the ¼ mile and kilo marks in the PRO category with his Rossi powered 1100 Runabout.

After two attempts over 100mph, he had to submit to mechanical problems with the alcohol fueled motor and return home for repairs.

RJ West will drive his last SST 45 race (except for an occasional run in a borrowed boat) at Lake Ming.

RJ’s tunnel boat career spans 20 years or so, and he has driven SST 45 to multiple Hall of Champions appearances, including a likely return this year.

In political news, Jean Mackay-Schwartz was elected to the APBA Board of Directors for a 2-year term.

Congratulations, Jean, on your election!!

On November 4th, the Region 9 annual fall meeting will be held at Brass Door in Pleasanton. The general meeting will be at 1:30pm for anyone who wants to participate and has a presentation of any kind that was not listed in the agenda that Julian Rucki posted. Please contact Julian if you have something to add. We will hear

reports from the clubs, category chairs, publicity and officiating, plus announcements and a recap of the latest Board meeting.

I have been busy uploading pictures from the races to Facebook. I will continue adding all upcoming events at the American Power Boat Association Region 9 Facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/ groups/130495724451558/. Looking forward to some new faces in the Region family. If you want to tag yourself in the pictures, or you want some pictures sent to you, please IM me.

Our final region race will be Mossdale “Quake at the Quarry.” This event really brings out the spectators and a lot of racers. Look for more information in the next Propeller on how the season ended.

There are only a few races left as I write this. Let’s end the season with our friends and families coming together and make this a great season yet.

—Nancee Gillis, Publicity Chairperson

RACE IN PEACE MICK RETMAN

GERRY HEDLUND We have lost another great boat builder and racer. Gerry Hedlund, 74, of Wilmette, IL passed away on August 18, 2018 after a commendable 6-year fight against leukemia. He was a loving father to Jeff and Laurie (Peter Obara), proud grandpa to Jake, devoted brother to Ron (Cathy), dear uncle to Chris, Brian and Kelly (Max Kanter) and loyal friend to many.

Born in Chicago to Gunnar and Doris Hedlund, Gerry graduated from Northwestern University, raised his family in Glenview and later moved to Wilmette. He spent his youth traveling the country and racing powerboats with many who would become lifelong friends. That passion became a career as he and his brother designed and built their own boats. Gerry and Ron, together with their parents, then opened Hedlund Marine Sports, which served the boating and sailing needs of the North Shore for close to 50 years. Gerry was a master craftsman with a creative mind and an eye for detail. He enjoyed adventurous travel, spending time on the water and catching up with friends.

Family and friends celebrated Gerry’s life on September 9th.

Should you wish to make a donation in his honor, please consider the Kellogg Cancer Center, c/o NorthShore University Health System Foundation, or Grand Teton National Park, a place that Gerry loved.

—Chicago Tribune Media Group Publication, Sept. 13, 2018

Mick Retman, age 64, of Clayton, Ohio, passed away on Friday, September 14, 2018. Mick worked for many years as a Firefighter/EMT for Clayton and as a Police Officer for Lewisburg, Ohio. He was a former chief and current member of the Box 21 Rescue Team, which served at countless APBA races, driving schools and dunk tests. Along with rescue diving, he volunteered with the Five River Metroparks Mounted Patrol. He was the President of the Miami County Horseman’s Council.

Mick loved to teach and instruct in various classes and just lived to help others. He was a lover of animals, especially horses and horseback riding, and his dogs. He enjoyed doing anything in nature, whether it was camping, hiking, hunting, or fishing. He just loved to be outdoors. Mick was a fighter through and through, and had the kindest, most genuine heart. He never met a stranger.

He is survived by his wife of 28 years, Deborah (Welsh) Retman, sister Karyn (Brian) Britton, brothers-in-law Keith (Scott) Welsh, Mike (Stephanie) Welsh, Chip (Sarah) Welsh, nieces and nephews Abigail Welsh, Claire Welsh, Bryanne Britton, Owen Welsh, Zach Welsh, and many other relatives and friends. He was preceded in death by his parents, John and Loni (Simons) Retman.

Memorial contributions may be made to Box 21 Rescue, the Humane Society or the Dayton Diabetes Association.

Online condolences can be made to the family at www.

KindredFuneralHome.com.

—legacy.com

PINGREE CONFLITTI Former Marine Prop Rider Pingree (Ping) Conflitti, 63, passed away unexpectedly on Thursday, September 13, 2018. The 25-year member of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers became the owner/driver of the UL/GNH #58 Union Dooz (he was a loyal member of Local 58).

Ping enjoyed a brief but successful racing career. He volunteered on a rescue boat during the 2001 Detroit Thunderfest (APBA Gold Cup). That was all it took. A year later, Conflitti had a racing membership and a boat. He took first place in Unlimited Lights at Valleyfield. (He had just completed the required rookie laps the day before!) In July, with three races under his belt, he was ready to compete as a rookie driver in the 2002 Detroit race. He placed 6th in the Unlimited Lights, having had some propeller issues.

He raced far and wide, from Saskatchewan to Detroit, getting as much seat time as possible.

Richard Falcinetti served as Ping’s crew chief. Rich and many other friends were shocked at Conflitti’s passing. Rich wrote on Facebook, “All I can think about is all the wonderful times we spent together in boat racing. Through the years we campaigned that team together, not to mention all the days and nights we spent in the garage working on trailers, engines, and parts for the hydro... This hurts, and he will be missed. Rest In Peace, my friend.”

Pingree conflitti is survived by his brother Bernard Conflitti, and cousins Gerald, Michael, Richard, Richard Jr. Conflitti & Linda Conflitti-Joudi.

— Michigan Building and Construction Trades Council, Marty Mulcahy, Editor. Photo by Anette Duca

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