Stony Creek, Michigan

September 22-23, 2007

J and Fae Report

Region Six has found another gem! This race site is a beautiful park with a natural pit dock area and a nice, wide lake. Records will fall in the future as racers flock to this event which will grow and mature with time. An already cool race will be great in coming years. The Race Committee, already operating well, will learn as they go, which will make the race run even smoother and no one will want to miss the Streak On The Creek in 2008.

Here are the J and Fae boat totals: (T-4) (Y-5) (S-8) (A-7) (E-11) (NM-4) (GNH-6) (JS-5) Total-50

T boats have dropped off in boat count lately. It seems as if this class has become an East Coast group. One team that travels everywhere is Brandon Kennedy (T-25) Shameless Say What. This aging veteran has found some extra power in the last few races. He broke the four lap record again and dominated every heat. Brandon is flying and finishing the season in superb fashion. Eric Butler (T-72) For Pete's Sake and Bobby Kennedy driving the Hagitha's (T-5) Trophy Hunter traded the seconds and thirds.

Y boats had two races going on. Dan Kanfoush (Y-1) Fast Eddie Too runs his own event taking every heat. Next comes the battle to the death as Dave Archiable (the tinkerin, travelin man) squares off against arch rival and friend Sean "cuff em" Bowsher. Sean (Y-52) Roostertails Racing got a second and a third while Bobby Kennedy (Y-91) Trafficade My Mistress Knot Rod took a second. Jeff Sankuer (Y-17) Modern Drummer took a third in a great weekend for this family (see GNH). Dan and Jim Sechler are putting their names up there with past Y boat greats like Doc Moore, Sonny Jones, Paul Bauer, Mark Tate, Jim Appley, Jim Aid, Steve David, Dick Delsener, Ray Dong, Charlie Wiggins and Butch Kropfeld. That is a list of greats J actually saw in action. Apologies to other greats our feeble mind forgot or we never saw.

S boats presented two solid favorites as Mark Johnson in Greg Barker's (S-9) Honey Bun and Keith Anderson (S-17) Bad Habit were ready to battle. These two are pretty evenly matched with only a slight advantage to the (S-9). Keith (S-17) is the fastest boat in Region Six. They slugged it out trading firsts and seconds with both finals in doubt until the finish line. Allen Bush (S-711) One More Time and Tom Diabo (CS-20) Sonic Wave took thirds.

A boats made it two fantastic weekends in a row. Just like Rocky Fork a strong, deep field was assembled to put on a great show. The late season renaissance of this class has been very enjoyable along the shoreline. Two favorites loomed over the field. Jim Aid (A-33) In Cahoots Again was coming off last week's perfect four heat wins and Nicky Pellerin (A-60) Mr. Bud won in Hampton. Dan Kanfoush (A-600) Mr. Bud 2, Tony Black (A-41) Jamakin Me Crazy, Randy Lynn (A-63) Water Pistol, Kevin Kreitzer (A-64) Blue Devil and Racer Bob Dabrowski (A-75) Koegels rounded out the field. Mad genius Don Mashburn's two Mr. Buds are back to their super fast ways. Jim Aid (A-33) overcame a bent valve to take a first and third on the weekend as he turned a perfect start into a win on Saturday. Dan Kanfoush (A-600) proved he can pilot any boat you throw him in winning on Sunday. Nicky (A-60) got a second with Tony (A-41) taking a second and Racer Bob taking a third. Attrition was low for these exotic engines but gun jumpers skewed some of the results. Jim and Nicky are just a tick off the four lap record and it will definitely fall soon.

E boats put on their normal close, competitive show. Picture three to six boats finishing within a second every heat. This class was wild in 2007. Mark Burghart (E-726) X-Ray was a welcome site returning from early season damage. He showed the way on Saturday. Sunday's final physically saw Ken Brodie (E-500) Centless 14 add a first to his second on Saturday. The announcers said he jumped the gun Sunday but we have no confirmation on that. Thom English (E-75) Fat Chance ran extremely fast taking a third and possibly the win on Sunday. Joe Less (E-600) Centless arrived Sunday and took second/third and Mike Bruns (E-6) Quantum Leap stood to take third Sunday if the penalty stood up. Is that confusing enough? Don't forget these are 5 Litres.

NM boats were torpedoed by attrition with Tommy Thompson (NM-81) Country Boy running fast and unchallenged. Scott Blackwell (E-617) My Theory took a second Saturday.

JSS boats saw Dave Greenlaw piloting his own (JS-99) Veri Cheri with Tom Pakradooni (JS-991) Stolen driving the backup boat. This team brings the (JS-991) when a field needs insurance hulls. Now, the question was could Dave catch the flying Stricklands in (JS-4) Red, White and Brew? The answer to that was a resounding yes! The (JS-99) won every heat with the (JS-4) running second. Even in this legendary hull that was a mild upset as the Stricklands have been 2007 beasts. Johnny Krebs stepped into Dennis Macy's (JS-45) The Menace and took a third as did as did Tom (JS-991). The skippers loved this lake running very fast.

Vintage hulls put on a fine show running twice each day. Here are some of the vessels we saw: (GP-247) Deepwater Special (GP-200) Lauterbach Special (T-59) Scraps (H-202) Heavy Duty (F-77) Barracuda (U-16) My Darling (G-74) Touch of Glass (333) Miss Mandela (SK-169) Can't Wait Hot Peppers (JS-81) Whizzbang (U-64) Vernors Opeechee (T-2) Why Not

GNH boats had three favorites coming in. Randy Hurst (GNH-22) Summer Wine, Cal Phipps (GNH-41) Happy Go Lucky and Thom Heins (GNH-115) MAS Epoxies are always dominant. Randy (GNH-22) won on Saturday. Thom Heins (GNH-115) took two seconds. Eli Whitney's (GNH-515) One Way got a third as did Super Cal (GNH-41). However, the highlight of this event was Patrick Sankuer (GNH-61) Showtime Sankuer Racing charging to victory on Sunday. Out of nowhere this hull came to life in the warm-ups and everyone was thinking, where did that come from? Patrick rampaged to the win and an abrupt dive into the lake afterward. This was absolutely fun to see the joy on the team's and fans faces.

Patrick's victory pulled down the curtain on the "Streak On The Creek" This was a fun regatta on an amazing site. If future sponsor support remains strong and the Race Committee hangs in there this race will become a premier APBA destination. Happy Racing!   J and Fae