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At the age of 55, Steve David has to be considered the senior statesman of the unlimited hydroplane circuit.
And when the 2009 American Boat Racing Association season begins today with the first day of qualifying for the Madison Regatta in Indiana, he's going to be considered something else: Defending national champion.
David drove the Oh Boy! Oberto to the 2008 national title, despite winning just one race -- the Lamb Weston Columbia Cup in the Tri-Cities. But he was consistent all year, and that earned the title.
Now, through a quirk in the schedule, David and the U-1 team get to open the season in the boat's hometown of Madison, Ind., in which the 13,000 residents own the boat.
"This is going to be a special day," David said in a teleconference earlier this week, "starting the season in Madison, Ind., in front of the owners, the fans of this hydroplane."
Eleven unlimiteds will be on hand for this weekend's race -- which will include heat races Saturday and Sunday, and the Indiana Governor's Cup final set for 1:20 p.m. PDT Sunday.
It will be the beginning of a season that will include a few changes, some new places to race, a new team, rule adjustments, and some farewells to people and places.
Here's what to look for in 2009:
-- Columbia Cup at the end of this month: The annual Tri-Cities event will be held July 24-26 (tickets go on sale today). The difference is it will be the third race of the season rather than the fourth.
The unlimiteds were dropped from the Evansville, Ind., traditional opener this year, which usually occurs the last weekend of June. It took an effort for the ABRA to get a new festival set up in Evansville, and the races will now be run Aug. 21-23.
-- Other schedule changes: Races have been added in Doha, Qatar, set for Nov. 12-14 and called the Oryx Cup World Championship. An exhibition is set for Kelowna, British Columbia, on Aug. 8-9. And because festival officials failed to pay their fees to the ABRA, the annual September race in San Diego has been cancelled.
All told, six points races in 2009 -- the same amount for the last few years.
-- Elam is back: David and the Oberto team may have the bullseye on their backs, but the U-16 Elam team is back this season for the full circuit.
Team manager Erick Ellstrom elected not to run the East swing of the circuit last year as he tried to work on getting some race sites in Europe and the Middle East. By doing so, he knew there was no way the U-16 could defend the national title it won in 2007.
Now they're back, with superstar Dave Villwock again driving the boat. They should be the preseason favorites.
-- Hold your lane please: Lanes will be assigned for the first heats, with the fastest qualifiers getting first choice. Teams with the lowest point totals after the first round of heats get to choose first lanes for the second round of heats.
For final heats, the team with the most points compiled gets first choice.
-- Cut the fuel flow down: In 2008, turbine boats were allowed to run 4.3 gallons of fuel flow per minute. This season, that's been cut back to 4.1.
Break that number, and you'll be penalized or disqualified.
It also means the circuit's lone piston-powered boat, the U-3 Cooper's, could have an advantage because it's not bound by the fuel-flow rule.
Of course, after last season's disaster of broken engines and boat parts, it may not matter if team owner Ed Cooper can't keep the boat together.
-- A new team: Mike Webster will unveil his U-22 Matrix System Automotive this weekend in Madison. Webster purchased Cooper's old U-3 a few years ago and changed it from pistons to turbine power.
-- In memoriam: Since last year's Columbia Cup, the circuit has lost a couple big names. Kim Gregory, owner of the U-10 USA Racing, died in September from pancreatic cancer. Gregory was the patriarch of the team's operation, with his wife, sons and daughter also working with the team. The U-10 will take this season off to regroup.
On June 13, driver Terry Troxell died of a heart attack. Troxell won the Columbia Cup in 2001, and in 2005, he won the coveted Gold Cup in Detroit.
NOTES: Mike Denslow, president of the Tri-City Water Follies, has been named to the ABRA's board of directors ... The ABRA has rejoined the American Power Boat Association after severing ties five years ago. ABRA chairman Sam Cole believes the move will help the group in getting more international races. ... Longtime boat owner Jim Harvey will be team manager for Fred Leland's U-100 team this season. ... JW Myers, who last drove the U-16 Elam in 2005 before being replaced by Villwock in mid-season, is the new crew chief for Ken Muscatel's U-25. ... The U-17 Our Gang Racing, owned by Nate Brown and driven by his nephew, Kip Brown, will run the entire circuit for the first time. ... It looks like Dave Bartush isn't running the U-13 Spirit of Detroit this season. So Ted Porter has hired away J.Michael Kelly to driver the U-7 Graham Trucking this season. Jeff Bernard will again drive Porter's other boat, the U-5 Formulaboats.com. That means Mike Allen, who has flipped the boat a few times over the past few seasons, is odd-man out. ... They couldn't find a buyer in the offseason, so Billy and Jane Schumacher will run their U-37 team with driver Jean Theoret again this season. They did, however, lose the Beacon Plumbing sponsorship.
