Episode 193: 2026 Season Check In

We look back at a short, intense hydroplane racing season where speed is close across the field but the winners are separating themselves fast. I recap H1 Unlimited and Grand Prix America results, dig into the points math and lane trends, then make a Bayfair prediction while unpacking the donut celebration controversy and the reversal that followed. 

Transcript

Welcome And Season Recap Plan

SPEAKER_00 0:24

Rooster Tail Talk, the podcast dedicated to everything about the sport that we all love. I do play race. I am your host, David Newton. And it's time once again to sit back, relax, and welcome to Rooster Tail Talk. Hello, race fans, and welcome back to the podcast. Today is Tuesday, August 11th, 2026, and this is episode 193. Now, for this episode, we're going to recap and revisit some moments from this the season. It's a short season. We're three or four races down, and we're completed with those races. We have one more on the horizon. But I wanted to recap some things that have happened this season, look at the point standings, and make some predictions for the Bay Fair in less than a month from now. But let's talk about what we've seen so far this season. Now, there is a lot of parity in the sport. I'll admit that. But the speeds are closer than they have in years past. But I think for both series, there's one word that kind of takes it is domination.

BWR Racing Dominates H1 Unlimited

SPEAKER_00 1:45

And in H1 Unlimited, we're seeing the BWR team just kind of dominate racing this year, and we're seeing the same in the Grand Prix American series with Brandon Kennedy and the TKO racing GP35. But let's talk a little bit about the races and see where the point standings are as we head into San Diego. So let's start off with the H1 Limited side of things. And like I said, it's been dominated by BWR Racing. They brought Jimmy Shane back in driving the U-27 Apollo. Andrew Tate's remained in his seat in the one uh BWR racing, which was last year, the Goodman real estate racing. And so far this year, they have dominated. They're been at the top of the qualifying for each race. They have Jimmy Shane won the first two over in Madison and Tri-Cities. And last week we saw Andrew Tate uh dethrone his teammate, Jimmy Shane, and beat him winning the Seattle Seafair for the second time in a row. Now, they've been having some very fast speeds, and I actually was told by some crew members that both Andrew Tate in the one and Jimmy Shane in the 27 actually broke the heat record times for Fastest Lap. And unfortunately, I don't see Fastbus Lap presented on the H1 website, but they do have their average speeds. So looking back at the C Fair final heat, we can see that Andrew Tate, who won, was an average speed of 143.423. Uh next to Jimmy Shane's second place, which he was pretty close at the finish line. He was in the Richard Tail. He was his average speed was 141.993. So one and a half miles an hour behind Andrew Tate. Very close in speeds, but they've been dominant this year. And looking back to third place, which it was a great race for third place, going down that finish line. I didn't know if it was going to be Dylan, Jamie, or Jeff coming out last turn. I thought Jamie might have the edge, but it went to Dylan. And he finished with a speed of 133.7. Uh Jamie Nielsen right behind him was 133.3. And then Jeff Bernard was 132.2. Very, very fast final heat for BWR racing. You can see it was a 10 mile an hour gap from first to third place. So pretty large gap as far as that goes. And I'm interested to see what they had last year in the final heat performance. But unfortunately, on the website, I don't see past year's data. Uh the website used to have all the previous years' data. I don't see that anymore. I wish I could compare it to last year. Hopefully, that'll be added at some point. But very, very fast for the BWR racing.

