TEAM AMSOIL RESURFACES WITH TEAGUE POWERED SUPERCAT IN SAINT CLAIR

**Teague Custom Marine** · 07-30-2014 07:31 PM

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

TEAM AMSOIL OFFSHORE RESURFACES WITH NEW TEAGUE POWER IN ST CLAIR

Following a year-and-a-half hiatus from offshore powerboat racing, Team AMSOIL Offshore Racing was assembled for duty in Saint Clair, Michigan for the 20th annual Bluewater Offshore Racing Association’s Saint Clair River Classic! They brought the same tried and true silver Skater 368 fans are familiar with, except with a little bit more firepower under the hatches. Teague Custom Marine has been working for months rerigging the boat and building two pairs of the “750 HP” specification engines to campaign the boat in the new SuperCat and SuperBoat classes. The engines, built with the best of the best from CP Pistons, World Blocks, Brodix Heads, ATI Dampers, Carillo Rods, Holley Carburetors, Jesel Cam Drives, T&D Rocker Arms, Isky Lifters and Springs, Manley Valves, CMI Exhaust, and MSD Ignition, are specially designed and configured to maximize performance given the class specs, while retaining the durability to run at 7000 RPM at wide open throttle, indefinitely. The boat was completely refreshed, reconfigured, and rerigged with a Dry Sump Oiling system from Stef’s, mechanical pressure gauges and digital trim indicators from Livorsi, Lifeline safely harnesses, digital air/fuel meters, and a double stage regulated fuel system from Weldon. The SuperCat minimum weight of 9500 lbs, up from the SuperCat Light minimum weight of 8350 lbs, mandated the addition of 750 lbs of lead ignots for the now smallest boat in the SuperCat fleet to be heavy enough to make weight, even with additional lead shot bags and fuel.

Suffice to say: with 1600 Horsepower, 7000 RPM, 1.61:1 gear ratios, 9500 pound minimum weight, and a completely different range of propellers, this was going to be a whole new ballgame for the AMSOIL Offshore race team. The boat was finished just days before the trip from California to Michigan, and without a local crane or marina in California, the team dropped the boat in the water for the first time at River’s Bend Marina in Saint Clair, the home base of competitor Cleveland Construction. For her maiden race, veteran Bob Teague would retain his throttling duties, while his son John would step in to drive. They took the boat out for a shakedown run, checking and setting pressures, temperatures, and fuel mixture for the first time outside of the dyno room. After fixing a few minor bugs and making a few minor adjustments, they ran again, and were generally pleased with how the boat performed. The team was unsure of how the additional weight would affect the drivability of the Skater, but their fears were not realized, as the boat was if anything, showing more potential than it had in the SuperCat Light Configuration.

On Friday the team scoured the entire boat. They tightened every fitting, every bracket, every belt, every nut and bolt. They double secured and rechecked all the rigging and adjusted the valve lash. Further weight, carburetion, and instrumentation adjustments were made. By the time the team had completed their work, the course permit was closed. Undeterred from a final shakedown, Bob and John took the boat out for a pretesting test on Saturday at 7:30 AM, serenading the American and Canadian coasts with the Teague Custom Marine Supercat engines singing at 7000 RPM. Many Drivers thanked the team for the wakeup call so they were not late to the driver’s meeting. Official testing went well, with the Team turning laps with a few different propeller and weight setups. The conditions through the day degraded with a building upriver wind that made for snotty water in the late afternoon. Lap time comparisons confirmed that right out of the box, the new setup was competitive.

Sunday’s race started at 3:45 with the AMSOIL 368 Skater lining up against the Broadco 40 MTI and the 388 Skaters of Cleveland Construction and Phoenix Parts. AMSOIL was in lane 3 with Broadco then Phoenix Parts inside of them. The conditions were smooth and wind was westerly and minimal, which would make for fast and dicey racing on the right-hand modified oval. On the drop of the green flag, all four boats drag raced down the Saint Clair boardwalk to turn one and entered the turn almost side by side.

Broadco would come out first, with AMSOIL on their outside quarter, and Phoenix Parts to the inside about a length behind that. Broadco pulled away about a length in the first half of the straight, but the AMSOIL Skater was charging up behind in the second half of the straight. For the first two laps, Broadco owned the inside line, hitting every pin religiously. Eventually, they left one late apex pin open and Team AMSOIL dove the boat behind Broadco on the inside. Team AMSOIL was making good time running a line in combination with Broadco’s, but soon lap traffic came into play which hindered Team AMSOIL from making a late race charge. Team AMSOIL finished in a strong 2nd Place, only 17 seconds behind Broadco over the 12 lap race. Although they didn’t win, the Teams feels that the weekend was an overall success given it was their first outing in an entirely different racing vehicle. The Teague Custom Marine engines and rigging performed flawlessly and even after a hard high-RPM smooth water race, the bilges were clean of oil or debris. The whole team gained valuable setup experience that will hopefully contribute to fielding a championship effort in the new Supercat Class.

Team AMSOIL would like to congratulate Chuck Broaddus and Grant Bruggermann for running an excellent and clean race in the Broadco boat. The whole team is excited to be in a new class to compete with more teams like theirs.

AMSOIL’s great sponsorship package, dedicated racing department team, and superior lubricants all make it possible for Team AMSOIL Offshore Racing to achieve success! Team AMSOIL is “one of the most accomplished offshore racing teams ever” and has captured the prestigious Stugots Cup, awarded to the Team for an OPA Overall High Points Championship in 2011.

The AMSOIL Dominator Racing Oil continues to be proven as the best choice for all extreme performance marine engines. The Team has also proven that the absolute best oil for a Mercury dry-sump VISSM drive is AMSOIL Severe Gear for the ultimate in gear protection with minimal parasitic power loss. Teague Custom Marine is an authorized AMSOIL dealer and offers the complete line of high performance lubricants in its store and for purchase over the phone. There are also opportunities available for you to become a dealer!

See you at the races!
Next Stop: Port Huron, MI - August 8-10

Official AMSOIL Site: http://www.amsoil.com/racing.aspx
Official Race Series Site: http://www.oparacing.org

Official Teague Custom Marine Site: http://www.teaguecustommarine.com
Follow both Teague Custom Marine & AMSOIL Offshore Racing #77 on FaceBook!

Photos provided by:
Paul Kemiel at www.paulkemielphotographics.com
Pete Boden at Shoot 2 Thrill
Steve Lippencott