 ELMA – Though the weather forecast for the season opening Champion Spark Plug Regatta was daunting, reality was such that it wasn’t so bad.
And nearly 30 boats were in the pits for the first race of the 2025 ERCU Championship Series. But it may not have been the racing that stole the show this Saturday. Dray Newton, the son of David and Rachael Newton, qualified as a driver in ERCU in the morning and had a really great day on the race course, finishing second in 1/10 scale vintage. The smiles and enthusiastic reactions Dray shared at the end of the day were certainly massive highlights. We’ll most definitely see more of Dray! Once the drivers meeting concluded, our members and their boats were ready to get after it. Six 1/10 modern boats made the trek to Vance Creek Park and the 2024 ERCU Driver of the Year award winner, Paxton Reunanen, took control and turned in a perfect day with his 2019 Graham Trucking American Dream. It was the only 1,600-point performance at this year’s season opener. Reunanen’s closest competition came from 2023 ERCU Driver of the Year winner David Newton and his 2004 Miss Budweiser. Geoffry Grembowski debuted his beautiful newly re-finished 2016 Payne West Insurance and tied Newton with 1,225 points for the day. The class was rounded out by David Heilbrunn’s 2015 Dalton Industries, and Nelson Holmberg’s 2024 Bucket List Racing and 2024 Flav-R-Pac. The 1/10-scale classic class featured six boats in total, but just three provided the most consistent competition. Holmberg, driving Tom Markos’ 1976 Atlas Van Lines, posted two firsts and a second in the three preliminaries. Jerry Dunlap’s Coor’s Light captured a first and two seconds before the final and Reunanen brought his new-to-him 1982 Oh Boy! Oberto and tallied a pair of wins and a DNF heading into the final. While the final heat saw wind and waves, four boats were able to finish the final with Holmberg heading to the winner’s circle. Dunlap grabbed second and Reunanen finished third. Dray Newton was fourth, driving Reunanen’s 1983 Miss Rock KISW. The 1/10-scale vintage class welcomed five competitors and saw Reunanen jump out to the early lead capturing heat 1 with his beautiful brand new John Earnest built (and Markos painted) 1960 Gale’s Roostertail. Paul Dunlap drove the defending boat champion 1964 Miss Exide into the winner’s circle in heats 2 & 3. All five boats lined up for the winner take all and just two survived the challenging winds and waves to complete all five laps. Reunanen crossed the finish line first for the win and Dray Newton finished second place in the winner take all final. They say the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree and it’s pretty clear there may be a new sheriff coming to town. Dray wasn’t the only true rookie driver who joined ERCU for the first race of the year. Scott Whitestine, John Havens, Jr., and Carl Lewis all brought out 1/7-scale powerhouses to have fun as well. To a man, each of these four new members wasted no time in getting down to the business at hand. Returning member, Gale Whitestine, brought his 1972 Notre Dame and made his mark instantly topping all competition and posting 400 points for his first race back in heat 1A. Whitestine would then DNF in heat 2B and heat 3B but would return for, and finish, the final. Lewis and his newly purchased (from Ron Hartley) 1975 Lincoln Thrift took second place in his first heat, 1B, and then won heat 2B and took second in heat 3A posting a class high total of 1,000 points heading to the final. Havens also showed his chops driving his beautiful scratch-built 1976 U-95 Miss Budweiser taking it to a third place finish in his first heat, second in his second and first place in heat 3B. Five of the six entries lined up for the final, the three newbies, Jim McKeon and Mike McIntosh and Heilbrunn. Unfortunately, the 2024 Goodman would DNS suffering a solder failed motor bullet. Five started and all five finished the 1/7 modern/classic final. Gale Whitestine with the 1972 Notre Dame emerged the winner in his first race back from his multi-year hiatus. Second went to Lewis, third went to McIntosh, fourth was McKeon and Havens finished fifth. If this first race of the season was any indication, its going be a resurgent terrific year for the ERCU 1/7 modern/classic class. Our 1/7-scale vintage class saw some of the closest, most thrilling racing of this opening day as the bigger boats often do. Always the final class in the days rotation this race featured five entries including, McIntosh’s brand new 1967 Miss U.S., Dennis Caines’ 1968 Eagle Electric, McKeon’s 1957 Maverick, Reunanen’s 1982 Miss Island Security System, and Scott Whitestine’s 1962 Notre Dame. Reunanen jumped out to the early lead winning all three of his preliminary heats but would fall from first place in the final lap to finish in second. McIntosh would finish in third place in heat 1 and second in heat 2 and heat 3. He was working diligently, dialing in his new for 2025 Miss U.S. patiently focused on the final where he would emerge victorious by passing Reunanen for the victory on the final half of the final lap. It truly was an incredible season opening event as two veteran members (McIntosh & Reunanen) debuted brand new boats that began in midseason form by winning the race right out of the box. Another new member Gale Whitestine wins in his return while one rookie driver/member with some serious champion pedigree, Dray Newton takes home the silver in his ERCU debut. ERCU will return to the water April 12 for the second race of the 2025 ERCU Championship Series. The Diamond Cup will be at Scott Lake Olympia. Early registration is open now and members are encouraged to pre-register by clicking here.  Time to finish your offseason projects and wipe off the shop dust from your boats and charge batteries as the 2025 ERCU Championship Series season opener is just less than two weeks away!
