Governor's Cup 2005

On August 28^th Classic Thunder held its 2005 Governor’s Cup at Woodland Creek Park in Lacey, WA.  The event was sponsored by our very own Pat Malaspina and John Dyer with contributions from Jim Bickford of J&S Trophy and Engraving.  We had a great time and would like to thank those guys.  They did a great job hosting the race.  At the end of a great day of racing, many of the racers went home with some pretty cool prizes and two guys departed with some pretty nice trophies from J&S.  If you’re looking for some nice trophies or have engraving work to be done you should check them out at http://jstrophys.tripod.com/.  If you want to find them later, you can also find them in the Classic Thunder web site links page.  

Division 2 started us off with some great racing and finished with a great final heat.  During the day we saw the debut of the brand new 76 Miss Budweiser owned by Dan Clark.  It ran well enough to pick up a third place in its first heat and looked good doing it too.  Dan does some really nice detail work on his boats.  Dan also debuted a new boat in Division 1.  Over the last few months he has built another mahogany Miss Spokane to replace one that he didn’t like very much.  It had some radio problems during the day, but ran well while it was running.  Good job Dan!  We also saw a new rookie driver get his feet wet.  Yep, Tony Minalia was driving the American Speedy Printing in competition for the first time.  He scored his first points, finished some heats and was introduced to the frustrations of the rowboat too.  He did fine and we would like to congratulate him on his qualifying as a driver.  Way to go Tony!  Don’t worry, we’ll work on that rowing thing later.  You’ll be ready for the Apple Core Cup in no time. 

The Division 2 Final Heat was wild and one of the best we’ve had if you’re looking for action.  The wind had picked up, but with the season points at stake there was no backing down.  No one was holding back.  The heat started with Mitch Dillard putting the Miller High Life in lane 1 at full speed just inside and ahead of Pete Schille’s Llumar Window Film.  Mike Krone’s Island Security Systems and Jeff Howard’s Elamgot a slightly later start after swinging wide in the mill lap while dueling for position.  Mike Schultz’s Oh Boy! Oberto also made a late start after trouble with steering during the mill.  His troubles would be explained later.  Quick to take advantage was John Dyer, who was able to gain a position right off the bat after starting from the trailer spot.  John’s Atlas Van Lines had advanced as the trailer by winning the Consolation Heat and was running very well.  Meanwhile the Miller led up the backstretch being chased by the Llumar.  Island Security took a bad hop and rolled in turn one on the inside.  Elam was in third and gaining fast on the Llumar.  Before you know it, Elam had made up the ground and pried second place away from the yellow boat.  The Llumar then took second place back as the two continued to dice.  The battle continued until the Llumar bounced in turn one and lost power.  The drive dog had come loose and left the Llumar sitting next to the Island Security at the exit of the turn on lap 3.  The Elam now had its sites set on the Miller and was starting to gain some ground as they negotiated wide on lap 4 to avoid the two dead boats in turn one.  The two boats were too tight to go inside of and too close together to go between.  The Miller continued to hold the lead but the Elam was threatening to change all of that as the two started their final lap.  Everyone, especially Jeff, figured that both boats would again have to swing wide to get around the two dead boats.  Looking ahead, Mitch had noticed that the Llumar had drifted faster than the Island Security and that a larger gap now separated the two.  Unexpectedly, the Miller went for the opening, got through it perfectly and was high-stepping it up the backstretch.  The Elam had been on his outside hip and had to swing wide around the stranded Llumar.  By the time he had negotiated out of the turn, The Miller was out of reach and would go on to its second win of 2005.  Elam was a close second.  Atlas finished an impressive third from the trailer spot.  Congratulations to Mitch Dillard’s Miller High Life, winner of the 2005 Classic Thunder Governor’s Cup in Division 2!  The Oberto struggled the whole heat with control problems, spun and eventually hit the tail of the disabled Llumar at low speed.  Oberto was disqualified from the heat for striking a called dead boat.  A little glue and the Llumar will be good as new.  It turns out that a small rock had lodged in the rudder workings of the Oberto, causing the steering mishap.  We’re sure he’ll be back too. 

