HAPO Columbia Cup 2018 at the Tri-Cities Water Follies

The 2018 HAPO Columbia Cup will mark the 53rd time Unlimited Hydroplanes have raced on the Columbia River. This year’s event, like the inaugural in 1966, will most likely have 12 Unlimiteds in attendance. But the modern Unlimited Hydroplane has very little in common with those first boats that churned the waters of the Columbia River. The hydroplanes of today are almost more plane than hydro. They are thirty foot long; 7,000 pound wings that glide over the water with only the bare minimum of the boat making contact with the river. Powered by turbine engines capable of nearly 3,000hp, the boats can reach straightaway speeds close to 200 miles per hour. Qualifying lap averages in the mid 160mph range are common with the faster boats in the fleet. To put it in simpler terms, at speed, an Unlimited Hydroplane will travel more than the length of a football fields in the space of a second.

One thing the 2.5 Mile Columbia Cup course has always been renowned for is speed. Boats tend to post their fastest qualifying times of the year at the Columbia Cup. This course has been the fastest on the circuit for the last five years. If you want to see the fastest race of the year, attend the Columbia Cup. With the increased speed comes increased danger. A nudge of water from a roostertail, an inopportune roller, or a gust of wind and suddenly a hydroplane might be making an unscheduled appearance in the yearly air show. Fortunately, the safety advances in the sport have shielded the drivers from serious injury during these circumstances.

Action starts Friday evening with with Dash for Cash – the top four teams will compete for a generous cash prize. Racing starts Saturday, with two sets of heats and concludes on Sunday with two more heat sets and a Final Heat. The winner not only takes home the Columbia Cup hardware, but they win the coveted parking spot under Bernie Little’s famous tree for the following year’s race.

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This popular racing team made a big splash returning to the Tri-Cities
Kennewick WA —

Owner Charley Wiggins never thought he’d bring his U-27 unlimited hydroplane to the Tri-Cities this year for the HAPO Columbia Cup.

“It’s all about sponsorship,” said Wiggins, sitting in an RV on Friday in Lampson Pits. “(Tow) money alone is not enough to get us here. You can’t afford to race with just that.”

Especially when your home base is in Alabama. But Larry Oberto was looking to sponsor an unlimited hydroplane for the Tri-Cities race and in Seattle next week. Oberto’s family had sold its company earlier this year, but marketing put Larry Oberto in charge of sponsoring a hydroplane to celebrate the company’s 100th anniversary this year.

“I credit Oberto CEO Tom Hernquest,” said Oberto. “He’s ultimately the one who made it happen for this 100th anniversary.”

Oberto first thought of Erick Ellstrom, owner of the U-16 boat who has had the company sponsor him before, and who has a deal with Oberto on an off-road vehicle with his son, Sven, as a driver.



“Erick and us had been talking about it since November,” said Oberto. “But everybody was apprehensive to pull the plug. A lot of time went by before Erick said it was finally time to pull the plug.”

Oberto could have done something with Ed Cooper in the U-3, but only in Seattle. Cooper already had a deal with Grigg’s and Ace Hardware for the Tri-Cities, and Larry Oberto wanted a deal with a team for Tri-Cities and Seattle.

“Corporate thinks there is more value in Seattle,” he admitted. “But I think there is more value here. There are at least 30,000 to 40,000 people here who cheer who wins or boos who wins. Here, I’m reaching diehard race fans.”

That meant a deal for Wiggins and his U-27 team.

“It is pretty cool,” said Wiggins, who changed his boat number to U-1918 for these next two races to celebrate Oberto’s first year of business. It was a pleasant surprise for team driver Cal Phipps, who had no expectations to be in the Tri-Cities.



“I was at zero on us coming here a month ago,” said Phipps. “Without the Oberto’s help, the chance of all of us coming here was zero.”

Phipps had the fourth fastest qualifying time on Friday with a 154.876 mph speed.

Once he found out the deal was done, Oberto went about getting some equipment. He got Ellstrom and Mike Hanson to build him two propellers. Then Oberto went to Joe Little, the son of the late Miss Budweiser owner Bernie Little, and leased two turbine engines from him.

“So I am now the owner of two turbines,” Oberto said.

