The Unlimited Lights - 2004 in Review

By Fred Farley - Unlimited Hydroplane Historian

For the second year in a row, the High Point Champion in the Unlimited Light Racing Series wasn't decided until the last day of the season.

MIKE'S HARD LEMONADE/HAPPY GO LUCKY (UL-1), the defending champion, retained its title by outscoring GRAHAM TRUCKING/SECURITY RACE PRODUCTS/VICTORIA EXPRESS (UL-72), 8884 points to 7411. XAUDARO RACING (UL-929) checked in third with 6073, followed by FREEDOM RACING (UL-5) with 5176, MISS BOAT ELECTRIC (UL-51) with 5059, and THUNDER VALLEY RACING (UL-40) with 4571.

In the course of the eight-race 2004 campaign, three teams claimed victories. UL-1, co-driven by Jerry and Greg Hopp, had four; UL-72 with George Woods had three; and UL-5 with Kevin Aylesworth had one.

In all, sixteen teams and twenty drivers scored points during 2004 and delivered lots of competitive action for the fans.

The Unlimited Lights are automotive-powered inboard hydroplanes that usually measure around 24 to 25 feet in length. They are descendants of the old 7-Litre Class that debuted in the years following World War II.

The UL series started in 1995 as a support class to the larger Unlimited hydroplanes. Since the formation of the Unlimited Light Hydroplane Racing Association (ULHRA) in 2001, the Lights are now governed by their own corporate entity and have developed into one of inboard racing's finest showcases.

Six teams basically dominated the action in 2004: UL-1, UL-72, UL- 929, UL-5, UL-51, and UL-40. These half-dozen boats accounted for 35 of the 40 "top-5" finishes during the season.

UL-1 finished first at Evansville, Seattle, Olympia, and Port Angeles, second at Issaquah, third at the Tri-Cities, and fourth at Valleyfield.

UL-72 finished first at Issaquah, the Tri-Cities, and San Diego, and second at Seattle.

UL-929 and driver Vince Xaudaro finished second at Evansville, Valleyfield, and the Tri-Cities, third at Seattle and San Diego, and fourth at Port Angeles.

UL-5 finished first at Valleyfield, second at San Diego and Port Angeles, third at Evansville and Olympia, fourth at the Tri-Cities, and fifth at Issaquah and Seattle.

UL-51 and driver Michael Flaherty finished fourth at Issaquah, Seattle, Olympia, and San Diego, and fifth at Port Angeles.

UL-40 and driver Harold Mills finished second at Olympia, third at Issaquah, Valleyfield, and Port Angeles, and fifth at the Tri-Cities.

The season-opener at Issaquah, Washington's "Tastin-N-Racin" served notice that the competition would be fast and furious in 2004.

Co-favorites UL-1 with Greg Hopp and UL-72 with George Woods advanced to the Final Heat of the Baker Equipment Cup with 1200 points apiece, based upon victories in three preliminary heats.

At the end of lap-one on Lake Sammamish, Hopp and Woods were dead even. Then, on the second backstretch, Woods pulled away to a roostertail length lead and was never headed.

This was the first victory in the ULHRA series by veteran racer Woods and his first race appearance with the UL-72 team since his replacement of the retiring Phil Bononcini. The win was also the first as crew chief for longtime UL-72 crew member George Greer.

This was the first victory for the bright red UL-72 since the 2002 Tri-Cities Columbia Cup.

"Tastin-N-Racin" marked a return to racing by Greg Hopp in his first appearance since an injury accident at Madison, Indiana, in 2003 with Fred Leland's U-100 Unlimited hydroplane.

The next stop on the tour in Evansville, Indiana, proved to be a challenge in more ways than one.

The UL boats hadn't run in Evansville since 1999 and weren't planning on doing so in 2004.

With less than three weeks notice, the ULHRA staff accepted an invitation to not only race at Evansville but also to sanction and administer the event. The local committee had reached an impasse with the Unlimited hydroplane sanctioning body and elected to conduct an "outlaw" race.

Working against time, UL officials and teams heroically came to the rescue of the Evansville event, which might have died on the vine after 25 years. Unlimited Light participants had to rapidly adjust work schedules to get the "time off" to travel to southern Indiana.

Nine UL boats and five Unlimiteds set up shop in the Evansville pit area for what turned out to be a successful 26th annual "Thunder On The Ohio."

Greg Hopp and UL-1 improved upon their Lake Sammamish performance by taking a convincing first-place on the Ohio River and averaged better than 112 miles per hour in the Final Heat.

