Ted Porter’s Formulaboats.com II hull burst onto the Unlimited racing scene and, with Mike Allen at the wheel, claimed first-place at the Valleyfield, Quebec, event en route to the ABRA National High Point Championship. This marked the first time that a first-year team had won the season title since Bill Muncey’s Atlas Van Lines did likewise in 1976.
Driver Profile
J. MICHAEL KELLY:
Now in his seventh season as an Unlimited hydroplane driver, J. Michael Kelly has made a name for himself by driving some of the most challenging boats on the circuit. The 2004 “Rookie of the Year”, Kelly has been inducted into the APBA Hall of Champions three times while racing in the smaller classes of hydroplanes. In his first appearance as an Unlimited Class driver in 2004, he took home third-place honors in the Columbia Cup at the Tri-Cities, Washington, with Jim Harvey's U-2.
In 2009, Kelly switched from the U-13 team over to Ted Porter's U-7 GRAHAM TRUCKING. He began the 2009 season strong, finishing on the podium in seven out of eight qualifying heats. A crash at the third race of the season slowed his high-level of performance. After rebuilding the boat, it only took Kelly one race before he resumed his winning form by finishing second at "Thunder On The Ohio" in Evansville, Indiana.
The highlight of J. Michael Kelly's distinguished career thus far is his come-from-behind triumph in the 2009 Oryx Cup/UIM World Championship Race at Doha, Qatar, the first Unlimited event ever to be conducted elsewhere than the United States, Canada, or Mexico.
J. Michael Kelly Victories:
(1) 2009 - Doha, Qatar (Oryx Cup UIM World Championship) with Miss Graham Trucking (U-7)
