Friday, Jul. 27, 2007

Final preparations

By Jeff Morrow, Herald sports editor

Lampson Pits was slowly filling up Thursday afternoon as race teams began arriving for this weekend's Lamb Weston Columbia Cup.

Action begins at 10 a.m. today with unlimited testing and qualifying on the Columbia River, and a three-boat Dash for Cash is set for 5:20 p.m.

Saturday's action includes more testing and qualifying, followed by three unlimited heat races.

Sunday's racing action will include seven more preliminary heat races before the final is set for 4:40 p.m.

All weekend long the Robert Young Apartments Airshow will take place.

On Thursday afternoon, the pits were relatively peaceful as most American Boat Racing Association drivers, some crew members and boat owners were playing in the annual hydro golf tournament.

But the true diehards were in the pits, working on their boats or soaking up the atmosphere.

Spotted at the east end of the pits talking to fans was U-16 Ellstrom Elam Plus driver Dave Villwock, while crew chief Mike Hanson was tinkering with the U-6 Oh Boy! Oberto.

On the west end, Ed Cooper -- owner and crew chief of the U-3, the circuit's lone piston-powered entry -- was fidgeting with his boat.

Cooper, whose team sits in third place in the national high point standings, likes what his team has done so far this season.

"We've won heats in every race," Cooper said. "We made two finals in a row. When it's right, when everything is working, this boat is spectacular."

That being said, Cooper admits Villwock and the U-16 team will be tough to beat this weekend.

"No question they're the odds-on favorite to beat," Cooper said. "But that's not a new revelation. If they don't make a mistake, they won't get beat."

That doesn't mean Cooper or anyone else is giving up.

"We're one of the top four or five boats on the circuit," he said. "We always have one of the top four or five qualifying speeds."

And the 2 1/2-mile Tri-Cities course, called the equivalent of the Nextel Cup Talladega track as a superspeedway, fits into the U-3's favor.

"This is our kind of course," Cooper said. "Long straightaways where you can get out and carry speed into big corners. And that first turn is pretty wild for a lot of boats. But we can get through it with no problem."

The other thing Cooper brings up is that there are five to six boats that are similarly built and that's why they all consistently complete laps of 150 mph or better.

"They're all carbon copies," he said.

Last year, Cooper's team came to the Tri-Cities short on engines. They broke one right away and barely made it through here and Seattle with enough equipment.

"We won't do that again," he said. "We brought four engines this time, and we could've brought a fifth."

Meanwhile, Hanson is excited about the brand new U-6.

"We're in the hunt to win a race," Hanson said. "Dave's got a little more of an advantage on us, and unfortunately we lost a full day of testing in Madison because of river debris and another day of testing in Detroit because of high winds. So we haven't got as much time on the water that we'd like."

Which is why, Hanson says, fans will see a lot of the U-6 in the water this weekend, as driver Steve David continues to acclimate himself to the new ride.

Hanson said his team would love to win in the Tri-Cities, but the ultimate goal is to get the boat in one piece to Seattle next week.

"Our real goal is to win the race in Seattle for (sponsor) Art Oberto's 80th birthday," Hanson said. "We built this boat with the goal to win in Seattle. Art has sponsored us for eight years. He's been a sponsor of this sport for like 40 years. He's never won on his home course."

-- Villwock and Elam have won the last two Tri-City races as a team. Villwock has won three straight, including 2004 as the driver of the Miss Budweiser. He has won on the Columbia River a total of six times. ... Elam has won four times here as a team, twice with Villwock and once each with Nate Brown and Mark Evans. ... Unlimiteds are scheduled for two different qualifying sessions today (schedule subject to change, of course). The first one is at 10 a.m., while the second begins at 2 p.m. ... The U-21 Meyer's Auto Tech, making its 2007 season debut after being completely rebuilt after a major fire last season, will be christened in the pits at 9 a.m. today.

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