2022 Guntersville APBA Gold Cup
Shane wins two heats in first day of Gold Cup
Jimmy Shane wins two heats during the first day of Gold Cup racing action
GUNTERSVILLE, Ala. — Jimmy Shane drove the defending national champion Miss HomeStreet to two victories in the first two preliminary heats at today’s APBA Gold Cup race in Guntersville. Dave Villwock and Jeff Bernard also claimed heat victories. The racing will continue tomorrow with two more sets of preliminary heats and a winner-take-all final that will determine the 2022 Gold Cup champion.
The APBA Gold Cup, the oldest trophy in American motorsports, is the first stop for the 2022 H1 Unlimited Racing Series, which features the fastest race boats in the world.
In today’s first set of preliminary heats, Villwock, 68, of Monroe, Washington, set a course record of 159.810 mph in the second lap of Heat 1A. He took the lead in the first turn of that contest and extended his lead to the finish line, where he finished with an average speed of 155.434 mph. Shane, 36, of San Antonio, Texas, won Heat 1B after being challenged throughout the contest by Jimmy King in the Griggs presents Miss Ace Hardware, a boat powered by a V-12 Allison engine.
Bernard, 37, of Kent, Washington, won a controversial Heat 2A where Villwock was penalized one extra lap for a lane-encroachment violation. Bernard, driving Goodman Real Estate, led the field into the first turn but was passed by Villwock’s Miss Beacon Plumbing. Villwock’s penalty gave Bernard the victory. Shane, the winner of last year’s Gold Cup, earned his second heat victory of the day in Heat 2B.
The Gold Cup will continue tomorrow with the day’s first heat scheduled to begin at 9:45 a.m. CDT. The final heat is scheduled for 5 p.m. CDT.
Tickets to the “Greatest Show on H-2-O” are still available for those who want to watch the race action in person. For those who can’t attend, the race also will be streamed live on the H1 Unlimited YouTube Channel. You can find the link at H1Unlimited.com.
APBA Gold Cup
at Guntersville, Ala.
HEAT 1A — 1, Dave Villwock, Miss Beacon Plumbing, 400 points, 155.434 avg. speed; 2, J. Michael Kelly, Miss Tri-Cities, 300, 142.368; 3, Jeff Bernard, Goodman Real Estate, 225, 139.005; 4, Corey Peabody, Lynx Healthcare, 169, 114.256.
HEAT 1B — 1, Jimmy Shane, Miss HomeStreet, 400, 149.100; 2, Jimmy King, Griggs presents Miss Ace Hardware, 300, 148.030; 3, Jamie Nilsen, Miss Colleen, 225, 139.973.
HEAT 2A — 1, Jeff Bernard, Goodman Real Estate, 400, 146.204; 2, Jimmy King, Griggs presents Miss Ace Hardware, 300, 143.846; 3, J. Michael Kelly, Miss Tri-Cities, 225, 127.411; 4, Dave Villwock, Miss Beacon Plumbing, 169, 110.092.
HEAT 2B — 1, Jimmy Shane, Miss HomeStreet, 400, 156.079; 2, Corey Peabody, Lynx Healthcare, 300, 153.750; 3, Jamie Nilsen, Miss Colleen, 225, 74.040.
ACCUMULATED POINTS — Jimmy Shane, Miss HomeStreet, 800; Jeff Bernard, Goodman Real Estate, 625; Jimmy King, Griggs presents Miss Ace Hardware, 600; Dave Villwock, Miss Beacon Plumbing, 569; J. Michael Kelly, Miss Tri-Cities, 525; Corey Peabody, Lynx Healthcare, 469; Jamie Nilsen, Miss Colleen, 450.
* * *
Corey Peabody wins the APBA Gold Cup
Corey Peabody wins the Gold Cup in Guntersville, Alabama
GUNTERSVILLE, Ala. — Corey Peabody of Kent, Washington, was crowned the winner of the 112th running of the APBA Gold Cup. His victory at the controls of Lynx Healthcare on Guntersville Lake, the second win in his career, came when both Jimmy Shane and Dave Villwock, each the winner of two preliminary heats today, were both disqualified for infractions that happened before the final heat started.
