Sunday Recap:

 2024 APBA Gold Cup Results:

Driver:                                         Boat:                                                                                    Avg. Speed:

1. Corey Peabody                 U-9 Beacon Plumbing                                                   150.044 mph
2. J. Michael Kelly                 U-1 Beacon Electric                                                       146.739 mph
3. Jamie Nilsen                     U-11 Miss Mercurys Coffee                                        130.218 mph
4. Dustin Echols                   U-40 Flav-R-PAC                                                             120.140 mph
5. Andrew Tate                      U-91 Miss Goodman Real Estate                            DSQ
6. Dave Villwock                   U-27 Miss Apollo Mechanical                                   DNF

 Final 2024 H1 Unlimited Top-Five National High Points:

Driver:                                 Boat:                                                                                    Points:

1. Andrew Tate              U-91 Miss Goodman Real Estate                            7,419 points
2. Corey Peabody        U-9 Beacon Plumbing                                                   6,050 points
3. Dustin Echols           U-40 Flav-R-PAC                                                             5,151 points
4. J. Michael Kelly        U-1 Beacon Electric                                                       5,080 points
5. Jamie Nilsen             U-11 Miss Mercury’s Coffee                                       4,377 points

 Heat 6 Results:

Driver:                                 Boat:                                                                                    Avg. Speed:

1. Dustin Echols           U-40 Flav-R-PAC                                                             136.314 mph
2. Andrew Tate              U-91 Miss Goodman Real Estate                            122.441 mph
3. J. Michael Kelly        U-1 Beacon Electric                                                       115.014 mph
4. Dave Villwock           U-27 Apollo Mechanical                                              101.479 mph

 Heat 5 Results:

Driver:                                 Boat:                                                                                    Avg. Speed:

1. J. Michael Kelly        U-1 Beacon Electric                                                       135.817 mph
2. Jamie Nilsen             U-11 Miss Mercury’s Coffee                                       132.841mph
3. Dustin Echols           U-40 Flav-R-PAC                                                             127.702 mph
4. Corey Peabody        U-9 Beacon Plumbing                                                   DSQ

Heat 4 Results:

Driver:                                         Boat:                                                                                    Avg. Speed:

1. Andrew Tate                      U-91 Miss Goodman Real Estate                            153.069 mph
2. Dave Villwock                   U-27 Apollo Mechanical                                              143.173 mph
3. Corey Peabody                 U-9 Beacon Plumbing                                                   DSQ
4. Jamie Nilsen                     U-11 Miss Mercury’s Coffee                                       DSQ

Sunday APBA Gold Cup & Heat Recap:

The final heat of Gold Cup Sunday, the Mercurys Coffee Co presents the APBA Gold Cup at San Diego’s Bayfair, certainly didn’t disappoint any of the fans that lined Mission Bay on a perfect afternoon. Six of the fastest race boats in the world lined up for a five-lap feature to determine who would hoist the 2024 APBA Gold Cup.

The U-9 Beacon Plumbing hydroplane for Strong Racing driven by Corey Peabody jumped out to an early lead and while he had his teammate, the U-1 Beacon Electric of J. Michael Kelly within a rooster tail of him for much of the race, Peabody held him off to claim his second career Gold Cup.

And on the final day of the 2024 H1 Unlimited season, the U-91 Miss Goodman Real Estate hydroplane for Miss Madison Racing driven by Andrew Tate entered the day with two goals in mind and before the three heat races were completed, he had accomplished one by claiming the 2024 H1 Unlimited National High Points Championship.

Tate would claim the win in heat four, the first of the morning, following the post-race inspection. Second-place in the championship points, Peabody would win the race on the water, but a fuel violation would negate the finish following inspection giving the points to Tate. Unfortunately for Peabody and the U-9 team, the same issue plagued them for heat five as they took the win on the water but were eliminated following post-race technical inspection.

In heat six, the U-40 Flav-R-PAC for Bucket List Racing with Dustin Echols behind the wheel showed strength as they powered to their first heat win of the weekend after finding some speed in preparation for the final event of the day, the APBA Gold Cup main event.

Driver Quotes:

Corey Peabody, driver, U-9 Beacon Plumbing, Strong Racing

What was the difference in the final heat?

“Coming off the dock, it didn’t really go as I had planned and I spooled the motor up and it just hung there at about 12 percent and I couldn’t get it to light so I had to back off the starter and it kind of threw my whole game plan off as we were entering the course, but we kept our composure and settled in and we got out there and got on our marks. We had a couple things up our sleeve that we were going to do and it worked out for us.”

