Chevrolet Cup | Driver Steve David wins on Art Oberto's 80th birthday

Two long unlimited hydroplane streaks ended at the Chevrolet Cup at Seafair on Sunday, and no one seemed too unhappy to see either of them go.

Art Oberto, who has been sponsoring an unlimited since 1975, picked up his first win on Lake Washington when Steve David drove the Oh Boy! Oberto to a popular victory.

The win came on Oberto's 80th birthday and ended a streak of four straight wins by Dave Villwock in the Miss Ellstrom Elam Plus.

Oberto, who lives in Seattle, knew exactly where to rank this birthday party, which will actually come on Aug. 22.

"This is the best birthday I've ever had in my life," Oberto said. "We always thought if we couldn't outdo them, we'd outlive them. Now we outdid them."

Villwock never really had a chance to keep the victory streak alive or his chance to sweep the six-race season. In fact, he seemed almost relieved to see the streak go.

"Everyone wants to talk about streaks and I know how fickle they can be, especially at places like this," Villwock said. "Things happen that are out of your control. That's the way things go."

Maneuvering toward the start at a low rate of speed, Villwock was washed down by Jean Theoret in the U-37 Miss Beacon Plumbing. The spray killed his engine and, with it, his chances to get another win.

Theoret, the two-time defending champion who won heats 2C and 3B to get into the final, was disqualified, a ruling he didn't dispute.

"All of us were at the start much too early," Theoret said. "I got off plane and water came up over the windshield and I just lost the course. I saw the buoy and I tried to go around it and when I did that I cut off Dave. It was a stupid mistake."

David won for the sixth time in his career and didn't hesitate when asked where it ranked on his list of career achievements.

"This is my biggest win of my career," David said, "because it's here in Seattle, it's Art's birthday and it's in this new boat. It just doesn't get any better than that. It's super cool to win for him and this community."

David's latest win came in a boat competing in only its fifth race. He said he didn't see Villwock's problems and it wouldn't have changed anything even if he had.

"When I went out there I had in my mind the race I was going to run and I was really focused to only run my race," David said. "The start was there and I was where I wanted to be. This boat is going to win a lot more races."

David lost one of the closest heats in unlimited history when David Bryant in the U-10 Miss Hoss Mortgage Investors came from behind to win heat 2B with an average lap speed of 140.349 to David's 140.021 mph.

The boats were in a similar position heading into the final lap, something that wasn't lost on David.

"He was really running strong and I could see him in my mirror," David said. "I couldn't let up one bit."

Villwock climbed onto the jubilant dock in front of the Oberto camp to hug and congratulate David. It was a gesture, David, a 19-year veteran, appreciated.

"Dave [Villwock] is a champion, he's a tough guy to beat," David said. "All year long we've been one and two, and it could have went that way again today. Streaks are meant to be broken."

Bryant, a rookie in his fifth unlimited race, finished second.

"The boat was unbelievable," Bryant said. "We had the straightaway speed, a little corner speed and he did what he had to by moving me out a little bit. It was a great day for me."

Bryant admitted he nearly went over a couple of times in rough water.

"The boat is there and I'm still learning," Bryant said. "The boat was bouncing a little, and I had to wing it a little. It was a good weekend, but you can have bad ones, too. You can go from hero to zero in a heartbeat."

J. Michael Kelly of Puyallup was third in the U-13 CarPros with Villwock fourth. Jeff Bernard in the Formulaboats.com was fifth, with Ken Muscatel last in the Miss ProCraft Windows.

Villwock also didn't fare well in the heat races leading up to the final.

He was second to Theoret in heats 2C and 3B to drop his record in heat races to 16-4.

"If I couldn't win I'm glad they did," Villwock said of Oh Boy! Oberto. "They've been close all season and they deserve a win."

Greg Hopp of Snohomish pulled off a unique double when he won heat 2A in the U-100 Mirageboats.com. Although he was unable to race in the provisional heat because of a cracked propeller, he won the unlimited lights final.

Driving the Graham Trucking, Hopp averaged 102.659 mph to edge Kayleigh Perkins in the Miss Boat Electric, who averaged 102.189 mph.

Sunday's results

CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL

1. U-6 Oh Boy! Oberto, Steve David, 136 mph; 2. U-10 Hoss Mortgage Investors, David Bryant, 133 mph; 3. U-13 Miss Car Pros, J. Michael Kelly, 132 mph; 4. U-16 Ellstrom Elam Plus, Dave Villwock, 126 mph; 5. U-5 Formulaboats.com, Jeff Bernard, 120 mph; 6. U-25 Procraft Windows, Ken Muscatel, 109 mph; DQ U-37 Miss Beacon Plumbing, Jean Theoret, 0.

Boat, driver, speed, points

HEAT 2A

1. U-100 Mirageboats.com, Greg Hopp, 137.399, 400; 2. U-17 Miss Red Dot/USNW Express, Nate Brown, 133.893, 300; 3. U-25 Procraft Windows, Ken Muscatel, 0.000, DNF; 4. U-48 Miss Lakeridge Paving, David Williams, 0.00, DNS; 5. U-9 Miss Tri Arc Electric Supply, Chris Bertram, 0.00, DNS.

Fastest lap: U-100 Mirageboats.com, lap 3, 141.110

HEAT 2B

1. U-10 Hoss Mortgage Investors, David Bryant, 140.349, 400; 2. U-6 Oh Boy! ObertoSteve David, 140.021, 300; 3. U-5 Formulaboats.com, Jeff Bernard, 133.010, 225; 4. U-13 Miss Car Pros, J. Michael Kelly, 130.974, 169; 5. U-1 Formulaboats.com, Jimmy Shane, 114.406, 127.

Fastest lap: U-10 Hoss Mortgage Investors, lap 3, 144.109

HEAT 2C

1. U-37 Miss Beacon Plumbing, Jean Theoret, 145.647, 400; 2. U-16 Ellstrom Elam Plus, Dave Villwock, 141.966 300; 3. U-21 The Plumbing Joint, rian Perkins, 114.45 225; 4. U-3 Hoss Mortgage Investors II, Jimmy King, 130.006 169.

Fastest lap: U-37 Miss Beacon Plumbing, lap 2, 150.316

HEAT 3A

1. U-5 Formulaboats.com, Jeff Bernard, 135.228, 400; 2. U-13 Miss Car Pros, J. Michael Kelly, 134.478, 300; 3. U-25 Procraft Windows, Ken Muscatel, 122.558, 225; 4. U-1 Formulaboats.com, Jimmy Shane, 111.042, 169; 5. U-100 Mirageboats.com, Greg Hopp, 106.219, 127; 6. U-17 Miss Red Dot/USNW Express, Nate Brown, 99.999, 95.

Fastest lap: U-5 Formulaboats.com, lap 1, 140.257

Heat 3B

1. U-37 Miss Beacon Plumbing, Jean Theoret, 141.70,5 400; 2. U-16 Ellstrom Elam Plus, Dave Villwock, 138.333, 300; 3. U-6 Oh Boy! Oberto, Steve David, 135.636, 225; 4. U-3 Hoss Mortgage Investors II, Jimmy King, 133.546, 169; 5. U-10 Hoss Mortgage Investors, David Bryant, 132.986, 127; 6. U-21 The Plumbing Joint, Brian Perkins, 106.613, 95.

Fastest lap: U-37 Miss Beacon Plumbing, lap 1, 147.692

Information in this article, originally published August 6, 2007, was corrected August 7, 2007. Art Oberto, who has been sponsoring an unlimited hydroplane since 1975, lives in Seattle, not Mercer Island as mentioned in a story Monday.