Monday, July 16, 2007
The Detroit Gold Cup ... "same monsta win again!"
I borrowed the title to this blog entry from my friend, Hank Kosciuszko, only because it's so fitting.
Three races, three wins ... Yuck! It's as if BUDWEISER never left. If I have to hear the phrase, "Well, we weren't always the fastest boat ..." one more time from this guy, I'm seriously going to lose my lunch. I hated hearing it when Chip drove for Bernie, and now Darth is continuing that with ELAM (and he said it when HE drove for BUD also!). It's like, puh-leez, gimme a break - just say thanks and leave it alone, will ya?
Not that the weekend didn't see some good racing. We were treated - twice - to two good elimination heat battles between the OBERTO and CHRYSLER-JEEP. Steve David won the first round and Jimmy King put the U-3 out in front coming out of the Roostertail turn on the last lap and picked up the win in the second. That one left the crowd buzzing ... one of the best heats of racing in Detroit in the last 25 years!
Some thoughts on the overall:
J. Michael Kelly continues to impress me - this guy is a racer, and the two boats I've seen him in (Jim Harvey's U-2 and his current ride, the U-13) really seem to come alive when he's driving. Tough weekend for both Formulaboats - Mike Allen flipping the U-1 again, and Jeff Bernard getting only marginal performance out of the U-5. Jean Theoret was impressive during qualifying, but that's as far as it went - a sluggish run in his first elimination saw him finish fourth, and then a gun jumping in his second heat left a lot of people scratching their heads. Jean claimed that Villwock pinched him too tight in the third heat, causing him to cut a buoy, but I don't know - as much as it pains me to say it, I don't think there was an infraction there to be called.
I've never seen the U-3 run so hard, so fast, and so tight in the turns! That turbo-charged Allison was just screaming - and sounding so beautiful! The heat he won against Steve David was a sight to behold, and those two guys had their "A" game going. Neither one could afford to make a mistake - and neither one did. And speaking of the OBERTO, I really think the folks on the west coast are in for seeing a first place finish from the folks from Madison. That boat really is getting dialed in every heat, no hype - just fact. It's amazing.
The only thing I can say about the good Dr. is - remember that comment I made about his paint job looking cool? I take it back, it had to be a bad photograph I saw, because this combination of colors is pretty bad when you see it up close - it's also pretty typical. Leland's boat continues to mystify me ... they show some flashes of speed and brilliance, but were basically a dead duck here. I thought this would be the year they'd make a showing in Detroit, especially after the start they got at Evansville and Madison. Not to be, though.
That, my friend, brings the curtain down on another Detroit Gold Cup. Kudos to Mark Weber, Tom Bertolini and all the other hard working members of the D.R.R.A. for putting together a first class show. And thanks to my brother, Jeff, and nephews, Scott and Brad, for helping me to physically get around this weekend so I could attend the race. Good luck to all on the western swing - except one.
