The Unlimited Lights - 2001 in Review

By Fred Farley - Unlimited Hydroplane Historian

The fans will be talking about the 2001 Unlimited Light Racing Series for years to come. From coast to coast, the ULRS teams and officials proved that they are indeed capable of holding their own as one of the American Power Boat Association's finest showcases.

The 2001 campaign shaped up as a pivotal year for the Unlimited Lights. For the first time, the series operated under the aegis of its own corporate identity--the Unlimited Light Hydroplane Racing Association (ULHRA).

After having served as the support class for the larger Unlimited hydroplanes since 1995, the Lights had to prove that they can make it on their own. Well, they can. And the racing world is richer for it.

For the second year in a row, the team of Joe Frauenheim and Phil Bononcini dominated the racing action with victories in four races out of seven with their BUDWEISER/POCKET MECHANIC (UL-72): Tonawanda, New York; Valleyfield, Quebec; Seattle, Washington; and Chelan, Washington.

Designed and built by Ron Jones, Sr., the Chevrolet-powered BUDWEISER/POCKET MECHANIC topped the National High Points chart with 6168 accumulated markers.

Then came Jerry and Greg Hopp's FREDDIE'S CLUB (UL-15) with 4218, Carl and Randy Haas's MISS COMP-AIR (UL-110) with 3947, and Dave Bender's SECURITY RACE PRODUCTS (UL-38) with 3551. And rounding out the top five in points with 2661 was Doug McIntosh's variously named UL-14 with drivers Wayne Howard, Mike McLellan, Dennis Macy, and Mike Chasin.

In addition to BUDWEISER/POCKET MECHANIC, three other teams achieved victory in 2001: FREDDIE'S CLUB (Issaquah, Washington), SECURITY RACE PRODUCTS (Detroit, Michigan), and MISS COMP-AIR (San Diego, California).

The ULRS season kicked off on June 2-3 at the Tastin' `N' Racin' Regatta on Issaquah's historic Lake Sammamish. Long a hotbed of hydroplane activity, it was on Lake Sammamish that the first-ever heat at over 100 miles per hour by a Limited hydroplane was recorded in 1969. (This was by the late George Babcock in the 7-Litre Class RECORD-7.)

At the start of the Final Heat on Lake Sammamish, Greg Hopp had lane- one with FREDDIE'S CLUB and Phil Bononcini occupied lane-two with BUDWEISER/POCKET MECHANIC. Greg and Phil battled head-to-head for the first few laps before Bononcini cut inside the third buoy of turn- two, forcing FREDDIE'S CLUB to go with him. BUDWEISER/POCKET MECHANIC was penalized one minute for this infraction.

FREDDIE'S CLUB averaged 102.014 in the Final Heat, followed by Dave Bender in SECURITY RACE PRODUCTS at 96.463 and Rick Bridgeman in MISS TED'S RED APPLE MARKETS (UL-17) at 95.289. Mike McLellan was officially fourth with JACOBSEN EXCELLENCE (UL-14), followed by Bononcini in BUDWEISER/POCKET MECHANIC.

With the scene shifting from the West Coast to the East Coast, the ULs were joined by a contingent of Grand National Class and Grand Prix Class boats at Hydromania in Tonawanda on June 23.

Bononcini and BUDWEISER/POCKET MECHANIC were the only Unlimited Light team to survive the combined GP/UL Final Heat on the always-rough Niagara River. But they survived it in first place, 23 seconds ahead of Tom Snyder and PONTIAC COIL (GP-154) and 29 seconds ahead of Jean Theoret and CASINO DE MONTREAL (GP-7), which was penalized a minute for jumping the gun.

BUDWEISER/POCKET MECHANIC made it two in a row two weeks later in Valleyfield, Quebec, which is the ULHRA's only Canadian playdate. Before a crowd of 125,000, pilot Bononcini averaged 85.985 in the Championship Heat. Randy Haas, who had failed to finish at Tonawanda, rebounded to take second-place at Valleyfield with a speed of 85.503 in the finale. Dennis Macy was the only other finisher with MS. PILE CONTRACTORS/CANADA-1 (UL-14).

The rest of the field experienced a variety of mechanical difficulties. These included Dave Bender's UL-38, which lost a skidfin, and George Kennedy's UL-21, which lost a blower belt.

Bender's SECURITY RACE PRODUCTS team made up for their bad luck at Valleyfield with a victory at Detroit the following weekend. Jerry Hopp took second with HAPPY GO LUCKY (UL-15), followed by Cal Phipps in SCHALLER RACING (NM-55).

The Final Heat at Detroit was bizarre to say the least. The fans were treated to some really nice deck-to-deck racing, but five of the eight drivers incurred penalties: Phil Bononcini, George Kennedy, and Randy Haas for jumping the gun, Vince Xaudaro (UL-929) for bearing out, and Dennis Macy for changing lanes.

SECURITY RACE PRODUCTS also took home the 2001 Automotive Gold Cup at Detroit. (The Automotive Gold Cup is a one-heat exhibition race for UL boats that doesn't count for National High Points.) Dave Bender and the UL-38 averaged 84.306 to outrun Mark Burghardt in BEACH GRILLE (UL-13), which did 81.960. Then came Hopp in HAPPY GO LUCKY (UL-15), Kennedy in THE ROOSTERTAIL (UL-21), and Xaudaro in SINDBAD'S (UL-929).

