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The Hoosier State - The New Capital of Hydro Racing? |
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By Fred Farley - ABRA Unlimited Historian |
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The ghost of 1920 racing legend J.W. Whitlock from Rising Sun, Indiana is looking down from above and saying to himself "If I could get just make a comeback in HOOISER BOY, fans would really see why Indiana is truly the Heaven of all Heavens when it comes to powerboat racing." Oh sure, the long time aficionados of the sport argue back and forth --- Detroit, Seattle, Detroit, Seattle... Now, the two big cities on the circuit better take a look around because the Hoosier State is making a run at the honor. Not only does the state of Indiana host two of the seven races on the American Boat Racing Association circuit, three of the boat teams are now calling this Midwestern state homeport. The Evansville race will open the 2006 ABRA season followed one week later by the Madison Governor's Cup. The City of Madison has hosted the big hydros in the annual competition for the Indiana Governor's Cup since 1951; while Evansville, Indiana, has done likewise for Thunder On The Ohio since 1979. The community-owned MISS MADISON (U-6) is the oldest continuously active Unlimited team. Currently sponsored by OH BOY! OBERTO, the U-6 is now in its 46th consecutive year of operation and last year, driver Steve David captured the Driver's National High Point Championship. The Evansville-based team of Ed Cooper, Jr., and the late Ed Cooper, Sr., first appeared in 1986. Sponsored by MASTER TIRE, the Allison-powered U-3 is the only Unlimited hydroplane to use a reciprocating engine in a category dominated by Lycoming turbine power. And only three years ago, Mitch Evans gave the Cooper's the prestigious APBA Gold Cup Trophy with the big win on the Detroit River. And this season, a brand new Unlimited team is making its headquarters in Decatur, Indiana, and this team could be a major force on the circuit. Driver and team manager Mike Weber have announced that two hulls (the T-5 and the T-6), formerly owned by Bernie and Joe Little's MISS BUDWEISER organization, have been acquired by Precision Performance Engineering, LLC. The organization plans on racing two boats during the 2006 season. One of the former BUD hulls will become the primary U-5 hull with full season sponsorship provided by FORMULA BOATS, a well-respected manufacturer of pleasure boats as well as offshore racing boats. The two former MISS BUDWEISER hulls join last year's U-5 hydroplane, recently purchased from former owner Chad Sanderson of nearby Auburn, Indiana, which Weber drove on the 2005 ABRA series tour. A second hull will be raced as the U-7. The sponsorship search will decide if the team runs the other BUD hull or last year's U-5 hull, and will also determine the team's choice of a second driver. Seattle and Detroit have long been the mainstays with regard to large numbers of active Unlimited teams and races. Seattle still maintains a sizeable fleet, while Detroit's boat count has dropped to only one or two in recent years. Now, the state of Indiana is making its presence felt with two races, three teams and four active hulls of its own on the 2006 tour. Not since 1983 has the Hoosier State had this kind of representation. (That was the year when the community-owned U-6, Jim Sedam's U-22, and the Bill Cantrell/Graham Heath-owned U-18--all from the Madison area--participated on the Unlimited hydroplane circuit.) Indiana is now becoming home for many in the sport. A number of competitive teams and two greats races on the historic Ohio River make this Midwest state an unlikely place for the growth of Unlimited Hydroplane Racing. |
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