From a driver's perspective!

[capnzee]

I would like to congratulate every driver entered in the 2006 Parker Enduro for a terrific job of driving and sportsman like conduct throughout the entire race. I drove my first race in 1951, I've driven a lot of them since and have never seen more gentlemanly driving from so many drivers. From the start to the finish you all showed a respect for each other that is often not seen in racing. We all knew it was going to be rough on the water, especially when the big 22'6" dual blown big blocks entered the arena. They drove well, respected the "red zone", I wish they would have lasted longer, as they were a spectacle on the water that made travelling to Parker well worth while. Going through the S turns around BAD KNOCKS (if you know what I mean) was a test of skill for all of the racers as the course narrowed with a right turn leading into the North turn. It did get rough but you all straightened it out and made it look easy. I blew the gear case out of the BODY SNATCHER at about the 180 mile mark right in the middle of that turn. It was sort of a tough spot to be in but everybody gave me the room I needed to feel confidant and safe. Thanks to the patrol boat for getting to me in a hurry, hooking me up and getting me to the ramp. A quick call to the announcer and help was on the way. Unfortunately, we were through for the day. I would like to also thank Ted Kolby's hard working team for doing their very best. Nobody feels bad when they have given 110 percent. And what about that Gold Finger, 007? Reminded me of the old "Whaler" that used to run in the 9 hour enduro! What a nice show they put on for 4 hours or more. Great job of staying out of trouble and in the race! Great job of teamwork and the finish showed the results of a lot of team work and preparation by the Hill Team--nice going Chad Hill and Pat Bowman. Once again and the purpose of this thread is to let you all know what a great job of driving and making a wonderful race out of the INDIANAPOLIS OF BOAT RACING!
On another note, as a driver, I would like to thank all of Ross's staff for a wonderful and safe race. October 21st could go down as one of the safest and most successful APBA events ever held. A big Thank you to all of the workers for a job well done and of course it would have never come together if it weren't for Ross Wallach who has put out a monumental effort towards keeping all of Boat Racing alive. (A side bar--when I say one of the most successful APBA events, I am referring to the safety of the event and to the enjoyment of all the participants, racers, drivers, and spectators!) We needed more boats to make it a huge success, but we gained a few over last year which means we are going in the right direction. Ross has said that he will start taking entries immediately, place all of the money he collects in a separate account and guarantees it's return if the race doesn't go or the person who sent in the early entree can't make it to the race. What a deal--I have gotten many personal calls today saying how great the race was and a "let's do it again! The way to guarantee the race for next year is to get your entries started now which is the best way of saying "LONG LIVE THE PARKER ENDURO!" ROD

[Ron Hill]

I asked Jason a few questions about the race, as I really do think I want to run a VEE HULL next year. Jason ran with two in the boat and here is his answer...

I just OK'd this post with him, as it was private, but I feel it gives people that have not run the Enduro a feeling of the mind set the race really requires...

I dont think that the weight of my friend harmed me much. As it was Durham/Foster were adding weight trying to offset 1 person in the boat. These deep V-Bottoms rock back and forth a fair amount as it is. So I think that he kind of helped, plus I never had to look over my shoulder to see if there were boats coming before I changed my line. I have communication from driver to observer so we could just talk plain as day. It worked well. There was a little bit more in the boat I believe but going into this I did not feel that we had much of a chance. As it turns out I guess we did. I didnt make my last stop until about 10 laps from the end. When I did they told me I was in 4th place. I had no idea we were doing so well. Since we only had a few laps to go we only put in about 10 gallons of fuel thinking that would be plenty. Me and my cousin were sharing a fuel tank in the back of his truck. We both ended up coming in together because I had to get my last stop in. Well that screwed me a little because he had to go back in so I did not get as much fuel as I would have liked. As it turned out we had a few more laps and when we went out we ran real hard for a couple. We picked up a spot but then had to slow down with fear of running out of fuel. I wasn't very happy. But when we came in and they said we got 3rd I felt a little better. Had I known we were doing as well as we were I might have tried a little bit harder but I guess thats racin. I am still pretty happy with 3rd. Next year I will have good communication with the beach to avoid these type of issues.

All ENDURO DRIVERS has the same mind set as Snoopy, "Wait un til next year"....