Unlimited Hydropage

The 2002 Thunder on the Ohio saw the U-16 Miss Elam Plus with Nate Brown at the helm take the top speed in the time trials (aka. qualifying) followed by the U-100 Miss US with driver Greg Hopp and the U-1 Miss Budweiser with Dave Villwock.

The racing began on Saturday evening with heats 1A and 1B for the second straight year. Heat 1A saw Nate Brown and the U-16 meeting up with their own self-made arch enemy Dave Villwock and the Miss Bud in lanes 1 and 2 respectively. The U-2 Trendwest had Mark Tate returning to the cockpit after taking last season off. Tate and the Harvey crew were in lane 3 with Steve David returning for a second year piloting the crowd-pleasing beef jerky powered Oh Boy! Oberto in lane 4. Lane 5 was to be the U-8 Llumar Window Films driven by Jimmy King. Mitch Evans and the Cooper's crew returned with the old U-3 Master Tire, as they were unable to finish the new boat in time.

The start of the race saw an abrupt and disappointing end to the new rivalry between the Miss Bud and the Elam as the U-16 lost power in turn 4, leaving the Bud to sail away from the pack and take first. Nate Brown was able to get the bright orange boat restarted in time to finish last in the 6-boat heat.

Heat 1B was comprised of the U-100 Miss US with Greg Hopp driving this patriotic salute to September 11th in lane 1 followed by the U-9 Miss WABX with Mike Hanson. Lane 3 went to Terry Troxell (aka. Troxilla) in the U-99 Miss GAB Radio 1180 AM. The U-10 Miss Emcor and Mike (not Mark) Weber had lane 4 with Ken Muscatel and the U-25 Security Race Products rounded out the heat in lane 5. Greg Hopp immediately powered the U-100 out in front. Hopp held the lead going in to lap 2, turn 2 when the boat was rocked by a deep, loud grinding sound that was instantly recognized among the crews on the bank as a broken propeller. The extent of the damage, which could prematurely end the weekend for the U-100, would not be known until the boat was lifted out of the water. The U-9 went on to win and luck would be the only thing keeping the U-100 racing. As it turned out, minimal damage was sustained by the Miss US when 1 blade of the 3-blade prop was sheared off.

Sunday began with Heat 2A seeing Nate Brown in the U-16 redeem himself with a wire-to-wire victory. But the real excitement of the moment was the fight for second place. Steve David in the Oh Boy! Oberto had the inside on the U-1 Miss Bud. David took complete advantage of the opportunity and held Villwock off to take second over the beer wagon.

In Heat 2B the intense Evansville heat must have fried Greg Hopp's stop watch as he jumped the gun allowing the U-10 Miss Emcor a wire-to-wire victory followed by Mike Hanson in the U-9.

Hydro-Prop officials decided to mix it up for the third flight, allowing drivers to jockey for position in heats 3A and 3B rather than have pre-selected lanes. With the lack of preparation or practice the first attempt did not go perfect. The U-2 was washed down just before turn 3 leaving the Trendwest crew yelling for a penalty. The U-100 lead the way from lane 3 only to jump the gun and again turn the heat over to the U-10. Apparently Mike Weber didn't want the lead either and opted to take out a buoy instead, thus relinquishing his moment in first place to the restarted U-2 Trendwest. Mark Tate took the U-2 to the finish line.

Heat 3B saw the match up of the weekend with Nate Brown ready to send Diamond Dave (or is it Darth Villwock?) back to driver's school. In the pre-race game of cat and mouse, Dave thought he'd be sneaky and hang on Nate's right hip. Nate's plan became apparent when he cut a hard left to avoid an outside buoy, leaving Dave to test "the force" and his reflexes with an even harder cut left to avoid the outside buoy. Unbeknownst to Brown, the U-16 was immediately disqualified by Hydro-Prop officials for pushing out. Elam continued to push the Miss Bud for the full 3 laps followed by the U-99 and U-25. Brown was informed of the penalty after the heat and vented his frustration at a Hydro-Prop official.

Hydro-Prop officials later reviewed the video supplied by the helicopter and reversed the disqualification of Nate Brown and the U-16, giving them second place in Heat 3B and sending the U-10 Miss Emcor to the provisional heat.

The provisional heat saw the U-25, U-3, U-10 and the U-8 facing off. It turned out to be a jump-fest as the three lead boats (10, 8 and 3) jumped the gun leaving Dr. Muscatel and the U-25 to win the heat and make the final.

The rundown for the final was the U-2 Trendwest with Mark Tate, the U-6 Oh Boy! Oberto with Steve David, the U-9 Miss WABX with Mike Hanson, the U-3 Master Tire with Mitch Evans, the U-99 GAB Radio with Terry Troxell, the U-1 Miss Budweiser with Dave Villwock and the U-25 Security Race Products with Ken Muscatel as the trailer.

With the start imminent, Steve David secured the Oh Boy! Oberto on an inside lane coming up the backstretch. With disbelief, the U-6 team watched as Nate Brown piloted the U-16 in the path of David, washing him down and causing the Oh Boy! Oberto to miss the start of the race. With the crowds cheering wildly, Steve David was able to restart the Madison-based boat. With the U-16 receiving yet another penalty Dave and the U-1 Miss Bud easily coasted home to victory followed by the Terry Troxell in the U-99. Steve David was able to overtake the U-25 and finish fifth. David was visibly angry as he stepped out of the cockpit following the race and motioned angrily toward Nate Brown and the Miss Elam, rousing the support of the crowd.

During the award ceremony that followed, Steve David congratulated Dave Villwock on his seventh straight victory in Evansville and wished Nate Brown "a flat tire on the way home", again met with cheers from the crowd.

Stay tuned for the Madison Regatta...