Hey Eddie, Thats a great point anybody that is interested in a single engine under 32ft class semi spec style NO GPS class please chime in now !!!! remember this is not about class 4 or changing anything with their rules !!!

How we get payed in the Unlimited Lights Hydroplane Racing Assoc.

Beause if you only pay 5 boats, all you get is 5 boats(my quote for years)

Total purse for Tri-Cites WA $15,000
points fund 10% to encourage season long partisipation $1,500
line1 - line 2 $13,500
Tow Money 85% $11,475
Prize money 15% $2,025


1st 50% $1,013
2nd 30% $608
3rd 15% $304
4th 5% $101

Tow money
80% of purse split even between all legal starters of any heat
14 boats at Tr-cites my cut $738
5% of purse is payed as tow money...How it works. They mapquest from HOME port to race site of all racers. Then they add up the milage. Then divide yours by the total for your % of tow money. My cut at Tri-cites was $477 because I came from FL and most of the other teams are from Seatle area.
Then you pay $250 entry fee to the ULHRA, comes right out of your money. No pay then you get it back.
My check for 6th place at Tri-cites was $968.

Mike
UL 89

Capt Mike,
Thanks for your input. In your opinion, how important is the "tow money"? How many teams show up because of it?

fastedy, you don't hear too much about class 4 because I don't feel there is a problem there. I'm running the same boat in class 4 since 2000. You do know that all the single engine boats kick my a$$ in calm water right! And you know that it takes a lot of power to push 13,000 pounds. Listen, whatever class 4 wants I have open ears just as any other class we have. I think we should have a meeting like we had in 2001,2001 and lay everything out. I'll talk to Smitty today about this.

No one boat is perfect for every condition, But I would think in flat water races you guys would rock

Harrison, MI
St Clair, MI
Patch, Ny
Cambridge, MD
Chatt, TN

5 races out of 8 would work to you advantage.

I would feel the same way if 1/2 the OPA races were approx. 4hrs or less from my house.

Fast Shafts

For me It's the only reason...towards the end of Factory 1, I felt like we should just give the entry money to Mark and Gino. And not even bother to race...save a little money and wear and tear on the boat.

After F1, I looked at every form of boat racing...I wanted to be in a safe boat(capsule) and I wanted to get a little something back for my time. It's why I now race inboard.
If I'm part of the show, I should get a little. Do they pay the backup bands at an Aerosmith concert? I realize I'm not Steven Tyler, but if I'm the drummer in the back, there is not a SHOW without me. And I'll take the drummers pay.

In the ULHRA, we are lucky. We run multiply heats with random draws. There are 2 top boats, 3 or 4 that can be there on a given day, and 10 of us that fill in the field. Depending on the course and time, we run 2-3 heats with and A, B, and sometimes a C. That's a lot of chances for a win.
And wins feel good even if they don't pay!!

How many teams would show up at a Nascar event if they only payed the top 5. There are teams right now that make a good living as field fillers for them. Nascar's answer a couple of years ago, when their count dropped, was to pay more at the back of the field.

Funny how the guys up front, in a class, always say the pay scale is fine. Way to encourage growth.

Mike

Thanks Capt,
I think your unbiased opinion means alot. "Field Fillers" is a term often heard in auto racing, not boat racing. I agree that Field Fillers are an important. "Field fillers" can help OPA to sell their product, more teams staying in hotels, restaurants etc. Better to bring too many boats to a race, than not enough boats. The question becomes: How do we attrack more boats? Answer: Money? The difficult part: Who/how is the money raised, and how to divy it up.

Im not sure where people got the idea that a smaller single boat can out turn a larger twin boat. That is a totaly false statement!!!! All of the singles in class 4 that I know of have to run a high X dimension and on a box to achieve the speeds needed in the straights. That makes for some extremely wide turns unless you want to spin out. This doesnt mean we need to change class 4 but it should be known that singles have no advantage other than reliability.
MD

And Randy should know.

And the fact that we weigh in at 5200 lbs.is a factor as well. If you think we run light lay-ups and so on ...you are wrong. Do the equation of HP vs. Weight and compare it to the other class 4 boats...

Dave