Originally Posted by p4-33

Konrad/Fountain of Youth Racing update:

The Konrad Team has just wrapped up our second season beating the daylights out of a pair of 540 High Performance stern drives, both on the SBI/APBA and GLSCS race circuits, as well as Great Lakes based poker run events. With wins in Grand Haven, Milwaukee, St. Clair, and Washington, NC (kinda), it has been a successful two-year program. We also had strong showings in Sarasota, Deerfield Beach, and at the World Championships in Key West.

Those of you familiar with the poker run circuit know that this can be a harsh environment on drives as well. The Konrad/Fountain of Youth made appearances and successful runs at 4 Lake Erie Offshore Performance Association (LEOPA) events, as well as Smoke on the Water in Grand Haven, Chicago Powerboat Club run on Lake Michigan, and at Lake Cumberland in KY.

Total drives problems with the Konrad 540's: none, zip, nada.

I have to tell you a quick story from Key West... Fred and Randy from Konrad are standing in back of the boat in the dry pits at Key West on Friday as we were making preparations for Saturday's race, and thought it would be a good idea to pull the drain plugs to check for fuzz on the magnets. As some of the drive oil drained out, they noticed that it wasn't quite purple like Royal Purple should be. "Brian, when was the last time you changed the oil in these things?" "Uh... April" We changed the oil that day....

My drives are spending the next few weeks at the Konrad facility in Hudson, WI, where they will be going through an R&D exercise, determining the extent, if any, of the wear I put on the gearsets during 2 years of abuse. I had a pair of spares that have been returned in brand new condition, as I can't see any reason to cart them around the country anymore. These things just don't break.

Hooking up with the Konrad Team has been the best thing that has happened for my racing program. From Ken Konrad, all the way down through his organization (Fred, Randy, Kurt, Mark, Rich, Chad, Becky, and can't forget Tonya, their newest addition on the Marketing side [and 40 more great folks back in the shop]) these guys are top-notched people. Doesn't hurt that they have an outstanding product, too.

I am looking forward to continuing this relationship over the years to come. Come see the Konrad/Fountain of Youth Team on the OPA Central Division circuit, selected races on the SBI/APBA tour, as well as poker run appearances around the Midwest.

I'll close by extending a sincere "Thank You!" to the Konrad Team for keeping my boat running in some of the toughest conditions that a performance boat should ever have to see. You guys, and your products, are the Best!

See ya next year,
Brian