Attendance jumps at Spirit of Detroit Hydrofest boat races and Fans Meet Racers

[Serious News]

Weekend attendance for this year's UAW-GM Spirit of Detroit Hydrofest on the Detroit River exceeded expectations with ticket sales up 30 percent to 40 percent overall from last year, organizers said Monday.

Specific numbers were not available Monday afternoon.

The event, which celebrated 100 years of powerboat racing on the river, exceeded the 25 percent expected increase and the Detroit Yacht Club sold out of boat wells, said Mark Weber, president of Detroit Riverfront Events Inc., which put on the approximately $600,000 event. The Muncey and Piston Park parking lots were full and remote lots had to be used to accommodate all the attendees, he said, adding that the grandstands were the fullest they have been in recent years.

Keith Crain, chairman of Detroit-based Crain Communications Inc., was grand marshal of the race.

Admission was free on Friday to visit the grandstands and pits to see practice runs. Tickets for the two-day event ranged from $50 to $180 for the VIP Club Gold Cup seats.

Driver J. Michael Kelly and Brimley-based Ken Graham Trucking Inc. won the APBA Gold Cup race, beating two-time Gold Cup champion Jimmy Shane.

http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20160829/NEWS/160829740/attendance-jumps-at-spirit-of-detroit-hydrofest-boat-races

[Serious News]

Hydroplane racers meet Detroit fans at free event

Dressed in his black and Carolina blue racing suit, Jimmy Shane battled the searing sun to sign autograph after autograph on pit row Friday afternoon.

“It’s pretty rewarding to come out here and get in front of the people, get personal close-up face-to-face with them,” Shane said after he zoomed through the Detroit River during testing on Day 1 at the UAW-GM Spriit of Detroit Hydrofest APBA Gold Cup. “I think that’s what they want and that’s what we need to provide them.”

Billed as “Free Friday” as part of a celebration of the 100th anniversary of boat racing on the Detroit River, it was a sprawling success.

There was no entry free for fans but plenty of entertainment with vendors selling food, ice cream, apparel and of course, beer. There were charities, including March of Dimes, and a General Motors rig with a tent holding a small race track for toy cars to race – a big draw for kids – and a real-sized No.88 NASCAR race car where fans of all ages could sit in the driver’s seat and take a picture.

“We thought what a great way to start this race off this year was to open it up to the city of Detroit for free,” said Kris (Buffalo) Owen, a UAW administrative assistant for president Dennis Williams. “All the parks are free, the grandstands are free, pits are free, everything is free except for parking.”

It was clear the event was targeted toward young fans.

“I think it’s absolutely fantastic,” Shane said after mingling with fans right behind his boat. “If you’re going to market the sport to where you can get the younger generation access to us, this definitely helps do that. Good for our sport, good for the city and hopefully bring in that young fan base that continues for years and years to follow the sport.”

To do that, Shane says besides more promotion and marketing, the sport has to add unique features to separate itself and attract new faces.

“I’d like to see, something like a flamethrower off the back of the boat (think Katniss Everdean’s dress on fire in the Hunger Games). It would be a very, very visual effect, the young people would love it and it would something new for the traditional fans.”

Shane said he and other drivers have talked about adding entertainment value but it’s a slow-moving process.

“It’s very hard because we’re a very traditional sport. It’s very hard to make a change but a change is necessary if we want the sport to grow.”

After the Detroit River Regatta Association, which had hosted Gold Cup races, ceased operations in February 2015, hydroplane racing in Detroit was in danger.

UAW-GM and Detroit Riverfront Events Inc., led by Mark Weber, swooped in to save the tradition, which spans back to 1915 with the first sanctioned race on the river. The first Gold Cup race took place the next year and only World War II (1942-44) and inclement weather (1928, 1960) have prevented the annual race since.

Owen said UAW-GM sponsors about 23 charities with the main focus of making Detroit a little better through philanthropy. He said it only made sense to partner with GM and convince them to help keep hydroplane unlimited racing in Detroit.

“We live here in Detroit, we work in Detroit,” Owen said. “The buildings (UAW-GM center and GM Renaissance Center) are just down the street right on the river, all on the water. What better an event to promote?

“GM gets to show off their product and they get to be a corporate good citizen.”

But the draw starts and ends with drivers, including locals Andrew Tate (a rookie from Walled Lake) and Jimmy King (Memphis, Mich.).

“All the drivers over there, if they’re not scrambling to work on their boat, they're just as friendly as it gets,” Owen said. “They’ll let you see their boat, they’ll let do everything. … It’s not like going to a NASCAR (event) where all the drivers are hidden and everything like that. When you come out here, the drivers all are so friendly, and they’ll to talk you, they’ll answer questions about their boat.”

Shane, who races the U-1 Miss HomeStreet, owned by Miss Madison Racing Team and the sole community-owned team in the sport, is a recognizable face on the Unlimited power boat racing circuit and as the reigning APBA Gold Cup and H1 Unlimited points champion, he is one of the most popular.

“I like how he’s young and he won last year,” said Andy Mcevoy, 23, of New Baltimore, who had his shirt signed by Shane on Friday. “He’s got the new sponsors, pretty cool.”

Shane, who began powerboat racing when he was 8 and has been driving Unlimiteds since 2007, also won at HydroFest in a non-Cup Unlimited event last year.

He will try to make it two Gold Cups on Sunday on the circuit’s most challenging course, thanks largely to the famous Roostertail Turn where the Unlimiteds jet past the Detroit Yacht Club at over 200 miles per hour before entering the sharp turn.

“The straightaways are not straight,” Shane said. “The corners are not the same size. Really hard to set the boat up for that type of course. And then you throw a little bit of wind in there and it blows against the current. The Detroit River can become very nasty very quick. So you really do have to survive the river first and foremost, and then once you get the boat into the final, then you can let it all kind of hang out.”

Shane said he loves the challenge of the Detroit course because it forces boats to their limits. But the bigger challenge is continuing to grow a sport that is low on the totem pole despite euphoric excitement.

“I’m going to keep pushing, all the drivers and people that want to see the sport grow, we’re gonna keep pushing and see what we can do to improve the exposure for the sport.”

http://www.freep.com/story/sports/motor/2016/08/26/hydrofest-detroit-river-gold-cup-free-friday/89438814/