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Powerboats raise heart rates By Gerald Witt
Staff Writer
Sunday, Jun. 1, 2008 3:00 am
HIGH POINT — Jack Hiatt sipped a Bud Light under a brimmed hat and let his already-tan arms out for some more sun.
A round of the Formula 3 racing boats had just finished screaming by at 80 mph on High Point's Oak Hollow Lake.
Hiatt was at this weekend's High Point Challenge to get a little charge from the annual powerboat race. The qualifying rounds were Saturday.
After the Formula 3 boats raced, the faster Formula 2 boats took to the water. A driver in those can hit 100 mph in straightaways and pull four G's through a turn.
High Point is the first stop on the circuit for the Powerboat Superleague. Spectators can check out the two 30-lap final races in each division today before the action heads out of town.
But Hiatt doesn't expect to be out for that one. He's got a similar speedboat.
"I just use it to run around," Hiatt said. He keeps his boat on High Rock Lake, where he plays on the weekends.
"This type of racing, it's close competition," he said. "Some of these guys get tough. It gets your adrenaline going."
Boats occasionally rub one another, spin out or flip through the water.
Hiatt once ran drag boats, which race alone, fast and straight. The boats at Oak Hollow this weekend motor head-to-head through a rectangular course.
The powerboats are called tunnel boats because of the gap under the boat between the hulls. With the right angle, you can see completely under the boat as it races.
Most of the boat stays above the water in a race, while just a few feet near the engine plows across the surface.
While racing, it feels as if the back end of the boat is vibrating across the water, Hiatt said.
"It gets your heart pumping," he said.
While Hiatt got into the action, some buddies strolled across the blacktop on the hill overlooking the competition area.
"I'm just trying to get out at the end of a long workweek," said Derek Simmons of High Point. He's a landscaper, and he said it's just starting to get hot outside.
He'd never been to the races before Saturday, though powerboat races have been held in High Point since last year. In previous years, it was drag boat races in High Point.
"Now I've got to go cool off," he said.
Contact Gerald Witt at 373-7008 or gerald.witt@news-record.com
Powerboats raise heart rates By Gerald Witt
Staff Writer
Sunday, Jun. 1, 2008 3:00 am
HIGH POINT — Jack Hiatt sipped a Bud Light under a brimmed hat and let his already-tan arms out for some more sun.
A round of the Formula 3 racing boats had just finished screaming by at 80 mph on High Point's Oak Hollow Lake.
Hiatt was at this weekend's High Point Challenge to get a little charge from the annual powerboat race. The qualifying rounds were Saturday.
After the Formula 3 boats raced, the faster Formula 2 boats took to the water. A driver in those can hit 100 mph in straightaways and pull four G's through a turn.
High Point is the first stop on the circuit for the Powerboat Superleague. Spectators can check out the two 30-lap final races in each division today before the action heads out of town.
But Hiatt doesn't expect to be out for that one. He's got a similar speedboat.
"I just use it to run around," Hiatt said. He keeps his boat on High Rock Lake, where he plays on the weekends.
"This type of racing, it's close competition," he said. "Some of these guys get tough. It gets your adrenaline going."
Boats occasionally rub one another, spin out or flip through the water.
Hiatt once ran drag boats, which race alone, fast and straight. The boats at Oak Hollow this weekend motor head-to-head through a rectangular course.
The powerboats are called tunnel boats because of the gap under the boat between the hulls. With the right angle, you can see completely under the boat as it races.
Most of the boat stays above the water in a race, while just a few feet near the engine plows across the surface.
While racing, it feels as if the back end of the boat is vibrating across the water, Hiatt said.
"It gets your heart pumping," he said.
While Hiatt got into the action, some buddies strolled across the blacktop on the hill overlooking the competition area.
"I'm just trying to get out at the end of a long workweek," said Derek Simmons of High Point. He's a landscaper, and he said it's just starting to get hot outside.
He'd never been to the races before Saturday, though powerboat races have been held in High Point since last year. In previous years, it was drag boat races in High Point.
"Now I've got to go cool off," he said.
Contact Gerald Witt at 373-7008 or gerald.witt@news-record.com