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Hard Work Pays Off in DePue for USTS Teams
Arriving in DePue for the annual spring race, many US Title Series teams had been hard at work since the opening events at Inverness and Lake Wales. Despite the high price of gasoline, a good turnout of boats was in attendance over the Memorial Day weekend. Mother Nature continued its participation in our race weekends. Testing only got underway late on Friday, as high winds and rain caused most drivers and teams to seek shelter.
The race committee allowed extra time for practice on Saturday, which also provided the benefit of better racing conditions. A strong wind from the east, slackened as the day went progressed. By the time the first heats were underway, the racing conditions were good.
Tim Small charged ahead of the 250cc runabout field, winning the first 2 of 3 heats. Brian Payn stole the start in heat 3 and won it handily. Tim prevailed with an overall first. Brandon Thirlby lacked the speed this weekend to take a heat win, but his steady finishes earned enough points for second place. Brian’s win in heat three gave him the points to move ahead of Chuck Zolkoske for third place. This was Chuck’s first race with the USTS and we are pleased to have him competing in the tough 250cc runabout class. In what would become a common theme for the Stahl Racing team, JP Jedwabny spun out his runabout in heat two, but was not injured (although the same cannot be said for his engine).
Twelve 350cc hydroplane’s showed-up for a real dog fight. In the first two heats, the starting line was very crowded and tight racing occurred over the length of the race course for every position. Several boats jumped the gun in heat 1. The hard-charging Mark Stahl rolled-over in the first turn during the second heat. Going into the final heat, the top positions were wide open and each driver still had a shot at the top three positions. Chris Hellsten grabbed the inside at the start of heat 3 and battled hard against David Mitchell, Jeff Kugler, Gary Buskirk, David Weaver and Mark Stahl. Jeff was moving quickly through the field when he lost a propeller shaft (and the propeller) in turn 2. Mark Stahl gained several positions, after his team quickly dried-out his engine between heats. When the spray settled, the familiar name of Gary Buskrk claimed the first position. Gary put together consistent starts and finishes to prevail over the competition. David Mitchell and Jeff Kugler finished second and third respectively. Jim Kirts moved from his traditional runabout ride and competed in 350cc hydro in a brand new Schumacher hydro. Look for Jim to become more competitive as the season progresses.
Todd Anderson simply ran away with the first two heats in K PRO hydro and then ran a smart third heat to take the overall win. The brother and sister act of Kurt and Amy Nydhal fought back and forth over three heats with Kurt taking the second position, while Amy claimed third place. Local favorite Zack McGuire gave us a scare in the second heat when his boat got “light” and was tossed into the lake. Zack was fine and returned to competition in the third heat. Todd and his pit crew have done their home work and he looks very tough headed towards the next two USTS events.
In preparation for the World Championships, the 125cc class utilized a LeMans start format. With one engine damaged beyond repair during testing, 11 boats lined-up for the thrilling off-the-beach start. These starts are very dramatic affairs that utilize 33 pit crew members for the 11 starting boats!! That means there were 44 participants for the start of each heat. Billy Allen had his rig dialed-in and grabbed the lead early in each heat. Billy’s main challenge came from Buddy Tennell in heat 2. Buddy appeared ready to challenge for the lead when he tossed a shear-pin after crossing the field’s large wake left at the start. BJ Tetro had to charge through the field after mediocre starts, but he was very fast around the race course. Brenden Vishoot enjoyed his most successful USTS outing yet in grabbing the third spot. Brenden and Dan have worked diligently to get their VRP powered 125 hydro competitive and now are poised to compete for the top spots.
Despite an engine problem in the first heat that caused him to finish back in the pack, Mike Thirlby emerged with the victory in 500cc runabout by taking wins in heats two and three. RC Hawie continues to show improvement each weekend and claimed the second position. Brad Burkland returned to the 500cc runabout class with a good third-place finish.
