Photo: Kelsey Bennett leads the pack of ASH at Jesup, GA in 2019. Mac Miller and John Wlodarski III watch from the shore.
With almost a full year off of racing, many are en route to one of the only sites that hosted a race during the 2020 season. Glancing at the preregistration there will be trailers from the usual states such as Florida, Georgia, North and South Carolina, Michigan, Indiana, Kentucky Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Illinois, New York, Wisconsin, Connecticut and even the rumor of a Washington entry. This will be a class preview and breakdown for the event based solely on the preregistration, if you don’t see your name mentioned for your class, this is the punishment for not pre-registering. With just about 200 drivers pre-registered between four categories, this is a good preview of the National Championships that will be held in July at Champions lake park. So let's kick this off with the J classes.
In JSH, it appears the Hearn trailer looking to defend some titles from the 2019 season fielding both Ava and Ellie but it won't be easy with competition like Price Ivie or Jackson Morton, both drivers hail from Region 4 and have had access to some warmer weather and might have the advantage to get some water time, only time will tell but JSH will be a good race to watch this weekend.
In JSR, again Ava and Ellie will be racing out of the Hearn trailer and will not be taking it easy on the boys. Dominick Trolian looking to pick up where he left off in 2019. Work never stops at the RaceCraft headquarters, so I am sure speed was found during the down time. Price Ivie made his debut in the runabout classes during the 2019 season, so it will be good to see him mix it up with the veterans of this class.
AXH, said to be the proving ground for up and coming drivers we have a lot of familiar names. With 8 boats pre-registered, it will truly be a race to the first turn and who wants it more. In the short 2020 season, Treiden Schleicher showed his speed, racing his rig against some ASH and winning. Jackson Gallagher also has been known to put his RunneCraft in the winners circle. If I were a betting man, money would be on the ladies of this class. Kori Ladd, Jasmine Dirksen and Alyssa Bonanno. Kori and Jasmine have proven their place and know what it takes to get to the winners circle. Alyssa will be entering her rookie year, but with a mentor like Scoop. She will be mixing it up with the best of the right out of the gate. Jackson Morton will be eyeing the top position as he makes the transition from J to AX. Rounding out the field will be Cameron Lupton who appearing to be driving a new boat at the fall Jesup, everyone knows new wood is faster and Ashten Cafarelli who is taking a break from the hockey rink and coming to mix it up with the APBA crowd, he has been honing in on his skills the last few seasons with the USTS racing K-Pro as well as some 200ccmh. Every year, the AX class is exciting to watch and this is no exception
Does not appear that any AXR are pre-registered, Jared Pavlick scared them all off in the 2019 season.
ASH, do I even have to explain why this will be a hard class to preview? With 11 boats already pre-registered and a few more potential trickling in, we could see eliminations in ASH. Glancing at the list, each name I read I just say to myself “oh yeah, they’re fast”. It is going to be a challenging fight to get to the top but it will be a good preview for Springfield. The young guns of the class will be Treiden Schleicher who proved his mercury powered rig is fast enough to complete but he may have a sidewinder on the back of the boat this weekend, only time will tell. Jackson Gallagher showed his speed at Big Rapids in the Fall, via Facebook we know the Navesink Racing Team has been hard at work, but will it be enough to see the 7J at the top of the podium? We know out of the gate, the ladies of this class will most likely show the men around the course. Incredible talent matched with speed by each of them, it is hard to say who will place towards the top when you have the likes of Becky Nichols, Abby Pond, Kelly Allen, Adrianna Bonanno, Erin Pittman and Kelsey Bennett all in one race. Jt Thompson has been busy at Gary Ponds secret test lake, working all winter on his program, I will not be surprised if JT drives his way to the podium this weekend. It is great to see Gene Schertz name on the list for expected entries, Gene is no rookie to the ASH scene and if you know Gene, he is fast. Another driver who is not a stranger to the ASH world is Chip Fuller who will be debuting his new sidewinder power-plant behind his Bezoat, having raced Chip for the last 15 or so years. He will get that program figured out quick and show his presence in the first turn. Rounding out the field is the country boy from Florida, last I saw he was rocking a mullet. Get this man an open face helmet and some jorts and TJ long will fit right in at the 78 nationals. As always the Nuccio's/Long racing team have fast equipment and it will be up to TJ to drive that rig to the front.