Neither will likely be used this weekend, so the 2.5 Wiggins owns will do the trick in the Tri-Cities. Wiggins, meanwhile, put together a strong team for support. Adam Bratvoldt from Whispering Turbines of Montana is one member. But the most notable member of the team is Dave Villwock.



Yes, that Dave Villwock.

The all-time winningest unlimited driver in history. The standout former crew chief. The motor sports hall of fame member inductee.

“Dave has been building propellers for us,” said Wiggins. “He’s built about three or four of them the last three or four years. He’s been a coach and consultant for us.”

And Villwock is enjoying it.

“I’m trying to pay it forward,” he said. “I have been given so many opportunities over the years. I’ve met so many smart people. I’ve called people to tell them I appreciate what they’ve done.”

Villwock is a person whom people either like … or they don’t. It doesn’t bother him.

“I won at Madison one year, and I got booed by some of the fans,” said Villwock. “It bothered me. So I asked Dale Earnhardt one time about it and what he did. He said ‘If you ain’t been booed, you ain’t done nothing right. This ain’t no popularity contest.’ ”

So he doesn’t let the naysayers bother him. It’s about the work.

“Everybody thinks there is some magic screw some place,” said Villwock. “No. It’s all about hard work.”

The relationship has already paid off. The boat has a tendency to hit every hole in the water. Villwock figured out a problem with the canard and helped get it adjusted.

“He’s mentioned a lot of things in situations where he’d say, ‘Here’s how we did it,’ ” said Wiggins.

Phipps is in heaven.

“I have a lot of questions for Dave obviously I’d love to have him answer,” said Phipps. “You can’t erase the experience and the knowledge he has. No matter where he goes, there is an improvement for that team.

“If you have an opportunity to learn from someone like that, you’d be crazy not to.”

Already, Phipps has listened to Villwock about communication with the rest of the team.

“Immediately when I come out of the boat, I need to talk to Charley and Dave about what I saw and felt out there,” Phipps said.

He hopes that maybe on Sunday they’ll be communicating about a Columbia Cup victory. No matter what, Phipps is ecstatic.

“Not everybody gets Oberto money,” he said. “It’s like a dream to sit here in an Oberto shirt and say we have Oberto sponsorship for the next two races. It’s a dream.”

Friday notes: Jimmy Shane was the field’s fastest qualifier in the U-1 Miss HomeStreet with a speed of 163.431 mph, just 0.148 mph off the course qualifying record – which, ironically, is held by Villwock in the U-96 Spirit of Qatar (163.579 mph) back in 2010. Shane popped that speed in the second qualifying session in the afternoon, when it was much hotter than the morning session and not conducive to fast speeds with turbines. “We had some good stuff on the boat,” Shane said with a smile. It was the first time in three races this season that Shane earned the top qualifying speed.

▪ Andrew Tate, the driver of the U-9 Les Schwab Tires, was the fastest qualifier in the first two races in Guntersville, Ala., and Madison, Ind. Tate was second on Friday with a speed of 160.525 mph. Defending Columbia Cup champion J. Michael Kelly drove the U-12 Graham Trucking to a third-place speed of 156.260 mph. Other qualifiers were Phipps in the Oberto at 154.876 mph; Tom Thompson and the U-11 Reliable Diamond Tool presents J&D’s at 153.680 mph; Brian Perkins in the U-21 Darrell Strong presents PayneWest Insurance at 153.599 mph; and Dustin Echols in the U-440 Bucket List Racing at 139.556 mph. Jimmy King in the U-3 Grigg’s presents the Mis Ace Hardware and Aaron Salmon in the U-99.9 Carstars powers KISW Miss Rock didn’t have qualifying speeds, although both drivers went out late in the afternoon and clocked at least 145 mph on a lap. The speeds didn’t count because qualifying was closed, but both boats will be racing Saturday.

