Unlimiteds at Tri Cities

[Miss BK]

CRUNCH!

J Michael Kelly takes a bite of the Miss Madison


http://www.abrahydroplanes.com/graphics/content/Atomic06-3A-Conner-U13-003.jpg




Steve David (O Boy Oberto/Miss Madison) had an onboard camera during this collision and you can view this amazing clip and some others at :
http://www.kndu.com

Looks like they tore a whole lot of stuff up! So glad everybody was ok. Thank God for capsules!

[Master Oil Racing Team]

Joe Rome told me never put green on a race boat.....it's bad luck.:confused: ;;) :D

[tthibodaux]

Joe Rome told me never put green on a race boat.....it's bad luck.:confused: ;;) :DVery good advise Wayne.. Looks like someone should have gave these guys that little bit of info.

[Cameraboy]

See the whole U-13 flip series here: http://www.steveconnerphotography.com/U13/index.htm

Kelly was treated and released - JW Myers commented that he looked like he had been in a bar fight.

The winner at Tri-Cities flipped in the first heat Sunday (yes, they were able to repair the damage and continue racing). Cameraboy was on the case.:eek:

[Roy Hodges]

[QUOTE=Master Oil Racing Team]Joe Rome told me never put green on a race boat.....it's bad luck.:confused: ;;)

I guess never eat peanuts in the pits, either ?

[BustnlooseIII]

Funny, my father has said the same thing. I should get him on here to tell some stories. Anyway, he did have a boat painted green once and it was definitely bad luck for him. Every once in awhile that topic surfaces and it's restated to not ever paint your boat green.

[tthibodaux]

Green goes for all types of racing. I have friends who dirt track race on Sat nights and they say the same thing. Bought some green brake pads for a buddies dirt car one time, put them on in the pits and he loaded the car up and went home.

[Master Oil Racing Team]

What's the deal with peanuts in the pits?:confused: :D

The green thing came from stock cars many years ago and Joe just translated it over to boats. He didn't want to take any chances.;) But that superstition doesn't hold water anymore. Look at Bobby LaBonte.:cool:

Joe also had another one. Once when I threw my helmet on a bed in a motel room, Joe immediately snatched it up. He told me "If it lands upside down it will mean something bad is going to happen". :rolleyes: That's the only two things I had to watch out for.

[kevin beaulier]

Tracy Hawkins wont put a hat on the bed either. How much green is too much? The tri hull that I drive for Bob Schubert is lime green all over. It is hard to forget a superstition when you hear of one.

[tthibodaux]

Tracy Hawkins wont put a hat on the bed either. How much green is too much? The tri hull that I drive for Bob Schubert is lime green all over. It is hard to forget a superstition when you hear of one.Tracy was very superstitious, SST-120 World Championships in Alex a few years ago driving the cow boat Kevin built Tracy broke a bag of lead shot in the boat on the boat ramp right before the race. Man I didn't think he was going to make the race he was so worked up. Later I asked him if he was cool and he said once the motor starts it's all good. Didn't mean to tell off on ya Tracy.(I could have told the whole story) lol.

[Roy Hodges]

[QUOTE=Master Oil Racing Team]What's the deal with peanuts in the pits?:confused: :D

well, i always heard that the (AMERICAN)Indy car drivers would just about go crazy , if they saw a green car at the track, or saw ANYBODY eating peanuts in the pits. it was considered
REALLY bad luck for either of these things . Indy drivers did NOT like the brits bringing a green car to indy. but , curiously , doesn't the "KING" Steve Kinser have a green sprint car (Quaker State" ) & he don't do too bad , 17 time
champ? I guess he is a legend , as much as the BILLY Seebold .

[Master Oil Racing Team]

Joe filled me in on the peanuts today. He said that in the early years of Daytona a driver liked to eat peanuts. During the race he lost control and rolled his car and was killed. They found peanuts scattered all over inside the car. I asked Joe why he never said anything to me about that. He replied "None of us ever ate peanuts in the pits. If you did, I would have said something.":D

Joe did mention the British green. Remember Jimmy Clark? And Kevin, you're right. Joe that that rule about the helmet also applies to hats.:eek: I wonder how many ground wires broke, spark plugs failed, carbuerator floats popped loose, etc. because of carelessness in the motel room?:rolleyes: ;)

[David_L6]

Joe Rome told me never put green on a race boat.....it's bad luck.:confused: ;;) :D

May be something to that. Here's a picture from last year's Columbia Cup.

Look at the canard! DOWN @#$%! DOWN! :eek: :eek: :eek:

[Roy Hodges]

I was shocked to see NO Bud boats. The announcer said that there were 2 former Buds there , under new names . They (to me ) had different crews , because they sure didnot steal the show , like they used to . It appears to me, that its maybe more wide open than in the last 40 years . Now, it seemed like a "free for all" . thats good, i guess , it just surprised me so much , that my head was in a vacuum . Any comments ? or am I nuts ?

[Miss BK]

More importantly than no Bud boats was that there was no "Bud Money". So yes, now all the teams are back to being financially equal -- low-budget equal. That it makes the racing closer, and now all teams feel they've got a fighting chance to win.

The big question now is: Will there be any teams that have the money to buy/build any new boats/props? In the past, when the Bud Team would build new boats/props, the other teams would inherit their used boats/props etc. It was the "trickle down" effect. This happened after losing all the other big time sponsors: Tide and Kelloggs and Miller and others, leaving Miss Bud as the only big money team, pulling everyone else along.

