2009 Race Results
The 19th annual Thunder on the Narrows was conducted on August 1 & 2, 2009 at the Kent Island Yacht Club on Hog Bay. The regatta club was the Kent Narrows Racing Association. The KNRA is a neat organization with races being run on the tough and demanding Hog Bay race course at one mile. Plus the traditional Saturday evening Crab Feast was another success with wonderful food and drink.
The KNRA Saturday finals are memorial races in 5 Litre, Jersey Speed Skiff, and Pro Stock. 5 Litre remembers Alton Pierson, Paul Sohn in Jersey Speed Skiff, and in Pro Stock James Curtis.
The Alton Pierson Memorial 5 Litre final was a dandy with four hulls answering the gun with Tom Thompson in lane one driving the E-816 Batt Boat, Chuck Miller in lane two in the E-99 The Rock, Jim Martin in lane three in the E-43 Keen’s Machine, and on the outside Leonard Outlaw III in the E-310 The Outlaw. Thompson, Miller, and Martin made it to turn one together but coming off the corner Chuck Miller took the lead with Tom Thompson in hot pursuit with Martin in third. Entering turn two on lap one with Miller in lane two and his 305 Chevy humming he had a four boat length advantage over Thompson. Miller hung on for the win by ten boats lengths over Thompson followed by Martin and Outlaw.
The Paul Sohn Memorial Jersey Speed Skiff final saw Bill Darby & Patrick Dender take charge winning wire to wire in the JSS-13 Geico Darby’s Rapture.
The James Curtis Memorial was won by Dale Hernandez, Jr. in the late James Curtis’ PS-516 Cherokee Thunder. Great to see Dale win aboard James' hull.
National Modifieds over the weekend saw Calvin Phipp’s driving Mack Elliott’s, Mack’s Out NM-33, to three wins with the only blemish coming from a DNF due to a $0.15 fuse according to Mack. Steve Short got one win and three seconds in the NM-17 getboatgear.com. Steve’s hull has run well in 2009 and he is indicating this will be his last season of driving to concentrate on getting his son involved with driving on the water too. Steve, you better keep announcing some too!!!
1 Litre saw local pilot Keith McMullen sweep the weekend in Bob Wilson’s Y-80 Leo’s Vacation Center. Two time Iraq touring American soldier D.J. Wilson had four seconds on the weekend in Valerie Wilson’s Pink Panther.
2.5 Litre stock was all Bobby Kennedy in Sam & Yvonne Horner’s Playin’ Again S-88 during the weekend. His cousin Brandon Kennedy, who is a 1.5 Litre stock driver, competed in 2.5 Litre with his primary 1.5 stock hull with a 4-cylinder stock Ford for Kent Island. The 17 year old re-named his boat for the weekend in honor of his late great-grandfather sporting the name Uno Too on the hull - the same name in which the elder Kennedy raced his boats under. Mike Haley, a local driver from Centreville, MD had a steady weekend in the S-555. Christina Wilson in the first heat on Saturday caught some air and blew over her S-20, fortunately she was fine.
In the other 5-Litre action it was all Tom Thompson winning. Chuck Miller blew the 305 in the E-99 right out of the box on Sunday and was done. Jim Martin was steady all weekend with a couple of seconds and two third place finishes.
2.5 Litres raced once over the weekend with local pilot Paul Brockson winning in the A-37 Sonic Speed.
- Jeff Ayler