2010 Season is underway.
 
Lots of changes and plenty of surprises at the season opening event at Firebird International Raceway in Phoenix (Chandler) AZ, May 1st & 2nd.  But when you get down to cases it doesn't matter who's the favorite or who has the points lead or who's made the biggest improvement.  Who's in charge?  When it comes to racing on water, Mother Nature is really in charge.
 
pULHRA was able to complete all but one preliminary heat for the Unlimited Lights, plus the two halves (F1 & F2) of the Final heat so in the absence of a Final, points up till that time determined the outcome.  The last time this happened was at Polson MT in July 2009 and Kayleigh Perkins earned that victory by points.  This time it was rookie driver Kevin Eacret in the UL-11 Power Punch Performance Lubricants, ROXY Radio 94.5, K&N Filters  securing the victory with 1,025 points.  It was the third consecutive victory for team owner Darren Bartels who, after this UL-11 hull was seriously damaged last year at Montana, contracted with other teams on behalf of his sponsors, including the Bob Schellhase owned supercharged Unlimited Light that won the Silverdale and San Diego races last year, driven by Brian Perkins and N. Mark Evans.  
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Second Place with 900 points at Phoenix and a career best finish was Wil Muncey in the UL-00 Trafficade-WarningPower.com.  For the first time since Muncey Racing came up with their "boats for courses" team concept they were able to run their boat of choice at a specific race site.  The smaller UL-00 which is the original Muncey Racing Unlimited Light hydroplane was selected for Phoenix because of the very tight (600 foot radius) turns on Firebird Lake.  The "Little Boat That Could" certainly did, without missing a beat, and secured three solid second place finishes.  
 
pThird place, also a career best finish was Bob Smets in the UL-20 Smetco.  Smets won two heats but had one DNF (Did Not Finish) for a total of 800 points.  The veteran racer from Oregon and his team have their Ed Karelsen hull and 468 cu. in engine really performing.  When winning his first heat on Saturday, Smets "flew" the 20 hull down the front straightaway, carrying the right sponson the entire distance and racing right along side the concrete wall of Firebird Lake, generating a big reaction from the fans!
 
Smets wound up in third as a result of a faster overall elapsed time, compared to Kayleigh Perkins in the 
UL-72 Foster Care-Change a Lifetime who also had two heat wins and a DNF in the preliminaries.  Had the UL Final not been "blown off" by 50 mph wind gusts and a desert sand storm, Smets would have been in the F1 heat racing for first place, while Perkins would have been in the F2 heat racing for fourth place as the Firebird race course can hold only three UL's per heat.  
 
pPhoenix was the competition debut for the Triad Racing Technologies Toyota NASCAR engine, being tested for feasibility in Unlimited Lights racing by the UL-72 team.  Co-Owner Joe Frauenheim said after the race that the 358 cu. in V-8 built for NASCAR Truck racing performed flawlessly.  The one DNF was caused by a hull drain plug failure causing the boat to take on water and making it impossible for Ms. Perkins to get the boat to "plane" for its second preliminary heat so she shut off the engine.  Frauenheim later said about the Toyota NASCAR power plant "we are getting better performance every time that we run it.  The engine works great and as a package is very reliable, does not need oil system, carb, or electrical add ons. - it is ready to run and produces a lot of power.   It also uses significantly less fuel" compared to the 509 cu. in carburetor fed V-8 the UL-72 team has used for over a decade.  
 
Teams that made the extra effort to compete at Phoenix, and will do likewise in June at Chamberlain-Oacoma SD, receive 1,000 bonus points on top of the competition points earned at each event.  These bonus points will make a big difference when it comes to the largest event in all of hydroplane racing.  For the Unlimited Lights that is the Graham Trucking Cup for Unlimited Lights at Seafair in Seattle, in front of 300,000 fans and viewed by another million fans on live television, plus a worldwide audience watching ULHRA's live webcast.  No other hydroplane race comes close to the numbers generated at the Seafair event in Seattle and for the Unlimited Lights "fleet", due to the limited space in the Stan Sayers pit area, only fourteen Unlimited Lights are allowed to compete.  Points earned prior to Seafair, including bonus points, determine the Top 14 qualifiers that will compete at Seattle. 
 
