1998 Texaco Cup At Seafair

Lake Washington, Seattle, Washington, August 9, 1998

Saturday Results

Saturday, August 8, 1998

Seattle, Washington, August 8, 1998, 5:30 p.m. - - Nine closely matched unlimited hydroplanes headed by Dave Villwock in the Miss Budweiser concluded qualifying on Lake Washington today to set the field for Sunday's Texaco Cup at Seafair.

Although Villwock remained the top qualifier with an average speed of 156.508 around the two-and-one-half-mile course, Mitch Evans in the Appian Jeronimo twice posted faster times only to have them disallowed by Unlimited Hydroplane Racing Association Officials for exceeding the N-2 limit of over reving the rear portion of the of the T-55 Turbine Motor.

Evans dazzled the huge crowd on the shores of Lake Washington with laps of 158 and 157 miles-per-hour only to find out later that both times had been disallowed.

Nevertheless the field remained tightly bunched with Villwock at 156.508, M. Evans at 154.400 and Jimmy King in Miss E-Lam Plus at 151.343

Right behind was Nate Brown in Llumar Window Film at 148.656, Mark Evans in PICO American Dream at 145.413, Steve David in Freddie's Club at 143.618 and Mike Weber in Graham Trucking at 143.098.

Yesterday's qualifying was marred by a rollover crash by Lindsey Emmons in the U-11 owned by Mike and Lori Jones. Emmons from nearby Kent, Washington was sent to Harborview Medical Center for precautionary tests after complaining to onsite Seafair medical staff of a sore neck. Early testing at the hospital showed that Emmons' x-rays were clear but medical personnel decided to do further testing and keep him at the hospital overnight for observation.

Emmons arrived at the pit area this afternoon visiting with team members and answering questions from interested media and fans. He reports being in good shape and with no pain beyond what a normal ride brings. The question then is, what does a normal ride feel like if he is comparing it to a wipe out at 120 mph?

Testing begins tomorrow, Sunday at 10:00 a.m. with Heat 1A starting at 11:00 a.m. the Texaco SeaFair Cup Championship is scheduled for 4:10 p.m. after all heats and the provisional heat are run.

Unofficial Qualifying Results as of 2:00 P.M.
U #	Boat	Driver	Speed
U-1	Miss Budweiser (T-5)	Dave Villwock	156.508+
U-20	Appian Jeronimo	Mitch Evans	154.400+
U-16	Miss E-Lam Plus	Jimmy King	151.343+
U-8	Llumar Window Film	Nate Brown	148.656+
U-100	PICO American Dream '98	N. Mark Evans	145.413
U-2	Freddie's Club	Steve David	143.618
U-9	Graham Trucking	Mike Weber	143.098+
U-19	Chaplins Bellevue Volkswagen Presents Easter Seals	Jerry Hale	137.151+
U-14	Tveten's R.V. Mart	Ken Muscatel	136.400#
			+ Denotes increased speed
			# Indicates new qualifier

Records:
Lake Washington qualification lap 2 Mi Course 162.543 , Miss Budweiser, Chip Hanauer, 1995 World qualification lap 2 Mi Course: 165.975, Miss Budweiser, Chip Hanauer, 1993, Evansville

(Reprinted from UHRA.com)