This uneveness is why many sports invented salary caps. So bringing everyone down to the same level is good, in a way. But in the long run, bringing the quality "down" in a high profile sport like the Unlimiteds is never a good thing, IMO. I feel we should be trying to go *up*.

[John Howe]

When Bernie Little, owner of the Bud boats, passed away, around 2 years ago, the U-boats changed forever. I think in the long term, for better. Now there are at least 10 U-boats in the pits at any race. Bernie did keep the U-boat fleet afloat. The boats are no longer a class where the owner with the biggest checking account wins, due to new rules. There is only one stock engine allowed, fuel flow has been strictly limited, even the props are regulated. Steve David, in the 18 year old hull, "O`Boy Oberto/Miss Madison" is leading in all point catagories, with one race left. What the U-boat fleet is really needing is more events and sponsors. There are only 6 events this year. I saw on a Seattle based web newscast where the "O`Boy Berto" finished second and collected a $11,000 dollar prize check, but spent close to $50,000 to run the race.

By the way, a NHRA Top Fuel race team pretty much averages $150,000 to run an a single event. A Formula 1 race care team requires at least 3 times that of a good fuel team to compete at an event.

[Miss BK]

More than 6 years ago, even Bernie knew that if something wasn't done soon to attract new sponsors, it would mean the end of Unlimited Hydros.

So around 2001, Bernie called a man who had successfully run quite a few professional race teams and racing series'; Gary Garbrecht. He came to Gary - a long time friend who was at the time running the Formula One Prop Tour - to ask for his help in turning the Unlimited series around - to help save it.

Gary told me he was not eager to take on the task because the main team who would feel the most pain in the transition was going to be the Bud team. So before Gary accepted the job, he told Bernie that the ONLY way he'd take the job, is if Bernie PROMISED to let him do whatever was necessary.

Bernie assured Gary that he would not get in his way - no matter what.

The first thing Gary went to work on was to find a way to bring more high profile status to the sport. This included high quality television productions and lots of media attention. This also included professionally done media packets the teams could use to attract sponsors and it also included folders sent to all the reporters. It was all done in a very high class way.

What most people dont realize is that there were a lot of these "behind the scenes promotions" that Garbrecht spent so much time on - such as building relationships with boating magazines to promise 8 six-page articles per year in trade for banner ads at race sites and sponsor patch exposure by requiring each crew member to wear them.

But the main problem was still the fact the Budweiser Team was winning every race. This was the only team with a paid crew and could have several new $10,000 props built each season - while all the other teams were buying Bud's leftovers and relying on volunteers who had to get back to their day job the Monday morning after.

Garbrecht's dream was to see *ALL* the teams sign on healthy sponsors like the Bud team enjoyed.

He also needed to improve the show that had become so Bud boring - and his temporary solution was to try and even-up the teams by using fuel flow restrictions. Each time the Bud (or any other boat) would win, they'd see a cut in fuel for the next race. The plan was to end up with closer competition.

Bernie had agreed to let Gary do what needed to be done, and said nothing - but Villwock was furious.

Now, you can cut fuel flow in a turbine very easily - but in a piston motor it's much harder to do. Things will blow up. And to make things fair, you couldn't just allow a piston boat to remain exempt while everyone else had to pay. So Gary wanted to install a monitoring system on the piston boat -- and that's when all hell broke loose.

This was never Gary's *permanent* solution, but with the multiple winners and all the media attention that was soon to follow, it would be a way to bring attention back to the sport. Attention = SPONSORS!

Once the big sponsors came back, and teams became healthier $$$, then everyone could go back to real, unbridled unlimited racing again.

And THAT is what his *permanent* solution was going to be.

Gary told me he was also working on new race sites: the sites he mentioned to me were Mexico, Nashville and Florida. But then Bernie died and no longer did Gary have this powerful advocate to stand beside him, and site owners began courting teams on how they'd like to see the Unlmited Hydros change - none of which included adding more sites.

I have an email from Gary that I got just before he died. I cry everytime I read it. He mentions how he'd like to come back to the unlimiteds after a couple of "cool down" years -- and try his plan again. After a few years on their own, he felt the teams would be ready to run on a professional circuit again. He wanted to see them come back to the glory days. He was sure it could happen.

Now we'll never know if it could have worked or not.

[Cameraboy]

Gary was going in the right direction; he just miscalculated the willingness of the race sites and owners to feel short term pain ($$$) for long term gain. I wasn't a fan of the palace coup that took him down, but you could've seen it coming.

Don't write the unlimiteds' epitaph yet. The competition has been outstanding without restrictions. Four teams head into the last race with a shot at the national title. Two new teams (one with two boats), and the return of the Gregorys. And one of those teams (Lucky 21) "gets it" on the marketing side of things. A four race TV contract with Fox. Two races webcast live. This is a major improvement in 12 months by ABRA. They have a ways to go, but at least they are on their feet with a fighting chance. Of course there is an equal chance they will continue to swirl like Champ/F1/PROP with a new governing body every couple of years. Some would say, "that's boat racing".

Now if we could just put an end to the ABPA/ABRA/UHLRA pissing contest. APBA and AOF made nice, why not these guys?