There are a few drivers missing from this ASR list but you could tell me it is the qualifiers list for the finals and I wouldn’t argue. It looks like Florida will be well represented by Tj Long, Carson Fabbro and Kelsey Bennet. All proven drivers and fast. Kelsey has the advantage out of this group driving the ever so famous 10F which has been rebranded to sport her numbers 24F. Again the young guns Jackson Gallagher and Treiden Schleicher will be mixing it up with the veterans of the class. We will see some sibling rivalry take place with Pete and Bruce Nichols but you can’t count out Becky Nichols who i guess would make it a family rivalry. Kelly Allen and Adrianna Bonanno will be contenders in this highly contested class, Kelly has her eyes set on mastering the ASR and this might be her year. Everyone’s hero Pete Lauer will be signing autographs at his trailer from 6-9pm each night. All joking aside , we know Pete will be fast. Speaking of being fast, Dylan Runne has been spotted testing at undisclosed location and will be making an appearance in the ASR class driving for Dave Bennett. A brief hiatus from the outboard scene, it will be great to have him back in the pits and on the course. As stated in the ASH preview, Gene Schertz is back and will be bringing his ASR too, that is trouble for the A class. Hope the drivers are ready to keep up
In the ever so fun 15ssh class, it appears only 4 boats are pre-registered. No stranger to this class, Joel Kiddy seemed to get some work done over the winter and is looking to start the year off strong. Abby Pond has been testing, with the acquisition of another 15ssh rig that once belonged to George Stillwell, I’m sure Abby will be dialed in. Piloting the 45M, Erin Pitman was named the driver for Robert Trolian. Scoop was quick, maybe Erin will be the one to put this rig out front. I assume the John Runne rig will be present and whoever is driving it will be fast. Last but not least is the 24M of Peter Lauer, piloting a new Bennett hull, through the grapevine word got back to throttled that testing went well and they have their sights set on the kid from New Jersey.
15ssr only has one boat, looks like Bruce Nichols will have to wait until Standish for the drivers to show him that it is time he ditches the sidefin and rolls up like how runabouts were intended to be raced.
BSH will be interesting. Joel Kiddy appears to be the only sidewinder powered rig pre-registered, he won the summer nationals in 2018 and I believe he will be able to hold his own against the yamatos. The father son team of Mike and Al Sharphouse will be present and representing Region Three. Latest word from Mike was he has a 20SW on order and can’t wait to get it. It appears Rick Miller has taken over the seat from Braxton for BSH. Braxton set a record at Dayton in BSH. Rick will be fast, calling it now. Those Pavlick boys have been up to something, saw some pictures with boats under tarps testing in Florida, new wood from 2021 in the BSH would not surprise me. Remember Mike Pavlick had some fast 80’s, maybe we will see him back in the cockpit at some point this summer but for now we will see Mikey piloiting the entry. Rounding out the field will be Frank Vandal, which appears to be a new name in the BSH class, which is great to see the class grow.
BSR is still a class but no one has raced it since the inception. Maybe 2021 will be the year we finally see a BSR class form.
One of my favorite classes to race and watch is 300ssh. With 9 entries, that is 9 potential winners. We know the obvious Pavlick will be fast but he can be beat. Robert Trolian debuted a new RaceCraft hull at Big Rapid and after some testing in Florida, word on the street is he is fast. The usual suspects who have found themselves in the winners circle more than once in this class that will be present and should not be discounted are Joel Kiddy, Mike Sharphouse, Herb Lanphear and Al Sharphouse. It appears we have three new drivers in the 300 class, two of which I have not had the privilege of meeting yet but based on the past, rookies have been known to mix it up right away so be sure to welcome Robert White and Rick Stevens to the racing family if you see them in the pits. Saving the best for last, Jt Thomson has been working hard this winter and recently acquired a RunneCraft hull in which Casey Carr has been driving and knowing how fast Casey was, JT should be able to jump right into the mix with the long time veterans of 300 like Pavlick and Kiddy.