Vince Xaudaro took second-place with UL-929 in his best-ever finish in four years as a UL driver, followed by Kevin Aylesworth in UL-5, Brian Perkins (subbing for Paul Becker) in UL-14, and Jerry Hopp (subbing for Paul Droullard) in UL-9.

In the Unlimited portion of the program, Dave Villwock achieved the top spot with MISS BUDWEISER (U-1), followed by Mitch Evans in MASTER TIRE (U-3) and J.W. Myers in LLUMAR WINDOW FILM (U-8).

So successful was the ULHRA's handling of both the U-boats and the UL- boats at Evansville, they were invited to do likewise at the Tri- Cities and San Diego races, later in the season.

The Unlimited Light trail then led north of the border to historic Valleyfield, Quebec, in the heart of French Canada.

The 2004 chapter of the Molson Dry Regates De Valleyfield on St. Francis Bay saw Kevin Aylesworth, sponsored by Baker Equipment Company, take first-place, followed closely by Xaudaro in UL-929 and Mills in UL-40.

Three boats were penalized for jumping the gun in the Final Heat: UL- 1 with Jerry Hopp (driving in place of son Greg who had an Unlimited ride that weekend), Patrick Haworth in UL-10, and Woods in UL-72.

On a human interest level, the first female driver in the 10-year history of Unlimited Light racing made her debut at Valleyfield. Tracy Morgan of St. Clair Shores, Michigan, finished seventh in her first competitive heat with MISS SOFTWARE PROTOTYPE (UL-14).

The scene now shifted back to the state of Washington for three races in four weeks at the Tri-Cities, Seattle, and Olympia.

Eleven Lights showed up to compete for the Security Race Products Trophy at Kennewick-Pasco-Richland, together with ten Unlimiteds.

The fans took to the new "D" shaped UL course excitedly at the Tri- Cities, which brought the racing closer to the front straightaway shoreline on the Kennewick side of the Columbia River.

George Woods rebounded from a First Heat DNF to win when it counted in the finale with UL-72. Woods overcame an early lead by the "X-man" Vince Xaudaro in UL-929 to claim the victory. Jerry Hopp took third with UL-1, followed by Kevin Aylesworth in UL-5.

One potentially serious incident occurred just prior to Heat 1-B. Xaudaro and Harold Mills in the UL-40 collided coming down for the start, and Mills was assessed a one-minute penalty. Both boats suffered damage but were able to continue racing.

In the ULHRA-sanctioned Columbia Cup for the Unlimited hydroplanes, Villwock and MISS BUDWEISER again emerged triumphant, followed by Steve David in OH BOY! OBERTO (U-6)

Two UL veterans--Xaudaro and Steve Hook--were among four rookies who qualified as Unlimited drivers at the Tri-Cities.

The "X-man" drove the U-00 and Hook piloted the U-99 for the Fred Leland team and turned in a fine account of themselves. The same could be said of J. Michael Kelly who placed an overall third with Jim Harvey's U-2 and Dick Lynch who handled Terry Martin's U-20. Lynch is the brother of ULHRA announcer John Lynch.

The Seattle Seafair Regatta marked a famous first for Unlimited Light racing. For the first time since the formation of ULHRA, Inc., the Lights raced on Seafair Sunday with the "B" Main and Final Heats broadcast live on KIRO-TV/Channel 7.

The battle for the Graham Trucking Cup at Seafair boiled down to a classic duel between the two "Old Salts" of UL racing--Jerry Hopp and George Woods. Hopp emerged the winner, 110.262 miles per hour to 108.921. But he had to work for it.

Hopp and UL-1 took the lead from Xaudaro and UL-929 in the first turn and streaked to victory. Woods and UL-72 didn't make as good a start as Hopp but pulled to within a half roostertail length of Jerry by the end of lap-two. Hopp nevertheless held Woods off to the checkered flag.

At the trophy presentation, Woods praised Hopp, saying "I was waiting for Jerry to make a mistake and he didn't. He drove a perfect race."

Greg Hopp had the following week off from his Unlimited assignment. So it was the younger Hopp at the wheel of UL-1 at the OLympia Speedfest, presented by Ted's Red Apple Market. But no matter who was driving, it was UL-1 the winner for the third straight year at Black Lake.

Greg took the lead right at the start of the Final Heat and was never headed. Pressing Hopp all the way for the entire 4-lap/5-mile distance was Thunder Valley Racing's Harold Mills in the UL-40. It was the best showing of the year for Mills--the only African-American driver in UL racing.

