Sport weathering recession, plans to expand in future

Sam Cole, chairman of U1 Unlimited, feels good about the future of the sport of unlimited hydroplane racing despite the fact there were only four races in the United States this year and one in Qatar that will run Nov. 18-20.

"We have been weathering the recession like the rest of America," Cole said. "I feel very positive about where we're headed. I can see us racing on two or three continents in the next couple of years."

Cole said financial troubles that nearly canceled races in both Seattle and Detroit hurt efforts to expand into new markets or returning to sites that have held races in the past.

"When you have your two oldest sites, Detroit and Seattle, having financial problems, it took away from looking for new sites," Cole said. "This race was on edge until Albert Lee stepped up. You have to make sure your existing sites are up to snuff first."

Cole expects five or six races in the U.S. next year and two or three new ones overseas.

"The one fact we can't hide from is that we've raced in 45 different places in the last 25 years," Cole said. "We have five or six places where it really works. Finding new sites in this day and age is challenging, but we now have international interest."

Cole said they are in discussions with former sites in San Diego, Evansville and Washington, D.C., along with a couple of other new sites in the southeast United States.

"Unfortunately," Cole said, "until you have a check, you don't have a race."

Cole said that any growth forthcoming will have to be done cautiously.

"We're not an industry like NASCAR; at least 90 percent of the people on our teams are volunteers," Cole said. "When you add races and travel internationally you really tax the vacation time of volunteers. We have to grow so that it's a professional sport again with paid crews and paid people."

Perkins finishes 2nd

Kayleigh Perkins, who drove the Oh Boy! Oberto to a lap speed of more than 147.058 mph in a test run Saturday, finished a close second in the unlimited lights final to winner Paul Becker.

"I was a little late at the start. It was might fault, I messed up," Perkins said. "I thought I could catch up, but I couldn't quite do it."

Volunteer spirit

Kathy McLemore took over as the first woman race chairman at Seafair this year.

She was in charge of the more than 1,800 volunteers on water, land and air and her promotion came in her 40th year as a volunteer herself.

"It's all about the camaraderie for me," McLemore said. "We're a family and that's why I keep coming back. It gets in your blood. We basically build ourselves a city in one week."

Seafair volunteers patrol the logboom and shoreline with more than 300 boats, anchor the buoys onto the bottom of Lake Washington, man the ticket gates at several locations, shuttle people back and forth in golf carts and help everyone get parked.

Muscatel's saga

The long hard saga of Dr. Ken Muscatel and the U-25 came to a quick end Sunday.

After the crew stayed up 52 straight hours to get the boat repaired after it was damaged two weeks ago on the Columbia River, the U-25 had only a little time on the water Sunday.

It was damaged again in Heat 3A when it finished third.

Crew chief Jay Leckrone speculated the boat hit something in the water to put a hole in the recently repaired sponson. Although it was covered with bondo and duct tape, ultimately they decided not to run in the provisional heat.

"The water out there is violent beyond belief so we couldn't run in the provisional," Muscatel said. "The boat has a hole in it in a critical spot."

Muscatel said just to be able to run at all was a tribute to his crew.

"It was so severely damaged, just getting here was miraculous," Muscatel said. "We went from 170 mph to zero in four-tenths of a second in Tri-Cities. Not to be able to run aggravates the hell out of me."

Not earning many points at Seafair means Muscatel will not finish in the top 10 and won't be eligible to go to Qatar for the season finale.

"It would be bitterly ironic not to go since I went there three times to set up last year's race," Muscatel said.

Washington ties

Of the 12 drivers who competed in Seafair, nine are from the state of Washington. The only drivers not from this state are Steve David of Lighthouse Point, Fla., Cal Phipps of Sterling Heights, Mich., and Mike Webster of Reading, Pa.