For the Reporter
Rivals Jimmy Shane and J. Michael Kelly waged another tight battle on competitive waters Sunday.
This time, Shane and the Oberto team held off Kelly in the Graham Trucking boat to capture the UAW-GM Spirit of Detroit Hydrofest, the latest stop on the H1 Unlimited Hydroplane Series.
Only three weeks ago, it was Kelly, of Bonney Lake, who took the Albert Lee Appliance Seafair Cup after Shane, of Covington, was penalized for bumping his rival on the Lake Washington course.
The two drivers were at it again Sunday on the Detroit River.
Shane and Kelly battled deck-to-deck for four of the five laps in the winner-take-all final heat. And once again, the inside lane was the key.
With Shane in lane one and Kelly in lane two, it looked like the Oberto hydro would run away. This time, it was the Graham Trucking and Kelly who fought back.
Kelly inched closer to Shane through laps two and three, then caught Shane on lap four when the Oberto hit rough water in the Belle Isle turn, giving Kelly the opportunity to take the lead.
The inside lane once again gave Shane the break. He exited the tight, roostertail turn two and pulled ahead as Kelly’s boat bounced wildly through the rollers and wakes of the competitors.
“I caught him going into the last lap, but I just couldn’t get past Jimmy,” Kelly said. “Jimmy ran a great race, just like he did in Seattle, but this time he came away with the win.”
There were no penalties in the final heat, but once again the boats were neck-and-neck until Kelly hit the rollers going into the last lap. The Oberto took the win by seven boat lengths, averaging 147.795 mph. Kelly averaged 146.992 mph.
From Madison, Ind., to Detroit, it has been the Shane-Kelly show.
“Growing up I heard about rivalries like (Bill) Muncey and (Dean) Chenoweth,” Shane said. “Now we have Kelly and Shane, and I think we can expect more races like we had today.”
It was Shane’s 10th career series win and his second consecutive in Detroit. Shane won all four heats in Detroit and every matchup with Kelly. It was also the first time this season that Shane was able to control lane one in all heat races.
Shane and Kelly continue to be one-two in the national high-point race.
Unlike Saturday, wind conditions made the Detroit River course treacherous. Jean Theoret, the UAW-GM Hydrofest fastest qualifier, went airborne on lap two of the first heat of the day in the Belle Isle turn. Theoret, in the Ellstrom Elam Plus, was leading the heat when he hit a roller, the wind sending the boat into a spin. He landed upright and escaped injury.
“This was the roughest Detroit water I have raced in,” Shane said. “This is a driver’s course with one huge turn and one challenging turn and two dogleg straightaways.”
The series’ season finale is on San Diego’s Mission Bay Sept. 19-20.
UAW-GM presents Spirit Of Detroit Hydrofest Final Results
1. Jimmy Shane, Oberto, 147.795 mph
2. J. Michael Kelly, Graham Trucking, 146.992
3. Brian Perkins, Al Deeby, 136.092
4. Cal Phipps, Dalton Industries, 132.167
5. Scott Liddycoat, Red Dot/811 Call B4 You Dig, 131.453
6. Jesse Robertson, Graham Trucking II, 124.240
7. Kevin Eacret, Dooley’s/Miss CARSTAR, 115.350
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