The 2021 season is off to a hot start after the Eastern Championships and Winter Nationals in Jesup, Georgia. It was pretty obvious that people were chomping at the bit to get to a boat race after the troubled 2020 season. With full fields in quite a few classes at the first race of the season, there are plenty of reasons to be optimistic for the 2021 season.
Before I get into the race recap, I would like to sincerely thank all of those involved putting on an excellent boat race! There are far too many people to mention that all deserve credit and praise for the event, but in particular Howie/Becky Nichols, Holly Jones, Jill and Kaitlyn Glossner, Kurt Romberg, Steve Dunn, John Runne and everyone else involved putting on such a great race.
Stock Outboard:
Death, taxes, Pete Lauer getting it done in ASR. In one of the most competitive races of the day, Peter Lauer found himself on the top of the podium once again. This feat was not accomplished without a bevy of strong competitors. Treiden Schliecher, Kelsey Bennett, Dylan Runne and Spencer Davidson all spent their time out front, but it was not enough to best the 24-M of Lauer. When the dust settled, Jackson Gallager and Spencer Davidson rounded out the podium for ASR.
ASH was dominated by the ladies of the class this weekend and Spencer Davidson in the 4H was the lone male to crack the top 4 with a third place finish. Good starts and smart driving allowed Abby Pond to secure the 2nd place position and a stellar drive from Erin Pittman secured Erin the ASH Eastern Championship. This paired nicely with her win in 200ccMH as well!
The BSH class continues to grow and become one of more exciting classes, and this weekend had no shortage of excitement. Rick Miller and Mikey Pavlick battled deck to deck for two laps before Pavlick had mechanical failure, forcing him to not finish the heat. Rick Miller won back to back heats to secure the title, with Joel Kiddy closely behind in 2nd overall and Michael Sharphouse rounded out the podium.
After plenty of light-hearted trash talk about his advanced age, Joe Pater proved that age is only as old as you feel as he dominated CSR. The 53M split heats with Howie Nichols in the 4F and won overall on time. All the test sessions for both of them appear to be paying off. Adam Allen rounded out the podium in his freshly painted 11-E. Strong performances from young guns Mac Pfalzer, Carson Fabbro and Logan Sweeney has me excited to see what the rest of the season holds!
Always one of the craziest classes of the weekend, 16 CSHs made the trek to Jesup to compete for the Eastern Championship. Matt Dagostino, Herb Lanphear and Tim Sidor all did battle in the first elimination race, with all three of them running out front each heat. The second elimination race featured Mikey Pavlick and Dana Holt doing battle, with Pavlick taking the elimination race win. The CSH finals had Mikey Pavlick taking home the victory, followed by Scott Reed and Herb Lanphear. Jesup was just another example how many fast rigs are racing CSH currently, with the majority of the final heat being capable of winning.
15SSH was not an Eastern Championship due to lack of entries, but it doesn't mean it wasn't an entertaining race to watch. Peter Lauer continued his winning ways and took home the victory, followed by Casey Carr in the John Runne powered rig, Joel Kiddy in third, and Abby Pond in 4th.
25SSR was another battle between the young and the old. The Bennett factory team had three entries that all spent their time out front, but it was the combination of Tom Nuccio and Joe Pater that brought home the victory. Strong drives from Carson Fabbro and Dylan Runne were not enough to compete with Michigan's finest in Peter Lauer and Joe Pater. Pater took the weekend win, followed by Lauer in 2nd and Runne in 3rd. This will definitely be a class to get a front row seat to watch at Springfield!
I think it is fair to say that the extended offseason had the drivers of 20SSH a little too excited, as over half the field jumped the first heat of the Eastern Championship. Seasoned veteran Dana Holt was one of the few to lay back and stay legal, and that was enough for him to secure the title. He was followed by Mikey Pavlick in 2nd and Corey Merrill in 3rd. A top 3 in your first full weekend of racing in 20SSH is not too shabby, well done Corey!!
One of the most highly anticipated parts of the weekend was to watch the 300SSH class do battle. The virtually identical speed of all drivers made mastering the Jesup track critical for success. Robert Trolian stole the start in heat 1 and checked out early for an easy heat victory. Mechanical issues plagued Robert "Scoop" Trolian heat 2 and he was left on the beach. Joel Kiddy took full advantage and secured the Eastern Championship, followed by Robert salvaging a 2nd and Michael Sharphouse rounding out the podium.
Modified Racing:
Erin Pittman picked off right where she left off in 2019 and secured the 2021 200CCMH Winter National Championship. Erin did not go without challenge, with JT Thompson and Kelsey Bennett following closely behind, finishing 2nd and 3rd respectively. Perennial star of 200CCMH Amy Sweeney had mechanical issues, limiting her to a 4th place finish. With strong performances from the Dirksens and guest appearances from Wyman Boatwright and Treiden Schliecher suggests this will be one of the most competitive classes this season.
After a brief hiatus, Spencer Davidson showed his skill securing the 250CCMH title from the grasps of Joel Kiddy and Rhett Hebert. Not a bad return!
One of the most competitive mod classes of the weekend was 350CCMH. Stars of the class Robert Trolian, Boatwright, Proctor and the Miller crew were likely blown away by the blistering speed of the 88S of Justin Farrell. Farrell showed some new found speed and took the title in commanding fashion. I look forward to seeing how the likes of Trolian and Miller x2 respond later this season and how they all mix up with the likes of Koschka.
350CCMR was won by Throttled hero and super-fan Dylan Runne. Running a stock 25SSR, Dylan showed that strong driving and good starting is sometimes all you need. Dylan was followed by Michael Smith in the 62N and Braxton Miller.
400CCMH was a battle between two Miller rigs and Rhett Hebert. Rick took the overall win to pair with his BSH victory, followed by Hebert and Braxton.
Probably my favorite "mod" class, 500CCMH did not disappoint this weekend. Aside from a few west coast cats like J. Michael, the majority of the strong 500CCMH competitors found themselves competing for the Winter Nationals title. Austin Vanover was back in form, securing the victory, but not without strong competition. Scott Clark and Braxton Miller rounded out the podium, with Boatwright, Rogers, Ivie, Allen, Miller and Cokinos all right behind.
Defending Champion Logan Sweeney had his hands full this weekend in 500CCMR and the 2019 DSH Champion Braxton Miller took home the victory in convincing fashion. Miller paired two solid heats together to get the overall victory, followed by Sweeney, Vanover and Dirksen. I have my eyes on the 999V of Mac Pfalzer to start making moves in the 500 class.
I think it is fair to say that the 750CCMH and 850CCMH drivers were tired of Austin Vanover taking all the titles from them. Jasen Dirksen and Wyman Boatwright boat brought home titles in 750 and 850 respectively. Justin Ivie and Mark Miner also had strong performances.
750CCMR and 850CCMR were both a battle of the Luces. James took home the victory in 750, with George taking the title in 850. Pretty cool when the master and the apprentice can both succeed in the same weekend. Jerry Davids and Karl Dyle also showed their speed, finishing 2nd and 3rd respectively in 850.
Pro Racing:
To be completely transparent to the reader, I was not able to watch any antique racing over the weekend. They raced after we had left for the weekend so I could get home and hopefully graduate in a few weeks. It appears that the Gibson crew picked up where they left off in 2019 securing a few victories. Tim Weber brought home the C Race Runabout victory and Jack Campbell the victory in Service Runabout as well.
A sincere thank you to all those involved with putting on the first race for many in the 2021 season! I look forward to seeing a lot of you at the races this year!
-MP