Among the diesel classes, Aaron Smith (Why Knot, Class D) and Bill Grant (Gladiator, Class G) had three wins apiece and seemed bent on capturing their class cups. Bill Haass (Duncan & Blake, Class I) had 29 points and, if he continues to travel and race, will be hard to deny a three-peat in Class I. Gas Results Class A had only one entrant in each venue: Joe McDonald’s Catherine & Joseph at Moosabec and George Stevens’ Bohica at Stonington. At Moosabec, where there was no radar gun to clock speeds, Galen Alley’s Lorna B outpaced Lester Drisko’s Angelena Mathews in Class B. At Stonington, Julie Eaton’s Cat Sass prevailed over Robert Ray’s Dragon Fly. Isaac Beal placed first in Class C at both venues, unopposed at Stonington, challenged only by Shawn Alley in Jennifer Lee at Moosabec. Wyatt Beal posted two firsts in Class D, clocked at 33.6 mph at Stonington. He was challenged at Moosabec by Merle Beal’s Silver Dollar, and by James Bray Sr.’s White Cap at Stonington. Benny Beal brought the legendary Stella Ann out of the hanger for an unopposed first as Moosabec, but there were no entries at Stonington in Class E. Beal would go on to win the world’s fastest at Moosabec, but he did not compete at Stonington. Diesel Results A battle is developing in Class A between Howard Gray, whose Blue Thunder took the cup in 2003 and 2004, and Chuck Williams’ Mjr. Weakeyes, who was second last year. Gray won at Moosabec, followed by Chris Beal in Little Ladies, Richard Alley in Family Alliances, and Patrick Kelley in Misty Mae. Williams, who did not race at Moosabec, placed first at Stonington ahead of Gray and was clocked on the radar at 30.7 mph. Beal was third and Chris Hutchinson in Minor Debt was fourth. Stevie Carver’s Bigger Dirls is on the road to victory in Class B, with wins at both venues. At Moosabec, he was chased by Robert Alley’s Irene Renee, Jeff Libby’s Green Machine, and Ron Carver’s new Mr. T. At Stonington, where he was caught at 26.8 mph on the radar gun, Carver showed his stern to Brent Davis’ Hee Haw, Mr. T., Donald Eaton’s After U II, Devin Haskell’s Hooligan, and Merton Eaton’s Kathy Ann. Dean Alley commanded Class C at both venues, clocking 33.8 mph at Stonington in a win over David Grant’s Venom (second at Stonington, third at Moosabec), but Grant leads in points 27-20 by virtue of a first at Boothbay where Alley did not race. Osmond Beal in Shanna & Erick finished second in Moosabec Reach. Wendall Bryant, whose 16th Avenue won the Class D cup the past two years, has only competed at Boothbay this year, giving Aaron Smith’s Why Knot the chance to jump out to a 30-point command of Class D. He was clocked at 35 mph at Stonington. Brian Strout’s Annie Belle was his only challenger at Moosabec, and he was followed over the finish line at Stonington by Marshall Farnham in Miss Attitude, Lowell Hildings in Shag, and Cory Robertson in Piscuttah. Thurman Alley, winner of last year’s Class E cup, took firsts at Moosabec and Stonington (26.7 mph). At the first venue, he was trailed by Oscar Beal’s Papa’s Pride, and Sonny Beal’s Nancy Anne. At Stonington, Ben Hardy in Lindsay Rene and Wayne Rich in Rich Returns, placed second and third. Class F, a category with traditionally few contenders, saw Benny Beal’s Megan take an unopposed first at Moosabec, and Sid Eaton’s Kimberly Belle finish first (35.2 mph) over Matt Shepard’s Sea Devil II. Grant was caught doing 36.2 mph in his third Class G win of the season at Stonington. Kenton Feeney in Terry Luan has dogged him every step of the way, finishing second in all three of the season’s events. At Stonington, after Feeney, Grant was followed by Kevin Moore in Bad Penney, Gary Eaton in Paula Lee, Jeff Eaton in Helen Arlene IV, Scott Dakin in Fra Duavolvo, and Vance Gove Jr. in Mistress. Class H is witnessing a battle between last year’s winner, Travis Otis (First Team) and challenger Jeremy McLellan (Serenity). McLellan has 18 points by virtue of a win at Boothbay and a