Someone better film 25SSR, because this is going to be a race for the books. Making the trip from Connecticut, Mike Young has shown his speed the last few years. As long as his fin stays on the boat, he won’t have any issues. Carson Fabbro may be the only Yamato powered 25SSR this week, but that doesn’t mean he won’t be able to break out front. He has proven how fast he is multiple times at Jesup. Joe Pater will be stepping into the A1 Marine ride this year, remember this rig won the Nationals in 2019 with Dave Bennett driving. With Tom Nuccio still healing, Joe Pater will be sure to get the most out of this already fast setup. I watched Pete Lauer test his 25SSR last summer, while we were testing for Top O and it was fast. I’ll leave it at that, Pete won’t disappoint. The hired gun for the weekend, Dylan Runne will again be driving for Dave Bennett. Word on the street is Dave has been super busy all winter. Runne and Bennett together could be the winning combination needed for this tough class. Rounding out our 25SSR field will be the Budman, Tim Sidor. Another Mercury powered missile, I’m sure Tim has been working hard all winter knowing that the competition was doing the same. Again another class where any one of these drivers could win heat one and get 6th the second heat. Everyone is fast.
Another class that could be a final at the nationals is 20ssh. Out of the gate, with the likes of Matt Dagastino, Dana Holt and Mikey Pavlick you know it’s going to be a strong race. Mix in Brent Tate, Bill Parker , Tom Burwinkle and Dan Korpe and now we have a race. Casey Carr has been fast the last few years, racing locally to region 4, so we know he will be in the mix. David Cano got his start in JSH from a driving school and has worked his way up to the 20ssh class, now it’s time to see him hone in on those skills learned from the previous years. It's great to see Johnny Bried and Ken Knudson on the list, both will be great additions to the class, it will get tight in turn one!
Someone call the local paper, we have 16 CSH pre registered. That only means we should see over 30 at the Nationals, right? Looking at this list, no one needs an introduction. We have Ken Knudson, Dan Korpe, Johnny Bried, Schlena Marie ready to mix it up with Matt Dagastino, Logan Sweeney, Herb Lanphear, Mac Pflazer, and Matt Allen. I’m sure Scott Clark and Scott Reed have been busy in the lab, great to see them making the trip from New York. If we learned anything from the 2020 season and the CSH races at Big Rapids, just survive the elims and make it to the final. There are a lot of fast boats in this class matched with driver skill, that creates the opportunity for them all to get to the first turn together. Keep an eye on Brent Tate, Tim Sidor and Mikey Pavlick as they survived Big Rapids and all showed their speed that weekend. Dana Holt will be fast, that's a given. Remember these drivers are already testing for the Nationals, this is the proving ground. If anyone sees John Peeters walking through the pits, tell him he's on the wrong side of the country again. If John does make the trip, that’s just another fast rig through in the ring. If you want to place bets on a race, this might not be the one to bet the house on.
I think it was a few years ago at Jesup , we started a bunch of CSR and only had a handful left when we got to the second heat. Looks like we will have 9 boats, and no slouches. Howie Nichols may be sporting a new ride, and it might just be the ticket to the front. Shawn Breisacher has proven time after time he is quick, piloting his Fabbaro to the podium this weekend could be in his sights. Carson Fabbro is quick, no doubt about it. He will be one to watch. As always Joe Pater will be fighting his way to the front, and won’t make it easy for anyone involved. Adam Allen has been busy this offseason, preparing for 2021. After a strong performance at Big Rapid only to find significant boat damage his weekend was cut short. Improvements were made over the winter and all looks good for Allen heading into the first race of the season. Tim Weber can never be counted out, a strong contender and smart racer . Weber will be right where he needs to be. My buddy Mac Pflazer has been hard at work all 2020 and during the offseason.His CSR program improved greatly with the addition of the Fabbro boat and he showed his speed at big rapids, which opened a lot of people's eyes. Big things in the future for Pflazer in CSR!
DSH looks to be on the schedule, It appears the Mad Russian will be piloting one rig and putting another on the water, driver to be announced but maybe we will see Wes Rogers climb back into the O'connor spaceship. If we flip back to the Fall Jesup race, Wes was fast but just couldn’t keep it on the water. Ralph Immell will be making the trek down and seeing where he stands against some of the fastest DSH in the country. Speaking of fastest in the country, it looks like the “What's up Doc” racing team will be towing the 2019 National winning rig along with their fleet, with Braxton at the wheel. We know this rig will be quick, and won’t take long to get out front.
Wishing everyone the best and safe racing. Some of the Throttled crew will be in attendance, so we hope to provide some pictures and updates as the racing takes place. Looking forward to a great 2021 season!
JWIII