UL-929 Racing

If you want to know what determination and persistence can produce,  see how it helped bring life back to a hydroplane rich with history in  connection to the ULHRA. Originally owned and driven by Brian Reynolds  as the Seafirst ‘Flyin’ Hawaiian’, it was built in 1995 by Nate Brown.  Brian first drove this to victory at Tri Cities in 1995 and followed up  with wins at Seafair in Seattle in 1995 and 1996. It was then purchased  and driven briefly by John Hogan as ‘ The Bounty Hunter’. John gave way to  Doug Brow  as  driver while maintaining ownership. Doug did a remarkable job with the  hydroplane then dubbed ‘The Little Boat That Could’. His best finishes  of 3rd place were at Seattle Seafair in 2000 and at San Diego in an  exciting race in 2002.

Vince the “X-Man” Xaudaro bought the hull in 2003. He made some  modifications which lengthened and widened the boat.  Vince then piloted  the now UL-929 “All Black All the Time” race boat to his first and only  victory to date at Evansville… Continue reading »

Apple Blossom Cup in Entiat, WA May 7^th & 8^th and the Apple Blossom Festival Parade in Wenatchee, WA May 7^th.  The Apple Blossom Parade was a fun event held in front of tens of thousands enthusiastic onlookers lining the parade route in Wenatchee, WA. The weather was fair but seasonably cold as observed and noted by the locals. Saturday was primarily for pit set up and testing. Sunday we held 2 heats. We finished third in heat 1 using a new propeller. Noting we did not get the performance out of this prop as we did our bullet used during Spring Training we went back to that for the final. The final was a different story. The “X-Man” piloted the UL-929 Miss Hyundai Assurance what appeared to all was going to be an impressive win. Only to find out as we were ready to take the checkered flag; we had jumped the gun. This was difficult to take. However we still managed a third place finish and earned a total of 450 points overall for the entire weekend of racing. Congratulations to the UL-11 “Miss Executif” driven by Kevin Eacrett for the win. They worked hard and overcame many challenges to earn the victory. Next on the racing schedule is River City Racin’ in Chamberlain South Dakota on the Missouri River June 18^th and 19^th. The competition is tough but we expect to contend for the trophy. See you all at the races.

929 Racing completed their first 2 events of the 2011 ULHRA season. First off was Spring Training on Lake Washington in Seattle on April 21^st at Stan Sayers Park. The “All Black All The Time” hydroplane driven by Vince “X-Man” Xaudaro performed at an impressive level. Making two runs both flawlessly. After some off season modifications we were excited to see the boat on the water. The changes made to the UL-929 Miss Hyundai Assurance are significant and made a huge difference. A new rear shaft strut sets a little deeper in the water and another 7 inches back. The running plates on the sponsons were changed to add more angle of attack. We are very happy with the results to say the least. Expect the 929 Racing Team to be in contention for the 2011 ULHRA High Points Championship all season long. Testing was not so kind to the UL-72 which caught fire on the way back to the pits after making a test run. Kayleigh Perkins Mallory managed to get out of the boat safely uninjured. The UL-72 however sustained heavy damage. Expect to see the hydroplane repaired and back in action soon. Other teams participating were last years Champion UL-14 now the UL-1 driven by Paul Becker, UL-9 driven by “Smokin’ Joe” Souza, UL-00 driven by Wil  Muncey, and the UL-11 driven by last years Rookie Of The Year Kevin Eacret.

Vince “The X-Man” Xaudaro and the UL-929 Miss Hyundai Assurance just concluded the 2010 ULHRA racing season. The last race of the year “The Salmon Cup Regatta” was held at Lake Sammamish in Issaquah WA near Seattle. The team ultimately finished 5^th overall for the weekend and 6^th overall in boat high points for the season. The crew which is comprised of individuals from around the state did a fantastic job working well under pressure. On more than one occasion Team Hyundai made it out on the water with little or no time to spare. It’s really nothing new to anybody in hydroplane racing. Every team is faced with challenges. The teams that overcome their challenges rise to the top.

Vince Xaudaro-Salmon Days at Lake Sammamish, WA

After testing on Friday we found the bushings in the shaft strut had broken. We were fortunate to find an individual who could machine new ones that night and had them for the next day. Due to a miscommunication we had to pick the bushings up Saturday morning in Spanaway nearly 45 miles away. Mission accomplished and the hydroplane on the water race ready. The “X-Man” made yet another stellar start and challenged the UL-11 driven by Kevin Eacret. The UL-00 driven by Wil Muncey spun out in turn two and the racers had to steer clear of the craft. The 11 edged the 929 at the finish but was penalized 1 minute for running inside the 00. The UL-929 Miss Hyundai Assurance was awarded the heat victory garnering 400 points. This was the first heat victory for the newly rebuilt hull and hopefully many more to come.

The next heat was a strong field. There was the UL-14 this years point leader driven by Paul Becker; the UL-72 driven by last years champion Kayleigh Perkins; The tenacious UL-5 driven by Rod Bourke and always competitive; the hard charging UL-20 driven by Bob Smets; and the supercharged UL-9 driven by “Smokin’ Joe” Souza. Vince did not get a good lane to race in running in lane five and rough water. The 929 hydroplane ended up 4^th in the heat and earned another 169 points. The 14 finished in 1^st. Our 569 points for the day put Vince “The X-Man” Xaudaro and the UL-929 Miss Hyundai Assurance in the final heat.

