MAY
MADNESS
story and photography by
Mark McLaughlin
National Jet Boat Association competition heats up as 78 registered racers endure one last race with Covid-19 restrictions. 74
S P E E D B O A T | August 2021
P
icture-perfect weather set the stage for NJBA’s third race of the season (and the last until September) at Lake Ming in Bakersfield, CA. Temperatures hung in the low to mid 80s with no wind to speak of,
but Covid-19 restrictions would still be in effect for at least another week, meaning there was no way to change the no-spectator-and-vendor rules. A total of 78 registered boats came to haul ass and have some fun. The Blown Gas Flats showed up with a nice field of 11 entries. Jim Shelton seemed to have his boat back under control after last month’s pass trying to drive from the other side of the boat during a wild ride. The #4 qualifier made it count in the finals when he needed it most. After running a sub 20-second pass in the semifinals against Tony Scarlata, he got lucky and got the win while Tony red lit. A holeshot victory for Shelton over Shane Westerfield in the final round gave him his first win of the season. In Pro Comp Hydro, Dan Jensen qualified #6 out of 10 boats entered. He had a pretty good weekend finishing on the top in PCH, while also capturing runner-up in speedboat.com
