Miss E-Lam Plus Wins 2002 Columbia Cup
By Fred Farley – Unlimited Hydroplane Historian
The fourth stop on the 2007 ABRA Unlimited Hydroplane Series tour marked the fourth straight triumph of the current campaign for MISS E-LAM PLUS owner Erick Ellstrom and driver Dave Villwock. On July 29, they captured the Tri-Cities Columbia Cup at Kennewick-Pasco-Richland, Washington, on the Columbia River.
The Ellstrom team had previously won at “Thunder On The Ohio” in Evansville, Indiana, on July 1, the Governor’s Cup in Madison, Indiana, on July 8, and the APBA Gold Cup in Detroit, Michigan, on July 15.
Villwock and MISS E-LAM PLUS (U-16) scored a come-from-behind victory in the Final Heat of the Columbia Cup to defeat Steve David in OH BOY! OBERTO/MISS MADISON (U-6), which led for the first lap and a half. Then came David Bryant in HOSS MORTGAGE INVESTORS (U-10), J. Michael Kelly in SPIRIT OF DETROIT (U-13), Jeff Bernard in FORMULABOATS.COM (U-5), Chris Bertram in MISS CONOVER INSURANCE (U-9), and Jean Theoret in MISS BEACON PLUMBING (U-37).
Fourteen Unlimiteds attended the 42nd annual Tri-Cities race. These included Nate Brown’s brand new MISS RED DOT (U-17), which was not put in the water.
A back-up hull stood in for the Detroit-damaged FORMULABOATS.COM II (U-1). Rookie pilot Jimmy Shane qualified as an Unlimited driver with the stand-in U-1 (a 1992 Fred Leland craft) at the Tri-Cities as a replacement for the injured Mike Allen.
MISS E-LAM PLUS qualified fastest on the 2.5-mile course with a speed of 165.687 miles per hour. This was a course record for the turbine/restricted era.
OH BOY! OBERTO was next fastest at 160.599. Then came MISS BEACON PLUMBING at 158.559, HOSS MORTGAGE INVESTORS II (U-3) with Jimmy King at 157.944, FORMULABOATS.COM (U-5) at 157.695, HOSS MORTGAGE INVESTORS I (U-10) at 156.052, SPIRIT OF DETROIT at 151.911, SUPERIOR RACING (U-25) with Ken Muscatel at 149.065, MISS CONOVER INSURANCE at 143.861, MIRAGEBOATS.COM (U-100) with Greg Hopp at 143.357, MEYERS’ AUTO TECH (U-21) with rookie Brian Perkins at 143.357, MISS LAKERIDGE PAVING (U-48) with David Williams at 142.517, and FORMULABOATS.COM II (U-1) at 141.482.
The hard luck team of the Columbia Cup had to be Ed Cooper’s U-3. Over the course of the weekend, the Allison-powered craft lost a propeller, blew two engines, and failed to finish a single heat.
Five Vintage Unlimiteds entertained at the Tri-Cities in tribute to the sport’s classic past. These included the recently restored 1962 MISS BARDAHL “Green Dragon”, MISS BURIEN, OH BOY! OBERTO, HAWAII KAI III, and the new 1955 MISS THRIFTWAY duplication.
The Vintage boats ran a total of four exhibition heats. The Rolls-Royce Merlin-powered MISS BARDAHL won Heats One, Three, and Four with Dixon Smith driving, while the Allison-powered MISS THRIFTWAY captured Heat Two with Larry Fuller in the cockpit. The Vintage fleet posted lap speeds in the 85 mile an hour range.
DASH-FOR-CASH HEAT
(1) U-6; (2) U-13; (3) U-9; (4) U-48; (DNS) U-3.
Five boats attempted to participate in the traditional Dash-For-Cash exhibition heat on Friday afternoon, although U-3 conked out during the 5-minute warm-up period.
A blanket start with U-6 first across in lane-two. U-6, U-9, and U-13 see-sawed for the lead all four laps. U-6 won by a roostertail length over U-13 and by two roostertails over U-9. U-48 trailed throughout. U-6’s winning average was 134.280.
HEAT 1-A
(1) U-10; (2) U-13; (3) U-1; (4) U-6; (5) U-5.
U-5 and U-6 jumped the gun. U-6 “led” out of the first turn and throughout. U-5, U-10, and U-13 see-sawed for the first two laps. U-5 faded to “fourth” on lap-two. The physical order after three laps: U-6, U-10, U-13, U-5, and U-1.
U-1 driver Shane was required to start in the outside lane on account of being a rookie.
HEAT 1-B
(1) U-16; (2) U-21; (3) U-25; (4) U-100.
U-100 jumped the gun. U-16 led out of the first turn and throughout. U-16 maintained a one roostertail length lead throughout. U-25 stopped in the first turn but restarted. The physical order after three laps: U-16, U-100, U-21, and U-25.
U-21 driver Perkins was required to start in the outside lane on account of being a rookie.
HEAT 1-C
(1) U-37; (2) U-9; (3) (DNF) U-3; (DNS) U-48.