pA "battle of the services" is starting to bubble in ULHRA...........and it's all good.  Former US Navy flier and current airline pilot Paul Becker is driving the UL-14 GO NAVY - Miss Critical Logic.  His crew at Phoenix was augmented by local area NAVY recruiting staff.  Becker brings the NAVY to ULHRA two years after former Sgt. First Class "Smokin Joe" Souza, driver of the UL-9, brought in the US ARMY.  The two teams are expected to square off at Chamberlain-Oacoma SD.  The 9 team, in the middle of an engine transition to supercharged horsepower wasn't able to complete the project in time to enter the Phoenix race.  Souza knows as a result of missing the race at Firebird, the team must be at Chamberlain to have a chance to be part of the big Seafair celebration; not just the race but also the televised Torchlight Parade on Saturday night, July 31st, the weekend prior to the race.  Souza intends to qualify in the Top 10 to be included in the parade and be joined by a number of soldiers.  Becker is already in excellent position to have the UL-14 GO NAVY in the parade in downtown Seattle with about 300,000 parade enthusiasts on hand.  As veterans of the two services, both Becker and Souza are honored promoters and supporters of the US NAVY and US ARMY.  
 
Sad news to report. A long time hydroplane race team owner has passed away. Armand Yapachino was known by just about everybody in Pacific Northwest hydroplane circles, and well respected. The 85 year old campaigned for decades a series of hydroplanes named "Joya Mia", primarily in the 280/5 liter classes. Two drivers who later found success in the Unlimited ranks, the late Terry Troxell and Jeff Bernard were among the many drivers who drove for Mr. Yapachino. In fact, Bernard was a winning driver in ULHRA's Lighter than LIGHTS Series driving the Joya Mia before moving on to the turbines. 

pULHRA is welcoming two new Series Partners to this racing series.  Brand new to the Unlimited Lights program is Alpen Optics.  Company President Tim Gardner was on hand at the Phoenix race.  Alpen Optics offers their outstanding line of binoculars, the official binoculars of ULHRA, Inc. for sale at each race site.  Gardner explained to me how Alpen Optics has been driven by "Customer Service" since the company's founding in 1996.  All products carry a Lifetime Guarantee and most are waterproof which is perfect for fans of ULHRA racing.  As Gardner explained "binoculars should last a lifetime, so we warrant them for life", yet Alpen Optics binoculars and scopes tend to cost less than their competition.  The company has also been honored by the annual Outdoor Life Magazine "Gear Test" more than any competing product line. Check them out at your local Alpen Optics dealer or log on to www.alpenoptics.com.  
 
pThe other new Series Partner is Power Punch Performance Lubricants and Oil Supplements, headquartered in Bremerton WA and rapidly expanding across the USA.  Power Punch and its General Manager Peter Morey have been part of ULHRA for several years and this year have expanded their involvement.  They will present the Graham Trucking Cup in Seattle, August 6th - 8th.  Certainly ULHRA teams have learned the value and cost savings of using Power Punch in their racing engines as well as their team haulers and personal vehicles.  Industry and Agriculture continue to expand their use of the various Power Punch products, including oil supplements, gear oils, greases, automatic transmission and power steering treatments among others. Details and locations where Power Punch can be purchased are available at www.powerpunch.biz.

By the way, it is my understanding that the traditional first win "dunking" of driver Kevin Eacret was not done at Firebird Lake. Two reasons can be attributed.  One, by the time the race was called due to high winds the conditions were too volatile for any kind of celebration as the teams were simply trying to keep everything from blowing away, and packing up for their return home.  The other reason is simple.  If you've ever contacted the water of Firebird Lake, it's not something you want to be doused. To race on the lake is one thing.  To go swimming............ah that's another story.  Maybe the team will take care of that at the annual River City Racin' Pepsi Racing Power Cup Challenge, the next stop on the ULHRA 2010 season, June 19th and 20th in Chamberlain-Oacoma SD.  That's where Interstate 90 crosses the Missouri River at Lake Francis Case.   
 
Since I moved to Omaha NE in 2009 I've learned that mid westerners have no qualms at all about driving major distances for entertainment.  From Omaha to Chamberlain it's about 5 1/2 hours, or as Special Agent DiNozzo would say on NCIS, "three hours if Gibbs drives!".  People from many states will make the drive to the home of "Great Faces, Great Places..........and as we now say Great Races, South Dakota!.  There's room for you.  Why not try it?! 
 
John Lynch
 "Voice" of ULHRA Racing
 
     
 
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