King’s Heat Win Big For Detroit Crowd
DETROIT—-Without a piston powered unlimited hydroplane racing on the Detroit River since 2009, hometown favorite Jimmy King’s win in the Allison-engined Miss HomeStreet Bank drew the biggest cheer from the fans on the shoreline Saturday during the first day of the UAW-GM presents Spirit of Detroit Hydrofest.
It was an unconventional win for the hometown favorite, but the Memphis, Mich. driver will take the win any way he can get it. King was the lone driver to make a clean start in heat 1-C and captured the heat win with an average speed of 138.694.
Jean Theoret in the Ellstrom Elam Plus started the day leading the 12 boat field in qualifying for the third consecutive race with a one-lap speed 161.568 on the 2 ½ mile course. But Theoret found himself on the short end of the rules, jumping the gun in the heat and then getting a one-minute penalty for a lane infraction to finish fourth.
“You take them any way you can get them,” laughed King. “When I heard over the radio all the boats jumped I just wanted to make sure I did what we needed to make it through the heat without an issue.
“The course is one of the toughest on the circuit, and it can be a battle of attrition,” added King. “We needed to make sure this boat came away unscathed.”
In the other two preliminary heats, Brian Perkins in the Miss Al Deeby drove to his first heat win of 2015 taking heat 1-B while the two-time Gold Cup Champion Jimmy Shane held off his main nemesis on the circuit J. Michael Kelly to capture heat 1-A.
The Shane/Kelly battle was almost a replay of the final heat in the Seattle Seafair championship final but this time Shane grabbed inside lane and held on for the win.
There will be two more sets of preliminary heats before the championship winner-take-all final at 4:10 p.m.
Saturday’s First Day–UAW-GM Presents Spirit of Detroit Hydrofest
HEAT 1-A
1–Jimmy Shane, Oberto, 153.293
2–J. Michael Kelly, Graham Trucking, 151.859
3–Kevin Eacret, Dooley’s/Miss CARSTAR, 132.805
4–David Warren, Miss DiJulio, 123.698
HEAT 1-B
1–Brian Perkins, Miss Al Deeby, 147.414
2–Tom Thompson, Peters & May, 141.882
3–Jesse Robertson, Graham Trucking II, 140.748
22 Mike Webster, Roostertail/PVS Chemicals ,138.715
HEAT 1-C
1-Jimmy King, Home Street Bank ,138.694
2-Cal Phipps, Dalton Industries, 147.448
3-Scott Liddycoat, Red Dot/811 Call B4 You Dig, 130.509
4-Jean Theoret, Ellstrom Elam Plus, 149.138
King’s Heat Win Big For Detroit Crowd
DETROIT—-Without a piston powered unlimited hydroplane racing on the Detroit River since 2009, hometown favorite Jimmy King’s win in the Allison-engined Miss HomeStreet Bank drew the biggest cheer from the fans on the shoreline Saturday during the first day of the UAW-GM presents Spirit of Detroit Hydrofest.
It was an unconventional win for the hometown favorite, but the Memphis, Mich. driver will take the win any way he can get it. King was the lone driver to make a clean start in heat 1-C and captured the heat win with an average speed of 138.694.
Jean Theoret in the Ellstrom Elam Plus started the day leading the 12 boat field in qualifying for the third consecutive race with a one-lap speed 161.568 on the 2 ½ mile course. But Theoret found himself on the short end of the rules, jumping the gun in the heat and then getting a one-minute penalty for a lane infraction to finish fourth.
“You take them any way you can get them,” laughed King. “When I heard over the radio all the boats jumped I just wanted to make sure I did what we needed to make it through the heat without an issue.
“The course is one of the toughest on the circuit, and it can be a battle of attrition,” added King. “We needed to make sure this boat came away unscathed.”
In the other two preliminary heats, Brian Perkins in the Miss Al Deeby drove to his first heat win of 2015 taking heat 1-B while the two-time Gold Cup Champion Jimmy Shane held off his main nemesis on the circuit J. Michael Kelly to capture heat 1-A.
The Shane/Kelly battle was almost a replay of the final heat in the Seattle Seafair championship final but this time Shane grabbed inside lane and held on for the win.
There will be two more sets of preliminary heats before the championship winner-take-all final at 4:10 p.m.
Saturday’s First Day–UAW-GM Presents Spirit of Detroit Hydrofest
HEAT 1-A
1–Jimmy Shane, Oberto, 153.293
2–J. Michael Kelly, Graham Trucking, 151.859
3–Kevin Eacret, Dooley’s/Miss CARSTAR, 132.805
4–David Warren, Miss DiJulio, 123.698
HEAT 1-B
1–Brian Perkins, Miss Al Deeby, 147.414
2–Tom Thompson, Peters & May, 141.882
3–Jesse Robertson, Graham Trucking II, 140.748
22 Mike Webster, Roostertail/PVS Chemicals ,138.715
HEAT 1-C
1-Jimmy King, Home Street Bank ,138.694
2-Cal Phipps, Dalton Industries, 147.448
3-Scott Liddycoat, Red Dot/811 Call B4 You Dig, 130.509
4-Jean Theoret, Ellstrom Elam Plus, 149.138