2004 Sayres Memorial

Classic Thunder opened its 2004 season on April 18th at Coulon Park.  The sun was shining, but the skies were threatening when the day started.  By the end of the day, we had seen it all.  Those who were fortunate enough to attend saw wind, sun, a little rain, fast water, rough water and a whole lot of great racing action.  The event was sponsored by Bill’s Bodacious Barbecue who, along with the Hydroplane and Raceboat Museum, provided the banners and prizes for the race.  In spite of inconsistent weather conditions, there was a good crowd, lots of cool boats and an air of excitement for our first competition of the year.  Here’s how the day played out.

Miss Seattle takes Sayres Memorial in Div.1!

We have all been wondering if the 2004 field of boats can match the competition we saw in 2003.  It has become evident that we’re in for another great season.  14 boats showed up to compete in Division 1, including a couple of boats that I didn’t expect to be done in time.  It looks like the enthusiasm has also carried over from last year.  

Heat 1A saw Jeff Howard bring his defending champion Miss Budweiser home first followed by Dave Sacry’s Short Circuit.  Short Circuit led the race before striking a buoy caused him to have to run an extra lap.   Mike Krone launched his brand new Hurricane IV for its first heat in competition.  It looked great and immediately became the sentimental favorite of the other drivers.  Hurricane ran well and finished third.  Doug Tulip drove the Checkerboard Bardahl to a fourth place finish.  Pete Schille and his Mr. P’s got off to a rough start by jumping the gun, giving him an extra lap to run.  It got worse from there.    After stepping down from the driving platform after five laps, Pete realized that he had forgotten to run the penalty lap.  In an attempt to step back up, the bewildered Mr. Schille stumbled and tragically lost his grip on his radio transmitter.  He could only watch as it flipped from his grasp, destined for its final resting place at the bottom of Lake Washington.  Let’s have a moment of silence………                                .   Though devastated by his loss and having to accept a DNF, Pete and the Mr P’s showed exceptional fortitude and bounced back, having a successful day after borrowing equipment from the Stroh Light camp.

Heat 1B was won impressively by Dale Van Wyk’s Miss Seattle.  This heat also saw the return of one of the original Classic Thunder hulls.  Jon Zimmerman brought his Red Man out of retirement after a decade in the attic.  Right off the bat the boat was competitive and finished second.  Bob VandenAkker’s Notre Dame had mechanical problems and did not finish.  Gary Simpson barrel rolled the Miss Exide in the north turn and also failed to finish.

Mitch Dillard’s Gale IV won Heat 1C over Danny Sacry’s Miss US 1.  Third place went to rookie Dave Helton in the Miss Burien.  Chris Cootsona debuted his new Waferer’s Club Lady.  The boat was plenty quick, but suffered a blowover accident and was unable to finish.

Heat 2A was a wild affair.  A stiff breeze coming from the south made the front stretch very exciting to watch.  Miss Seattle broke out to an early lead, but lost power on lap 3 and was not able to finish.  Miss Exide and and the Checkerboard Bardahl blew over almost at the same place and time approaching turn one.   Craig Mullen drove his $ Bill to the heat win followed by the Miss Burien.  These two both made trailer starts in the heat, Dave as a rookie starter and Craig having been drawn into this flight of heats after missing the driver’s meeting.

Heat 2B saw Gale IV pick up the win.  Notre Dame was second.  Short Circuit followed in third. Miss Budweiser had difficulties and came in fourth.  Miss US 1 went upside down and did not finish.

Mr. P’s rebounded with a victory in Heat 2C over second place Waferer’s Club Lady.  Hurricane IV took third.  Red Man blew over and was unable to finish.

Gale IV continued a good day with a victory in Heat 3A.  Waferer’s Club was second followed by Notre Dame in third and Miss US 1 in fourth.

Short Circuit continued to battle the buoys in Heat 3B and was again penalized while leading.  Mr. P’s inherited the lead and cruised to the win.  Miss Burien was second, followed by the Hurricane IV.  Short Circuit pasted an additional buoy and finished fourth after running two extra laps.  

Heat 3C may have been the most exciting of the day.  It showcased four fast boats with drivers that were determined to hang it all on the line into a pretty good breeze.  We saw the bottom of a couple of boats, but they all finished.  When all was said and done, Red Man crossed the line first followed by Miss Seattle.  Miss Budweiser finished third and the $ Bill came in fourth.  All of these boats were just flying and were all out of shape when they finished.  Way to put on a show!

The Consolation Heat in Division 1 saw the Waferer’s Club Lady become the alternate for the Final Heat by defeating second place Notre Dame and third place Short Circuit in a close hard fought race.  Hurricane IV pulled to the infield and did not finish.  Miss US 1 withdrew from the heat and did not start.