third-place finish at Stonington, and Otis has 20 points by virtue of firsts at Moosabec and Stonington. Challengers to Otis at Moosabec included Jeremy Beal (second in Musette Belle), Chris Church in Ashley Dawn, and Mark Carver in Butterfly Kisses. At Stonington, Otis was trailed by Jim Minott in Hooked Up, MeLellan, and Mike Yurchick in Wet Dreams. Haass, with 29 points off firsts at Boothbay and Moosabec and a second at Stonington, is on the way to a Class I three-peat in Duncan & Blake. Todd Ritchie’s Seacock, clocked at 39.7 mph, outsteamed him at Stonington and has garnered 27 points with a second at Moosabec and a third at Boothbay. Jason Clough’s Miss Elizabeth was the only boat to give chase to the two at Stonington. Ira Guptill registered 37.1 on the radar gun at Stonington in Class J, to capture Mystery Machine’s second win of the season (Boothbay was first). He was chased at Stonington by Keith Jordan in Hot Spot, Clive Farren in Sea Swallow, and Keith Smith in Just Because. Alan Taylor’s Taylor Made was unopposed in that class at Moosabec. Class K has not drawn much competition. There were no racers at Moosabec, and only two at Stonington. There, Brian Osgood’s First Light was clocked at 42.4 mph in a two-way race over Steve Johnson’s Wild One. The battle in Class L between Steve Johnson’s Hattie Rose and Billy Hallinan’s Apparition II continues. Johnson and Hallinan have finished one-two for the past two seasons, but Hallinan may be on the hunt for the cup this year. Hallinan won the match-up at Boothbay, neither raced at Moosabec and only Hallinan raced at Stonington. There he placed first, followed by Skip Young in Silver Spoon, Alan Miller in Sea Star, David Haskell in Molly Ryan, and Robbie Gray in Kathy Kass II. Young was first at Moosabec, where the only other racer was Chris Chipman in Monica Tynen. Diesel M has lacked for entrants until Stonington. There, Amy Alley’s Shit Poke, winner of last year’s cup, outpaced Dennis Young’s Christina & Seth. Alley’s speed was registered at 43.7 mph. Racing fans await the reappearance of James West’s Wild Wild West, which placed second in cup contention last year and always gets racing fans on their feet. Class N is equally poorly entered. Andy Gove, who raced Uncle’s UFO alone at Boothbay and prevailed over his nemesis, David Osgood in Starlight Express, at Stonington, has accumulated 20 points and needs only one more race to qualify for cup contention. According to information provided by Jon Johansen, Osgood was clocked at 55.2 mph which, if confirmed, would be a new record. Classes O and P are shaping up as local contests. None of the entrants at Boothbay competed in the next two venues, where only local boats raced. At Moosabec, Joshua Joyce was first in Atonement, Benny Beal second in Jared & Kellen, Carroll Staples third in Money’s Uncle, and Mitchell Beal fourth in Bukie & Tukie & Dukie Too. At Stonington, Richard Hildings, winner of last year’s cup, ran the What’s Left to victory and was clocked at 33.5 mph, followed by Dana Rice in Unpredictable. In Class P, Vid Young in Tenaru River was the only racer at Moosabec. At Stonington, Frank Thompson in Independence was first with a speed of 41.6 mph, Chris Young in Miss Madelyn was second, Murry Thompson in Sunday Money was third, and Seth Ciomei was fourth in Temptress. The Gas Free-for-all at Moosabec was won by Benny Beal in the Stella Ann, followed by the Jennifer Lee and Moxie. At Stonington, Isaac Beal beat out his son Wyatt in that event. The Diesel Free-for-all at Moosabec was captured by Grant in Gladiator, followed by Haass in Duncan & Blake, Smith in Why Knot, and Young in Silver Spoon. At Stonington, Gove in UFO took the free-for-all, followed by Shit Poke, Independence, Terry Luan, Why Knot, What’s Left, and Sunday Money. Osgood did not finish. World’s Fastests at Moosabec were Stella Ann, Gladiator, and Duncan & Blake. At Stonington, the results were Uncle’s UFO, Shit Poke, and Independence. |