▪ The Madison team was hoping to christen the new U-6 on Friday by getting into the Columbia River and running a few laps. It just didn’t have the time, however, as it was concentrating most of its efforts on the old boat and qualifying. With former Madison crew chiefs Mike Hanson and Larry Hanson helping current crew chief Cindy Shirley, the team did trailer fire the boat in the pits as team members applauded. The Hansons did the bulk of the work on getting the boat built these last few months. ... Shane drove the U-1 to victory in the made-for-TV Dash for Cash. ... Racing continues Saturday with four preliminary heats: 1A is set for 10:20 a.m.; 1B is at 10:40 a.m.; 2A is set for 4:20 p.m.; and 2B will run at 4:40 p.m. (Subject to change). ... The Grand Prix World supercharged hydroplane division will have seven teams competing this weekend, including series leader Jerry Hopp and the GP-15 Hopp Racing. Also competing is the U-20 The Truss Company presents Miss Tri-Cities with driver Ed Preston. It’s the lone GP representing the Tri-Cities.

Read more here: https://www.tri-cityherald.com/sport...#storylink=cpy

Andrew Tate (Walled Lake, Mich.), driving the U-9 Les Schwab Tires, was never threatened in the winner-take-all final of the HAPO Columbia Cup, held in 100+ degree heat in Kennewick, WA. His victory was his first on the Columbia River 2-1/2 mile course. At the beginning of the race, he was briefly challenged by Brian Perkins (North Bend, Wash.) in the U-21 PayneWest Insurance, however, Perkins hit a buoy, resulting in a one minute penalty. That dropped Perkins back to fourth place overall. Cal Phipps (Avon Lake, Ohio), in the U-1918 Oberto Beef Jerky, finished second. J. Michael Kelly (Bonney Lake, Wash.) in the U-12 Graham Trucking, who overcame a weekend of issues, placed third.

“When I came out of turn two near the blue bridge I let out a sigh of relief,” Tate said. “We kind of watched what all the drivers were doing this weekend and we were taking notes.”

“I couldn’t be happier for Les Schwab Tires, Lori and Mike Jones, and the entire team,” said the 28-year old driver Tate. “The team worked their butts off. They stayed late Saturday night and were back in the pits at 5:00 a.m.”

Jimmy Shane (Maple Valley, Wash.) was in the hunt and crossed the finished line second, but H1 Unlimited hydroplane officials determined he encroached on Tom Thompson in the U-11 J&D’s, causing him to lose power, “affecting the outcome of the race,” said Doug Shelton, chief referee. He was disqualified from the final.

Thompson, later restarted and finished fifth, and Dustin Echols in the U-440 Bucket List Racing finished sixth.

“All five boats were going up the back stretch tight,” Shane said. I saw the U-9 moving back and forth in lane two and three, and I needed to make a move before I got boxed in. It was 100 percent my fault. I feel terrible that I affected the outcome of U-11. I never wanted to do that. I truly apologize.”

The win for Tate increases his H1 Unlimited Hydroplane Racing Series national points lead over Shane by 1,920. Thompson now takes over second in the standings, but is also far behind Tate by 1,173.

The H1 Unlimited Hydroplane Series now moves to Seattle, for the Albert Lee Appliance Cup next weekend on August 3-5.

2018 HAPO Columbia Cup Final Results
1) U-9 Les Schwab Tires, Andrew Tate, 145.385 mph avg.
2) U-1918 Oberto Beef Jerky, Cal Phipps, 137.610 mph avg.
3) U-12 Graham Trucking, J. Michael Kelly, 128.455 mph avg.
4) U-21 PayneWest Insurance, Brian Perkins, 116.775 mph avg.
5) U-11 J&D’s, Tom Thompson, 116.230 mph avg.
6) U-440 Bucket List Racing, 104.808 mph avg.

H1 Unlimited Hydroplane Racing Series National High Points
1) Andrew Tate, U-9 Les Schwab Tires, 5,280 points
2) Tom Thompson, U-11 Reliable Diamond Tool presents J& D’s, 3,507 points
3) Jimmy Shane, U-1 Miss HomeStreet, 3,360 points
4) Dustin Echols, U-440 Bucket List Racing, 2,221 points
5) Brian Perkins, U-21 PayneWest Insurance, 2,213 point
6) Cal Phipps, U-1918 Oberto Beef Jerky, 2,135 points
7) J. Michael Kelly, U-12 Graham Trucking, 895 points
8) Aaron Salmon, U-99.9 Miss Rock, 225 points
9) Jimmy King, U-3 Ace Hardware, 146 points

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