The small Ohio River community of Madison, Indiana has a rich tradition in boat racing. First conducting a regatta in 1954, the tight and treacherous river course is one of the most challenging on the H1 Unlimited circuit.

The city owns and operates the Miss Madison Racing team, which debut in 1961. The team currently fields two entries; including the defending High Point champion Miss HomeStreet driven by rookie Dylan Runne. The team has won forty races, eleven National Championships, and six APBA Gold Cups. 

Throughout the regatta’s history, the city has hosted the APBA Gold cup on five occasions. One of the most memorable Madison Regattas occurred in 1971, when Jim McCormick became the unlikely Gold Cup champion when he navigated the home-town Miss Madison to victory. The city’s hometown boat would not be victorious again on home waters until Steve David ended a thirty-year drought with his victory in 2001.

With the H1 Unlimited series returning to Madison, Indiana this weekend for the Indiana Governor’s Cup, let’s review the last five Madison Regattas.

 

2022 – SHANE WINS, PEABODY FLIPS IN MADISON

 

MADISON, Ind. — A spectacular end-over-end flip of the Lynx Healthcare hydroplane brought a sudden end to this year’s Madison Regatta on the Ohio River. Jimmy Shane in Miss HomeStreet was declared the winner of the H1 Unlimited Series event.

The driver of the Lynx Healthcare, Corey Peabody, 43, of Kent, Washington, was immediately taken to the medical facility at the racecourse, where his condition was evaluated and he was released to be with his family, apparently not seriously injured. The flip came during an exciting battle between Peabody and Shane through the first four laps of the final heat.

Shane had the inside lane on Peabody while the two battled never more than four boat lengths apart. As the pair crossed the finish line to start the last lap of the winner-take-all final and headed into the first turn, the Lynx Healthcare’s nose suddenly began to dance higher off the water then the boat climbed into the air and did two complete somersaults in midair before crashing back into the water. The hydroplane, the winner of last weekend’s Gold Cup race, landed right-side up but appeared to be severely damaged as patrol boats towed it back to the pit area.

The race was stopped as soon as the accident happened and, with three laps completed by all boats, the officials declared the race finished. As the winner of the Indiana Governor’s Cup, Shane, 36, of San Antonio, Texas, claimed his 21st career victory and his fifth race win in Madison in the past six seasons. His race team is based in Madison.

Finishing second was Shane’s teammate on the Madison Racing Team Jeff Bernard, 37, of Kent, Washington, the driver of Goodman Real Estate. Jamie Nilsen, 37, of Gig Harbor, Washington, finished third in Miss Colleen and J. Michael Kelly, 43, of Bonney Lake, Washington, took fourth-place honors in Miss Tri-Cities.

Earlier in the day, Shane won both of his preliminary heats while Peabody finished first in one heat and was second in another. In the day’s first heat, Peabody battled Shane through most of the first lap until Shane began to pull away in the second lap and finished ahead by the length of a roostertail. Nilsen put together a good fight against Shane in the early stages of the second heat until Shane again pulled away. Peabody won the third preliminary heat easily.

 

2021 – SHANE WINS FIFTH GOLD CUP IN MADISON

 

Jimmy Shane of Covington, Washington, captured his fifth Gold Cup victory in the H1 Unlimited Series on the Ohio River in Madison, Indiana. His victory in the 111th running of the event was the fifth in his career, putting him fourth on the list of all-time Gold Cup champions, tied with the legendary Gar Wood.

Driving Miss HomeStreet, Shane grabbed the inside lane at the start of the winner-take-all final heat and was never challenged. “We had a decent start,” he said afterward. “I really didn’t want to be in lane one, but if they were going to open it up for us, I was going to take it. If you can make it through turn one clean, then you have a big advantage up the backstretch on the first lap.”

The first turn on the Madison racecourse was a challenge for the drivers throughout the day, especially earlier when a stiff breeze was blowing against the river current. The winner of last weekend’s race in Guntersville, Alabama, J. Michael Kelly of Bonney Lake, Washington, fell victim to the rough water in that turn when his boat suddenly hooked and spun out in Heat 3A, knocking him out of the contest.

Shane went into the final having won each of his three preliminary heats, which was also the case for Andrew Tate of Canton, Michigan, driving Graham Trucking. Tate took second in the final heat and third-place honors went to Corey Peabody of Kent, Washington, driving Pinnacle Peak Consulting.

Shane had a comfortable victory over Dave Villwock of Monroe, Washington, in Heat 1A, and in Heat 1B, Tate grabbed the inside lane at the start and took the lead coming out of the first turn. Directly behind him, Kelly got too close to his roostertail and his Miss Tri-Cities went for a brief ride into the air. Once he settled back down to the water, the others had moved ahead and he had to settle for a third-place finish.

In Heat 2A, Tate took the lead at the start and held the advantage over Villwock to the finish line and in Heat 2B, Shane and Kelly hit the starting line

 

2019 – SHANE SWEEPS WEEKEND AND BRINGS HOME THE 112TH GOLD CUP TROPHY

 

U-6 “Miss HomeStreet/Miss Madison” and the hydroplane’s driver Jimmy Shane from Maple Valley, Wash. had a perfect weekend winning the 112^th American Power Boat Association’s Gold Cup trophy during the Madison Regatta on the Ohio River.

