PORT ANGELES — The course rotation at Saturday’s American Sprint Boat Racing event at Extreme Sports Park took its toll on racers and boats from the opening lap of the first qualifying heat.
Driver Bud Florko and navigator Nick Kishka went airborne after clipping an island around the track’s seventh turn, flipping twice before coming to rest right-side up.
Florko, known for his pedal-down racing style, and Kishka were unharmed and returned for their next qualifying laps.
Later, the Fat Buddy No. 13 boat, driven by Scott Saxton and navigated by Gary McNeil, clipped that same outcrop and ended up bouncing off an island and coming to rest submerged in the finish channel.
Neither was hurt, but their day at the races was finished.
The Port Angeles-based Wicked Racing No. 10 team of driver Dan Morrison and navigator Cara McGuire overcame a missed turn on their first lap of qualifying to post the two lowest times of the day in all classifications, a 44.594-second spin in their second time out, and a 43.953-second circuit in their last qualifying run.
The team missed out on its third qualifying loop due to another issue with the boat’s starter. Starter troubles nearly knocked the team out in the series’ first trip to Port Angeles in July.
“The starter gear stuck out, the solenoid stuck and it ripped the drive gear right in half, but we put a brand-new starter in there,” Morrison said.
“We will be fine.”
The Sequim-based TNT Live Wire No. 2 boat, driven by Paul Gahr and navigated by his son Josh, cruised to the fastest qualifying lap, 49.732 seconds, in the 400 class.
“A pretty good day so far for us,” Paul Gahr said.
“We had a little trouble in our third run. We were getting too much air in the pump and not enough water, but I think we’ve just about got that figured out for the eliminations.”
The other Sequim crew, TNT Jeepers Creepers No. 99, driven by Dillon Cummings and navigated by Teri Cummings, turned in three solid qualifying times, the fastest 51.382 seconds, good for fourth in the Modified class.
The Overkill Racing No. 69 boat, driven by Dennis Hughes with navigator Matia Haskey, was the fastest qualifier in the Modifieds with a time of 48.168 seconds.
A bright spot on a tough day for the Fat Buddy team, the No. 9 boat of driver Jesse Miller and navigator Logan Evans was just behind the Overkill boat with a time of 48.392.
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Sports reporter Michael Carman can be contacted at 360-452-2345, ext. 5250 or at mcarman@peninsuladailynews.com.
