Lucididee

OPA/The Jersey Boyz - Ocean City Grand Prix
Race 1 ~ Miss GEICO Triple Crown

Big boat race! Lots of people are going to be there! This is the way to start the OPA season! Ocean City was true to form with 54 boats in attendance and the pits, beaches & boardwalk packed with spectators. Ocean City lived up to it's reputation as being a BIG water race!

June 1st was the opening race for the OPA season. It was also the 1st race of the Miss GEICO Triple Crown (Race 2 is Patchogue, NY & Race 3 is Point Pleasant, NJ). Sunset Marine once again hosted the Dry & Wet Pits from May 30th to June 1st. The Commander Hotel also once again hosted Race Command on Race Day. Stars Powerboat Rescue is on board with the OPA this year to insure the safety of all the race teams this year.

All the usual suspects were in attendance with their machines; The Godfather, Smitty, Louie The Rigger, Sticks, Haggin, Garbageman, Dirty Curty, Mad Dog, ScottyB & the Rock Star, Pops, Wild Bill, Ricky Bobby, Pop Pop, Diamond Dave, Rob Nunziato, The Dukes, The Jersey Boyz crew and many many more. And not to forget all the new teams that joined OPA this season, in which I’m sure will turn into the “usual suspects” as well.

And let's not forget what occurred at the drivers meeting this year. Smitty & Augie “The Godfather” Pensa announced Louie “The Rigger” Giancontieri to the Board of Directors to the OPA/The Jersey Boyz as Consigliere to all the Race Teams "families". Good luck Louie and welcome aboard.

Race day started with Classes 3, 4, 5 & 6 in the 1st Race. The first start was Class 3. The flag dropped, Wanted Racing took off and there was no looking back. The local team of Bill Purnell (proprietor of the Atlantic Hotel which hosted many race teams) & Walter Piasecki (NJ) flew through the air the entire race to take the checked flag! In Class 4, Konrad took the early lead and battled it out with AMF Laveycraft. But those rough seas of the Atlantic Ocean took its toll on Konrad. AMF Laveycraft then soared to victory & the checked flag. Class 5 had a whopping 13 boats in its class and made for an awesome start and a very competitive race. And once again the great Atlantic Ocean showed us what it can do. Outrageous took the checkered flag. Now on to Class 6. Now these teams got courage. At times the swells were so big, that it was impossible to even see these boats as they were running. Unfortunately, Knot Guilty in with their new boat started taking on water and had to be towed in. Reindl One Design (Purple Boat) took the checkered flag.

Now it was time for the BIG BOYS to test their skills on the Great Atlantic Ocean in Ocean City. Race 2 consisted of the following classes: Class 1 & 2, Cat Lite, Super Cat, Extreme & Turbine. In Turbine was Miss GEICO. That boat soared both in and out of the water to take a Victory. In Extreme the open cockpit cat, Chaos, also soared to victory. In Super Cat, Talk’N Trash was chasing down Reliable Carriers, but could not overtake Reliable, as Reliable went on to Victory. Unfortunately, Pursuit Cat was towed in upside down, but no team members were injured. In Cat Lite, was AMSOil and Motley Crew. These boats battled each other and the ocean, running their boats on the ragged edge. AMSOil went on to win. In Class 1, Cleveland Construction (aka Traffic Light) took off from the start to never look back. They were out in front and that’s were they stayed. Even with 2 broken skegs, they were able to take the checked flag. In Class 2, there was some early excitement. Both Strictly Business & On The Chip turned in on the first lap. On The Chip had black smoke coming out of the engine compartment. The fire was put out. Both Curtis & Jeff Cropper were treated for smoke inhalation and released. The battle of the day was Muscle and Wazzup. Through out the entire race, these two kept battling and changing positions, Muscle ended up with the checkered flag.

What a way to start the season! As history shows, Ocean City proves to be a great race! Over and over again, this race shines with all the excitement that comes from the race teams, volunteers, sponsors & spectators.

Smitty, Augie & Louie would like to thank ALL those involved that made the trip to Ocean City! Lukie, thank you for coming on such short notice to set up the race course with son. Sam & Toni Pottoff, as usual, thank you for all you do. This thanks also includes: the racers, their crews & families; the registrars; the volunteers (both land & water); the organizers; the sponsors; the media; and the fans & spectators from both near & far. Without all of you, the OPA would not be what it has become today! You make this sport what it is, and for that we thank you!

Now we are off to Harrison Twp for Race 2 of the OPA season. So, get those machines fixed, and we’ll see you there!
Please Visit:
www.OPARacing.org and www.TheJerseyBoyz.com

lucky strike

iTrader: (1)

Thanks Dee.....You should be on talk offshore or a T.V. race commentator.

LS

berns29scarab

I THOUGHT AMSOIL WON

SHARKEY-IMAGES

Me too!

Here are a few shots:

bojoe2

tim great shots, the progresive boat what did that use to be looks familer and what happened to reliable

Lucididee

Yes, Bob did win. My deepest apologies to AMSOil.

SHARKEY-IMAGES

Progressive was the Nichol's boat and Relaible was just fine.

I caught many boats while they were in the bottom of the swell. I thought it would look a little different then all air shots...