GUNTERSVILLE, Ala. — Corey Peabody of Kent, Washington, was crowned the winner of the 112th running of the APBA Gold Cup. His victory at the controls of Lynx Healthcare on Guntersville Lake, the second win in his career, came when both Jimmy Shane and Dave Villwock, each the winner of two preliminary heats today, were both disqualified for infractions that happened before the final heat started.
Defending Gold Cup champion Shane, 36, of San Antonio, Texas, drove Miss HomeStreet to victory in every preliminary heat he entered in the two-day contest and was running ahead of all the other competitors through the entire winner-take-all final heat, but after the finish, officials ruled that he had violated the minimum speed rule. The hydroplanes are required to maintain a speed of at least 80 mph as they jockey for position before the start of a race.
With Shane’s disqualification, the Gold Cup went to Peabody, 43, who had finished the final heat in second place. He averaged 147.829 mph in winning the oldest trophy in American motorsports.
Dave Villwock, 68, of Monroe, Washington, the sport’s greatest champion, also had won each of his preliminary heats today, but also was disqualified in the final heat. He drove his Miss Beacon Plumbing outside the racecourse boundary before the start. Placing third in the race was Jeff Bernard, 37, of Kent, Washington, who was driving Goodman Real Estate, and finishing third was Jamie Nilsen, 37, of Gig Harbor, Washington, the driver of Miss Colleen.
In preliminary heat action today, Shane came from behind to win both Heat 3A and Heat 4B. In the first of those races, he passed Bernard during the second lap and took the checkered flag. In his other victory, he passed Nilsen at the start of the final lap.
Villwock also came from behind to win Heat 4A. He was behind Peabody through most of the race but pulled ahead with only half of a lap to go. In winning Heat 3B, Villwock grabbed the lead coming out of the first turn and was never challenged.
The H1 Unlimited Racing Series will continue next weekend when the “Greatest Show on H-2-O” goes to Madison, Indiana, for the Madison Regatta. Testing will get underway on Friday, the boats will compete in a new match-race event on Saturday, and they will race for the Indiana Governor’s Cup on Sunday. Tickets are available at madisonregatta.com.
The series will then continue with events in the Tri-Cities, Washington, on July 23 to 25; at Seattle on August 5 to 7; and in San Diego on September 16 to 18.
APBA Gold Cup
at Guntersville, Ala.
HEAT 3A — 1, Jimmy Shane, Miss HomeStreet, 400 points, 155.770 avg. speed; 2, Corey Peabody, Lynx Healthcare, 300, 146.686; 3, Jeff Bernard, Goodman Real Estate, 225, 144.194; 4, Jamie Nilsen, Miss Colleen, 169, 130.781.
HEAT 3B — 1, Dave Villwock, Miss Beacon Plumbing, 400, 150.658; 2, J. Michael Kelly, Miss Tri-Cities, 300, 142.696; Jimmy King, Griggs presents Miss Ace Hardware, DSQ.
HEAT 4A — 1, Dave Villwock, Miss Beacon Plumbing, 400, 151.449; 2, Corey Peabody, Lynx Healthcare, 300, 149.603; 3, Jimmy King, Griggs presents Miss Ace Hardware, 225, 140.999; 4, Jeff Bernard, Goodman Real Estate, 169, 139.622.
HEAT 4B — 1, Jimmy Shane, Miss HomeStreet, 400, 149.667; 2, J. Michael Kelly, Miss Tri-Cities, 300, 146.352; 3, Jamie Nilsen, Miss Colleen, 225, 108.308.
FINAL HEAT — 1, Corey Peabody, Lynx Healthcare, 400, 147.829; 2, Jeff Bernard, Goodman Real Estate, 300, 130.667; 3, Jamie Nilsen, Miss Colleen, 225, 125.363; J. Michael Kelly, Miss Tri-Cities, DNF; Jimmy Shane, Miss HomeStreet, DSQ; Dave Villwock, Miss Beacon Plumbing, DSQ.
ACCUMULATED POINTS — Jimmy Shane, Miss HomeStreet, 1600; Corey Peabody, Lynx Healthcare, 1469; Dave Villwock, Miss Beacon Plumbing, 1369; Jeff Bernard, Goodman Real Estate, 1319; J. Michael Kelly, Miss Tri-Cities, 1125; Jamie Nilsen, Miss Colleen, 1069; Jimmy King, Griggs presents Miss Ace Hardware, 825.