Consistent with tradition, we'll kick of the 2025 season with the first of 12 races -- the Champion Spark Plug Regatta -- at Vance Creek Park in Elma. Jerry & Paul Dunlap will be contest directors for the season opener. The race circular for the opening event of the year is below, and should include everything you'll need to know for the first race of the season. The first race of the 2025 ERCU Championship Series is the Champion Spark Plug Regatta, set for Saturday March 29, 2025, at Vance Creek Park in Elma. Here is all you need to know to get prepared for our first event of the year. Location Vance Creek Park, 76 Wenzel Slough Road, Elma, WA 98563 Context For many years the season opening event for H1 Unlimited was always the Champion Spark Plug Regatta. For 19 of 21 ERCU seasons the Champion Spark Plug Regatta has been the season opener, and this year the tradition continues. Returning to Vance Creek Park in Elma for the second year Registration Pre-Registration for the Champion Spark Plug Regatta is now open. To find the pre-registration form, navigate your web browser to www.ercu-hydros.com/champion-spark-plug-regatta.html, where you will find the pre-registration link in a blue box just under the race site map. You may also pre-pay your entry fees online by following the PayPal directions at the bottom of the page. Pre-registration will close at 10 p.m., FRIDAY, March 28, 2025 After that deadline, please register in person on site before 8:30 a.m. Race Officials
What to Expect (All times approximate, and subject to change)
Race Format:
Flight Schedule
Heat Draws Heat draws will be completed just prior to the drivers meeting. The first heat draw will be conducted at approximately 9 a.m. and will be read verbally at the drivers meeting as a roll call. Succeeding heat draws will be conducted between flights. All heat draws will be printed and posted, and displayed on the TV screen, whenever possible. No re-draws of heats will be done. Starting Clock A 1-minute 30-second clock will start as soon as all drivers are in the driving area and will not be stopped for any reason other than health or safety (including stubborn waterfowl). Please plan ahead for your upcoming heats, including getting your own spotter, and be ready when the chase boat comes back. A trailer boat shall not cross the start line less than five seconds after the start gun. Rookie drivers who have not yet earned 1,200 career points must start from the trailer position. Race Day Morning It will be our intent to have the course open by 8 a.m. so that testing can commence once boats are registered for the event. Boat owners should prepare to have time for inspections and to be ready to race. The water will be open for testing until approximately 9:30 a.m. 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 time trials. 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. 2024 Champion Spark Plug Regatta Results • 1/10 Scale Modern: Paxton Reunanen, 2019 Graham Trucking • 1/7 Scale Modern/Classic: Craig Mullen, 1974 Miss U.S. (Owner: Denise Sjostrom) • 1/10 Scale Classic: Paxton Reunanen, 1983 Miss Rock • 1/10 Scale Vintage: Paul Dunlap, 1964 Miss Exide, • 1/7 Scale Vintage: Mike McIntosh, 1982 Island Security System Inspections In 2025, all boats will be inspected before the first race they run at. We ask that you print out the Hull Inspection Form and complete the member information at the top of page one prior to arriving at the race site. Please also remember to bring a photo of the real boat (a photo on your phone or tablet is acceptable) of your boat. Visiting Drivers ERCU welcomes new members to the club and visiting racers from other clubs. Rookie driver testing will be offered during the open water period as needed. The course will be closed for rookie driver tests. Visiting racers may not take home an ERCU perpetual trophy, in the event they win the race. Post-Race Cleanup and Awards Presentation Club equipment cleanup and re-packing the trailer will take priority once the race is over. Once the trailer is re-packed, awards will be presented. Awards will be given to the first, second and third place finishers, winners. 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 There are public restroom facilities on site at Vance Creek Park and they are expected to be open. Electricity There is limited access to electricity in the pits. It would be wise to bring a generator or other power source if you will need to charge batteries during the day.  Good news continues coming for ERCU as the club today welcomes aboard Pirtek as an associate sponsor for the 2025 ERCU Championship Series.