Brandon Thirlby had no problems overcoming a modest field of 500cc hydroplanes. Jake Walk enjoyed his first race in 500cc hydro with a very respectable second place finish. Jim Wright finished just ahead of his brother David for the third position. David Wright also made his first racing start with the USTS
Sunday’s racing started early with the threat of violent thunderstorms causing the decision to run an abbreviated schedule of 2 heats with 3 laps for each class.
Mike Thirlby and Tim Small are tough to separate in 350cc runabout. Both race green painted Krier runabout and both like to charge to the front of the pack!! In the end, Mike Thirlby took the overall win this weekend, as these two continue to battle closely each weekend. Rich Krier finished in third.
Like their smaller cousins in 125cc hydro, the 250cc hydroplanes used a LeMans start this weekend. Logging in a lot of time with his Italian built Mostes hydro, Chris Hellsten was rewarded with back-to-back heat wins and an overall first. Billy Allen gave a great chase for second and David Mitchell was also very close in finishing third. Chris’ advantage with the beach start was the difference, especially with the shortened heat races. Several USTS drivers were charging hard in their US style hydroplanes, but did not have time to make-up ground lost at the starts.
Michael Ellison was the only legal started in the first heat of 125cc runabout, as everyone crowded the start. Michael only needed a legal start and a finish in heat two. He proudly claimed the weekend’s top spot. Brian Payn dueled with Dominc DeFebo, as they finished second and third overall for the weekend. The 125cc runabout class welcomed a new competitor, as David Tenney made his first starts with the class.
In the final class of the weekend, it was all Sean McKean in 1100cc hydro. Sean made to great starts and was never challenged for the lead. Brandon Thirlby gave chase, but could not close-up the distance. Sean took the first spot with Brandon in second. Ike Yoder bounced back from Saturday’s disappointment in 500 hydro to earn third place in 1100 hydro.
As always, we appreciate the hard work by our officials and volunteers. It is always a pleasure to have Ray Rodda calling the races. The USTS now move to Winona, MN for its fourth race of the season.
Arriving in DePue for the annual spring race, many US Title Series teams had been hard at work since the opening events at Inverness and Lake Wales. Despite the high price of gasoline, a good turnout of boats was in attendance over the Memorial Day weekend. Mother Nature continued its participation in our race weekends. Testing only got underway late on Friday, as high winds and rain caused most drivers and teams to seek shelter.
The race committee allowed extra time for practice on Saturday, which also provided the benefit of better racing conditions. A strong wind from the east, slackened as the day went progressed. By the time the first heats were underway, the racing conditions were good.
Tim Small charged ahead of the 250cc runabout field, winning the first 2 of 3 heats. Brian Payn stole the start in heat 3 and won it handily. Tim prevailed with an overall first. Brandon Thirlby lacked the speed this weekend to take a heat win, but his steady finishes earned enough points for second place. Brian’s win in heat three gave him the points to move ahead of Chuck Zolkoske for third place. This was Chuck’s first race with the USTS and we are pleased to have him competing in the tough 250cc runabout class. In what would become a common theme for the Stahl Racing team, JP Jedwabny spun out his runabout in heat two, but was not injured (although the same cannot be said for his engine).
Twelve 350cc hydroplane’s showed-up for a real dog fight. In the first two heats, the starting line was very crowded and tight racing occurred over the length of the race course for every position. Several boats jumped the gun in heat 1. The hard-charging Mark Stahl rolled-over in the first turn during the second heat. Going into the final heat, the top positions were wide open and each driver still had a shot at the top three positions. Chris Hellsten grabbed the inside at the start of heat 3 and battled hard against David Mitchell, Jeff Kugler, Gary Buskirk, David Weaver and Mark Stahl. Jeff was moving quickly through the field when he lost a propeller shaft (and the propeller) in turn 2. Mark Stahl gained several positions, after his team quickly dried-out his engine between heats. When the spray settled, the familiar name of Gary Buskrk claimed the first position. Gary put together consistent starts and finishes to prevail over the competition. David Mitchell and Jeff Kugler finished second and third respectively. Jim Kirts moved from his traditional runabout ride and competed in 350cc hydro in a brand new Schumacher hydro. Look for Jim to become more competitive as the season progresses.
