Covington’s Jimmy Shane drove U-1 Miss HomeStreet Bank to a convincing victory at the HomeStreet Bayfair Regatta for the Bill Muncey Cup on Mission Bay on Sunday.
Shane took the lead going into the first turn of the winner-take-all final heat and was never seriously challenged.
The win allowed the HomeStreet team to put bookends on the 2016 season. Miss HomeStreet Bank won the season opener at Madison, Ind., on July 3, and wrapped up the season with a victory on Mission Bay. In addition, the Miss HomeStreet Bank team captured its third consecutive national championship, and Shane earned his fourth consecutive driving championship.
“It’s amazing,” Shane said following the trophy presentation. “We set goals for our team before the season started and it’s great to accomplish what you set out to do.”
Shane averaged 149.198 mph in the final heat.
Second place went to Andrew Tate driving U-9 Delta Realtrac, with an average speed of 146.283 mph. Bonney Lake’s J. Michael Kelly finished third with U-5 Graham Trucking, at 139.285 mph. Kelly nearly blew over in the first turn of the second lap. The boat lifted out of the water and slid into Shane’s roostertail. Kelly’s boat nearly stalled but he was able to re-start and finish.
Fourth went to Tom Thompson in U-11 Peters & May, with an average speed of 124.047 mph. Kent’s Jeff Bernard, driving U-7 Graham Trucking II, physically finished fourth, but was called for jumping the starting gun which dropped him to fifth. He averaged 113.588 mph. Brian Perkins was unable to finish with U-21 All Access Racing.
Other heat winners on Sunday included Delta Realtrac in heats 2A and 3A; Miss HomeStreet in heat 2B, and Graham Trucking II in heat 3B. Fog shrouded the course until late morning, but lifted in time for racing to run on schedule.
Kelly had better luck in the 1 Litre APBA inboard class race. He won, driving a boat named Shenanigans, owned by Tim Collins.
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