Seafair Speeds And The Lane One Trend

SPEAKER_00 4:50

But as I said, BWR racing has been at the top of the qualifying ladder all year long. And the teams have been in lanes one and two at all in all final heats. But the winner with the new format, so where they they don't fight for lanes anymore, they are assigned lanes uh based off of points and they can choose their own lanes. So far, every winner this year has come from lane one. Quite interesting to think about as in previous years, it hasn't always been the case. The person in lane one, um, I can think back to last year at the Gold Cup in Tri-Cities, both strong drivers in lanes one and two jumped the gun as they were trying to fight and get up there really early, which made kind of a chaotic mess, which I know they're trying to avoid. So there's less penalties and it's easier for the fans. But it has brought on some predictability this year, as every race victory this year has come from lane one. Some great racing uh throughout the year, though. Loved. There's some great heat racing. Uh actually in all three stops, but I think the best race of the year so far had to be the final heat in Seafair, as it was a close battle between Shane and Tate at the front of the line. And then it was a really close race for that third place uh where Dylan Runny edged out Jamie Nielsen. Now looking at the points going into the last race of the year, we have Jimmy Shane with Miss Apollo from BWR Racing at the top. He has 5,129 points. In second place is Tate with BWR Racing, the last year's national champion, at 4,949 points. It's gonna be come down to one of these two drivers. The next person in line is Corey Peabody with a Tahoe Miss of Strong Racing. He's at 3,714 points. Technically speaking, it is possible uh for Tahoe Miss to come become a victor, but he would need both boats uh ahead of him to really not score any points, and he would almost have to win every heat. So we're not gonna really talk about that points race per se, but it's gonna come down to Shane and Tate. Now, it's only I'm gonna have to pull a calculator out for this because I can't do mental math right now, having this long summer off. But basically, it comes down to a hundred and eighty points difference between Shane and Tate. So far this year they finished all of their heats. And with this current setup for uh lane assignments and heat ordering, this is really in the favor of Jimmy Shane. As depending on who gets first or second, they're gonna be placed into different heats. So if it's like it was in Seattle where Shane and Tate were in different heats all day long, Shane could maintain that hundred point 180-point lead going into the final heat of San Diego, which means that if he finished first or second, that would guarantee him the national championship for this year. Many things to think about with this. I like I do like the lane assignments for many reasons, but I wish there was some other format to get the the drivers into heats together and not be separated all day long because it's very easy for for the top two boats to not be racing all day long. So if that's the case, this is totally in Shane's favor. Um, maybe we'll see some some sort of uh sand bagon by one of the drivers so they get into the heats together and see if one person can go on top, or maybe can overtake Shane. Uh, I doubt we'll see that, but uh it would be interesting to see how this unfolds in San Diego. But looking down the list beyond that, there's a

Points Math And San Diego Scenarios

SPEAKER_00 8:55

close race for third place between the two strong boats. Corey P. Body's at 3,714 points with J. Mack O'Kelly in fourth place with strong racings Maverick at 3,602. I can do the mental math on that. That's 112 points separating them those two. So that's an even closer race than it is for first and second. Um, that's gonna be a roll of dice. I I I could see either one of those uh two drivers coming out to the third spot, the top spot behind BWR racing. So last thing I'm gonna talk about for H1 Unlimited is just a couple other things on my mind with H1 Unlimited. I think the team that has surprised me the most this year has to be the U11. They made huge strides and gains throughout the season. Uh, they were significantly down on power at spring testing and in Madison. And I heard that they they found some issues from between Madison and Tri-Cities and resolved those. They also found a good prop from last year in the river uh that was uh found by some divers local to the Tri-City areas, uh, some great people that went down. I know Talon Moore was one of those, and and some of his family and friends went down and got that. It was huge for the team. But they made huge strides. There was some times where I think he surprised Jamie Nielsen and the Flavor Pack U11, not only surprised fans, but surprised other drivers. And there were many heats where he was uh in front of others that normally he wouldn't be. Um, he made some some really great moves and uh just still just down just a little bit. And if they could find a couple more miles an hour, that this team would be on top and they would have a victory, but making huge strides with what they have done so far this year. Love seeing them uh get some more speed, uh, it's fantastic. So if I had trophies so far this year, I would say most improved goes to the U11 with Flavor Pack. There's a trophy for dominance, BWR racing, we get that. And then my other take uh was the bucket list racing, finally had a good race this year in Seafair. They won their first heat of the year. Uh Dylan Runny had a great heat, beat the competition uh from the inside. He actually beat Jamie Shane. Uh was a great race, great battle. And they came away third place, finish of the podium finish. They struggled in Madison and Tri-Cities. And I don't think you can blame one individual with this. I really think it's such a steep learning curve for someone to jump into an unlimited hydroplane. Even if he, even though Dylan has some experience, he had another season when he was racing with Miss Madison, but it's such a short season. There's so few laps on the waters for drivers. It's hard to get seat time. They were at spring testing, but thinking about this, the the team was off last year, it was their first time back with a new driver. So not only do they have to kind of get the boat back up to speed, they have to get the driver up to speed, they have to mesh the team and the driver, and it takes time. And in years past, when you had eight, nine, ten races, you could see this on the West Coast very easily because there'd be four or five races before they got to Tri-Cities. Now it's one race and they're in Tri-Cities. So huge steep learning curve. And at the race sites, they get even less time on the water. So I I I my hat is tipped to the bucket list racing because they made huge strides in the short time as well. And um, Dylan Ronnie is getting more comfortable in the boat, and you can see that they have speed. They're they're starting to get up there on the qualifying ladder as well. But it just

