Celina, Ohio

August 27-28, 2011

J and Fae Report

 

Region Six dialed up one of its gems this weekend returning to Celina, Ohio for the U.I.M World Championship and Ohio Governor's Cup Regatta. A fine field of boats rolled into town with quality hulls and drivers in every class. With boat totals suffering this season in general, we are blessed to have a solid group of teams in this area. Now, add in some stalwart long distance rigs and you've got a superior event. Race directors Alan Baskett and Myron Buxton with help from Mike and Cheryl Bruns, Tom Saddler and Scott Anderson nailed it as usual. A well organized and executed event is supplemented by tremendous local support making Celina a special race. Throw in some of the nicest people anywhere and this regatta is just cool. Now, who was that announcer? Was it Sasquatch? Was it Yeti? Was it Elvis? Was it the Lochness Monster? No it was the long lost Jeff Ayler, Mr.Chamber of Commerce Weather Man. Welcome back Jeff! If ya got Jeff or Dick Delsner on the mic you are always in for a treat in Region Six.

 

This year the U.I.M World Championship added some sparkle and brought in several extra teams. Saturday was the "Worlds" and Sunday the normal race. Here are the J and Fae boat totals: (Y-7) (S-7) (A-8) (E-10) (NM-4) (GNH-10) (Vintage-7) Total-53

 

Y boats presented the usual bombs spinning those 2 stroke engines to ridiculous rpms. Power to weight ratio, oh yeah! Dan Kanfoush (Y-1) Fast Eddie 2 was the favorite and he showed why running away to take the "Worlds". Sean Bowsher (Y-52) W.H. Harrison Bourbon chased Dan as usual. Sean (Y-52) is a blur so what is Dan? A super blur? Joe Sovie (Y-44) Accelerant starts late but that Polaris engine and his heavy foot brought him in third. A shout out here to Becky Wilson (Y-131) Circus Circus for the incredible speed she is getting out of her miniature 1971 hull. She ran fourth. The Y's were screaming.

 

S boats were small in number but big in quality. Bobby Kennedy driving Mike Grendel's (CS-79) Bad Influence was a slight favorite. (Bert Henderson won Vallyfield in this new monster). Keith Anderson (S-17) Bad Habit, Marco Poirier (CS-33) Zibra and Dutch Squires (S-83) Mega Bucks are stout as well. Now, mega trolling for the pin left Marco (CS-33) with the inside lane. The start was very tight as the field funneled in toward the pin. Enough room? Uh......no. Somehow Marco (CS-33) ended up parked on the transom of Keith (S-17) in the first corner. It is amazing that this does not happen all the time in this class. The restart was smoother and Bobby (CS-79) cruised to the title. Let's see, Bert and Bobby, who is next Mike, Steve David? Dutch Squires (S-83) took second with Bobby King (S-242) Crush coming in third. Bobby (S-242) has been battling those ACHA dudes all summer and he is learning fast. A fine show by the Stockers.

 

NM boats had four stellar hulls on hand. They all started, unlike Waterford, so the final was legal. Tom Heins (NM-30) Big Bird is returning this iconic vessel to its legendary past this summer. He is flying and that tuned exhaust is hummin. Having said that, Tom Thompson in Mike Weiner's (NM-81) Country Boy was just off Tom's hip off the last turn with the Bird prevailing by a feather. Tony Black brought Tom Newman's (NM-10) Sum Toy in a solid third. That heat was over fast as they were flying.

 

E boats presented a nice field with hotsters like Joe Less (E-500) Centless 14, Tom Thompson (E-75) Investigater, Mark Burkhart (E-726) X-Ray and Dave Kidd (CE-67) Black Falcon on hand. The question was could these uber fast guys run down the veteran Brandon Kennedy (E-30) Big Bird. The final was stopped with Mark (E-726) parked on the start/finish line. Wait a minute, the inner marker on that line was flat as Brandon (E-30) clipped it during the scoreup. Bad news as he would carry a one minute penalty into the restart. For that reason Brandon (E-30) took a wide lane as Joe Less (E-500) nailed the start and drove a beauty to the title. Joe knows only one thing, put the hammer down and see what happens making him a perfect lunatic for this class. Patrick Sankuer (E-17) Modern Drummer (the old Chopper) came in second with Scott Blackwell (E-617) Hayden taking third. Tom Thompson (E-75) limped back to the pits with severe rear end damage and Brandon (E-30) ran extremely fast only to succumb to the penalty. Busted boats, penalties, frayed nerves- the kamikazes babee!

