 The annual ERCU End of Season Celebration has been confirmed for Sunday, Oct. 27 from 1-4 p.m. at The Ram Restaurant & Brewery in Puyallup (103 35th Ave. SE, Puyallup, WA 98374).
Jamie Nilsen, driver of the U-11 Miss Mercury's Coffee unlimited hydroplane will be our special guest and speaker. Jamie began racing at the age of 12, and while racing has always been a passionate endeavor of his, Jamie prides himself on demonstrating a strong emphasis on teamwork, sportsmanship, and family values. In outboard hydroplane racing, Jamie has set 12 world speed records (currently still holds 6), won 15 national high point championships, won three national championship races and inducted into the APBA Hall of Champions twice. Moving into Inboard Hydroplane racing, Jamie was the 2013 5-liter national champion, won the 2016 San Diego Bayfair Grand Prix race, was the 2017 & 2018 Grand Prix eastern division champion and the 2018 Grand Prix North American Champion. He got his first ride in an unlimited hydroplane in Seattle in 2010 driving Billy Schumacher’s U-37 “Miss Peters & May”, with Scott Raney as crew chief. In 2013, he qualified as an unlimited driver aboard the U-21 Go Fast Turn Left Racing entry and in 2014 posted his first heat victory in Madison. Nilsen is also a member of the Central Washington University Hall of Fame and holds the highest career batting average in school history (.399). He batted .365 as a freshman, .372 as a sophomore, .391 as a junior, and a school-record .468 as a senior. Over his career, Nilsen posted 61 doubles, 13 triples, 29 home runs and 183 RBI. A two-time GNAC Player of the Year and four-time All-GNAC first-team selection, Nilsen was also named a first-team NCAA Division II All-American in 2008 and earned honorable mention All-American honors in 2006. He signed professionally and played one year in the Kansas City Royals’ minor league system. As is our regular program, we'll also announce and present all of the 2024 ERCU awards at the banquet and celebrate the end of the club's 21st season. Be sure and make plans to attend the End of Season Celebration to find out who the winners are, and to help celebrate their successes.  While many already knew the results of the 2024 ERCU Championship Series standings, confirmation came today when Statistician David Newton finished and posted the club's final season points totals.
Two drivers repeated as champs, and just two boats repeated atop the season standings. First-time drivers champion Dennis Caines took the 1/7 scale vintage season crown. Paxton Reunanen was the big winner in the season points standings, taking drivers championships in 1/10 scale modern, 1/10 scale classic and 1/10 scale vintage. Craig Mullen was the season champion in 1/7 scale modern/classic. Boat championships in 1/10 scale for the 2024 season went to Reunanen's 2019 Graham Trucking American Dream (modern) and his 1983 KISW Miss Rock (classic), and Jerry Dunlap's 1964 Miss Exide. Season titles for 1/7 scale boats went to Denise Sjostrom's 1974 Miss U.S. and to the 1982 Island Security Systems that was owned by Mike McIntosh most of the season, and at the end of the season by Chuck Murray/Paxton Reunanen. The final 2024 season standings have been posted on the club website and can be found by clicking here.  Twice on Saturday, Sept. 28 at Vance Creek Park in Elma, Gentleman Jim Latimer was heard saying, "the more things change, the more they stay the same."
He was absolutely right. It may not be much of a surprise that roostertails of the final heats had settled, David Newton and Paxton Reunanen had won two Atomic Cups each. A day that started with the pond fogged in and led to a beautiful sunny day with mild temperatures and just light breezes, led to some terrific racing in four classes. 1/7-scale modern/classic was not run for points due to having just two boats in the class. That said, David Heilbrunn and Craig Mullen did run the boats they brought as an exhibition. But back to the real racing. Newton had his hands full in 1/10-scale modern where Nelson Holmberg (2024 Flav-R-Pac), Mick Shutt (2024 Bucket List Racing) and Heilbrunn (2015 Dalton Industries) were all fast and capable of winning heats. But it was Newton who piloted the 2003 Miss Budweiser (T-6) to the race victory in the class. Holmberg's Flav-R-Pac was runner-up in it's second race out of the box, while Shutt piloted Nellie's Bucket List to third in the final. Heilbrunn's Dalton suffered steering distress that was unrepairable in the pits and scratched out of competition after the first heat. Flav-R-Pac won two heats and took second twice. Bucket List was third three times and second once. Newton also claimed the 1/7-scale vintage Atomic Cup crown with his 1957 Hawaii Kai III, which also took home the best of scale sticker for the race. Second in 1/7-scale vintage went to Dennis Caines and his 1968 Eagle Electric. Reunanen's 1982 Island Security Systems didn't finish the final, but had a good day with a couple of top-two finishes in heat racing. Reunanen claimed the 1/10-scale classic final in instant classic fashion. His 1983 Miss Rock KISW was clearly the fastest classic boat of the day, winning all four heats. But in the final, the Tom Markos-owned 1976 Atlas Van Lines made a race out of the last lap and nearly caught Paxton and the Rock coming out of the last turn. Second place did go to the Atlas (with Holmberg driving) while third was Mike Walcker in the 1973 Red Man Too. Fourth place went to Jim Hagan driving Jerry Dunlap's 1985 Coors Light, while Shutt's 1978 Miss Circus Circus was unable to finish the final. In 1/10-scale vintage, Reunanen again was the man. He finished a perfect day with the 1970 Burien Lady by winning the final heat. Second went to Latimer, driving the 1960 Miss Everett, while his other boat -- the 1958 Miss Moses Lake (with backup driver Walcker) took the final spot on the podium. Fourth place went to Robbie Roberts with the 1971 Hallmark Homes. Fifth was John Earnest in the 1962 Gale V. True to their tradition, contest directors Markos and Holmberg provided those racers in attendance with another hot dog lunch including all of the fixings.  The ERCU Bylaws say that the Board Chair shall poll members of the board at the end of the year to decide who our annual End of Season Award winners are. This year, the board has decided it would like input from the membership for the 2024 ERCU End of Season Awards.