The Final Heat was one to remember.  Mr. P’s, Miss Seattle and Gale IV hit the line together closely followed by the Red Man, Miss Budweiser and Miss Burien.  There were no trailers in the heat.  Everyone started on the front line.  Mr P’s held the lead coming out of the first turn and was tightly contested by Gale IV on her inside.  Gale IV and the Mr P’s did a little “rubbin’” coming out of the turn and Mr. P’s led up the backstretch.  Out of nowhere, Miss Seattle put on a burst of speed up the inside and took over a close second place.  The Seattle challenged for the lead in the north turn.  Gale IV was running a close third going into the turn when she swapped ends unexpectedly.  Skilled driving by Jon Zimmerman allowed the Red Man to miss the Gale IV and take over third place.  Gale IV was able to get going again, but not until after Miss Burien was able to pass her.  I’m not entirely certain, but I think the Miss Budweiser was penalized an extra lap for striking a buoy and ended up finishing sixth.  Miss Burien was passed by Gale IV and slipped to fifth place.  Gale IV took fourth.  Jon Zimmerman was impressive in driving the aged Red Man to a strong third place finish.  Pete Schille recovered from his mishap earlier in the day to finish a strong second.  The boat of the day turned out to be Miss Seattle.  After prying the lead away from the Mr. P’s, the Miss Seattle was able to stay out front and capture a well deserved and past due trip to the winner’s circle.  Congratulations to Dale Van Wyke’s Miss Seattle, winner of the 2004 Classic Thunder Sayres Memorial in Division 1!

Stroh Light shows Div.2 dominance in first race win!

10 boats made up the field in Division 2.  Competition proved to be fast and furious all day long.

Preseason hype of the Stroh Light looked to be warranted as Pete Schille drove to an impressive Heat 1A victory.  “Battery” Dave Sacry finished a strong second in Weisfields.  Third place went to Dave Helton’s American Speedy Printing after making a rookie start from the trailer position.  Bob VandenAkker experienced new boat blues and was unable to finish in the Candyman.  I believe the drive dog spun loose.

Heat 1B saw Mitch Dillard’s Coors Dry get its first heat win.  Second place went to rookie John Dyer’s 76 Atlas Van Lines.  Rookie Pat Malaspina came home third in the Squire Shop.  The very fast Dewalt Tools gave Jeff Howard some trouble when it shut down during the heat.  Fortunately the boat restarted and was able to finish fourth.  

The second flight would have three heats as the Pride of Pay’n Pak and the Turbine Pay’n Pak joined the race after missing the first flight heat drawing.  They would both have to make trailer starts in this flight as their owners missed the driver’s meeting before the race.  

Stroh light continued its winning ways in Heat 2A, but was challenged the whole way by second place Dewalt Tools.  Third place went to American Speedy Printing.  Danny Sacry suffered a blowover in the Weisfields and did not finish.  

In Heat 2B rookie John Dyer scored his first Classic Thunder heat win in the Atlas Van Lines after both the Candyman and Squire Shop had mechanical difficulty and were unable to get to the starting line.

Heat 2C was won by the Coors Dry.  Craig Mullen’s Pride of Pay’n Pak finished a respectable second from a trailer start.  Bill McGraw also made a trailer start and finished third in the Turbine Pak.

Heat 3A was won by the Stroh Light over second place Coors Dry.  Atlas Van Lines was third and the Squire Shop did not finish.  

The Turbine Pay’n Pak took Heat 3B ahead of the Candyman.  American Speedy Printing was third.  This heat marked the last rookie start for Dave Helton.  He is now eligible to start his preliminary heats from the front line.  Good job Dave!

Heat 3C saw the Pride of Pay’n Pak show its speed and cruise to victory over second place Weisfields.  Third went to the Dewalt Tools.

The Division 2 Consolation Heat saw the American Speedy Printing earn its way to the trailer spot in the final heat by defeating the Squire Shop.  The Weisfields was unable to finish the heat.  This heat also saw the Turbine Pak disqualified after she struck the Candyman at the exit of turn one.  The accident was attributed to radio problems.  The Candyman sustained damage to her right side rear and was unable to finish.  

The Division 2 Final Heat saw the Stroh Light hit the start flying, closely followed by the Dewalt Tools, Coors Dry and Pride of Pay’n Pak.  American Speedy Printing started as the trailer.  As the boats hit the line, they were greeted by an obstacle in the form of a swamped Atlas Van Lines sitting in lane two and moving slowly out on to the race course in turn one.  Stroh Light was able to get through cleanly in lane one.  Coors Dry was not so fortunate and had to come off plane to avoid a collision before maneuvering around the Atlas to the inside.  Dewalt Tools grabbled second place and the Coors gave chase in third.  The Dewalt was fast, but couldn’t make up ground on the Stroh Light.  Coors Dry couldn’t catch the Dewalt.  Dave Helton finished fifth in the American Speedy Printing from the trailer spot.  Craig Mullen’s Pride of Pay’n Pak ran fourth.  Third place went to Mitch Dillard’s Coors Dry.  Second was Jeff Howard’s Dewalt Tools.  Basically, the scary fast Stroh Light snatched the lead and checked out.  She’s going to be a tough act to beat this season.  Congratulations to Pete Schille’s Stroh Light, the winner of the 2004 Classic Thunder Sayres Memorial in Division 2!

What an opening race!  I would like to thank all of you that helped put this thing together.  Special thanks to Bill and Carol McGraw of Bill’s Bodacious Barbecue who graced us with their sponsorship, hospitality and great food.  Thanks to Ray Finney and others for coordinating the event with them.  Thanks to David Williams of the Hydroplane and Raceboat Museum for getting involved and supporting Classic Thunder this season.  Thanks to all of you who were able to come to Bill’s after the race for dinner and awards.  That was a lot of fun too.  Way to kick off the 2004 season!  You people are great.  I can’t say enough about this group’s willingness to work together to make things happen for the club.  We’re happy to have you as part of the Classic Thunder family.  Is this fun or what!  Let’s keep it rolling.  Next up is the Presidents Cup at Lake Pleasant in Bothell on May 2nd.  Hope to see you there.  

Sincerely,

Mitch Dillard

Classic Thunder Commissioner