For the Reporter
It was a wild finish on Lake Washington and one of the greatest races in unlimited hydroplane racing at Seafair.
Covington’s Jimmy Shane and the U-1 Oberto battled Bonney Lake’s J. Michael Kelly in the U-5 Graham Trucking for the Albert Lee Appliance Cup on Sunday afternoon.
Shane zipped past Kelly on the last turn of the final lap but was later penalized for bumping Kelly on the previous lap in a stirring, deck-to-deck duel.
Before the unlimited hydroplanes returned to the pits, race officials assessed a one-minute encroachment penalty on the Oberto for a collision on lap four of turn one in the five-lap championship heat.
The ruling made Kelly a back-to-back Cup winner.
“It was just an amazing race,” Kelly said. “We were next to each other for all five laps. But I had already lost my stabilizer, and when we collided it scrubbed even more speed off the boat.”
It might have been one of the best championship final heats in the history of the sport.
From the start, the two boats waged a tight race. Kelly took the lead on lap one from the lane two position immediately as both boats timed the start perfectly. Shane stayed right with him from lane three, and the battle was just beginning. Kelly led the entire heat until the final turn of the final lap when Shane pulled ahead.
But with both boats just inches apart on lap four going into turn one, Shane collided with Kelly, drawing the penalty. Shane was on the outside and veered ever so slightly into Kelly but with the boats at racing speed, Kelly called the collision “violent,” causing the Graham Trucking to lose even more speed.
“It was unfortunate that there was a penalty in the last heat because I wasn’t going to give up, and Jimmy wasn’t going to give up,” Kelly said. “I am proud of how Jimmy ran the race and I am very proud of how the Graham Trucking worked through the weekend to get us the championship.”
Jean Theoret in the U-96 Ellstrom Elam Plus looked like he was going to be the driver to beat early on. For the second week in a row, he led the fleet with the fastest qualifying speed on Friday with an average of 150.583 mph, and for the second week in a row he came up short. Kelly, on the other hand, had the sixth fastest time with a 145.826 mph average.
Theoret eventually placed second this week to Kelly. Scott Liddycoat in the U-9 LesSchwab/RedDOT took third. For Kelly, this was his fifth H1 Unlimited Hydroplane Series career win. Shane was placed in the sixth spot.
The H1 Unlimited Hydroplane fleet has three weeks off before the next the UAW-GM presents the Spirit of Detroit Hydrofest on the Detroit River, Aug. 22-23.
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Albert Lee Appliance Cup at Seafair Final results
1. J. Michael Kelly, Graham Trucking I
2. Jean Theoret, Ellstrom Elam Plus
3. Scott Liddycoat, Les Schwab/Red Dot
4. Jimmy King, Home Street Bank
5. Cal Phipps, Dalton Industries
6. Jimmy Shane, Oberto
7. Jesse Robertson Graham Trucking II
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