North Tonowanda, New, York

June 2-3, 2007

J and Fae Report

     The Grand Island Navy was at it again here in North Tonowanda, Ny. to start June's racing agenda. This community has always been legendary for its many great hydro teams. Now several descendants of the past greats are banding together to put on a first class event. There are many volunteers that we don't know so we will mention a few obvious leaders of this race and maybe Dan Kanfoush or John Krebs can add others to the Yahoo site later. (thanks guys) Besides Dan and John we saw Ken Brodie Jr., Darryl Monette and Lynn Kanfoush (great anthem singing) among many locals. Joe Cheezum and Dick Delsener traveled in to run the pits and announcing jobs. Their efforts plus great racing water led to a very enjoyable event. We also dodged the imminent rain showers both days. Here are the J and Fae boat totals: (T-6) (Y-4) (JSS-4) (S-10) (E-13) (GNH-3) Total-40

     JSS boats were dominated by Sam Strickland (JS-4) Red, White and Brew as he won every heat. Sam is a threat to take all the skipper honors this year. Bill Pierce (JS-25) Code Red and Dennis Macy (JS-45) The Menace traded second and third places. Bill could be headed for JS-1 as he is fast and loves to race. 

     T boats were very evenly matched this weekend. Kasey Browning (T-15) Hott Stuff and Jason Browning (T-999) Bad To The Bone were ready to challenge top dawg Kelly Shane (T-1) Tangled Up In Blue. Action was wild on Saturday as Kasey, Kelly and Jason took honors. Sunday saw the gang get a little antsy on the start as Mark Butler (T-72) For Pete's Sake hung back and took the win. Andrew Fraliex (CT-4) Head-hunter took second as the penalty put Jason Browning back to third.

     Y boats have fallen into utter frustration lately regarding high points. It seems like every heat something goes wrong denying that all important fourth starter. Dan Kanfoush (Y-1) Fast Eddie Too piled on two more wins but scored zero points. Jim Sechler and Dan will be heading west a few extra times this summer. Sean Bowsher (Y-52) Roostertails Racing and Jim Sovie (CY-44) Good Ol Boys were flying this weekend and sported big smiles with both getting a second and Sean an additional third. They stayed within range of Sechler's immaculate (Y-1) which is tough to do.

     GNH boats gave it a try but the three boats succumbed to the ever present engine gremlins and went home early. Cal Phipps (GNH-8) did look mighty quick but was not challenged. This does bode well for Grumpy Jimmy Deel later in the season.

     S boats presented a strong, deep field for this race. There was some great action from first to sixth place in both finals. We had gun jumpers, wild hooks and side by side racing that the fans really enjoyed. Three boats hogged all the honors when it was all sorted out. Mark Johnson (S-9) Honey Bun was the class of the field both days. Mark and owner Greg Barker are a tough combo with their combined years of experience. (Liz Barker was one of those great volunteers we missed earlier) Keith Anderson (S-17) Bad Habit and Tom Vielhauer (S-11) Unfinished Business swapped second and third place finishes.

     E boats were extremely deep with lots of Bergeron hulls and other fast styles as well. Top American and Canadian entries colliding always causes major friction. Trolling starts led to first corner mayhem. How these guys get through there is amazing. The close racing continued all the way to the checkers. On Saturday Patrick Haworth (CE-57)  Toukan/Dragon earned a hard fought victory even though he broke an air trap. Home town hero Ken Brodie Jr. (E-500) Centsless 14 took second and Eric Labelle (CE-1) DoIt came home third. Sunday saw gun jumpers scramble the field leaving Eric (CE-1), Denny Naegale (E-19) Slum Goddess and Derek Smith (CE-13) Adrenaline Rush on the podium. Any one of seven boats could have won including Mark Lecompte in his beautiful, new (CE-104).

     All in all some great racing occurred here this weekend. The fans in Western New York remember lots of awesome events from the past and they will support this race as it grows. Couple that with a strong race committee plus a location close to Canada and you have a winner for future race calendars. See you guys in Valleyfield!  J and Fae