As such, at the end of the season, are asking you to provide nominations in the following categories. From those nominations, the board will fulfill its duty to select award winners. The annual awards that we’re seeking your input on include:
Please click here to easily nominate fellow members (or yourself) for consideration of these annual ERCU End of Season Awards. You may enter as many names as you would like to enter. Nominations will be accepted until 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 6 when we’ll close nominations and the board will then make selections from those nominated.   The 12th and final points race of the 2024 ERCU Pentair Championship Series is the Atomic Cup. The Atomic Cup race is set for Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024, at Vance Creek Park in Elma. Here is all you need to know to be prepared for final event of this year.
Location Vance Creek Pond #2 Boat Launch Wenzel Slough Road Elma, WA 98541 Contest Directors Nelson Holmberg & Tom Markos Context The Columbia River cities of Kennewick, Pasco, and Richland first climbed on the Unlimited bandwagon in 1966 with the first annual Tri-Cities Atomic Cup. There had been talk of inviting the unlimiteds there as early as 1958. But 1966 was when it finally happened. Bill Brow was the winner that first year, driving Bernie Little's Miss Budweiser. The race remained named the Atomic Cup until 1976 when it was renamed the Columbia Cup. In 2006, when the race lost its title sponsorship from Budweiser, the event was run as the Atomic Cup once again, but with the arrival of Lamb Weston as title sponsor in 2007, it returned to being the Columbia Cup. ERCU last raced in Elma in 2023 and before that, 2012 and 2013. What to Expect (All times approximate, and subject to change)
Pre-Registration Pre-Registration for the Atomic Cup is now open. To find the pre-registration form, navigate your web browser to https://www.ercu-hydros.com/atomic-cup.html, where you will find the pre-registration link in a gray box near the top of the page. Pre-registration will close at 11 p.m., Friday, Sept. 29. After that deadline, please register in person on site before 8:30 a.m. You can also find pre-registration by going to www.ercu-hydros.com, then selecting “Schedule” from the main menu, and “Atomic Cup” from the schedule itself. Drivers Meeting The drivers meeting is mandatory for ALL divisions and all classes and will begin at the scorer’s table within five minutes of the closing of the testing period. Drivers who do not attend the drivers meeting will be scratched from the first heat regardless of whether they are pre-registered and pre-paid. Drivers arriving after the drivers meeting will not be added to the event until the draw for the second flight of heats. Race Officials
Atomic Cup Defending Champions
Race Format
Post-Race Cleanup and Awards Presentation Club equipment cleanup and re-packing the trailer will take priority once each day’s racing is complete. Once the trailer is re-packed, awards will be presented. Awards will be given to the first, second and third place finishers. All members have a responsibility to help with set up and breakdown of club equipment. As a courtesy to your fellow racers, please stick around for the awards presentation whether you’ve won one or not. Restrooms Restrooms are available in the park and are expected to be open. Electricity There is no access to electricity in the pits. It would be wise to bring a generator or other power source to charge your batteries if you need to charge during the day.  The Bill Mowatt Memorial Race Course in Lacey was the perfectly fitting setting for the biggest race of the year.
