Sam Cole, chairman of the American Boat Racing Association, announced today that 11 boats will make the eastern swing for the 2008 ABRA season.

The American Boat Racing Association's Washington swing wrapped up -- and at the very least -- the debate over whether or not Dave Villwock's U-1 (elect) Miss E-Lam Plus will sweep the unlimited hydroplane season ended in Seattle with Steve David's victory in the U-6 Oh Boy! Oberto.

Dave Villwock showed the awesome potential of the U-16 Miss E-Lam Plus, powering past the field on the second lap to win his seventh Tri-Cities race, tying Chip Hanauer's mark for most wins on the Columbia River. It was also Villwock's fourth straight Columbia Cup/Atomic Cup victory, and his fourth straight of the year.

Jean Theoret is not a happy camper. After a frustrating season, the driver of the U-37 Beacon Plumbing was looking forward to turning the corner at Tri-Cities. But with a penalty for a lane encroachment that he doesn't think was right, any celebration will have to wait at least another week.

Dave Villwock showed the power of the Miss E-Lam Plus, powering past the field on the second lap to win his seventh Tri-Cities race, tying Chip Hanauer's mark for most wins on the Columbia River. It was also Villwock's fourth straight Columbia Cup/Atomic Cup victory, and his fourth straight of the year.

J. Michael Kelly made his way into the final by outrunning a three boat field that included Brian Perkins in the U-21 Meyers Auto Tech and David Williams in the U-48 Lakeridge Paving.

A total of five boats will compete in the consolation heat for the trailer spot in the final heat. Competitors include: Greg Hopp in the U-100 Mirageboats.com, Brian Perkins in the U-21 Meyers Auto Tech, U-13 Spirit of Detroit, driven by J. Michael Kelly, Ken Muscatel in the U-25 Superior Racing, and Dave Williams in the Lakeridge Paving.

Dave Villwock did his usual, nailing a perfect start and running away to get his third victory in three preliminary heats for the Lamb Weston Columbia Cup. Villwock was pushed out to lane two by Greg Hopp in the U-100 Mirageboats.com, but beat him handily through the first turn and never looked back.

Jean Theoret easily outran Chris Bertram to get a victory in heat 3B of Columbia Cup preliminary action. The victory assured Theoret's U-37 Beacon Plumbing team of a spot in the final heat.

Jeff Bernard had a perfect start, and held Steve David on his outside hip to win heat 3A of the Columbia Cup here in Tri-Cities, and probably cement his spot in the final with another 400 points.

Heat 2 winners Jeff Bernard and Steve David will square off in heat 3A with their U-5 Formulaboats.com and U-6 Oh Boy! Oberto rides, along with Dave Bryant in the U-10 Hoss Mortgage and Ken Muscatel in the U-25 Superior Racing.

Gearbox issues have forced the U-1 Formulaboats.com II to withdraw from the remainder of racing, while blown motors have brought the U-3 Hoss Mortgage/Ronald McDonald House's day to an end as well.

Steve David turned a somewhat conservative start into a flawless victory in the U-6 Oh Boy! Oberto, giving the team some much-needed breathing room in points after yesterday's miscue turned a seeming victory into a fourth place finish because of a jumping the gun penalty.

Jeff Bernard outran Dave Bryant to deliver a much-needed victory in heat 2B of Columbia Cup racing. Bernard started on the inside, and opened up a roostertail lead over Bryant to earn the win in the U-5 Formulaboats.com.

Dave Villwock is one step closer to tying Chip Hanauer's record of seven Columbia River victories after winning his second preliminary heat in 2007 Columbia Cup action. It was a much better start for Villwock and crew than 2006, when the flipped on the first lap of the first heat and had to make hasty repairs before coming back to win.

Nate Brown's new team and new boat rolled into the Neil F. Lampson pits Saturday morning looking like one of those kids' toys you see advertised on TV - Some Assembly Required.

Dave Villwock in the U-16 Miss E-Lam Plus will square off with Jean Theoret in the U-37 Beacon Plumbing in Columbia Cup heat 2A on Sunday morning at 11 a.m. Also in the fray are Jimmy Shane in the U-5 Formulaboats.com, Chris Bertram in the U-9 Conover Insurance, and Dave Williams in the U-48 Lakeridge Paving.

Probably the most drama-filled race so far today also had the most predictable outcome, as Jean Theoret easily outran Chris Bertram to earn a victory for the U-37 Beacon Plumbing in heat 1C of Columbia Cup action.

Dave Villwock timed his start perfectly, and ran away from the field to earn a victory and 400 precious points in heat 1B of Columbia Cup racing. Villwock's Miss E-Lam Plus has three victories in three events so far this season - and three consecutive victories on the Columbia River. He looked in form to make it four in a row on both counts.

Steve David led the way around the course, but Dave Bryant got credit for the victory in heat 1A of racing for the 2007 Columbia Cup. David was penalized a lap for jumping the gun in the Oh Boy! Oberto, and ended up finishing fourth.

We're inside the 5 to the 5 for heat 1A, so I will take a quick moment and let you know what the lineup is for the first flight.

After a busy first session Saturday, all three boats that hadn't qualified are in the show, both rookie drivers are nearing the end of their training period, and three teams improved their times.

At last year's Atomic Cup, things went about as badly as they could have for talented driver J. Michael Kelly. In one of the last preliminary heats, Kelly's U-13 Spirit of Detrit took flight in the west turn, flipping over and coming only inches from crashing down on top of Steve David in the U-6 Oh Boy! Oberto.

