Perkins Thunders to
Kayleigh Perkins,
driving the red UL-72 Miss Boat Electric, passes the UL-15 driven by Greg Hopp,
on her way to victory in the Unlimited Light Hydroplane Racing Association's
Silverdale Thunder Sunday on Dyes Inlet. (Jim Bryant | For the Kitsap Sun)
Kayleigh Perkins,
driving the red Miss Boat Electric, cruises to victory in the Unlimited Light
Hydroplane Racing Association's Silverdale Thunder Sunday on Dyes Inlet. (Jim
Bryant | For the Kitsap Sun)
Kayleigh Perkins,
right, applies tape to her steering wheel before racing in the Silverdale
Thunder Sunday on Dyes Inlet. Kayleigh Perkins took her second straight Thunder
championship. (Jim Bryant | For the Kitsap Sun)
Kayleigh Perkins, left,
autographs the caps of 11-year-old Caitlyn Catell after winning the Unlimited
Light Hydroplane Racing Association's Silverdale Thunder Sunday on Dyes Inlet.
(Jim Bryant | For the Kitsap Sun)
SILVERDALE
Once again, Kayleigh Perkins is the queen of
Silverdale.
The 20-year old from Issaquah piloted the
UL-72 Miss Boat Electric to a decisive victory at the ULHRA Silverdale Thunder
unlimited hydroplane lights race Sunday on Dyes Inlet.
It was the second victory in Perkins' career
at Silverdale on the limited hydroplane circuit. Last year as a rookie, Perkins
won her very first race on Dyes Inlet.
"I love Silverdale," Perkins said.
"I have a lot of good luck here. I won my first in a little boat; I won my
first here in a unlimited hydro. Everyone believes that this is a bad race
course. I don't think it is, because this is my good luck race course."
Dyes Inlet might be a Perkins' favorite, but
the course proved bad news for Paul Becker in the UL-14 Miss Critical Logic.
Becker led out of the start and was around the
first turn when his boat went airborne and flipped before landing right side
up.
The race was stopped immediately and the boats
were brought back into the pits. Becker, a former Navy pilot, was taken to
Perkins was side by side with Becker when his
boat went up in the air.
"I was next to him, and he started to go
soaring," Perkins said of the incident. "When he took off, I knew it
was over for him. I saw him put his hand up, and they (race officials) stopped
everything. I'm good friends with Paul. I hope everything is okay with
him."
After some minor adjustments and additional
fuel for the boats, the race was restarted.
That's when Perkins took the lead and never
let it go. The Miss Boat Electric averaged 94.817 miles an hour over Dyes
Inlet. The UL-15 Miss Graham Trucking, piloted by Greg Hopp, came in second at
93.192 miles an hour, finishing two boat lengths behind Perkins.
Last year, Hopp and Perkins were side by side
on the final lap before the UL-15 lost a propellor that enabled Perkins to win
at Silverdale.
"Keeping focus was the key," Perkins
said about the restart.
The win capped a five-week stretch of races
for the unlimited hydroplane lights. Perkins won a race in
The season will end in
ROOSTER TAILS
Racing was postponed from Saturday due to
rainy and windy conditions on the course. Qualifying races from Saturday were
run on Sunday .In the 4-cylinder final, Austin
Eacret in S-36 The Trainier won over Leslie Warren in the S-138 My Joy.
The Trainer covered the course with an average of 57.926 mph. In the 8-cylinder
final, Steve Clark in
the E-222 Power Punch-Thunderstruck won the race, as Kevin Eacret in the E-36 Blockhead
Machine was disqualified for a DMZ violation when he cut illegally across the
course prior to the start of the race. He turned inside of a buoy instead of
outside, which is a violation of the rules.
Silverdale Thunder
Unlimited Lights
Boat, Driver, Team, Speed
1. UL-72, Kayleigh Perkins, Miss Boat
Electric, 94.817
2. UL-15 Greg Hopp, Graham Trucking GT-Happy
Go Lucky, 93.192
3. UL-89 Mike Sadlon,
4. UL-11 Michael Flaherty, Roxy 94.5, DNF
5. UL-00 Wil Muncey, Trafficade, DNS
8-Cylinder Final
1. E-222, Steve Clark, Power
Punch-Thunderstruck
2. E-77, Shane Pratt, Road Runner 76
3. E-10, Bud McKay, GEICO
4. E-36, Keven Eacret, Blockhead Machine, DQ
4-Cylinder Final
1. S-36, Austin Eacret, The Trainer, 57.926
2. S-136 Leslie Warren, My Joy 51.191
3. S-6 Philip Eacret, Miss Boat Electric, NA