A little side-note to today’s racing in Division 2 is that though the Miller won the race, the Elam won the war.  Going into the Governor’s Cup, the Miller held a small lead over the Elam in season points.  Though finishing second in the race, the Elam actually outscored the Miller in points during the day.  The Llumar had been second in points, just slightly ahead of the Elam but slipped back a little in this race.  However, the Llumar is still right in the hunt.  This championship battle may not be settled until the last heat of our final race in two weeks.  Racing doesn’t get any better than that!  Someone call the cops.  Anything that’s this much fun has to be against the law. 

The Division 1 Final Heat concluded a tremendous day of racing.  As the boats crossed the line for the flying start, we saw Jeff Howard’s Miss Budweiser on the inside followed by Pete Schille’s Blue Chip on his hip and Bob VandenAkker’s Nitrogen Too right there in third.  The Bud led up the backstretch just ahead of the charging Nitrogen Too with Mike Krone’s Hurricane IV moving up to third by the end of lap one.  The Blue Chip pushed wide in the backstretch and was temporarily struggling to keep up the pace.  Dale Van Wyk’s Miss Seattle started from the trailer position having advanced as the winner of the Consolation Heat.  Miss Seattle moved up quickly to take the fifth spot from Dave Sacry’s Short Circuit in turn two of the first lap.  The Bud had extended its lead to almost a full straightaway in lap two and the field began to spread out.  Blue Chip rallied to regain third position after passing Hurricane IV.  Things remained the same for the rest of the heat.  The Miss Seattle blew over at the end of the backstretch on lap four but fortunately landed right side up and was able to continue on without losing his position.  The Budweiser would not be denied and dominated the race from start to finish.  Nitrogen Too finished a strong second.  Blue Chip held on for third place.  Hurricane IV had an impressive fourth place finish.  With Miss Seattle followed in fifth and Short Circuit rounded out the field in sixth.  Jeff’s awesome season has put the Bud in line for her second season championship in three years.  He and the boat have certainly earned it.  With one race to go, he is way out in front and rightly so.  The Bud has now won four races and been the most consistent high performer we’ve had this year.  Congratulations to Jeff Howard’s Miss Budweiser, winner of the 2005 Classic Thunder Governor’s Cup in Division 1!  The water conditions at the end of the day had become choppy and the wind picked up quite a bit too, yet all six drivers were able to finish the race and return under their own power.  I was surprised and impressed at the same time.  Great driving everyone!

Well, this is it.  We have one race left and then the 2005 season will be history.  Race #10 will be the Silver Cup on September 11^th at Lake Waughop in Lakewood, WA.  The lake is in Fort Steilacoom Park.  Dan Clark is the sponsor of the event.  Trust me, you don’t want to miss this one.  There’s still plenty of good racing left.  Most notably is the battle for the Division 2 Championship I mentioned earlier.  Three boats are within striking distance of the coveted Bernie Little Memorial Trophy going into this, the final race.  Will Mitch Dillard’s Miller High Life be able to hold on to the narrow points lead he holds and become the first person in club history to win three in a row in one division?  Will Jeff Howard prevail with the Elam and become the first person in club history to sweep both championships for the season?   Playing the role of the vulture is “Evil” Pete Schille’s Llumar Window Film, who is waiting for both of them to bobble so he can fly in and pick them both off and take “The Bernie” back to Burien with him?  On top of that, there is big jam up of boats dicing for other spots up and down the points ladder in both divisions.  This is the final song and the fat lady will be singing it.  This race is buzzing with anticipation and excitement.  I know I can’t wait.  This has been an outstanding season and I hope you’re having as much fun being a part of Classic Thunder as I am.  It’s been a lot of work and I would like to thank those who have contributed with their time and support.  The boats are cool, the racing is cool, but it’s the people of CT that make the difference.   Thanks again and we’ll see you at the Silver Cup.

Sincerely,

Mitch Dillard

Classic Thunder Commissioner