KENNEWICK -- Dave Villwock can be a polarizing figure.

KENNEWICK -- JW Myers got some more seat time Friday in the U-37, although he had N2 violations.

Here are the results of Heat 1B of the 2009 Columbia Cup:

KENNEWICK -- A year ago, Kayleigh Perkins came to the Tri-Cities with one good motor for her Unlimited Light.

KENNEWICK -- Here is Saturday's schedule of events for the Lamb Weston Columbia Cup in Kennewick. Schedule subject to change.

Here are the results of the 2009 R/C Unlimited Columbia Cup, which were run Saturday, July 25 at the Family Fishing Pond in Columbia Park.

The final order of the 2009 Columbia Cup's Heat 1A:

KENNEWICK -- Jean Theoret was ready to die.

KENNEWICK -- Here is the schedule for today's events associated with Lamb Weston Columbia Cup, courtesy of the Water Follies Association.

KENNEWICK -- Dave Villwock looked so out of place Thursday afternoon as he stood next to the unlimited hydroplane he drives, the U-16 Miss Elam Plus.

KENNEWICK — Got a late start this morning. Not because I took my usual Friday trip to the art show in Richland. But because I’m getting old and it’s hard to get out of bed in the morning.

KENNEWICK -- The economic chill that's been running up the spines of consumers and business owners in recent months seems to have melted away with the Tri-Cities' July heat, at least when it comes to the area's signature summer event: hydroplane racing.

KENNEWICK -- Get to the Columbia River on Friday around 8:30 a.m. and you can see the legendary past and the potential future at the same time.

KENNEWICK -- Steve David looked around the pits at the APBA Detroit Gold Cup a few weeks ago and laughed.

KENNEWICK -- When it comes to racing unlimited hydroplanes, the Columbia River is known as a superspeedway.

The 44th version of the Lamb Weston Columbia Cup gets under way this Friday.

DETROIT -- Dave Villwock has found many different ways to earn his 58 career unlimited hydroplane victories.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Three days after Jean Theoret's unlimited hydroplane crash on the Ohio River, Theoret is optimistic he will be released in time for this weekend's 100th running of the APBA Gold Cup.

MADISON, Ind. -- A blowover upstaged the qualifying heats Saturday at the Madison (Ind.) Regatta unlimited hydroplane race.

At the age of 55, Steve David has to be considered the senior statesman of the unlimited hydroplane circuit.

The American Boat Racing Association said Friday it is dropping San Diego from its official schedule for the 2009 season.

The Tri-Cities was named the top race site for unlimited hydroplane racing at the annual American Boat Racing Association awards banquet Saturday in Madison, Ind.

The American Boat Racing Association set its 2009 season schedule this week with a seven-race campaign. That's one more than last season and it's a big one -- the Oryx Cup World Championship in Doha, Qatar, on Nov. 12-14.

KENNEWICK -- A little bigger. A little louder. A little faster.

The American Boat Racing Association (ABRA) announced today that it will stage the final race of the 2009 ABRA unlimited hydroplane season in Doha, Qatar.

The Tri-City Water Follies Association got a financial boost Thursday for the 2009 hydroplane races from the Tri-City Regional Hotel-Motel Commission, though it wasn't as much as they'd hoped for.

The 2009 American Boat Racing Association annual meeting and Awards Banquet will be held Feb. 13-14 in Madison, Ind., home of the 2008 national champion team -- Oh Boy! Oberto/Miss Madison.

Steve David has had little time to enjoy his boat racing success.

RICHLAND -- Steve David, who drove the U-6 Oh Boy! Oberto hydroplane to the American Boat Racing Association national high points championship this year, will be the guest speaker for the R/C Unlimiteds Oh Boy! Oberto Championship Series awards banquet this Saturday at the Shilo Inn in Richland.

KENNEWICK -- Lamb Weston has established its identity in the kitchen.

Steve David has a plan.

EVANSVILLE, Ind. -- The Evansville Freedom Festival Board of Directors has sent a short press release, relinquishing the organization's responsibilities for the riverfront event, including the Thunder on the Ohio unlimited hydroplane race.

SEATTLE -- Roger Newton, a long-time fixture in boat racing, passed away Saturday after complications from heart surgery.

SEATTLE -- Dave Villwock benefited from a mistake by Jean Theoret and drove the Ellstrom E-Lam Plus hydroplane to a Chevrolet Cup victory Sunday on Lake Washington.

What a great Water Follies we had.

SEATTLE -- Dave Villwock has been around unlimited hydroplane racing long enough to know that the first couple days of qualifying and heats can be deceiving.

SEATTLE -- It has almost become routine at Seafair -- first-day qualifying is the show-off-the-horsepower, glide-and-ride unlimited hydroplane testing session of the Chevrolet Cup.

SEATTLE — The kids may be catching up to the kings of the hydroplanes.

Screaming hydros and an explosive boat fire gave the 43rd annual Water Follies a special finale Sunday for an estimated 60,000 spectators who crowded the banks of the Columbia River this weekend.

One person suffered minor injuries when a fire erupted on a pleasure boat Sunday afternoon east of the blue bridge in the midst of the hydroplane races.

Steve David talked Thursday about how he was feeling like NASCAR driver Matt Kenseth.

Oh Boy! Oberto driver Steve David remembered the day he got fired on the Columbia River.

Oh Boy! Oberto driver Steve David remembered the day he got fired on the Columbia River.

After losing out on a fifth straight Unlimited Lights team title by crashing in the final event of 2007, Greg Hopp and his crew decided this season to live up to the name of their UL-15 Graham Racing GT Happy Go Lucky ride.

While many friends and families celebrated another year of Water Follies tradition Sunday at the Columbia Cup, Brian and Karen Jackel started a new one -- they got married.

Dale Thomas invented new ways to let his guests enjoy Water Follies in luxury and cool comfort Saturday.

Flying down the Columbia River at 150 mph in a hydroplane can be risky and sometimes dangerous, but health officials say some people are taking risks off the river.

In recent years the American Boat Racing Association has looked to the younger generation - or at successful drivers from other divisions - to man the cockpits of its unlimited hydroplanes.

Greg Hopp is pulling double-duty this weekend, driving the U-100 Mirageboats.com and the UL-15 Graham Trucking GT-Happy Go Lucky presents Pump Tech of Moses Lake. It's the first time anybody will do that this year.