Kevin Aylesworth and UL-5 weren't far behind Mills and took a solid third, ahead of Michael Flaherty in UL-51 and Joe Turner in UL-18. The latter was a surprise entry at Black Lake and hadn't been expected to compete, after having suffered extensive hull damage the week before in Seattle.

With two races remaining on the Unlimited Light calendar, UL-1 led UL- 72 by more than 1300 National Points. The UL-72 had experienced mechanical difficulties at Black Lake but was still in the hunt with a total of 2800 points still up for grabs at San Diego and Port Angeles.

Paul Droullard's AMERICAN EAGLE (UL-9) was the talk of the town at San Diego during Friday qualifying. Droullard posted a lap of 122.324, which is the fastest lap in ULHRA history.

The Ron Jones, Sr.-designed UL-9 had experienced the "bugs" of newness throughout much of 2004, but was now shaping up as a viable contender for the 2005 ULHRA season.

Eleven UL-boats and eight U-boats gathered for the Washington Mutual Thunderboat Regatta at San Diego.

Joe Frauenheim's UL-72 team almost missed the show on account of an accident on the way to the race site. A trailer component broke, sending the boat and trailer off of Interstate 5, south of Portland, Oregon. The crew thrashed repairs for several days but were ready to race when the starting gun fired.

The ULHRA-sanctioned Bill Muncey Cup for the Unlimiteds was won by Dave Villwock in MISS BUDWEISER. This was the final appearance after 42 years of one of power boat racing's most celebrated teams. Appropriately, they went out a winner.

In the ULHRA version of the Unlimited National High Points Standings, MISS BUDWEISER (U-1) scored 4420 points in the three races, followed by VACATIONVILLE.COM (U-3) with 4117, LLUMAR WINDOW FILM (U-8) with 2413, OH BOY! OBERTO (U-6) with 2305, and GRAHAM TRUCKING (U-2) with 1541.

In a thrilling finish, George Woods and UL-72 held off the hometown favorite, Kevin Aylesworth in UL-5, in the Final Heat of the Laughlin Nevada Unlimited Light Hydroplane Challenge on San Diego's Mission Bay.

Jerry Hopp and UL-1 led for two laps until a fuel tank malady caused Hopp's boat to struggle and nearly go dead in the water. Aylesworth and then Woods went by, while Jerry faded to seventh position.

George then overtook Kevin and held on for a 5 boat length victory. UL-72 averaged 107.909 to UL-5's 106.682. Vince Xaudaro and UL-929 were a distant third at 100.087.

The triumph by Woods matched his win on Mission Bay in 1988 with OH BOY! OBERTO, an Unlimited hydroplane. Woods thus became the first driver to win in both categories at San Diego.

With only the Port Angeles, Washington, race remaining, the UL-72 team remained in mathematical contention for the ULHRA Series Point Title for 2004. Woods already had the UL Driver Points Title locked up, on account of the UL-1 team's having two different drivers during the season.

After only two years as a ULHRA race site, Port Angeles has quickly become a popular stop on the Unlimited Light tour, the occasional fog not withstanding.

With Greg Hopp behind the UL-1 wheel for the season finale, Strait Thunder 2004, the Hopp team clinched their second season championship on the same body of water as their first--the Strait of Juan de Fuca, where the "Strait Thunder" name comes from.

Greg's first-place finish in preliminary Heat 2-B guaranteed the High Points title for the father-and-son team and their primary sponsor, MIKE'S HARD LEMONADE.

The Final Heat of the Victoria Express-sponsored race was a heartbreaker for Kevin Aylesworth. He and the UL-5 led the entire heat, except for the last 200 yards.

Kevin's supercharger belt came loose, reducing horsepower and slowing the boat down. Hopp and the UL-1 caught up with him for the victory, coming from well back for the win. Hopp averaged 86.104 to Aylesworth's 85.116.

Harold Mills and UL-40 checked in third, followed by Vince Xaudaro in UL-929 and Michael Flaherty in UL-51 to conclude a memorable 2004 Unlimited Light campaign.

A full field of UL hydroplanes is expected to do competitive battle in 2005. The ULHRA's popular "Lighter Than LIGHTS" (LTL) series for boats from the smaller inboard classes will likewise return at selected race sites.

The 2005 season will mark the inaugural running of the eagerly awaited American Challenge Cup Series (ACCS) for larger automotive- powered boats in the 25 to 28-foot range.