Todd Anderson simply ran away with the first two heats in K PRO hydro and then ran a smart third heat to take the overall win. The brother and sister act of Kurt and Amy Nydhal fought back and forth over three heats with Kurt taking the second position, while Amy claimed third place. Local favorite Zack McGuire gave us a scare in the second heat when his boat got “light” and was tossed into the lake. Zack was fine and returned to competition in the third heat. Todd and his pit crew have done their home work and he looks very tough headed towards the next two USTS events.
In preparation for the World Championships, the 125cc class utilized a LeMans start format. With one engine damaged beyond repair during testing, 11 boats lined-up for the thrilling off-the-beach start. These starts are very dramatic affairs that utilize 33 pit crew members for the 11 starting boats!! That means there were 44 participants for the start of each heat. Billy Allen had his rig dialed-in and grabbed the lead early in each heat. Billy’s main challenge came from Buddy Tennell in heat 2. Buddy appeared ready to challenge for the lead when he tossed a shear-pin after crossing the field’s large wake left at the start. BJ Tetro had to charge through the field after mediocre starts, but he was very fast around the race course. Brenden Vishoot enjoyed his most successful USTS outing yet in grabbing the third spot. Brenden and Dan have worked diligently to get their VRP powered 125 hydro competitive and now are poised to compete for the top spots.
Despite an engine problem in the first heat that caused him to finish back in the pack, Mike Thirlby emerged with the victory in 500cc runabout by taking wins in heats two and three. RC Hawie continues to show improvement each weekend and claimed the second position. Brad Burkland returned to the 500cc runabout class with a good third-place finish.
Brandon Thirlby had no problems overcoming a modest field of 500cc hydroplanes. Jake Walk enjoyed his first race in 500cc hydro with a very respectable second place finish. Jim Wright finished just ahead of his brother David for the third position. David Wright also made his first racing start with the USTS
Sunday’s racing started early with the threat of violent thunderstorms causing the decision to run an abbreviated schedule of 2 heats with 3 laps for each class.
Mike Thirlby and Tim Small are tough to separate in 350cc runabout. Both race green painted Krier runabout and both like to charge to the front of the pack!! In the end, Mike Thirlby took the overall win this weekend, as these two continue to battle closely each weekend. Rich Krier finished in third.
Like their smaller cousins in 125cc hydro, the 250cc hydroplanes used a LeMans start this weekend. Logging in a lot of time with his Italian built Mostes hydro, Chris Hellsten was rewarded with back-to-back heat wins and an overall first. Billy Allen gave a great chase for second and David Mitchell was also very close in finishing third. Chris’ advantage with the beach start was the difference, especially with the shortened heat races. Several USTS drivers were charging hard in their US style hydroplanes, but did not have time to make-up ground lost at the starts.
Michael Ellison was the only legal started in the first heat of 125cc runabout, as everyone crowded the start. Michael only needed a legal start and a finish in heat two. He proudly claimed the weekend’s top spot. Brian Payn dueled with Dominc DeFebo, as they finished second and third overall for the weekend. The 125cc runabout class welcomed a new competitor, as David Tenney made his first starts with the class.
In the final class of the weekend, it was all Sean McKean in 1100cc hydro. Sean made to great starts and was never challenged for the lead. Brandon Thirlby gave chase, but could not close-up the distance. Sean took the first spot with Brandon in second. Ike Yoder bounced back from Saturday’s disappointment in 500 hydro to earn third place in 1100 hydro.
As always, we appreciate the hard work by our officials and volunteers. It is always a pleasure to have Ray Rodda calling the races. The USTS now move to Winona, MN for its fourth race of the season.
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