Day 3 Evansville, IN
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Heat 2A here in Evansville turned out to be a barnburner as the U6 Oh Boy! Oberto driven by Steve David and the U13 Graham Trucking driven by J Michael Kelly dueled side by side as both boats needed the points to be able to get into the winner take all final. The first boat on the water was the U6 as Steve David needed to garner the points that were lost from yesterdays running of heat 1A. The U50 Spirit of the Navy driven by Brian Perkins and U7 formulaboats.com driven by Mike Allen, who had trouble as he tired to get the fire lighted in the Lycoming power plant were also in the heat, as well as Greg Hopp in the U100 mirageboats.com
Winds from the west caused a little chop as the boats scored up for the start of the heat. With 1 minute to the start the U6 parked it in lane 1 with the 7 in 2 and 13 in 3 50 in 4 and the 100 in lane 5. In the first turn it was Oberto in front coming down the backstretch with the 13 and 5 close by. Pulling down the front it was the 13 charging hard in second and 5 in third, 4 to the 50 and 100 rounded out the field. David stretched it out to about a 7 boat lead in lap two as the 13 and 5 fought deck to deck for second, Kelly hanging it out in the outside lane keeping the 5 inside of him was able to handle the boat even though he had some strain in his arms.”It was running good and I was pushing hard but it was hard to steer through the turns. I had to get out of the throttle when I went into the turns. We changed the rudder and adjusted the skid fin. I was catching the Oberto in that heat, I had plenty of power” stated JMK. The U7aquired a one-lap penalty for jumping the gun at the start of the heat. Coming down to the wire it was Steve David first, J Michael Kelly second and U50 Spirit of the Navy third. After the running of the heat it was noticed that the lucky number 13 sustained a little damage to the left side of the boat.
Heat 3A will go down as a heat that had thrills from start to finish. The start of the heat saw the U13 struggling to get on plane before the start and J Michael Kelly sitting in the west turn as the rest of the field was coming around for the start. Continuing to try and breathe life out of the engine compartment, Kelly finally got it started enough to get it into the infield on the back stretch.
Coming out the first turn, it was U37 Beacon Plumbing and the U10 Ahearn Rental deck to deck down the backstretch. On lap to it looked from my angle on the beach that the U10 encroached on the U37 as David Bryant pushed Theoret into a buoy. The officials thought so also and gave the 10 a one-lap penalty. It was Beacon, formulaboats.com Ahearn Rental in that order. JMK was a did not start do to the waves coming over the deck and putting the fire out.
With the withdrawing of the U3, U100 and U25, this allowed the U13 Graham Trucking into the final as a traler boat. “Not the way we want to get in, but hey we will take it” comments Dave Bartush owner of the U13. “No pressure on me, all I have to do is bring the boat in one piece” kelly said with a smile.
In the final cat and mouse games were afoot as the U37 Beacon Plumbing parked in lane one. The others followed suit and J Michael Kelly took about lane 4 coming down the back stretch some went and the U13 lost power and JMK watched the rest of the heat from the best place in the house.
Next week its upriver to Madison, Indiana where the Fourth of July weekend sets the mood for the running of the annual Indiana Govenors Cup.
Day 2 Evansville, IN
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A cloudy morning sky welcomed the U13 Graham Trucking/Spirit of Detroit Unlimited Hydroplane team as they prepared for the morning test session. Trailer firing, the team checked out the boat after a severe thunderstorm, with a tornado touchdown about 60 miles away tore through the area last night. After checking the systems no damage was found and they prepared for the test session.
Taking the boat out for the morning run the 29 year old Kelly took a slow turn the first time around the two mile course. Driving the mighty 13 down the back stretch and opening the throttle even more, Kelly wanted to up his speed from the 147 plus from yesterday. His first lap of 147 was just about the same as yesterday, and a second lap came in with just a tick faster lap of 148. On his third run he poured the coals to the fire and upped his speed to 148.722 miles per hour. Coming back into the dock, a mechanical issue caused the boat to not respond and shut down. Quick thinking Kelly, avoided a major disaster and rode the right side of the boat down the retaining wall just beyond the U13 pits. Minor damage occurred to the right sponson and rudder,however the boat was repairable. ” I am kind of embarrassed” was J Michael’s comment as he returned to the truck.
At 2:45pm the crew had repaired the damage and J Michael Kelly went back out on the water to test the repairs that the crew had done. “This right sponson hates Evansville!” Joked Kelly. After one lap at low speed Mike turned up the power and did a respectful 143 miles per hour lap. “The rudder we installed on the boat gives me a rough ride, we are however repairing the one that bent earlier for tomorrows racing.” Stated Kelly.
In the heat draw for 1B the U13 drew, U7, U5 and U10. However the latch on the canopy would not stay secure, and that caused the Dave Bartush entry to not be able to answer the call. “We will have our work cut out for us tomorrow!” Stated Bartush.
Day 1 Evansville, IN
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J Michael Kelly was anxious to get out on the water and see how the U13 Graham Trucking hydroplane reacted to the changes that the team performed over the winter. “We have lots of spare parts and have made some subtle changes to the hull to help enhance the turning of the boat.” Stated Kelly.
The team worked all day preparing the boat for the afternoon session that took place under partly cloudy skies. Taking the boat out on to the course for the first time Mike turned a lap of 135mph with a follow-up lap of 144. After returning to the dock Kelly complained that the steering was really tight in the turns. The crew adjusted the cables and the young driver went back out with just 5 minutes to spare and turned a first lap of 144mph then jumped to 147 mph. After returning to the dock Kelly stated that “That that was much better!
“You know I never thought I would be doing this stuff.” Stated the 29-year-old driver from Puyallup, Washington. ” I mean yeah I was excited as a kid watching the races in Seattle, but I was more excited watching Seafair from home on television. When it came on I was glued to the tv for the rest of the day. Usually I was out on the weekends racing outboards and when it came time for Seafair, I was so tired I just stayed home.”
“I am a good buddy with several of these guys that I race with out here and we used to race all weekend. When Jeff Bernard moved out to Seattle from Detroit we used to spend all weekend together racing. He practically lived at my house all summer long.”
With the changes to the on plane rule that ABRA instituted over the winter which states that a boat shall be on plane and running at least 65mph before the start of the race, the U13 team states that that rule really did not affect us. “We made changes that will hopefully allow us to get into the inside lanes. We cannot win from the outside! We have to be able to go inside and race the kind of race that we need to win. And that’s what it is all about.”
On the subject of his favorite racer, Kelly stated that Chip Hanauer would have to be his favorite. “I was always a Budweiser fan, as they were the ones that were wining all of the time. When Chip came over to the team that made it even better. You know a lot of people are down on Dave Villwock, but you have to admit, he knows how to set up a boat. He is a big asset to his team.” Stated Kelly.