Defending Gold Cup champion Shane, 36, of San Antonio, Texas, drove Miss HomeStreet to victory in every preliminary heat he entered in the two-day contest and was running ahead of all the other competitors through the entire winner-take-all final heat, but after the finish, officials ruled that he had violated the minimum speed rule. The hydroplanes are required to maintain a speed of at least 80 mph as they jockey for position before the start of a race.
With Shane’s disqualification, the Gold Cup went to Peabody, 43, who had finished the final heat in second place. He averaged 147.829 mph in winning the oldest trophy in American motorsports.
Dave Villwock, 68, of Monroe, Washington, the sport’s greatest champion, also had won each of his preliminary heats today, but also was disqualified in the final heat. He drove his Miss Beacon Plumbing outside the racecourse boundary before the start. Placing second in the race was Jeff Bernard, 37, of Kent, Washington, who was driving Goodman Real Estate, and finishing third was Jamie Nilsen, 37, of Gig Harbor, Washington, the driver of Miss Colleen.
In preliminary heat action today, Shane came from behind to win both Heat 3A and Heat 4B. In the first of those races, he passed Bernard during the second lap and took the checkered flag. In his other victory, he passed Nilsen at the start of the final lap.
Villwock also came from behind to win Heat 4A. He was behind Peabody through most of the race but pulled ahead with only half of a lap to go. In winning Heat 3B, Villwock grabbed the lead coming out of the first turn and was never challenged.
The H1 Unlimited Racing Series will continue next weekend when the “Greatest Show on H-2-O” goes to Madison, Indiana, for the Madison Regatta. Testing will get underway on Friday, the boats will compete in a new match-race event on Saturday, and they will race for the Indiana Governor’s Cup on Sunday. Tickets are available at madisonregatta.com.
The series will then continue with events in the Tri-Cities, Washington, on July 29 to 31; at Seattle on August 5 to 7; and in San Diego on September 16 to 18.
APBA Gold Cup
at Guntersville, Ala.
HEAT 3A — 1, Jimmy Shane, Miss HomeStreet, 400 points, 155.770 avg. speed; 2, Corey Peabody, Lynx Healthcare, 300, 146.686; 3, Jeff Bernard, Goodman Real Estate, 225, 144.194; 4, Jamie Nilsen, Miss Colleen, 169, 130.781.
HEAT 3B — 1, Dave Villwock, Miss Beacon Plumbing, 400, 150.658; 2, J. Michael Kelly, Miss Tri-Cities, 300, 142.696; Jimmy King, Griggs presents Miss Ace Hardware, DSQ.
HEAT 4A — 1, Dave Villwock, Miss Beacon Plumbing, 400, 151.449; 2, Corey Peabody, Lynx Healthcare, 300, 149.603; 3, Jimmy King, Griggs presents Miss Ace Hardware, 225, 140.999; 4, Jeff Bernard, Goodman Real Estate, 169, 139.622.
HEAT 4B — 1, Jimmy Shane, Miss HomeStreet, 400, 149.667; 2, J. Michael Kelly, Miss Tri-Cities, 300, 146.352; 3, Jamie Nilsen, Miss Colleen, 225, 108.308.
FINAL HEAT — 1, Corey Peabody, Lynx Healthcare, 400, 147.829; 2, Jeff Bernard, Goodman Real Estate, 300, 130.667; 3, Jamie Nilsen, Miss Colleen, 225, 125.363; J. Michael Kelly, Miss Tri-Cities, DNF; Jimmy Shane, Miss HomeStreet, DSQ; Dave Villwock, Miss Beacon Plumbing, DSQ.
ACCUMULATED POINTS — Jimmy Shane, Miss HomeStreet, 1600; Corey Peabody, Lynx Healthcare, 1469; Dave Villwock, Miss Beacon Plumbing, 1369; Jeff Bernard, Goodman Real Estate, 1319; J. Michael Kelly, Miss Tri-Cities, 1125; Jamie Nilsen, Miss Colleen, 1069; Jimmy King, Griggs presents Miss Ace Hardware, 825.