Friday, October 16, 1998
Choppy waters for
hydroplane racing
The sport is trying to
By Catherine Toth
rebound from the death of
longtime boat owner
Steve Woomer
Special to the Star-BulletinCall it a tribute.
The national championship has already been decided, making this weekend's JN Automotive Hydrofest more of a memorial for the late Steve Woomer.
Woomer, a longtime hydroplane owner whose boat won here last year, passed away in April, just before the start of this year's Ralphs Unlimited Hydroplane Thunder Tour. His death stirred emotion within the hydroplane community.
Last year's winning boat, Woomer's U-10 Close Call, returns to Ford Island with a new owner, a new driver, and a new attitude.
"Obviously, losing Steve Woomer was a really big blow to our sport," said Mark Weber, U-10's new driver. "When his son made the decision that they weren't going to continue racing, that put everything up for sale. Kim Gregory (Racing) went ahead and made a decision to buy that boat. It puts another great team back out on the circuit and it gives me that ability to be involved with a great team."
According to Weber, Woomer was instrumental in the success of hydroplane racing.
"He's dynamite, a guy who was passionate about the sport," Weber said. "It was obvious watching him race and after knowing and realizing that he grew up watching the sport as a kid, you can see that. He's going to be really missed in the sport, but times change and there's going to be more Steve Woomers out there. We can't forget him, and we'll just think about him when we race. I know he's proud of us right now, he's proud of what we're doing and where the sport's going. That's all we can do."
Kenneth Muscatel, Unlimited Hydroplane Racing Association commissioner, expected this to be a big year for Woomer's team.
"He spent a tremendous amount of money this year," Muscatel said. "It was supposed to be a dramatic challenge for the Budweiser dominance. When he passed away, it shut that team down."
After Woomer's death, KG Racing purchased the U-10, its first hydroplane to date. It recruited Weber, who shared Rookie of the Year honors last year, to drive the boat. And in memory of Woomer, they've decided to keep the boat's number, changing its name from Close Call to Wild Fire.
"That's our way to pay our respect to Steve and his family," Weber said.
Miss Budweiser clinched the national title in mid-September in San Diego, winning eight of nine events this season. Wild Fire, in 11th place, hopes to win Sunday's race for Woomer.
"Right now we're down a little bit," said Weber, who was the backup driver for Budweiser last year. "We're actually down probably six to seven miles an hour because the team had no test time basically. This is only our third race this year. We sort of built this team out of mothballs and that's hurting us right now."
Budweiser has won more races than any other team in the sport's history, including an unprecedented 18 national titles.
"It's a big mile-marker for us," driver and team manager Dave Villwock said. "It's a new team with new people. They've not only done a good job, they've done better than anybody else has in the history of the sport. And that's a big deal."
According to Villwock, Woomer's passing was a big deal, but he hopes some good can come from the sport's loss.
"Kim Gregory bought his (Woomer's) equipment. They're a new owner in a new city and that's good. There probably will be more of those (new owners in new cities) with the equipment Steve had there that'll turn what is a negative, in time, into a positive."
JN Automotive Hydrofest
When: Today, qualifying races, noon to 6 p.m.; tomorrow and Sunday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Final is Sunday at 4:10 p.m.