Start of Heat 2B

A very strong field for the final included the UL-10 driven by rookie Austin Eacret the UL-11 who made a complex engine change, UL-5, UL-14, and the UL-72. Hind sight is said to be 20/20 and couldn’t have been more accurate. We couldn’t slow the boat down to park in an advantageous lane for the score up. We decided to try a different prop that might give us a little more speed on the outside lanes. Being a bigger propeller it actually drove the nose down when first trying to get on plane. That and crossing over the wake of the 72 on the way out to the race course flooded the engine compartment with water. As hard as he tried the ”X-Man” just couldn’t push the Miss Hyundai Assurance around the race course quick enough and we crossed the finish line dead last. The 929 was awarded fifth place due to a one minute penalty on the 11 for a lane violation.

Salmon Days-Lake Sammamish,WA

 Paul Becker in the UL-14 won the final. He also won the driver and boat highpoints championship. Congratulations to Paul and crew for a great season they earned it.

There really was a lot learned this weekend. The more we learn the better we’ll become. We never give up and always have high expectations. The crew was awesome and we couldn’t perform well with out the dedication and sacrifices they all make. The UL-929 Miss Hyundai Assurance after having problems in Tri Cities has not required a tow since the engine failure back in July. Knowing the competition is always strong we need to improve and be consistent. We know what can be accomplished and are ready for the challenge. Planning is already underway for the off season. Stay in touch with us on the web and facebook for updates. Thank you all for your support and interest this year. See you all next year at the races.

Photo courtesy of Julie Sparrowgrove

 Xaudaro Racing UL-929 recently completed 3 races and a parade in a 5 week period.  Tri Cities Atomic Cup in Tri Cities WA on the Columbia River July 23-25.  The Torchlight Parade in Seattle July 31. The Graham Trucking Cup in Seattle on Lake Washington August 6 – 8. Finally the Copper Cup Regatta August 21-22 on Flathead Lake in scenic Polson, Montana. 

After recently completing the marathon rebuild of the ‘All Black All the Time’ hydroplane the team was eager to get the UL-929 wet for the first time. We were sponsored by Ice Harbor Brewing Company of Kennewick, WA for the Tri Cities Atomic Cup. As a new boat we encountered a few challenges and some tough breaks. The biggest and most costly was a hole in a piston which ended our weekend of racing. We did have the lead in one heat only to have it halted due to an officials starting error. When running, the 929 was fast and handled very well. Kayleigh Perkins and the UL-72 won the final.

The next event was the Torchlight Parade in Seattle. We also did 2 boat displays for our Seafair sponsors Hyundai Assurance. Three different dealerships contributed, Hyundai of Everett, Skagit Valley Hyundai, and Doug’s Lynnwood Hyundai. There was a huge enthusiastic crowd lining the parade route. The ‘X-Man’ and crew were well received.

The Graham Trucking Cup at Seafair in Seattle is the biggest race of the year. It is always well attended by fans and televised locally in front of over 1 million viewers. With the motor repaired and adjustments made for the Seattle course the UL-929 team was ready to compete. The ‘Miss Hyundai Assurance’ finished 4^th in the first heat but sustained some wing damage. We removed the wing and went out for the second heat. Vince made one of many excellent starts this weekend and led for 2 ¾ laps only to be edged out on the final stretch by Kayleigh Perkins and the UL-72. It was a very exciting race and led to more optimism for ‘Team Hyundai’. We did not have enough points to seat the 929 in the final and had to earn our way in via the B-Main.  With another great start, the ‘X-Man’ was leading comfortably. As another hydroplane went dead in the first turn and posed what the officials felt was a safety concern, they black flagged the heat. At the same time, our radio communications failed and Vince did not hear that info nor see the flag and kept running. You’re not supposed to keep running with the black flag out. The B-Main was not re run, but we were allowed in the final based on our overall standings for the weekend. However, we were penalized and had to start the Final 5 seconds behind the front line. Despite the penalty, the UL-929 ‘Miss Hyundai Assurance’ finished fourth out of nine boats. The crew really came together and performed phenomenally. Paul Becker in the UL-14 won the final.

Photo courtesy of Julie Sparrowgrove

Next stop was The Copper Cup Regatta on Flathead Lake in Polson, Montana. Flathead Lake is known for the mythical ‘Flathead Monster’. This is Montana’s version of Nessie the Loch Ness Monster. While testing in the morning the 929 sustained some damage to the bottom of the boat. Could the fictitious monster have played a role in this? We’ll really never know. The ‘X-Man’ and crew did complete the repairs but were unable to compete on Saturday. High winds forced the cancellation of the 3^rd heat on Sunday morning. We ran in the B-Main where the repair job held up well. The ‘X-Man’ in the UL-929 won the heat and qualified for the final.  Unfortunately, the winds picked up to 25 mph making conditions non-raceable and the final race was cancelled. The UL-11 Miss Executiff was declared the winner based on points and their finish in the standings for the 2009 season.

To sum things up, Vince ‘The X-Man’ Xaudaro and the UL-929 crew did very well with the challenges that presented themselves. The team never cracked under pressure. We learned quite a bit about the boat and crew. We have a lot to look forward to and the future is bright. Knowing full well the competition is tough, the team is up for whatever lies ahead. See you all at the races.

UL-929 Before the rebuild

UL-929 After rebuild

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The X-Man team will be firing the engine for the first time since 2007  this Saturday. Hundreds of hours have been put into the rebuild of the UL-929 over the past several months.

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‘X-Man’ interviews with Dave Stall-San Diego