Most Improved U11 And Bucket List Surge

SPEAKER_00 12:55

takes time. And unfortunately, with such a short season, it's it's hard for a team like this to develop and make those strides. Looking at the points order, let's let's go down it real quick. So in fifth place, the U11 flavor pack, 3,047 points. Fifth place is bucket list, uh, almost three 300 points back with 2,736 points. And then beyond that, we're probably not gonna see any of those teams for the rest of the year with Warrior Miss Madison in seventh place with 2,536 points, and then Graham Trucking with 1,878 points, and then last is the go fast turn left racing with 899 points. So going into San Diego, again, I expect we'll see a six boat field. I haven't heard anything to say otherwise. I would love to see more boats down there, but there are many limitations. Historically, gram trucking and be and go fast turn left racing does not travel to San Diego and have not for many years. I don't expect them to make the trip. Everything coming out of the Miss Madison Racing has said that they were going to Tri-Cities in Seattle and had not mentioned San Diego. I think they are hopeful, but I don't think their sponsorship had was spent enough to send them to San Diego. So I and again, I haven't heard anything otherwise, so I don't expect them to be there as well. Really, coming down to the last race of the year, it's gonna be between Shane and Tate. They would have to make a huge mistake for someone else to win uh or uh the race or even to win the high points championship. It's gonna come down to that final heat, and I think whoever gets in lane one is gonna be the victor. And with some of the speeds I've seen, this is gonna be the probably the fastest course of the year on Saltwater, two and a half mile course. I think you're gonna see the U-27 uh have a faster time. I think they are gonna end up getting lane one at the end of the day. They're gonna be the victor and the high points champion uh when all is said and done. So that's my prediction. We'll see Jimmy Shane get top qualifier, get lane one in the final, win the final heat. So he'll win the Bill Muncie memorial, and I think he will get the high points standings after that race. Wish there was more to report on, but again, it's a short season, so we we have what we have. Now, let's talk about the Grand Prix America Hydroplanes. Loved covering this series this year, so many fun stories, and I just love what they bring to the races. Such a fun series to watch. And again, this year it's been dominated by one team. Uh the GP35 TM Special has dominated, dominated, winning every race this year. Uh it was pretty evident after a lap or two, they were out ahead by pretty far margin, and they needed really technical difficulties, some mechanical breakdown um in order to have someone else win. So, with the point

Bayfair Prediction And Expected Field

SPEAKER_00 17:05

standings after Seafair, they do have different point standings, so they don't give a ward 400 points for each heat. They I think the most is 25. So uh going into the last race of the season, Brandon Kennedy is on top with the GP35 TM special, 409 points for the season. Second in line is Kevin Ekrit with the GP10, the freak with 341. The next is John Shaw with their new boat, the GP 135 Cool

Grand Prix America Standings Breakdown

SPEAKER_00 17:35

Cat Motorsports 316. They're in third place. Fourth place is Austin Ekrit and Josh Culver driving the GP17 Miss Renee, 234 points. Greg Hopp is down in fifth place with a happy-go-lucky GP15 at 226 points. Brent Hall, who came back and raced this year, uh, unfortunately didn't get to race in Seattle. He had mechanical difficulties. Uh boat broke down in qualifying, so he wasn't unable to race. Otherwise, he'd be up a little bit higher, I think, in the point standings. He's got 156 points in sixth place. Uh Chris Grant, who joined the series in Tri-Cities, he's in seventh place with the GP5 Jack Not apparel at 104 points. The GP88 Griggs or Jiggs Motorsports with Josh Harnick as 57 points in eighth place, and then in ninth place, the GP24, the Kraken, uh, with John Grigg and Dave Bazinski at 55 points in ninth place there. So coming down to the last race of the year, there is a 68-point gap between first and second place. With that said, I'm not sure if the GP35 is going to travel to San Diego. I could see them not making the trip down there, as if, especially if the Miss Madison's not down there. But again, haven't heard. Don't know if they will be there or not. So still awaiting uh acknowledgement for that. Most of the other rest of the field will be there. So two scenarios are going to happen. If they go, if GP35 makes a trip, I think they're gonna lock in their high points championship and uh make a full sweep of the season. That would be my prediction. But uh, if they don't go, there is a good chance that Kevin Ecret and the Freak GP10 could come away with the high points championship. I think with a 68-point gap, they would need to finish all of their heats and finish first or second in all of their heats to make it happen. But I think in the pecking order, they have the next fastest boat and they can they can make that happen. So really it comes down to who's gonna show up at the last race to know uh where that will land. Now, I think everyone the last week has been talking about donuts, and I I can't uh talk about the season without that because I think it kind of stole the show in a lot of ways for this. So let's talk about that uh and what the implications were and what happened uh before this. So talking about donuts, I'm not talking about actual physical donuts. Um, we're talking about Brandon Kennedy celebrating after the final heat, his victories. And this is something that in my mind, it's with good intentions, and it's something for the fans. And really, there was a lot of fans on the shorelines in both Tri-Cities and in Seattle that really took to this. And it is something that we see in other motorsports, uh, particularly NASCAR, where they celebrate by giving donuts or burnouts after their victories. And it's something I think he's bringing from other sports into this, just something else. As really, when the final heat's done, we don't really see a celebration. Drivers are stuck in their enclosed canopies, we