Rookie driver Brian Perkins knows he's fighting an uphill battle. His ride, the U-21 Meyers Auto Tech, is brand new. And while the team is working to sort out the bugs on an all-new boat, Perkins is trying to get used to driving something that big. And he couldn't be happier.

If you ask Scott Raney, it's been a frustrating season. As crew chief for the U-37 Beacon Plumbing, he watched a winter's worth of hard work go up in smoke when the boat did a full 360-degree flip in Evansville, Ind. in its second heat of racing for the year.

Dave Villwock has won all three races so far this season and seems to be on a dominating run toward yet another national championship. But if you think Villwock is ready for his Miss E-Lam team to take a break, think again.

The 2007 Lamb Weston Columbia Cup got under way in dramatic fashion with the Shafer Motors and Round Table Pizza Dash for Cash, and it was a barnburner.

Dave Villwock's record-breaking 165.687 mph lap in the morning qualifying session held through the second session of qualifying for the Lamb Weston Columbia Cup in Tri Cities. Villwock ran the hot lap around 9:15 this morning, as the second boat out on the water after the course opened.

Five boats will duke it out for first glory, a trophy and a paycheck in the Shafer Motors and Round Table Pizza Dash For Cash, which is supposed to take place at 5:20. Included in the heat are:

It would be a fair statement to say that Steve David is in love. After making the best with what they had - one of the oldest boats on the sport, with several problems that weren't easy to fix - the Miss Madison team managed to be contenders for the national boat championship, while David drove his way to the driver's championship.

This morning started off with a fairly stiff wind and memories of last year's wind delays. But by the time the course had opened up at 9, the wind had calmed and Steve David had perfect conditions to make the first runs of the 2007 Lamb Weston Columbia Cup in the brand spanking new Oh Boy! Oberto.

For several years now, the unlimited hydroplane racing season has had two halves. The first comprises the East Coast swing, with races in Indiana and Detroit, and previously, Virginia and New York. The second half is the West Coast swing, with Washington and California all represented.

Good news. The most coveted trophy in all of hydroplanedom is up for grabs this weekend in Detroit.

The Stanley Cup has been awarded, the NBA championship decided, and NASCAR is getting ready for its mid-season party.

Folks, I've been giving a lot of thought here lately to a lot of racing subjects, and I'm starting to wonder if the departure of Dale Earnhardt, Jr. from DEI might be the best thing that could happen to unlimited hydroplane racing.

Opening Day.

OK, so I'm no Dr. Phil.

It's circling through the camps in a hushed tone. Can you hear it? Whispers. Barely audible. The most unlikely of teams sits poised on the brink of winning the national championship. It's an amazing moment for unlimited hydroplane racing. Nobody breathe until it's over, okay?

Jean Theoret is starting to like Seattle.

SEATTLE -- Heat 1A of unlimited hydroplane racing Saturday for the Chevrolet Cup in Seattle looked like it was going to be a blowout, starring Jean Theoret as the hapless victim.

The aftermath of U-5 driver Mike Weber's retirement after last week's Atomic Cup took until today to hit, but the effect will shake up not only the Formula Boats team, but also two others.

I was munching on a little lunch yesterday afternoon and turned on the SPEED Channel to see what was going on.

Probably the biggest frustration I had over this weekend was the administration of the Lighter than Lights and G classes. The Water Follies seems to treat the ULHRA pretty well, but for this weekend's event, the LtL and G boats really seemed to be treated like second-class citizens.

Well, my first Atomic Cup since I was a toddler is in the record books. Granted, as far as I was concerned, it was the Atomic Cup in name alone. I for one wasn't sure that Columbia Cup was a flawed enough of a name to abandon. I'm a nostalgic guy, so I appreciated the nod to the race's history, but it just couldn't be the Atomic Cup to me with the whine of turbine engines, and all the drivers sitting in little bubbles up in front of their engines, and the like. But that's just me.

It's been a long time coming for Greg Hopp, but the last year may have been the longest. Hopp finally conquered the Columbia River, racing to a victory in the wind-swept Hapo Community Credit Union Thunder Cup. Hopp thought he had won the race last year, but the victory celebration was cut short when he was disqualified for violating the DMZ prior to the start. This year would be a different story, though.

Dave Villwock went from the bottom of the river to top of the hydro world Sunday with a big victory in the Atomic Cup for Unlimited Hydroplanes on the Columbia River in Tri-Cities, Wash.

Four hours ago, Dave Villwock's day looked bleak. The boat had flipped in a windy heat 2A, and the team was thrashing to get it back together. But Villwock prevailed in the U-1 Miss E-Lam Plus, outrunning JW Myers in the U-10 Solutions Plus for the win.

The final field is coming up very quickly. It will include the U-1 Miss E-Lam Plus, U-6 Oh Boy! Oberto, U-3 Conover Insurance, U-5 Formulaboats.com, U-10 Miss Solutions Plus, and U-21 Area Codes Cellular.

Greg Hopp powered the UL-1 Mike's Hard Lemonade away from Michael Flaherty in the UL-72 Miss Boat Electric for a victory in the HAPO Community Thunder Cup, one of the only races he hadn't conquered. Hopp was the apparent winner last year, but was disqualified for a DMZ violation prior to the start.