Shane began his weekend as the top qualifier among the seven world’s fastest race boats.  He won each of the four preliminary heats and power boat racing’s pinnacle trophy.

Today’s win by Shane makes it his fourth Gold Cup win in his 12 years driving in the H1 Unlimited Hydroplane Racing Series.

The win also etches his team, Miss Madison Racing, into the record books with four Gold Cup wins, with all but one with Shane at the wheel.  The team’s first Gold Cup trophy win came in 1971 when the team won in the hometown of Madison, Indiana with driver Jim McCormick.

Last year’s Gold Cup winner, Andrew Tate in the U-1 “Delta/RealTrac took an early lead, followed closely by Shane.  In the back stretch, Tate increased his lead over Shane and the U-7 “Spirit of Detroit” driven by Bert Henderson, U-11 “J&D’s Reliable Diamond Tool” pilot Tom Thompson and the U-12 “Graham Trucking” with J. Michael Kelly in the cockpit of the six lap championship final.

In the first turn of lap two, with Tate in the lead, his boat fell into a huge hole on the racecourse that turned him hard left, slowing him enough for Shane to pull in front exiting the turn.  Shane pulled ahead by 1-1/2 roostertails.  Henderson followed Tate nearly 5 roostertails.

There was no looking back for Shane during the remaining three laps.

Tate ended up crossing the finish line second, but officials ruled he jumped the gun, adding a one-minute penalty to his final finish time.  Henderson in the “Spirit of Detroit” finished third but moved up to second after the ruling against Tate.

Third place went to Kelly in the U-12 “Graham Trucking.”  Thompson finished fourth and Tate finished fifth.  Rookie Corey Peabody was unable to start his U-98 “Graham Trucking American Dream” hydroplane.

There was a bit of good news for Tate, he did have the fastest lap in the final averaging 146.053 mph in lap one.

Four preliminary heats were run Saturday. Jimmy Shane, driver of the hometown boat U-6 “Miss HomeStreet/Miss Madison” and yesterday’s leading qualifier took two of the preliminary heats, winning Heats 1A and 2B.  J. Michael Kelly, driver of the U-12 “Graham Trucking” won Heat 1B and Bert Henderson, driving the Detroit based U-7 “Spirit of Detroit” won Heat 2B.

The overcast afternoon began with Heat 1A when Shane drew the same heat with last year’s National Champion, Andrew Tate in the U-1 “Delta/Realtrac.”  The showdown never materialized as Shane gained the early lead over Tate and Canadian driver Henderson and U-98 “Graham Trucking American Dream” driver Corey Peabody.  After each of the four laps, Shane increased his lead from the three trailing boats.  In the end, Shane led Henderson by at least three roostertails, and Tate finished third, a roostertail behind Henderson.  Shane averaged 130.699 mph with the fastest lap speed of 137.197 mph.

Preliminary Heat 1B saw Kelly in the “Graham Trucking” go deck-to-deck at the start line with Tom Thompson in the U-11 “J&D’s presented by Reliable Diamond Tool.”  However, officials determined that Thompson had jumped the gun and received a one-minute penalty and moved Dustin Echols in the U-440 “Bucket List Racing” to second place.  Thompson finished third.

Kelly said, “It was pretty cool to wire that start.  Bill Muncey was known for many things including his great starts.  I wasn’t around when he was alive but I have watched tapes of his starts and to nail that start with his widow Fran Muncey in the crowd was great.”

Heat 2A saw Henderson in the “Spirit of Detroit” and Thompson in the “J&D’s presented by Reliable Diamond Tool” go deck-to-deck to the start line followed by Kelly in the “Graham Trucking” and Echols in his U-440.

Henderson led Thompson by three boat lengths at the end of lap one as Kelly tried to stay close to the leaders.  By the end of lap two, Thompson had passed Henderson and led the remaining two laps, crossing the finish line first.  Henderson followed with a close second.  Kelly crossed the line in third, followed by Echols.

Officials however called an encroachment penalty on Thompson during lap one in turn two for taking away Kelly’s lane, forcing Kelly to drive inside the apex buoy.   The penalty negated Thompson’s first place finish and he was disqualified.

When the roostertails settled, Henderson in the “Spirit of Detroit” was awarded first place, followed Kelly in the “Graham Trucking.”  Echols in the 440 placed third.

The final heat of Saturday pitted rivals Tate in the “Delta/RealTrac”, and Shane in the “Miss HomeStreet/Miss Madison” for a rematch of the afternoon’s earlier heat.  Peabody rounded out the field.

