They're the Purple Shirt Brigade and they volunteer tirelessly for ULHRA, Inc.
Over the years there have been some changes. Some have come and gone but many of the originators of ULHRA, Inc. remain. Most you see but don't know because the job they do is not on the "front lines".
Pit bosses, Timing & Scoring, Safety & Rescue, Risk Management, Marketing & Promotions, Course Installers, Race Director, Webmaster, ULHRA Live Video Streaming and there are a lot more. Yes there's a great deal of talent and experience in this group of volunteers. You may not know them but the work they do you know well because the end result, "Racing, ULHRA Style" is something you're now able to enjoy for the ninth consecutive season.
You've begun to see a series of "The Gauntlet" previews on this website. It's shaping up very nicely with excellent turnouts expected at all events. "The Gauntlet" begins July 11th & 12th at Chamberlain-Oacoma SD on the mighty Missouri river with the Pepsi Racing Power Cup Challenge. After just one race in 2008 those fine folks in South Dakota could teach a thing or two to some other race sites. Year One was a spectacular success, as many of you saw in person last July, or on Speed Channel earlier this year. Year two will bring more of the same, only better! You should try to be there.
Remember the Sprint Boats from the Phoenix race? Those craft will also be in South Dakota, along with the 8 cylinder Lighter than LIGHTS.
The first installment of The Westport Series for Thunderboats, the
G-Class, will also be at South Dakota. At least 4 teams are scheduled to compete and you'll see details of the teams on "The Gauntlet" previews. Yes it will be a very full weekend of racing excitement in the state where they promote "Great Faces - Great Places".......and now Great Races, South Dakota!
Following the Chamberlain-Oacoma event The Gauntlet continues on July 18th and 19th as UL teams compete for the second annual Anderson Broadcasting Radio Waves Regatta at Flathead Lake,
Polson, Montana. This was another great first year event in 2008 with
more expected next month to be enjoyed by the large fan base. In fact there will be APBA classes joining the Unlimited Lights, Lighter than LIGHTS and Thunderboats at Polson, Montana.
Then on July 24th, 25th and 26th the high speed course at the Tri
Cities......Kennewick, Pasco & Richland, Washington beckons with the
Thunder Cup for Unlimited Lights with a field of 17 teams confirmed. It's the last chance for teams to qualify for the biggest event on the ULHRA circuit because the following weekend it will be the Graham Trucking Cup for Unlimited Lights at Seafair in Seattle, July 31st, August 1st & 2nd. Only 14 teams can race at Seattle due to pit area space limitations and those 14 teams are determined by points earned from Phoenix through the Tri Cities race.
The Gauntlet doesn't end at Seattle. The following weekend a couple ULHRA teams will be in Kelowna BC for an exhibition event and then The Gauntlet concludes with Silverdale Thunder in Silverdale WA. on August 15th & 16th. After that the teams will enjoy a significant rest before concluding the season at the end of September with the Victoria Express Strait Thunder Regatta in Port Angeles, WA.
June 13, 2009 was a very sad day in hydroplane racing, particularly in the Pacific NW but also for me here in Omaha NE. Racing lost a fierce competitor and tireless promoter and I lost a friend in racing with the passing of Terry Troxell. While Terry raced only a relative few times in the Unlimited Lights series and was scheduled to drive the UL-8 at Tri Cities in late July, for a long time people "in the
know" knew Terry was an outstanding driver. He just didn't get the opportunity to demonstrate to a national audience till late in his career.
Terry & I first met nearly 30 years ago. He was a top driver in the 280
class (OK, so they call it 5 Liter today, those of us who've been around
the block a few times still remember the great 280 class) and in 7
Liter, now called GNH. He was also one of the leaders of the Tacoma
Inboard Racing Association.
In the early 90's Terry, Joe Souza, John O'Brien, Dave and the late Gene Bender, Howie LaBrie, Rick and Shawn Bridgeman, Glenn Davis and a number of other GNH racers formed an organization that was designed to promote their chosen racing class. Later that group became part of NASBOAT and ultimately the Unlimited Lights. Yes, while Terry wasn't a regular competitor in the UL class, he was one of the originators of what was to become the Unlimited Lights Racing Series.
Troxell and I collaborated in 1985 on a race called KASY on Tapps, named for the radio station I worked for that promoted the race, and for the lake where it was conducted. It was a positive event but at the time could not be sustained. Fortunately others, specifically members of the Thunder Valley Racing Team later developed what we had in mind, and then some! It continues today as the annual Tastin' n Racin' Festival at Lake Sammamish, near Seattle. While that regatta currently does not feature the Unlimited Light Hydroplane Racing Series the UL's were a major part of that program's growth in this decade.
Terry drove the National Modified "Stinger" in the very first Unlimited Lights race at Tastin n Racin, which just so happened to be the first time the "Lights" raced at a non turbine event. Troxell nearly pulled off a huge upset victory before finishing second behind Phil Bononcini.
I remember Terry, also, as a strong proponent of safety in racing. I believe he'd be as concerned as I about a trend I've seen at several events during this break between ULHRA's season opener and The Gauntlet.
The safest place for a driver in a racing hydroplane is the enclosed cockpit. However several times over the past two months I've seen drivers of boats that have conked out, standing or sitting on the deck of their boats observing the race as it continues. Some of those drivers and boats are in the racing lanes! One only needs to see the video of the crash involving Jimmy Shane and Pierre Maheu at Syracuse NY in June to realize what could've happened.
We were reminded last year how dangerous it can be for a driver who's outside the cockpit when Vince Xaudaro's boat drifted atop the J. Craig Fletcher driven hydroplane at Richland WA. J. Craig's boat
was dead in the water at the time and Xaudaro's was slowing quickly due to a loss of steering control. It might have been going less than 40 mph at the time of the accident; certainly not 140 mph.
The Xaudaro hydroplane wound up atop the cockpit of the Fletcher race craft. Had he been out of the cockpit, injuries could have been very serious, or worse. J.Craig later acknowledged that he remembered being admonished by the ULHRA referee at a previous race not to leave the cockpit when the green flag was on the course. Neither Fletcher nor Xaudaro were seriously hurt. Both boats were significantly damaged but hydroplanes can be repaired or replaced; drivers cannot. This incident did have a positive ending as both teams returned to the UL series later in the season, and Fletcher went on to score his first UL race victory at Polson MT. He and his UL-13 will be returning to defend their title.
We should all acknowledge that this is racing, and In racing there will be incidents and there will be accidents. The job of ULHRA and its officials is to maintain the highest level of safety for all competitors. Earlier this year that was highlighted by a major seminar on safety procedures and equipment prior to the season that ULHRA participated with other agencies and sanctioning bodies, and aired live on the world wide web by ULHRA Video.
Drivers: If your boat goes dead in the water during a heat, and your fellow racers continue to compete with the green flag on the course, please stay in the cockpit with the lid sealed. It's the safe place to be.
If not for yourselves, do this in the memory of my late friend, and yours, Terry Troxell.
John Lynch
"Voice" of Racing