And it shined a light on the best of the best. But of course it did: It was the 21st annual ERCU Gold Cup. The two-day event got started early Saturday morning in ERCU tradition with optional Time Trials. Two attempts, two laps, fastest lap is recorded. Fastest in the time trials was Chuck Murray with his 1976 Olympia Beer, laying down a scorching fast lap of 14.36 seconds to lead all boats. Other fastest laps were recorded by Mitch Dillard (1/10 scale modern), Ron Forister (1/10 scale vintage), Paxton Reunanen (1/7 scale modern) and John Sjostrom (1/7 scale vintage). Heat 1A of 1/10 scale modern began the four-flight marathon that is the Gold Cup which are then followed by the consolation heats and finals. And Dillard – a legend in Classic Thunder – solved the Paxton Puzzle in all three 1/10 scale classes. The class was dominated early by Reunanen and his 2019 Graham Trucking American Dream, as he won all four preliminary heats. Just when it seamed that he had solved the challenge of topping Dillard and his U3 Griggs Ace Hardware “Turbinator”, Reunanen stuffed the Graham and picked up a DNF in the final. Dillard coasted to the Gold Cup victory, topping Murray’s Elam and David Heilbrunn with the 2015 Dalton Industries. The 1/10 scale classic competition also featured a top tier battle between Dillard and Reunanen. Taking three out of four preliminary heats with the Rock, Reunanen experienced frustration in the final again turning over the KISW Miss Rock, taking a DNF in the Gold Cup final. That opened the door for Dillard who had won just one of the four prelims but, in the end, stood atop the 1/10 classic podium with Murray taking second place with his time trial champion Olympia Beer and 2024 ERCU rookie Gary Dawn’s Gilmore Special finishing in third place. 1/10 scale vintage saw carbon copy final heat results as the other two 1/10 classes. Reunanen, driving Kerry Kjos’ 1960 Thriftway, swept all four preliminary heats and then DNF’d the final opening the door for you guessed it, Dillard to pull off the hat trick, sweep all three 1/10 scale classes, all three Gold Cups. Second place was secured by David Heilbrunn, 1964 Blue Chip and Paul Dunlap driving Jerry Dunlap’s Excide took third. Sweeping all three 1/10 scale Gold Cup classes – the way Dillard did – had never been accomplished in ERCU. 1/7 modern/classic combined saw tremendous action all day. Seven boats started the day and six lined up for the winner take all final. Five of the six boats had each won at least one of their preliminary heats. The points were close and the racing even closer. Mike McIntosh driving his 1989 Winston Lobster edged out Craig Mullen driving Denise Sjostrom’s Miss U.S. and Gary Simmons who made his first appearance as a driver in 10 years and took the third-place trophy piloting Jim McKeon’s Miss Budweiser. 1/7 vintage provided consolation to Reunanen who had crashed out earlier but rebounded and piloted his just purchased Island Security Systems. The Gold Cup was the first race ever with him at the helm and he topped the podium winning Gold. Reunanen won four of the five heats posting 1,690 points on the day. Bob van den Akker won two preliminary heats, came in second in the other two and finishes second in the final with his $ Bill. McKeon’s Maverick rounded out the 1/7 vintage podium following a super solid Gold Cup performance collecting 1,495 points. Results of the 2024 ERCU Board of Directors election have been tallied and verified by Board Chair Rick Evans. The membership has elected Nelson Holmberg and Mike McIntosh to the board, and has re-elected Jim McKeon and Jerry Dunlap.
While there were just three seats up for election on the ballot this year, board resignations allowed for all four members who were on the ballot to be elected. The current board and the new board will meet via Zoom as soon as possible to appoint leaders in each of the board positions. We'll post the announcement of this meeting with a Zoom link when it's scheduled. The meeting will be open to all members of ERCU, if they'd like to attend. The ERCU Board of Directors would like to share deep thanks to Rick Evans for his many years of service to the club by serving on the board. Rick has chosen to resign from the board, effective immediately, and his service is deeply appreciated. Remaining board members will meet via Zoom at 7 p.m., to appoint a replacement for Evans, and to appoint an interim board chair.  The 11th race of the 2024 ERCU Pentair Championship Series is the biggest. It’s nearly time for the 2024 ERCU Gold Cup. For the third consecutive year, this is a two-day event, set for Saturday, Sept. 14 and Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, at Woodland Creek Park in Lacey. Here is all you need to know to be prepared for this, our most coveted trophy of the year.
