The Tri-City area's debut on the unlimited hydroplane circuit is an apparent success - financially, artistically and safety-wise.

Billy Schumacher, the brash baker boy from Seattle, is earning a reputation as the brightest thing to hit the unlimited hydroplane racing scene since Mira Slovak defected from Communist Czechoslovakia a decade ago.

Col. Warner Gardner proved his opening hydroplane victory of the season was no fluke and took another step toward a national title while maintaining the winning monopoly for Washington State Sunday in the Tri-Cities.

There were a lot of surprising occurrences on the Columbia River in the Tri-Cities Sunday afternoon.

There weren't many of the big boys left around when it came time for the championship heat in the fifth running of the Atomic Cup race for unlimited hydroplanes yesterday afternoon.

For the past three weeks after his first victory in unlimited hydroplane racing, Jim McCormick was almost apologetically referred to as the "Cinderella" winner of the Madison, Ind., Gold Cup.

When it was suggested to Bill Muncey on Sunday afternoon that luck as much as speed decided 1972's Atomic Cup, he had a jovial retort.

Mickey Remund was the crowd's favorite to win Sunday's Gold Cup before an estimated 55,000 people, but when it was all over Remund's Pay 'N Pak hydro was sitting dead in the water.

Pay 'N Pak maneuvered through the unprecedented seven-boat feature race Sunday on the Columbia River to win the World Championship Regatta for unlimited hydroplanes.

The thing about the Gold Cup, as it is with virtually every other sporting event, there's only one winner - and lots of losers.

Put the winningest driver into a boat with the most victories in unlimited hydroplane racing and you have a combination that was too much for the field Sunday in the Columbia Cup.

Hydroplane driver Bill Muncey won a record sixth Gold Cup Sunday before an estimated 60,000 spectators sweltering in 102-degree weather.

While it won't be remembered as the most artistic of the 13 unlimiteds hydroplane races held in the Tri-Cities Sunday's Columbia Cup race nevertheless will leave its mark.

Like Western movies that always end with the hero and heroine riding off in the sunset, unlimited hydroplane races seem to call for veteran driver Bill Muncey to walk off with top honors.

Driver Bill Muncey in the Atlas Van Lines hydroplane decided not to wait until next year, but the new turbine-powered Pay 'N Pak is going to have to.

The Columbia Cup fare supposedly called for vintage brew to be followed by five chasers, but at the last second Chip Hanauer decided that wasn't the role for him.

A reluctant Tom D'Eath braved high winds and rough water to drive the Squire Shop to its second straight Columbia Cup victory Sunday on the Columbia River.

In what is fast becoming a predictable situation, the Columbia Cup unlimited hydroplane race Sunday had a very unpredictable finish.

It's time for legendary unlimited hydroplane drivers Bill Muncey and Ron Musson to move over and make room for the kid from Seattle.

Chip Hanauer has emerged from the shadow of legendary unlimited hydroplane driver Bill Muncey.

Chip Hanauer isn't about to let a race that didn't happen overshadow the one that did.

It wouldn't be an unlimited hydroplane race on the Columbia River without world record speeds and controversy.

Did the Budweiser win the Columbia Cup Sunday by cutting off its opponents illegally at the first turn?

Mitch Evans celebrated his Columbia Cup victory by gulping expensive champagne from a plastic cup.

Tom D'Eath came up with the perfect gift Sunday to celebrate owner Bernie Little's silver anniversary of his first win in unlimited hydroplane racing - a victory in the Columbia Cup.

Mark Tate made a clean sweep of the Columbia Cup on Sunday.

Maybe it wasn't as easy as it looked, but there isn't any question about the decisiveness of the Miss Budweiser's victory Sunday in the $150,000 Columbia Cup.

Two boats took nasty flips, but not the Miss Budweiser, which Chip Hanauer piloted to the 1993 Columbia Cup title.

The competition's getting closer, but for now the U-1 Miss Budweiser and Chip Hanauer are still No. 1.

Steve Woomer, owner of the Smokin' Joe's, has been saying for the past week that he has the best riding boat of any on the unlimited hydroplane circuit.

Dave Villwock glided the PICO American Dream into the Columbia Cup pits, jumped onto the top of the cowling like it was a saddle on a friendly bull and threw both hands into the air in complete and total ecstasy.

Mark Evans jumped into his boat early Sunday morning for a test run on the Columbia River and promptly ripped off a speedy 164.618 mph lap.

Miss Budweiser owner Bernie Little broke with tradition.

It's going to be pretty hard for Dave Villwock to find a more perfect weekend of boat racing.

For the first time this year, the unlimited hydroplane circuit won't be suffering a hangover from too much Budweiser.

Taking a page out of auto racing, Terry Troxell and Greg Hopp introduced unlimited hydroplane fans to the concept of team racing Sunday.

All Sunday long, Nate Brown took on serious challenges from various drivers during the Budweiser Columbia Cup.

Mark Evans served notice to hydroplane fans that he's back Sunday by doing his customary victory dance atop his U-8 Llumar Window Film boat while being towed in from the Columbia River race course.

The Budweiser team wrote the opening chapter of the Tri-Cities unlimited hydroplane races in 1966 when Bernie Little’s driver, Bill Brow, took the Atomic Cup title.

A week ago, Dave Villwock had planned to spend a lazy Sunday afternoon flying his model airplanes in the Seattle area and getting a trailer for his flat bottom boat for a trip to Virginia.

The feat is called Flip and Win.

Dave Villwock, looking to sweep the entire 2007 American Boat Racing Association season, won his fourth consecutive race Sunday, this one the Lamb Weston Columbia Cup in the Tri-Cities.

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