Pirtek focuses on minimizing or eliminating costly equipment downtime due to a failed hose. Their preventative maintenance and emergency hose replacement services are second to none and are available nationally at more than 150 U.S. Pirtek franchise locations. They are your one-stop shop for hydraulic and industrial hose service. Many thanks to Paxton Reunanen for bringing Pirtek's support to the club. And ERCU thanks Pirtek for their support!  Roostertail Talk, David Newton's podcast dedicated to covering hydroplane racing, is the latest to become an associate sponsor of our club for the 2025 ERCU Championship Series.
Newton contacted the club on Friday to make it official. Newton is passionate about hydroplane racing, having been around the sport in one way or another all of his life. His father was a crew member on several teams that David was fortunate to help out on as well. Newton is a school teacher in the Renton School District and currently lives in Renton with his wife Rachael and their son Drey. It is David's goal to continue the hydroplane chatter in the off-season and get stories about the boats, that you may not ever get the chance to hear. To learn more about Roostertail Talk, and its paid subscription enhancement option, please click here to see the website. You can listen to the podcast on various different podcast players, or by clicking here.  One phone call on a Friday morning brought a smile to the leadership of ERCU.
Brian Perkins called to share the good news that Perkins Glass of Seattle will join sponsorship ranks as the official glass company of ERCU in 2025. Perkins Glass is a fifth generation family-owned business doing business in the greater Seattle area since 1906. The shop was originally located in the Pike Place Market, and delivered glass on horse-drawn carriages. In the late 1970s, the shop relocated to Broadway. And now, Perkins Glass is located in SODO, where they hope to stay for the next century. At their shop, Perkins Glass stocks a large inventory of window/plate glass, mirrors and laminated safety glass of multiple sizes and thickness. With their large inventory, they are able to provide fast service with reasonable prices for the construction and DIY customers. Perkins Glass also provided all of the glass for our new season championship trophies, put together by Rick Evans in 2023. Perkins Glass is now owned and operated by Brian Perkins (former driver of the U-21 Go Fast Turn Left unlimited hydroplane) and his wife Erin. Find more information about Perkins Glass on their website by clicking here.
As the opening of the 2025 ERCU Championship Series continues to get closer and closer on spring's horizon, we're excited to share plans for our Test & Inspect day at South County Park at Wallace Pond in Toledo.
The day is set for Saturday, March 15. ERCU Race Coordinator David Heilbrunn said we'll begin setup at 8 a.m., with the intent to open the course by 9 a.m., and we're planning to run some exhibition heats once the trailer work and lunch are finished. Trailer Work & Hot Dogs We'll also take time out of our day to complete the long-awaited work to clean out our trailer and determine the things that are needed to keep and what's not needed. We need to make space for our new stairs from Fuller Chassis! Dennis Caines will also provide hot dogs for everyone in attendance during our trailer work break. Inspections Boats will also need inspections, starting with new boats, boats that have not ever been inspected or those that underwent major repairs or livery changes during the offseason. Click here to download an inspection form for each of your boats that needs to be inspected. ERCU's Inspectors this year are Mike McIntosh and Craig Mullen. On the Water Action A race course will be set for the purpose of practice and testing. If there are new members who need complete the driving test, we'll take opportunities to close the course for those tests to be done as well. The course should be set by 9 a.m., and we'll run open water through the morning. Exhibition heats will be run in the afternoon once the trailer work and lunch is done. We have the course until 5 p.m.  New sponsor announcements continue this week as the club moves closer and closer to the opening of the 2025 ERCU Championship Series.
Dennis Caines worked together with Bob Fulmer at Fulmer Chassis in Rochester, Wash., to finalize an in-kind sponsorship that resulted in new stairs for the club's scaffolding. Fulmer Chassis produces vintage modified auto racing chassis that can be seen competing at the South Sound Speedway in Rochester. Our new stairs have rails on both sides and fit inside the club's equipment trailer. We're very appreciative of the folks at Fulmer Chassis who are now a valued partner of ERCU for the 2025 season.  As we continue to inch closer to the start of the 2025 ERCU Championship Series, we're thrilled to introduce another sponsor for the coming season.
Craig Mullen has committed his Spartacus Boatworks as an in-kind sponsor for the full season. Spartacus Boatworks will donate a motor to be given away at the Jack Regas Memorial (June 14, presented by Spartacus Boatworks), the ERCU Gold Cup (August 9), the Bernie Little Memorial (August 23, and the Atomic Cup (September 20). Spartacus Boatworks can be contacted by email at [email protected], or click here for their Facebook page. |
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