The U-1 Ellstrom Elam Plus presents Amos W. Hoss with driver Dave Villwock finally won one at home for the Ballard-based crew with his victory at the 2008 Chevrolet Cup at Seafair in Seattle.

The third-winningest driver in ABRA history had never won on the Lake Washington course with the Elam crew and in doing so brought a $50,000 gift for the Ronald McDonald House. Early in the week, sponsor Hoss Mortgage Investors based in Seattle pledged the donation if one of the three boats it sponsored won at Seafair.

"I crossed the line knowing we'd won for the Ellstroms, the Hoss family and for the Ronald McDonald House. As a boat racer, it's a tremendous feeling to be able to give something back to the community. There's no bigger event in Seattle than Seafair. "

Jean Theoret in the U-37 Miss Beacon Plumbing used the pre-race milling period to gain control of lane one, and used that position to lead the field from wire to wire, seemingly winning the race. ABRA officials determined, however, that Theoret was off plane for more than five seconds before the beginning of the race, resulting in a one-minute penalty, and despite crossing the finish line first, the team was forced to settle for a fifth-place finish.

Theoret and Villwock were both notified of the infraction before the start of the race and it played directly into the U-1 team's hands.

"My strategy was to cut across near the DMZ in turn one to get the U-37 and U-6 (Oh Boy! Oberto) to leapfrog past me on the backstretch," said Villwock. "I knew that at that point, from that position on the course, they would either be really early to the start, or have to be off plane to get a good start. Jean got a good start, but he had to go off plane to do that. I knew before the start of the race that Jean had been penalized one minute, but I still had to complete the race and charge hard to hold off (U-6 driver) Steve David."

Despite finishing second, David and the U-6 team increased their National High Points Championship lead over the U-37 Miss Beacon Plumbing to 1,083 points with one race remaining. The U-5 Formulaboats.com with driver Jeff Bernard fell to third in the high points chase with his third-place finish in the Chevrolet Cup final. Rookie Kip Brown in the U-17 Our Gang Racing finished fourth. Greg Hopp in the U-100 Mirageboats.com finished sixth. The U-13 Graham Trucking with driver J. Michael Kelly was unable to finish the race due to a malfunctioning hatch.

Earlier in the day, David Bryant in the U-10 Hoss Mortgage Investors blew over at the apex of turn one in the second lap of heat 2A. Bryant was challenging the Oberto for second place when the boat hit a roller, rotated 180 degrees and landed upside down. Bryant used the driver's escape hatch and was out of the boat and waving to the crowd before the rescue crews arrived.

"I kind of figured I needed to get out and give the girls in the pits something to cheer about," said Bryant. "I didn't even get wet. The cockpit did its job. The HANS device did its job. I'm fine."

The U-10 team hopes to repair the damage and join the rest of the ABRA fleet at the season finale at the San Diego Bayfair on Mission Bay scheduled for Sept. 19-21.