The Detroit race saw a demonstration of good sportsmanship by former UL participants Charley and Milton Wiggins, owners of the retired EARL'S PERFORMANCE PRODUCTS (UL-10). The BUDWEISER/POCKET MECHANIC suffered a damaged front canard wing. Charley and Milt had one and the two teams began traveling toward each other, one from Detroit and the other from Gadsden, Alabama. They met in Kentucky and the UL-72 made it back in time to compete at Detroit.

The three remaining races on the ULRS tour (at Seattle, San Diego, and Chelan) shaped up as a classic showdown between BUDWEISER/POCKET MECHANIC and MISS COMP-AIR. The UL-72 won two of them and conked out once, while the UL-110 finished second, first, and second to conclude the 2001 season. The FREDDIE'S CLUB team of Jerry and Greg Hopp was also in the hunt and finished third, second, and third with the UL- 15.

A lot of teams experienced equipment damage at Seattle, but the Final Heat ended up being the race that everyone hoped it would be. BUDWEISER/POCKET MECHANIC and MISS COMP-AIR really flew around the larger than usual (1.67-mile) track and finished far ahead of the rest of the field. Phil Bononcini reeled off laps of 107, 107, and 106 to secure first-place, compared to 105, 107, and 104 by Randy Haas. Then came Jerry Hopp in FREDDIE'S CLUB, Vince Xaudaro in CONTOUR AEROSPACE (UL-929), and Dennis Macy in BRUNDAGE-BONE CONCRETE PUMPING (UL-14).

Doug Brow appeared to take on water in the first turn of the Seattle Final with GRAHAM TRUCKING (UL-3) and was out of the race, while Nick Badolato conked out in the final turn with ALLEY CHEVROLET (UL-40).

Badolato's Thunder Valley team (UL-21 and UL-40) served as the series guinea pigs for the Blown Motor Rule Option in 2001. In a class traditionally defined by naturally aspirated engines, Badolato's crew struggled to tune their supercharged motors within the restrictions placed upon them by ULHRA Rules. The team finished first in a preliminary heat at Detroit and generally started with the front line boats in the races. It was finishing the races that seemed to get in their way.

The annual Bayfair Bill Muncey Cup on San Diego's Mission Bay took place under a cloud of gloom, coming as did in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks in the East. But when the decision was made to go ahead with the September 16 race as planned, a representative field of nine UL boats made the best of an unhappy situation.

The San Diego race went to Haas and MISS COMP-AIR after another deck- to-deck battle with Bononcini in BUDWEISER/POCKET MECHANIC for the better part of three laps, until Bononcini went dead in the water. Jerry Hopp inherited second-place with FREDDIE'S CLUB, followed by Vince Xaudaro in TEAM CHAPMAN.

At the award ceremony, Haas called to Chris Stratton, the son of the late George Stratton, who was fatally injured in a blow-over accident with APPIAN JERONIMO at the 2000 San Diego Bayfair. Randy handed the first-place trophy to Chris, saying "This one's for your Poppa."

The 2001 Unlimited Light Racing Series ended where it had begun--in the state of Washington--on September 23. For the first time in their seven-year history, the ULs competed on picturesque Lake Chelan, which hadn't hosted a major league power boat regatta since the Unlimited hydroplanes raced there for the Apple Cup between 1957 and 1960.

As the sun set on a memorable campaign, the Unlimited Lights bowed out in style with a slam-bang Final Heat at Chelan. BUDWEISER/POCKET MECHANIC and MISS COMP-AIR turned in some very impressive speeds-- 117.655 and 114.737 respectively. Greg Hopp (on vacation from the ZNETIX Unlimited team) wasn't far behind at 112.101 with FREDDIE'S CLUB, while Nick Badolato checked in fourth at 104.975 with THUNDER VALLEY RACING (UL-21).

In summary, Phil Bononcini and BUDWEISER/POCKET MECHANIC posted the best competitive record of the year by running fifth, first, first, fourth, first, DNF, and first in seven Final Heats.

Randy Haas, who finished second in Driver Points with MISS COMP-AIR, ran DNF, second, sixth, second, first, and second in six Final Heats during 2001.

The father and son team of Jerry and Greg Hopp appeared in five Final Heats and finished first, second, third, second, and third between them with FREDDIE'S CLUB (also known as HAPPY GO LUCKY).

Before heading back to the barn to prepare for 2002, the Unlimited Lights had one more port of call in 2001. Bononcini in BUDWEISER/POCKET MECHANIC, Badolato in THUNDER VALLEY RACING, and Wally Johnston in THE SPIRIT OF COEUR D'ALENE (UL-19) staged an exhibition at Harrison, Idaho, on Lake Coeur d'Alene, about forty miles from the city of Coeur d'Alene. The purpose of the exhibition was to test the waters for a possible regatta to be run at Harrison during the 2002 racing season.

In the words of ULHRA President Joe Frauenheim, "Six of our seven races were televised on Speedvision with a combined viewing audience of 3.5 million people. The television shows had a sponsorship value averaging $250,000 per show for a season total of $1.5 million dollars in commercial sponsorship returns.

"Fourteen boats and seventeen drivers scored points on the 2001 tour," Frauenheim concluded. "All in all, it was a fantastic inaugural season for the Lights operating under their own governing body."