Jean Theoret is starting to like Seattle.
The 44-year-old driver of the U-37 Beacon Plumbing earned his first unlimited hydroplane victory at the Chevrolet Cup last year, and he followed up with another win Sunday. It was Theoret's fourth career victory.
"This Beacon Plumbing boat is awesome, and this team is awesome," said a breathless Theoret. "It's a hometown race, and it's really important for the team and for the sponsor. To (win) it twice in a row is really amazing."
By the time the native of Maple Grove, Quebec, found his way back to the team's dock, the celebration in his camp was well underway. After Theoret greeted crew chief Scott Raney with a big bear hug, the U-37 team took turns jumping off the dock and into the chilly Lake Washington water.
"We worked our butts off all week long on the boat," said an elated Raney. "We weren't concerned about qualifying. We wanted to race in the rough water and win the acceleration game, and it paid off."
Set-up was obviously a key issue on a course that is notoriously rough. Theoret did something he did all weekend -- timed out a perfect start -- and powered away from the competition.
By the time he powered out of the first turn, he was untouchable.
"I haven't seen a boat outperform the others that much in a long time," said U-37 owner Billy Schumacher. "When I saw Jean get in it with a smile, I had a good feeling that he was comfortable and ready to go. Boy, he proved that."
Theoret opened up a comfortable lead over J.W. Myers in the U-10 Todd Hoss presents Fairweather Masonry and Steve David in the U-6 Oh Boy! Oberto. David finished second to extend his lead in the ABRA national high points.
"We got the points we needed, finished ahead of everyone we needed to in points," David said. "We're working toward that national championship, and we've just got to do as well in San Diego. It's a phenomenal day for the Oberto."
David earned second-place points after Myers was assessed a one-lap penalty for a lane infraction. That gave third place to Atomic Cup winner Dave Villwock. Villwock said his U-1 Miss E-Lam Plus -- the defending national champion -- was down on power during the race.
"We had some problems that we couldn't quite find, so we're chasing those around right now," Villwock said after the race. "(The engine) wasn't getting the fuel flow it's supposed to get and the RPM it's supposed to get. We're trying to diagnose why."
Villwock, a six-time winner in Seattle, was fresh off of a victory in Tri-Cities last Sunday which saw him flip the U-1.
"We managed to stay right side-up and managed to make the final, and didn't crash," Villwock joked. "You have to count your blessings."
Mike Allen was fourth in the U-7 Formulaboats.com II, while teammate Jeff Bernard was fifth in the U-5 Formulaboats.com. Myers finished sixth, while Jimmy King did not start in the U-3 Acura of Seattle.
Theoret's starting strategy helped him to two heat victories over the weekend, including another dominating performance over Villwock in heat 2B earlier in the day.
King bested Chris Bertram in heat 2A.
Villwock earned a victory in heat 3B. That heat was stopped right after the finish when Kevin Aylesworth's U-21 The Plumbing Joint caught fire in the last turn. Aylesworth hurt his leg getting out of his burning boat, but he was not seriously injured.
His boat, however, was severely damaged after burning for approximately 15 minutes -- despite efforts by the Seattle Fire Department's fireboat Chief Seattle to put it out.
"By the time I got my seatbelts off, my mirrors were full of flames," Aylesworth said. "By the time I got out, flame had engulfed (the boat) and was trying to work its way into the cockpit."
Michael Flaherty drove the UL-72 Miss Boat Electric away from the field to win his fourth victory in the Unlimited Lights Graham Trucking Cup. Flaherty outran Al Carstensen in the UL-6 Port Orchard Signs/Maaco of Bremerton for the win. Greg Hopp was third in the UL-1 Mike's Hard Lemonade.
Jerry Hopp began the day with a victory in the first outing for the American Challenge Cup Series. The ACCS has run several exhibitions, including one last weekend in Tri-Cities. Hopp, driving the G-12 Graham Trucking, held off Dick Lynch in the G-13 Tempo for the win.
The unlimited hydroplanes and ACCS boats will head to San Diego for their final race of the season on Sept. 15-17.
In two weeks, the unlimited lights will race in Silverdale, Wash.
Chevrolet Cup at Seafair
Unlimited hydroplanes
Final
1. U-37 Miss Beacon Plumbing, Jean Theoret, 141.880 mph, 400 points; 2. U-6 Oh Boy! Oberto, Steve David, 134.320, 300 points; 3. U-1 Miss Elam Plus, Dave Villwock, 131.068, 225 points; 4. U-7 Fomulaboats.com II, Mike Allen, 128.234, 169 points; 5. U-5 Formulaboats.com, Jeff Bernard, 118.755, 127 points; 6. U-10 Miss EMCOR, JW Myers, 127.578, 95 points; U-3 Coopers, Jimmy King, DNF.
National High Point Standings
Through Seafair
1. U-6 Oh Boy! Oberto, Steve David, 6,566 points; 2. U-7 Formulaboats.com II, Mike Allen, 6,288; 3. U-1 Ellstrom Racing, Dave Villwock, 6,065; 4. U-3 Cooper Racing, Jimmy King, 5,951; 5. U-37 Schumacher Racing, Jean Theoret, 5,829.
6. U-5 Formulaboats.com, Jeff Bernard/Mike Weber, 5,322; 7. U-2.25 Superior Racing, Ken Muscatel, 3,301; 8. U-10 USA Racing Partners, JW Myers, 3,137; 9. U-21 Freedom Racing, Kevin Aylesworth, 2,421; 10. U-100 Leland Racing, Greg Hopp, 1,665.
11. U-9 Jones Racing, Chris Bertram, 916; 12. U-99 Leland Racing, Chris Bertram/Terry Troxell, 848; 13. Spirit of Detroit, J.Michel Kelly, 602.