Tate and Shane crossed the start line dead even but shortly after, officials notified the teams that both Tate and Shane had jumped the gun and would be assessed a one-minute penalty.  That meant Peabody was the leader of the race.  Always the competitors, Tate and Shane tried to make up their penalty.  By the end of the fourth and final lap, Shane had nearly passed Peabody in the U-98 “Graham Trucking American Dream.”  Peabody who experienced mechanical troubles slowly pushed his boat around the racecourse and was awarded second place.  Tate took third place.

 

2018 – JIMMY SHANE WINS INDIANA GOVERNOR’S CUP

 

MADISON, IND. –July 8, 2018— The fans packed the shore of the Ohio River to watch history on a sunny Sunday afternoon. Cindy Shirley (Everett, Wash.) became the first woman crew chief to win a H1 Unlimited Series championship final after her driver, Jimmy Shane (Maple Valley, Wash.) was victorious driving the U-1 Miss HomeStreet/Miss Madison in the 68th annual Indiana Governor’s Cup in front of what appeared to be a record crowd.

Shane, behind in national points prior to this weekend’s event came racing with vengeance on Sunday. He won one of his two preliminary heats against Andrew Tate in the U-9 Auxier Marketing presents Delta/Realtrac.

The pressure was on to gain some valuable points over Tate.

In the championship final, the two continued their season-long duel as expected.

Shane grabbed the inside lane and made a picture-perfect start over Tate. Shane pulled the early lead, but Tate charged back on the second lap, gaining to within one roostertail of Shane. Shane held Tate off for the remaining three laps. On the last lap Tate again gained ground on Shane and went two mph faster than Shane on the fifth and final lap.

In the end, there just were not enough laps for Tate to gain enough ground as he settled for second place. Shane averaged 140.089 mph on the five laps of the Indiana Governors Cup and Tate averaged 135.716 mph.

“We are ecstatic to come home and win in front of our fans,” Shane said after climbing out of the cockpit. “What a great win for the citizens of Madison, Indiana.”

Shane said, “We threw everything we could at it, and I am really thankful for Cindy (Shirley) for the great set-up.”

Shirley, a long-time crew member of the Miss Madison race team was promoted to crew chief in the off-season. The victory Sunday marks the first time a woman has won as a crew chief.

“I am ecstatic“ a happy Shirley said. “We fine-tuned all day and came up with a set-up we were happy about,” she said. Jimmy made the most amazing start I think I have ever seen. So many were just dragging back, and he nailed it full speed.”

Third place went to Tom Thompson (Cambridge, MD) in the U-11 Reliable Diamond Tool presents J&D’s and Dustin Echols (Sultan, Wash.) came in fourth driving the U-440 Bucket List Racing hydroplane.

Local festival officials feel the event was a success after selling out of admission wristbands on Sunday.

Preliminary Heat 2A saw three boats make the starting line. Shane, Tate and rookie driver Aaron Salmon (Bonney Lake, Wash.) in the U-99.9 CARSTAR powers Miss Rock. Salmon completed his required rookie laps and saw his first competition as a driver. In the end, Shane won averaging 136.154 mph, followed by Tate at 127.431 mph, and Salmon in third averaging 116.848 mph.

Thompson in the U-11 easily beat Echols in the smaller U-440 in Heat 2B. Thompson won with an average almost 10 mph faster than Echols. Echols’ smaller boat seemed to struggle in the notorious rough turn one.

In Heat 3A, Tate easily defeated Shane after Shane drove through the roostertail of Tate and momentarily went dead-in-the-water. After restarting, Shane was able to fend off Thompson for second. In the end, Tate averaged 140.576 mph over three laps, Shane averaged 114.240 mph and Thompson jumped the start and was penalized one minute.

2017 rookie-of-the-year, Dustin Echols won the preliminary heat of his career after Salmon in the U-99.9 failed to start Heat 3B due to electrical problems.

 

2017 – ANDREW TATE WINS HIS FIRST INDIANA GOVERNOR’S CUP

 

MADISON, Ind. — A last lap pass secured victory for Andrew Tate in the Mainsource Bank Indiana Governor’s Cup. Tate took advantage of a big hop for Jimmy Shane in the first turn that nearly resulted in barrel roll accident for the hometown’s hydroplane. Shane was able to recover, but by then Tate had opened a lead that he was able to maintain for the remainder of the race.

“I know I’m not the most popular driver here, but I grew up watching the parade, the fireworks, and the regatta,” Tate said accepting the Indiana Governor’s Cup from Governor Eric Holcomb. The Michigan native is a third-generation boat racer and his father Mark Tate won back-to-back Indiana Governor’s Cups in 1995 and 1996.

Shane, the defending champion, established an early lead but never could put much distance between him and Tate who was positioned in the inside lane. “I think the skid fin was pointing straight up,” he said about his near mishap. “I thought I was going over. By the time I got going again, Andrew was gone, and I couldn’t catch him.”

Tom Thompson finished third in the U-11 J&D’s with JW Myers making his first H1 Unlimited start since 2012 taking fourth in the U-27 Wiggins Racing to round out the field.

This is Tate’s second career victory as the 2016 H1 Unlimited Rookie of the Year won last season in Seattle. As was the case today, he was able to finish ahead of Shane and Miss Homestreet.