 

A boats had easily their best field of 2011. Jim Aid (A-33) In Cahoots Again with a new Esslinger and Greg Isaacs (A-47) Miss St. Pete joined the Waterford bombs. Joe Sovie in Debbie Welte's (A-23) Geezerboat laid down the gauntlet with a 95+ hot lap (a new record). Tom Thompson (A-52) Fat Chance 2 and Andrew Tate (A-25) Fat Chance are a dynamic duo for the Richards and English stable. A major battle loomed. Joe (A-23) blistered the course in the qualifier only to lose the course in the final after hooking out. Tom (A-52) stalked Andrew (A-25) after the youngster took an early lead. He rolled around his teammate and to the checkers with Jim (A-33) and Andrew (A-25) completing the podium. Lots of speed and action here as the mods were awesome.

 

GNH boats filled the pits. Region Six has a virtual monopoly on this class. Ten boats and elimination heats? That's crazy. Now, to win in this class ya gotta beat Cal Phipps in Jim Deel's (GNH-8) Deel Me In. Uh.... good luck with that. Super Cal sits back as Steve Kuhr (GNH-317) Irishman nails the start and flies around the first lap. Steve's pedaling hard but here comes Cal, zeewowee!!! Jimmy smiles and tells Patti to make room for another trophy. Mark Burkhart in Cadi Reiss' (GNH-515) One Way took third. Ten boats, several running very quickly. but in the end that red and white gargantuan wins again. All hail Jimmy and Cal.

 

Vintage boats put on a nice show in the Jim Cunningham Memorial. We saw (T-59) Scraps, (T-2) L'il Hilwinds, (CE-52) White Lightning, (A-711) Gemini, (H-1) Miss Desoto, (H-266) Miss Supersonic and (F-726) Flying Tiger.

 

Now, here are the highlights of Sunday's Celina Governor's Cup.

 

Y boats saw Dan (Y-1) outrun Joe (Y-44) and Sean (Y-52). All three are absolutely sick. By the was Dan and Sean are looking great in the National

High Points standings.

 

S boats belonged again to Bobby (CS-79). Dutch (S-83) and Keith (S-17) followed him home. To beat Bobby when he has a strong boat like this one you are going to have to be fast and ruthless.

 

A boats saw attrition but Tom (A-52) and Andrew (A-25) still put on an awesome show. Steve Kuhr Jr. brought Tony Black's unretired (A-41) Jamakin Me Crazy home third.

 

E boats gave Brandon (E-30) a chance to erase Saturday's frustration. He tore it up coming within two tenths of the 5 litre 5 mile record. That will fall soon gang. Dave Kidd (CE-67) Black Falcon and Jeff Sankuer (E-17) Modern Drummer completed the honors.

 

NM boats saw Tom (NM-81) hold off Scott Blackwell (NM-93) Desperado in a close race. Tom (NM-30) missed the final after a violent hook out in the qualifier.

 

GNH boats, well, more Super Cal (GNH-8). Steve Kuhr (GNH-317) caused Cal to hit the rev limiter. Patrick Sankuer (GNH-6) Showtime Racing took third.

 

Dan Kanfoush and owner Jim Sechler took their third Governor's Cup with a perfect weekend. They edged Bobby (CS-79) and Cal (GNH-8) due to closeness to a record. We would give out three awards if it was our decision. They were all awesome.

 

Well, that's about it from Celina. J and Fae travel all over this continent following this great sport and we see dedicated people in each city trying so hard to put on a good show. There are many superb events in cities big and small. Having said that, Celina takes a back seat to no one! A true labor of love.        See ya in Quebec.   J and Fae