A blanket start with U-3 first across on the outside. U-3 stopped in the first turn. U-37 led out of the first turn and throughout. U-37 led U-9 by two roostertails after lap-one and then pulled away to a decisive lead. U-48 never left the dock.
HEAT 2-A
(1) U-16; (2) U-37; (3) U-48; (4) U-9; (DNF) U-1.
A ragged start with U-16 and U-37 leading the rest of the field into the first turn. U-16 led U-37 by a roostertail length after lap-one and pulled away on lap-two. U-9, running third, dislodged a buoy on lap-two and was penalized a lap. U-48, running fourth, almost blew over at the end of lap-one but continued in the race. U-1, running fifth, stopped just short of the finish line with a blown gearbox. The physical order after three laps: U-16, U-37, U-9, and U-48.
U-16’s first-lap speed of 158.417 was the fastest of the race.
HEAT 2-B
(1) U-5; (2) U-10; (3) U-25; (4) U-21.
A ragged start with U-5 first across on the outside. U-5 led out of the first turn and throughout. U-5, U-10, and U-25 were two roostertails apart after lap-one. U-25 fell off the pace on lap-two. U-5 led U-10 by a full roostertail at the end of laps one, two, and three. U-21 trailed throughout.
HEAT 2-C
(1) U-6; (2) U-13; (3) U-100; (DNF) U-3.
A blanket start with U-3 first across in a cavalry charge. U-6 led out of the first turn and throughout. U-6, U-3, U-13, and U-100 were three roostertails apart after lap-one. U-3 stopped in the first turn of lap-two, while maintaining second-place. U-13 inherited second-place and finished one roostertail astern of U-6. U-100 trailed throughout.
HEAT 3-A
(1) U-5; (2) U-6; (3) U-10; (4) U-25; (Wd.) U-1.
A blanket start with U-5 first across in lane-one. U-5 led out of the first turn and throughout. U-6 stayed within U-5’s roostertail length all three laps. U-10 and U-25 trailed. U-1 was withdrawn.
The U-5’s three-lap average of 152.357 was the fastest of the race.
HEAT 3-B
(1) U-37; (2) U-9; (DNF) U-13; (Wd.) U-3.
U-13 received a one-lap penalty for an encroachment on the U-9 before the start. U-13 and U-37 started together with U-9 trailing. U-37 led out of the first turn, pursued by the penalized U-13. U-13 stopped after three-quarters of a lap. U-37 went on to win by a half lap over the U-9. U-3 was withdrawn.
HEAT 3-C
(1) U-16; (2) U-100; (3) U-48; (4) U-21.
U-21 crossed first on the outside but had to slow down to avoid jumping the gun. U-16 led out of the first turn and pulled away to a decisive lead. U-100, U-48, and U-21 trailed in that order.
After three sets of preliminary heats, MISS E-LAM PLUS (U-16) had 1200 perfect points for three first-place finishes. MISS BEACON PLUMBING (U-37) had 1100, FORMULABOATS.COM (U-5) had 927, HOSS MORTGAGE INVESTORS (U-10) had 925, OH BOY! OBERTO (U-6) had 869, and MISS CONOVER INSURANCE (U-9) had 769. These were admitted to the five-lap winner-take-all Final Heat.
PROVISIONAL HEAT
(1) U-13; (2) U-48; (3) U-21.
U-21 jumped the gun. U-13 was the first legal starter, followed by U-48. U-13 passed the penalized U-21 on the first backstretch and pulled away on lap-two. U-21 was physically second at the finish but was flagged after two laps. U-48 trailed and was physically third.
On the strength of its Provisional Heat win, SPIRIT OF DETROIT (U-13) was admitted to the Final Heat as the trailer boat.
FINAL HEAT
(1) U-16; (2) U-6; (3) U-10; (4) U-13; (5) U-5; (6) U-9; (7) U-37.
Coming up for the start, U-5 had lane-one, U-37 lane-two, U-6 lane-three, and U-16 lane-four. U-6, U-16, and U-37 exited the first turn together. U-16 took over the lead on the second backstretch and pulled away. The fastest lap was 154.442 by the U-6 on lap-one. U-37 was penalized a lap for encroaching on the U-5–a call that U-37 driver Theoret later disputed. U-37 faded to “fifth” but was officially seventh. The physical order after five laps: U-16, U-6, U-10, U-13, U-37, U-5, and U-9.
U-16 averaged 145.013 for the 12.5-mile distance, compared to 142.164 for second-place U-6. This marked the third race in a row where U-16 and U-6 had finished one-two in the Final Heat.
MISS E-LAM PLUS driver Villwock increased his victory total in the Unlimited Class to 55 at the 2007 Columbia Cup. He is the winningest among active drivers and now has won seven times in the Tri-Cities since 1996–once with PICO AMERICAN DREAM, three times with MISS BUDWEISER, and three times with MISS E-LAM PLUS.
Ironically, it was just ten years ago in 1997 when Villwock crashed in the MISS BUDWEISER and lost two fingers on his right hand. He was told at the time that his driving career was over.
Owner Erick Ellstrom now has five Tri-Cities triumphs with three different drivers: in 2000 with Mark Evans, in 2002 with Nate Brown, and the last three years with Villwock.
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