Bernard and Zimmerman at the start of Heat of 1B. Photo by Chris Denslow – H1

Jon Zimmerman in the 9 Les Schwab/Team RedDOT and J. Michael Kelly in the 1 Graham Trucking both used the inside starting position to control the rest of the boats they drew and drive away with victories in the first two heats of racing at the 2014 Albert Lee Appliance Cup on Seattle’s Lake Washington.

Zimmerman’s win was predictable, as he was the only one of the top five qualifiers drawn into 1A. Jeff Bernard led the field across the line in lane two in the 21 Fox Plumbing and Heating, but Zimmerman took the lead out of the first turn and never looked back.  Bernard finished second.

Cal Phipps in the 7 Graham Trucking and Mike Webster in the 22 Boitano Homes/Performance Tools staged a deck to battle for third with Phipps taking the spot in a close finish.

Crew members inspect damage to the 6 Oberto. H1 photo.

Heat 2B was full of drama and surprises. As the drivers battled for position before the start, Jimmy Shane in the 6 Oberto and Dave Villwock in the 37 Beacon Plumbing both turned into the infield to gain position.  Villwock’s boat struck Shane’s resulting in the disqualification of the 37 from the heat and a suspension of the winningest driver in the history of the sport for the remainder of the event.

At the start, Shane was on the outside and behind the leaders – J. Michael Kelly in the 1 Graham Trucking in lane one and Kip Brown in lane 2 in the 96 Spirit of Qatar.  Shane was not able to catch Kelly or Brown and they finished in that order.

Racing will resume with Heat 2A Sunday at 10:10 am with the Champion of the 2014 Albert Lee Appliance Cup to be decided in the winner take all Final Heat at 4:34 pm Sunday Afternoon.