Sue Troxell couldn't lose.

The wife of Terry Troxell, who drove the U-13 SportBoat NW in yesterday's Chevrolet Cup unlimited hydroplane race at Seafair, she serves as Troxell's spotter, working the radio to let her husband know what's happening elsewhere on the course.

But she is also the mother of Jeff Bernard, who drove the U-99 Miss Lakeridge Paving — Terry Troxell is Bernard's stepfather.

And as the consolation final — which would send the victor into the winner-take-all championship final — wound down, Terry Troxell and Bernard were racing side-by-side, Bernard having made up significant ground on the outside to pull even.

"I was rooting for Terry until Jeff pulled ahead," Sue Troxell said.

Bernard hit the finish line just ahead of Terry Troxell, completing one of the more amazing stories of the day. Bernard is 20, apparently the youngest driver on the circuit since Chip Hanauer made his debut at the same age.

He got an official invitation to ride the U-99 Wednesday when Jerry Hale — who suffered some minor injuries in a flip at the Columbia Cup last week — pulled out. Terry Troxell, who once drove for U-99 owner Fred Leland, spent much of the week lobbying on his stepson's behalf.

"I wasn't worried about him," said Troxell, saying Bernard has been racing smaller boats since he was 9 years old. "He's a natural in the boat."

Leland finally agreed and Bernard got a ride in an unlimited for the first time on Friday and spent the weekend getting the 15 laps required to become an official driver.

Bernard was forced to start at the back of the pack in the first three heats, and didn't finish higher than fourth. But he was given the OK to start on the front line for the consolation, which turned into a three-boat race with the U-2 and J. Michael Kelly the only other entrant. Before the race, Bernard approached Troxell about working with him to keep Kelly out of the lead. But Troxell told him, "we're going racing."

It was a weird race as Troxell and Bernard — both from Gig Harbor — were each assessed penalties at the start — Troxell for jumping the gun and Bernard for cutting the race course illegally. But they became the only two contenders when Kelly went dead in the water (Kelly did eventually finish).

As the final lap began, Troxell had the lead, but Bernard caught up on the outside, then finally pulled ahead, winning by the slightest of margins.

Troxell said he did no favors for his stepson.

"That was the fastest the boat would go," he said.

Said Bernard: "I never expected that. That was just awesome."

Bernard finished fifth in the final, apparently earning a ride for the rest of the season.

Will work for food

It smacked of a publicity stunt, and Russ Wicks basically admitted that's what it was. In June 2000, Wicks set a world straightaway speed record in the U-25 — then called the Miss Freei — going 205.494 mph. He also drove enough qualifying laps in the Miss Bud to become certified as an unlimited driver.

But he has struggled to find a ride since, and yesterday he couldn't even get a credential to get into the pits despite what he said were numerous calls to the sport's organizing body, the American Boat Racing Association.

"No one wants to acknowledge I exist," he said glumly. Asked why, he said, "they just don't want anyone fast out there."

So Wicks stood at the gates to the pits wearing a cardboard placard reading "Need Pit Passes" and "World Record Holder" in an effort to get someone to give him a pass.

Eventually, someone did — Larry Oberto, the sponsor of the U-6 Oh Boy! Oberto. Once in the pits, Wicks, a Seattle resident, reworked the sign to read "fastest person on Lake Washington."

"I just want to see friends and network and see about opportunities in the future," he said.

Hopp lights it up

Greg Hopp, who also drove Fred Leland's U-100, won the unlimited lights final over Kevin Aylesworth in a close final heat.

The finish was in doubt until the last turn of the last lap with Hopp building a lead and then holding off a hard-charging Aylesworth, who had the advantage of having the inside lane.

"We gave it absolutely everything we had," Hopp said. "We hurt a motor and were able to fix it. It was just good enough to get into the final and just good enough to win it."

Hopp, who is based out of Snohomish, leads the limited lights season race with 4,280 points. Michael Flaherty is second with 3,622 points and Aylesworth third with 3,098.

"I pushed as hard as I could," Aylesworth said. "He gave me enough room, I just couldn't quite do it. We both had a great time and that's what it's all about."

The unlimited lights race in Silverdale Aug. 12-14 at the Quicksilver Regatta. After a race in San Diego, they finish the season in Port Angeles from Sept. 30 to Oct. 2.

Notes

• There were 11 unlimiteds at Seafair this year and nearly everyone is expecting a much larger field next year when the former Miss Budweiser hulls, motors and gearboxes are sold.

Bidding may already have started and Troxell predicted the increase in competition would be nearly unlimited.

"Next year, I know there are going to be at least 17 boats here," Troxell said. "The word is [former owner] Kim Gregory just bought a Budweiser boat."

Former unlimited driver Nate Brown, who drove for Gregory last season and owns a boat repair shop in Preston, said he expects to be back in the cockpit next year and it could be in one of the fast Bud hulls.

Former U-9 owner Mike Jones has also indicated he may have an entry in the field next year.

• Seafair attendance is always an estimate, and the best guess, according to public relations official Dan Wartelle, was that it was up slightly this year.

Wartelle estimated 125,000 people were watching yesterday, a figure that includes those who paid to get in, those who watched from the 2.5 miles of beach, the log boom and viewing areas from the other side of the lake.

For the three days of qualifying and racing, Wartelle put the estimate at 250,000 viewers.

Times correspondent Jim Riley contributed to this report.