2007 Governors Cup

After having two weeks off from racing, the boats were back on that water in Lacey for the running of the 2007 CT Governor’s Cup. We would like to thank the event sponsor, Valley Construction Supply and race coordinators Clint Crain and Mark Beatty for putting on such a great race.  The weather held out pretty well and water conditions were perfect almost all day long. An abnormal number of collisions, a few flips, and some rollovers were experienced during the day. A grand total of 30 boats lined the shores along with a massive amount of goose poop provided free of charge by the local flock. Lacey was a very welcomed sight after two straight races at Wild Waves, which provided its share of challenges for some of our drivers.  A few damaged boats have been repaired or replaced and made their mark at Woodland Creek Park.

Division 1:

16 boats showed up for Division 1 racing, including a new Thriftway Too built by Steve Dumanis. Its first showing was a good one. Steve seems to have a consistent boat on his hands with this one.  With a few more turns of the wrench, he’ll have himself a very competitive and fast boat too. Also showing well was Mark Beatty with his Miss Timex. Clint Crain had his 70 Parco’s running well and had a pretty good day, with only a few bumps along the way. The “Special” Valu Mart was driven by Dale Schroeder and was its usual self, touring the course faster than the real boat ever did. The Dan Clark shop seems to be working out the bugs with both the 62 Bardahl and the Tahoe Miss. The Van Wyk racing team was a little faster than normal. Dale and the Miss Seattle flat outran Mitch Dillard in the Slo-Mo in two consecutive heats. Unfortunately, the Seattle was DQ’d after running into the back of another boat during one of those close duels.  Also sporting the Van Wyk colors was Tony Minalia driving the Berryessa Belle. Tony and the Belle got off to a fast start on the day, but began to slow as the day rolled on. Mike Schultz had his ’60 Miss Thriftway up and rolling until some radio problems added a black mark to his day. Tim Becker in the Miss U.S. 5 and Pete Schille in the Pizza Pete made a little contact in one of their heats. The bump was minor and neither was found in the wrong. Sometimes no call is the best call.  An impressive showing by Mike Krone with his Miss Seattle Too earned him a victory in the conny and moved him into the final. Mike’s other boat, Dutchman, is having some gear box problems right now, but for the most part, the Kroney Gearbox has been a successful experiment. He’ll get it fixed again and be back in top form in no time. Dave Sacry stayed out of trouble and steadily scored points all day with his Mariner Too. Last and certainly not least were Jeff Howard and his 67 Parco’s O-Ring Miss who were very strong all day long.

Division 1 Final:

An awesome race was in store as Parco-Jeff, Valu Mart-Dale, Pizza Pete-Pete, Slo-Mo-Mitch, Timex-Mark, and Seattle Too-Mike as the trailer hit the water for the final heat of the day. A close call at the start almost put Pete out of the race. But a “good start” was called and everyone was legal. Into the first turn, Parco was out front with the Slo-Mo following close behind. Another duel was behind the front two. Timex and the Pizza Pete hooked up around the corner and part of the back stretch. By the end of lap one, the Valu Mart had pulled into the infield with problems. That left the door open for the Seattle Too to move into fifth. Back out front, Parco began to tease the Slo-Mo a little by slowing down in the corner and gently getting back up to speed down the back shoot. All the while, Mitch was foot to the floor trying to make up ground.  Just a tick behind Mitch, Timex was coming on with a full head of steam. By lap three, Jeff and Parco had a lead no one could make up. In the end, the Parco had won the 2007 Governor’s Cup. Followed by the Slo-Mo, Pizza Pete, Seattle Too, and the Timex. It turned out that the Timex had jumped the gun at the start and had to run an extra lap. Congratulations to Jeff Howard’s 67 Parco’s O-Ring Miss, winner of the 2007 Governors Cup for Division 1!