Your teammate, J. Michael Kelly, was not easy on you, how challenging is it racing your Strong Racing teammate?

“Actually he’s (J. Michael Kelly) the one that I hate racing against the most because we’re sitting in the same truck, talking about the same stuff and I know his boat’s fast. It’s nerve-wracking when I have to race against him. We drove hard. The Beacon boats came out one-two and that’s pretty damn good.”

What does it mean to win your second APBA Gold Cup?

“It’s never not a big deal, that’s the Gold Cup over there. People go their whole career’s without winning one and that’s my second one. I know Bill Cahill (owner of Beacon Plumbing and Electric) is at home crapping his pants right now. Bill, that one was for you. We talked to him right before that heat and told him what we were going to do and we delivered.”

What does it mean to end the 2024 season this way?

“Somebody get us another race to go to, we’d love to keep going. Happy to end it on a high note and congratulations to the Goodman team on their national championship too. I’m really happy we were able to get some new sponsors in boat racing this year with Mercurys Coffee, good to have Goodman back and Beacon with Strong Racing, good to have Flav-R-PAC and Apollo Mechanical and Revchem Composites. All of these people stepping up to not only sponsor boats, but boat racing. It’s been a great year.”

Andrew Tate, driver, U-91 Miss Goodman Real Estate, Miss Madison Racing

How does it feel to lockup the 2024 H1 Unlimited National High Points Championship?

“Congratulate the city of Madison (Indiana) for sure. A lot of love and support back there in the Midwest for sure. I’m happy to be a part of it and this is something special that we have here. I’m glad I could do one of the two jobs that we came out here to San Diego to do. It’s a good way to start Sunday, Gold Cup Sunday here in San Diego and just continue to build on the strength.”

J. Michael Kelly, driver, U-1 Beacon Electric, Strong Racing

What does it mean to get a one-two finish for Strong Racing in the APBA Gold Cup?

“Right place, right time really. For me, it was just flying by the seat of my pants really. We had no game plan and we knew everything was out the window. The main thing was to just stay clean and hope that one of the two of us came away with the win and that was something we were able to pull off. It’s something we were really shooting for and it worked out. I’m super proud of our race team with the ups and downs this year. All in all, I really think we had a successful year and to win a few races and come away with the Gold Cup says a lot about a team. We’re the lucky few that get to drive these amazing race boats for these guys and gals and some amazing owners with Darrell and Vanessa Strong and Bill Cahill as a sponsor who loves this sport and we’re lucky to have him. Just really proud of Corey Peabody. It’s been a crazy year for us and he drove his heart out in that final. Super proud of him. We’ve come a long way and it’s fun to do it together.

 Dustin Echols, driver, U-40 Flav-R-PAC, Bucket List Racing

How did the boat handle during heat six?

“It was a really good boat ride and I did spend some time looking for the clean water. The guys have been working so hard all weekend long. We finally turned the corner on this last heat and came up with some big solutions. I think we’ll have a really good boat in the final. It just all comes down to not giving up and continuing to work on this thing to get it right. We know it’s a fast boat, we just need to figure out why it hasn’t been behaving this weekend.”

Saturday Overview:

 Heat 3 Results:

Driver:                                         Boat:                                                                                    Avg. Speed:

1. Corey Peabody                 U-9 Beacon Plumbing                                                   147.634 mph
2. Dave Villwock                   U-27 Apollo Mechanical                                              142.758 mph
3. Dustin Echols                   U-40 Flav-R-PAC                                                             128.475 mph
4. J. Michael Kelly                 U-1 Beacon Electric                                                       DSQ

 Heat 2 Results:

 Driver:                                 Boat:                                                                                    Avg. Speed:

1. Andrew Tate                      U-91 Miss Goodman Real Estate                            151.541 mph
2. Corey Peabody                 U-9 Beacon Plumbing                                                   149.664 mph
3. Dustin Echols                   U-40 Flav-R-PAC                                                             140.063 mph
4. Jamie Nilsen                     U-11 Miss Mercury’s Coffee                                       Did not start

 Heat 1 Results:

Driver:                                 Boat:                                                                                    Avg. Speed:

1. Andrew Tate                      U-91 Miss Goodman Real Estate                            154.546 mph
2. J. Michael Kelly                 U-1 Beacon Electric                                                       152.796 mph
3. Dave Villwock                   U-27 Apollo Mechanical                                              139.588 mph
4. Jamie Nilsen                     U-11 Miss Mercury’s Coffee                                       Did not start

Saturday Heat Recap:

As day two started for the Mercurys Coffee Co presents the APBA Gold Cup at San Diego’s Bayfair, there would be a total of three four-lap heats for teams and drivers to gain points and better understand their preferred positioning for Sunday’s main event.

