How APBA Outboard Drag Racing Started in Region One
by Brad Snow - Region 1 APBA Drag Vice Chairman
All of us either know people who are hot boat enthusiasts or come from a
"king of the lake" background ourselves. As an outboard mechanic who became
an APBA Stock, Mod., and Pro. Outboard racer in the 1970s, watching water
pass under the bow of my hydroplane really fast was the movie I preferred
watching. After realizing I no longer wanted to dive into first turns with
eleven other boats, I retired from racing but the need for speed was still
there. At the time, the V bottom pleasure boats I saw running in the newly
formed OPC classes didn't look like my kind of ride. I was left without a
theater for my favorite movie.
Shortly thereafter, V-6 outboards came on the scene. Hundreds of
Hydrostreams originally designed for in-line motors were re-fitted with new,
much more powerful V-6s. Many new categories of racing sharing similar
engines while a growing bass boat industry helped amortize costs for a bunch
of performance developments and accessories. Sixty mph was pretty fast for a
"pleasure-boat " in 1977. Twenty years later in 1997, there were numerous
"family" outboard boats running around rivers and lakes, some of which were
even bow-riders, that are also capable of running well over 80 mph.
In 1995, I found exactly what I had been dreaming of and acquired one of the
current generation of "family tunnel boats". It was an STV-Euro Ski which is
a Mod-VP race hull configured with a spacious interior that seats four. In
my travels with it, I began to encounter other fast outboard pleasure boats.
The drivers of these boats were usually very tuned into what their boats can
do and how to make them do it. Most felt really comfortable driving at
speeds above 80 mph for really long distances and under widely varying
conditions. They were all also quite comfortable doing this without helmets
or sometimes even life jackets. As a former APBA racer who's been "over" a
few times, I simply couldn't imagine running these speeds without safety
gear. However, not having been exposed to the safety consciousness we racers
take for granted, they couldn't be expected to know what safety gear to wear
and how important it is.
As soon as I bought my boat I knew outboard drag racing would be ideal for
me. However it only existed in other distant parts of the country and I
didn't think it would ever be run in Region One. Others throughout New
England felt similarly but Bob Bourget of Worcester, MA. had the vision to
actually make it happen. For approximately ten years from 1983 through 1993,
Bob, along with Mark Israelian and Dean Hazard, also from the Worcester
area, spent their entire year testing and preparing for only one race. It
was an informal gathering in Bangor Maine that included drag racing as well
as circle racing and marathon racing. In 1993 the annual event stopped and
they were left without any place to meet. After several years of no racing,
they went looking for other opportunities and found stock, mod., and pro.
racing right in their own state.
Bob approached Charlie Gonyea of The South Shore Outboard Association, a
club already putting on APBA sanctioned Stock, Mod. and Pro category races,
and asked him to add an "exhibition" outboard drag race before the Stock,
Mod., and Pro. racing program started and then again during their patrol
boat changes. After discussing potential compatibility problems, it was
decided that the two racing formats would work well together and SSOA's
first Taunton race was selected as a trial run. Bob went to Taunton with a
couple of drag boats early in the season and ran a small demonstration to
show the club officials what we intended to do.
To stimulate interest in drag boat participants, we decided to cater the
drag events to grass-roots, family style pleasure boats, as opposed to
single purpose race boats. This was done to attract as many participants as
possible - most of whom were new to APBA racing. Bob came up with four class
divisions initially that really made sense to the rest of us based on the
type of boats we had in our area:
Pure Stock - no powerhead modifications at all. Nose cones, blow-out
rings, and solid mounts are acceptable. 200 H.P. maximum, 15' boat minimum,
full interiors, pump fuel only.
Super Stock - no internal power-head modifications. Heads, reeds,
exhaust relief, or any external bolt-on allowed (Factory parts only). 225
H.P. max, 16' minimum, full interiors, pump fuel only.
Pro-Stock: Modified motors; 2.4 & 2.5 Hi-Performance (Stock) motors. All
Mod- VP type hulls, full interior or competition hulls. No 2.5 drag motors,
nitrous, turbos, or after-market induction systems. 17' minimum.
The reason we didn't run strict APBA classes initially was to keep
participant interest high and racing competitive for the variety of boats
that showed up. Class divisions were determined by the race director with
the participation and consensus of the drivers.
Now that drag boats were on the schedule, it became important to organize
the potential participants so they would know about the races and what was
expected of them. It also was important for the race committee to know how
many drag boats were going to show up since our launching and pit needs are
slightly different from the other classes already on the schedule. We
unofficially appointed one person from each state who became responsible for
recruiting the participants within his state, and disseminating information
to them as it became available. This has worked well.
Our first race at Taunton was very successful. We drew about a dozen boats
so the learning curve was fairly short and the day went as planned. The
racing was much closer than expected, regardless of engine size or hull
design. The spectators really enjoyed the diversity of the program while
seeing boats they relate to competing. A few even went out and bought rigs
to race with us later in the season. All participants became SSOA and APBA
members and all APBA safety rules were followed. The "exhibition" was so
successful that outboard drag racing was put on other race schedules, and
has been included in SSOA events ever since. After the first race, based on
the types of boats there, we ended up combining the four classes down to
two: Pro Stock and Pro Comp., which worked fine for us for the rest of the
season. All of the rest of the races were run in conjunction with outboard
circle racing and our numbers grew at each event. The atmosphere was very
friendly and open, and everyone there had fun helping each-other. We even
formed our own club - "The New England Outboard Drag Association" to more
efficiently develop drag racing in our area. This club operates within
SSOA's legal infrastructure but we hold our own meetings which allows us to
focus specifically on drag racing issues.
For the 1998 season we continued to emphasize an informal approach for all
participants by running two "grass roots" classes and one APBA class. We
were hoping to attract even more types of pleasure boats as participants
that may not ordinarily be viewed as race boats, so our sport is even more
accessible to more folks on the beach. We feel a really close race to the
finish line is always exciting, no matter how fast the participants are
going. Some of our members traveled to other regions in the country who have
been running outboard drag racing much longer. They felt our Region 1 races
are as well organized and run as smoothly as the others, which proves how
easy it is to start drag racing in a new area.
This year, there is a momentum to standardize the rules and procedures
between all the various racing organizations throughout the country so our
sport can grow on a national level. As other clubs and racing associations
have done, this year NEODA voted to follow APBA rules from now on. This was
done after finding many more of our racers are competing on a national level
than originally anticipated.
Drag racing in Region One seems to be a winner for all concerned. The club
and APBA secured a bunch of new enthusiastic dues paying members, all at
once. The increased number of entry fees at the races helped cover event
costs. The spectators and sponsors enjoyed a more diverse program that was
more action packed. The length of the racing day increased minimally since
our heats don't take very long to run off and are run during breaks that
already existed. And best of all, all the outboard drag participants now
have helmets and real life jackets and are following APBA safety rules. Just
as drag strips put driving cars fast in a safe arena, we now have safe
places to drive our fast boats while meeting other people with the same
obsession. For further information, please feel free to contact Jim Thompson
NEODA 518-744-8785