Saturday, Jul. 28, 2007

Villwock wins wire to wire in heat 1B

By Jody Moore, hydro.commentator

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.

"Just get some points in the bank, keep working on our boat and keep making it better," Villwock said with a smile. "If we can keep doing that, we'll do allright."

Greg Hopp's beleaguered U-100 Mirageboats.com looked like it was on its way to second place, but earned a one lap penalty for jumping the gun at the start. Villwock thought that Hopp wasn't the only one who was early at the start.

"It was right on the money," Villwock said of his start. "I didn't know exactly where the U-100 was, but I thought for sure that Ken (Muscatel) was over by a couple of boat lengths. But they said 'no'."

Brian Perkins finished second in the U-21 Meyers Auto Tech, making his first start as an unlimited driver and the first race for the brand-new U-21.

"Second place. It was kind of lucky, but we'll take 'em when we can get 'em," Perkins said. Then he reflected on the ride in his first competitive heat. "(It's) pretty bumpy, but that goes with the territory. When you get that many boats out there it's going to get really rough."

Ken Muscatel was third in the U-25 Superior Racing, and Hopp was fourth in the Mirageboats.com.

Racing continues today with heat 1C, and the remaining preliminary heats for the Columbia Cup tomorrow.

More to come from Hydro Town.

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