Tide brings home victory in Division 2 at the Mapes Mile High.

We had another exciting race in Classic Thunder’s Division 2.  The Angle Lake fans got a treat right from the start.  5 boats entered and took to the water for a points race which would be contested over 4 heats.

Heat 1 saw Pete Schille’s Tide and Craig Mullen’s Pride of Pay’n Pak lock up in a battle for the lead.  On lap 2 or 3 Craig’s driver, Jon Zimmerman was given a one lap penalty by the turn judge for cutting off the Tide coming out of turn two.  Mitch Dillard’s Griffon Bud came in second followed by Dale Van Wyk’s Executone.  Bob Vanden Akker had a blowover accident in turn one during one of the early laps of the heat.  Fortunately the Weisfields did not suffer any damage.

Heat 2 started out with the Tide jumping the gun at the start followed closely by the Griffon Bud and the Pay’n Pak.  The speedy Pay ‘n Pak, this time driven by Craig Mullen slid out a bit in turn 2 and bumped the Tide.  No damage to either boat, but the Pak was asked to run an extra lap for the incident.  The struggling Griffon Bud was blessed with the win, followed by the Weisfields, Tide and Pay’n Pak.  The Executone failed to finish.

Heat 3 was won by the Tide ahead of Weisfields, Pay’n Pak and the Griffon Bud.  Executone did not start due to a broken motor mount bracket.  Dale could not repair the damage and was forced to withdraw the boat for the remainder of the day.

The Pak and the Tide hooked up again for some close racing right from the start in Heat 4.  They went into turn one side-by-side followed by the Griffon Bud and Weisfields.  Jon Zimmerman put the Pak in lane one and the Tide was right on his shoulder.  Actually it was more like breathing down his neck.  The Pak got squeezed like a lemon, climbed up the roostertail of the Tide a bit, but avoided a sour ending.  By the time he got the boat settled down again, the Tide had too much of a lead for him to overcome.  The Griffon Bud continued to struggle, but finished third ahead of the Weisfields.  

When the competition was over and the points were totaled, Pete Schille was on top.  He has certainly found the right combination to make the Tide go.  He won three out of the four heats and left everyone else searching for answers.  Congratulations to Pete Schille’s Tide, winner of the Classic Thunder Mapes Mile High Race in Division 2!

Thank you to all of the people that showed up at Angle Lake Park.  We all had a great time and saw some great racing.  I would like to give a special thanks to Larry Ellis of the City of Seatac Park and Recreation for helping us put this together and giving us the opportunity to be a part of the festival.  I hope we can come back next year and put on at least one or two races there.  The facility they have at Angle Lake is great!  Thanks everyone for putting on an exciting show for the spectators. The people there really enjoyed it.  I know I did.  Next up is the Diamond Cup at Lake Pleasant on July 6.  This is going to be a fabulous day of racing, food and fun.  Bring the family and invite the friends.  From what I hear, the weather forcast is looking good. I didn’t think it was possible, but the points race is even closer now than it was last week.  Both divisions are tighter than ever.  I’m gonna hang on as long as I can.  It’s a battle ‘til the end.  I hope you’re having as much fun as I am this year.  If you’re not getting excited about the way this season is shaping up, check your pulse.  It’s very possible that your dead.  Thank you all for making Classic Thunder so exciting.  See you all on Sunday at Lake Pleasant.

Sincerely,

Mitch Dillard

Classic Thunder Commissioner

Division 1 report