Location Bill Mowatt Memorial Race Course Longs Pond, Woodland Creek Park 6729 Pacific Avenue SE Lacey, WA 98503 Contest Directors ERCU Board of Directors Pre-Registration Pre-Registration for the 2024 ERCU Gold Cup is now open. To find the pre-registration form, navigate your web browser to https://www.ercu-hydros.com/ercu-gold-cup.html, where you will find the pre-registration link in a gray box near the top of the page. Pre-registration will close at 11:59 p.m., Friday, Sept. 13. After that deadline, please register in person on site before 8:30 a.m. Context The Gold Cup has long been held in high regard. It’s been referred to as "boat racing’s Indy 500" – the granddaddy of them all. It’s no different in model boat racing. In ERCU, the Gold Cup is the most coveted of all trophies. Consistent with boat racing history and the tradition of the Gold Cup, the race is one of endurance and survival. Thus, the course will be longer than others during the 2024 season, and there will be four flights of heats rather than the regular three. “Winner take all” finals will determine the winners of the Gold Cups for 2024. There will be five Gold Cups awarded at the end of the day: 1/10 scale modern; 1/7 scale modern/classic combined, 1/10 scale classic; 1/10 scale vintage and 1/7 scale vintage. What to Expect (All times approximate, and may be subject to change) Saturday, Sept. 14 8-9 a.m., Set racecourse/club equipment, registration 9-10 a.m. Open water 10-11:30 p.m. Optional time trials (two runs for each boat in a period of at least an hour). Fastest qualifier in each class wins the Bill Muncey Memorial fastest qualifier award. 11:30 a.m.-noon Lunch (participants provide their own lunch) Time Trial Points will be awarded for positions in time trials as follows:
Noon Sept 14 Heat Draws 12:15 p.m. Saturday Gold Cup Drivers Meeting (mandatory for those in attendance) 12:30 p.m. First heats all classes, both divisions Heat 1A, 1B, etc. (1/10 modern, 1/7 modern/classic 1/10 classic, 1/10 vintage, 1/7 vintage) 3 p.m. Clean up pits and club equipment Sunday, Sept. 17 7-8 a.m. Reset club equipment 7-8:15 a.m. On-site registration 7:30-8:30 a.m. Open Water 8:15 a.m. Sept 17 Heat Draws 8:30–8:45 a.m. ERCU Gold Cup Drivers Meeting (mandatory for those in attendance) 8:50 a.m. Heat 2A, 2B, etc. (1/10 modern, 1/7 modern/classic 1/10 classic, 1/10 vintage, 1/7 vintage) 10:05 a.m. Heat 3A, 3B, etc. (1/10 modern, 1/7 modern/classic, 1/10 classic, 1/10 vintage, 1/7 vintage) 11:20 est. 30 minute lunch break (club provides lunch for all members in attendance) Lunch will be served upon the completion of the third round of heats. Noon Heat 4A, 4B, etc. (1/10 modern; 1/7 modern/classic; 1/10 classic; 1/10 vintage; 1/7 vintage 1:15 p.m. Ted Jones Memorials for all appropriate classes. (Gold Cup First Connies are the Ted Jones Memorial and count as a race win. Winners move up as trailer in Gold Cup Final) 2:30 p.m. Winner-take-all Gold Cup Final Heats (1/10 modern, 1/7 modern;/classic, 1/10 classic, 1/10 vintage, 1/7 vintage) 3:30 p.m. Club equipment breakdown and packing – ALL HANDS 4:30 p.m. Awards Presentation Drivers Meeting The drivers meeting is mandatory for ALL divisions and all classes and will begin at the scorer’s table within five minutes of the closing of the testing period. Drivers who do not attend the drivers meeting will be scratched from the first heat regardless of whether they are pre-registered and pre-paid. Drivers arriving after the drivers meeting will not be added to the event until the draw for the second flight of heats. Race Officials
ERCU 2023 Gold Cup Defending Champions
Race Format
Post-Race Cleanup and Awards Presentation Club equipment cleanup and re-packing the trailer will take priority once each day’s racing is complete. Once the trailer is re-packed, awards will be presented. Awards will be given to the first, second and third place finishers. All members have a responsibility to help with set up and breakdown of club equipment. As a courtesy to your fellow racers, please stick around for the awards presentation whether you’ve won one or not. Restrooms Restrooms are available in the park and are expected to be open. Electricity There is no access to electricity in the pits. It would be wise to bring a generator or other power source to charge your batteries if you need to charge during the day. The 2024 ERCU Board of Directors election is open and all members in good standing are encouraged to vote.
Every vote counts. The board election ballot for this year did go live on Saturday night, as promised, and club members have nominated six fellow members to run for the 2024-25 ERCU Board of Directors in this year’s election. Four of those six accepted their nominations. This year, the club is voting to fill three seats on the board. Ballots are being directly emailed to Rick Evans, board chair, who will tally the votes and validate the election, which is due to be completed at 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 15 after the ERCU Gold Cup. Those members included on the 2024 ERCU board ballot are Jerry Dunlap, Nelson Holmberg, Mike McIntosh and Jim McKeon. Election winners will be announced shortly after the election is verified. Click here to vote in this year's ERCU Board of Directors election.
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