Offshoreonly.com - Biloxi Cat

Posted on Mon, Apr. 26, 2004

Strong to the finish

By AL JONES

BILOXI - The final race of Smokin' the Sound was over before it ever unfolded on the inside of Deer Island.

Using a tip from a friend, and fellow racer, the Popeye team of driver Dominic Visconsi Jr. and throttleman Jim Dyke put on a awesome display of power to cruise to an easy victory in the OSS Cat class race, the biggest of the four classes of the Offshore Super Series Powerboat Racing Association.

"We were told before the race that the turns on the east and west ends were not as bad as they were on Saturday," Dyke said. "When it comes to safety, the other drivers tend to tell the truth. So going hard at the first turn on the west end was the game plan."

During Saturday's practice round, racers complained about rough waves in the turns. With 25 knot winds, the turn on the west end saw boats take the turns at more than 100 mph against five-foot waves.

Although conditions were tough again on Sunday, the wind laid down for the final race. And the Popeye team, which is from Ohio, took advantage.

"All the boats were in a perfect line at the turn," Dyke said. "The guys to our right backed off the throttle and we stayed on it.

"It was a challenge and tough at the turn, but not as bad as it was on Saturday. After we stayed hard on the turn, we were in great position and we were able to get into the clean water and run."

Clean water refers to the smooth waters that the lead boat rides in. The boats behind the first boat face water that has been churned up by props. That rougher water often has air mixed in and doesn't allow props to bite into the water and reach top speeds.

Once the Popeye team, racing a 30-foot Platinum boat, took control of the race on the first turn, it never looked back and never trailed. After the second lap, Popeye increased its lead from 35 seconds to 58 seconds and to 1:02 on the third turn. By the end of the race, the crew had a 70-second lead.

The top speed down the straightaways was 124 mph.

"We pulled back on the throttles during the final two laps," Dyke said. "It felt good."

One team not feeling very good in the OSS Cat class was the Nichols team from Orange Beach, Ala. Facing a 375-pound penalty for using outdrive instead of stern drives, the team experienced problems on the fourth turn of the race. Coming into the east end turn, the boat shut down, brining an end to any thoughts of winning the race.

"We either lost an engine or the gear box," said owner Gary Nichols. "It locked up when we came up on the turn. When it locked, we started sliding on the corner.

"We are disappointed because we felt we could have done really well."

Of the seven boats in the OSS class, five completed the race.

In the OSS Cat Lite, Team CRC was the winner and In Mocean Again was second.