Division 2:

14 boats arrived in the pit area for Division 2. Some were still showing battle scars from the previous races at Wild Waves. We even saw one new boat. Mark Beatty built a new Lite All Star that is just plain fast. However, he ran into some trouble in one of his heats. Actually he ran into an uncalled dead boat wide in the front stretch.  His unfortunate collision with Mike Schultz’s Oh Boy Oberto put Mark’s new boat out of commission for the day.  Hopefully we’ll see it again at the next race.  Tony Minalia got his Smokin’ Joe’s back together and put in a new motor that’s not blinding fast, but is consistent. The other smoker’s boat, Winston Eagle was chauffeured by Pete Schille and had its usual impressive day. Dave Sacry had his Circus Circus ran just terrific all day long too. Mike Krone is capping off one of his best seasons in CT with his Design 360. Mike Schultz also had his Griffon Bud out roaring and did pretty well, winning one of his heats and avoiding mishaps. Brent Hall was busy between heats with his two boats, the Bubble Bud and the Coors Dry. He was trying to find the right set up and repairing some damage to the Coors after an accident in one of the earlier heats. Mitch Dillard and the Trendwest weren’t doing as well as we’ve seen before. Fortunately for him, he’s still this season’s top performer. Even after a bad day, he’s still number one in the Div 2 points standings. However the Winston is now breathing down his neck for the season championship.  Only 320 points separate them now!  Coors Light showed some real speed with Clint Crain driving. Danny Minalia was going backwards in his first heat and couldn’t make it out. In his second heat, he made it a little farther but went dead. The cause is still under investigation. The in his third heat, he found the gas pedal and finished. He covered the entire race course from lane one out to about lane 12, but he brought back the Pay’n Pak without incident. Steve Dumanis had the Shakey’s Special out and doing well. Be sure to look for him towards the front when he gets some more time to tweak the boat a little. Once again being mentioned last is Jeff Howard. After skipping the last Wild Waves race, he showed at Lacey ready to go. Unfortunately, his boat was not. In his first heat, he couldn’t make it due to what he thought was a wiring problem.  After calling himself stupid more times then we can count, he was back in action after switching out some gear and finally finding a dead receiver pack. Once again, his boat wasn’t happy with him. In the second flight of heats, Jeff was to go against a field he could handle pretty well. However, that pesky speed control problem popped up. His boat went dead and began to smoke. Not even the Winston and the Joe’s could hand out enough cigarettes to match the plume of smoke coming out of the Appian Jeronimo. Jeff switched out the controller with a new Hextronics controller he just got and it worked fine.  He ran strong and took a close second to the Trendwest in the conny.  With two boats having been tied for the fifth and sixth spots at the end of the prelims, the conny was run to determine only the alternate for the final.  All six of the qualifying boats would start on the front line in the final.  There would be no trailer.

Division 2 Final:

A lightning fast field was summoned for the last heat for division two racing. Bubble Bud-Brent, Coors Light-Clint, Design 360-Mike, Circus Circus-Dave, Smokin’ Joe’s-Tony, and the Winston Eagle with Pete Schille driving. The wind changed direction just in time for the start, causing some funky water condition. At the exit pin to turn two on the mill lap, a small bump between the Bubble and the Joe’s was experienced, but no damage was caused. They were four-wide across the start/finish line. Entering turn one, the Bubble and Joe’s came together again, only this time they were sharing a roostertail and the Joe’s rolled over. Winston sprung out into the lead. Followed by the Design 360, Bubble Bud, Coors, and the Circus. Then the Design pulled inside the Winston to take the lead. The Winston battled back, but the Design 360 was too much for him and drove on to victory. Over the line in a third place was Brent with the Bubble Bud, then the Circus Circus. The Coors Light was having some problems but was able to get back to the dock under its own power. Congratulations to Mike Krone’s Design 360, winner of the 2007 Governor’s Cup for Division 2!

We would like to thank once again Clint Crane, Mark Beatty and Valley Construction Supply for sponsoring the event. It was a great one. We would also like the thank the City of Lacey Parks Department for letting us use their pond and facilities for the day.  We’ll be back at Woodland Creek Park again for our next race too.  Lacey will also be hosting our last race of the season, the Silver Cup, on September 9^th.  It seems that this season has gone by way too fast.  Dan Clark will be coordinating the race and the barbecue that goes with it!  There is much to be decided in the final points race and it’s going to be a good one and will be a lot of fun.  We may even see the next heat of the Apple Core Regatta take place in the row boat too!  You don’t want to miss it!  Till then, stay safe, and keep the pretty side up.

Tony “The Hired Gun” Minalia