For heats one and two, it seemed like a repeat of qualifying where the U-91 Miss Goodman Real Estate driven by Andrew Tate secured the inside lane and pulled out to a substantial lead to earn maximum points in both of his heat appearances for the day. The U-11 Miss Mercurys Coffee Co hydroplane driven by Jamie Nilsen was forced to miss both if their heats today due to an engine change that needed to take place.

In the final heat of Saturday afternoon, the U-9 Beacon Plumbing driven by Corey Peabody was looking to capitalize on his points battle with Tate and claim the maximum 400 points for the heat win by lining up on the inside lane, but his teammate in the U-1 Beacon Electric driven by J. Michael Kelly had other ideas. Kelly, the defending APBA Gold Cup Champion and defending National High Points Champion jumped to the lead from the second lane and pulled to a more-than-a-rooster tail lead over Peabody in the four-lap heat to claim the victory on the water. However, a fuel violation was discovered in post-race inspection and Kelly will be credited a DSQ for heat three giving the win and 400 points to Peabody.

 The H1 Unlimited hydroplanes will take to the water Sunday for three more heat races before finishing out the 2024 season with the APBA Gold Cup event. Fans can tune in on the H1 Unlimited YouTube channel for live coverage.

 Friday Overview:

 Revchem Composites Fast Lap Qualifying Results:

1. Andrew Tate                      U-91 Miss Goodman Real Estate                            165.116 mph
2. Corey Peabody                 U-9 Beacon Plumbing                                                   158.559 mph
3. Dustin Echols                   U-40 Flav-R-PAC                                                             158.254 mph
4. J. Michael Kelly                 U-1 Beacon Electric                                                       156.728 mph
5. Dave Villwock                   U-27 Miss Apollo Mechanical                                   155.043 mph
6. Jamie Nilsen                     U-11 Miss Mercurys Coffee                                        152.846 mph

Qualifying Recap:

For the final race of the 2024 season and the coveted APBA Gold Cup, the H1 Unlimited racers have made their way to Southern California and the Mercurys Coffee Co presents the APBA Gold Cup at San Diego Bayfair.

On Friday morning, the H1 Unlimited hydroplanes got their first laps on the Mission Bay water and the current National High Points leader, Andrew Tate in the U-91 Miss Goodman Real Estate showed the force that Miss Madison Racing rolled into town with as they posted the fastest lap of testing at 158.755 mph.

As the hydroplanes prepared to compete for the Revchem Fastest Lap award across two qualifying sessions, the U-91 was clearly positioned as the boat to beat capturing three of the first four $2500 checks presented by Revchem this season. The first round of qualifying proved challenging for the U-1 Miss Beacon Electric of J. Michael Kelly, the U-27 Miss Apollo Mechanical of Dave Villwock and the U-40 Flav-R-PAC of Dustin Echols as all experienced issues either with inspection or mechanical and had times not recorded. All were able to complete their runs during the second session and record times to qualify for the Mercurys Coffee Co APBA Gold Cup event.

But to no surprise in the pit area, the U-91 Miss Goodman Real Estate of Andrew Tate posted an average speed of 165.116 mph in their qualifying laps in the first round. Per Gold Cup rules, the average of the two fastest laps determines the overall average speed of qualifying. And throughout the second round, no other boats were able to come close and Tate secured yet another Revchem Fastest Lap award to kickoff what he hopes to be a celebratory weekend of capturing a National High Points Championship and the APBA Gold Cup.

The H1 Unlimited hydroplanes will take to the water Saturday for four heat races. Fans can tune in on the H1 Unlimited YouTube channel for live coverage.

Driver Quotes:

 Andrew Tate, driver, U-91 Miss Goodman Real Estate, Miss Madison Racing

What does it mean to get another Revchem Fastest Lap award and how is your focus this weekend as you chase the National High Points Championship?

“Our boat has been running good all season long and maybe somebody down the line is sandbagging a little bit and not showing all their cards just yet, I don’t know. It’s a long weekend and we’ve been running really hard into this head wind, but the boat feels really good. And of course we would love the chance to nail down the National High Points Championship before the final heat so we can focus on the Gold Cup, but this is just the start of a long weekend of boat racing ahead. You have to be ready for everything, but that’s our goal. In a perfect world, we would love to do that, but anything can happen out here in the salt water. But we’re proud to claim another Revchem Fastest Lap award and want to thank them for all they’ve done to support our series this season. There are a lot of fast boats here and a lot of competition on the water that’ and I’m looking forward to it.”