Donuts Controversy Disqualification Reversal

SPEAKER_00 21:00

don't see them uh exposed anymore, and where we can wave at them and cheer with them. So bringing something else, and I applaud that effort. It's nice to have something else for the fans. And this happened in Tri-Cities, and I don't remember hearing any negativity towards it there. It was really well received with fans. He did it right uh next to the shoreline on the Kenowicks side. Um, I can't remember if that was inside the course or outside the course, but it was away from the pits, somewhere near the fans, so they could see that. And so I think that went fantastic. It was great, everyone loved it, and we're hoping to see that again in Seattle if he won. Now, in Seattle, it was he he dominated the final heat. There's no doubts about that. But after the final heat, he did donuts in front of the pits on the northern side of the pits, close to the fans on the shoreline, or closer to the fans of the shoreline, in between the pits and the starting line. Now, after that was done, the head referee had disqualified from the heat, citing safety concerns and issues being close close to the pits there. And I'll I'll be honest with you, when I saw that happen in Seattle, my first thought was that was the wrong place to do it. This is not going to go over well because for a few reasons. Actually, the for in particular one reason. And I I don't think I have to hide this, I think it's well known throughout people in the sport. But the city of Seattle is not or does not embrace hydroplanes as much as they do in other areas of the country. It's a night and day difference from everything that you see in tri cities to Seattle on how hydroplanes are embraced, supported, or welcomed. In Seattle, there's not that many people. That actually care, like fans, the fan base has gone way down. And I think city officials and many other people in the area are looking at ways to put hydroplanes down and even get rid of them in general. With that said, I don't see um I can see many excuses being said to stop hydroplanes from being run. There's been many groups in the area that want to actually ban the Blue Angels and get rid of the whole weekend in general. And so knowing that, it's a different, it's just it's a different experience, different event in Seattle. And there's so many more safety procedures and guidelines in the pits, in the on the water that happen in Seattle, in a larger metropolitan area, than it would be in Tri-Cities or Madison and more rural rural areas where this can be embraced and flourish. Now, I don't have a problem with him doing donuts. I think it was the problem was where, and again, this is not this is my intuition, this is my thoughts with that, but I believe that the problem was where it took place. I feel that if this took place on the course, away from patrol boats, away from people, away from fans, uh, it wouldn't have been as fun to have seen, but it wouldn't have have gotten the backlash that it did. As soon as I saw the GP35 doing donuts where it was, I thought, worst case scenario, this is not going to go over well. There's going to be some fines from the city, there's going to be some issue that could jeopardize the sport in some way. And again, I just saying it's not if you did this in a different city, I don't think we would be having this conversation. But because of Seattle and how strict they are with their policies and guidelines with this, I could easily see backlash from the city, from the council for hydroplane racing. So that was my concern with that. But again, I'm a fan. I don't have a say in this. That was decided by the Grand Prix judge that Brandon was disqualified for doing donuts near the pit area, um, outside of the course markers. This happened, the call was made right as after the donuts were done. Uh, and then Kevin Ekrit and the GP10 was the freak was awarded the victory. Now, right or wrong, that's what happened. So that took place on Sunday, the 2nd of August. Uh, four days later, on Thursday, August 6th. I'm sure that the GPA board met and discussed this into details, but they decided to reverse the call. Many fans, I think, poured outrage or cried foul on the GPA's decision to disqualify Brandon from the final heat. GPA did their best to make the situation right in the in the minds of fans for erasers and came out with released the statement on August 6th. Following the recent Grand Prix final held at the Seattle C Fair, Ed Thompson, the president of the Grand Prix America, GPA, along with the board of directors, has conducted a thorough review of the incident that occurred during the event. It has been determined that the actions in question were permitted at prior GPA sanctioned events. Consequently, we find that there is insufficient grounds for a total disqualification. It was not a blatant intentional disobedience towards the APBA referee. It was a miscommunication on the radio in real time. Instead, it has been concluded that a yellow card should be issued in accordance with standard procedures. While we respect the decisions made by the referees and the American Powerboard Association, GPA will uphold the results of the GP35, awarding them all victories, points, and financial earnings associated with the GPA event at CFAR. Furthermore, we strongly advise that any drivers refrain from performing any donut maneuvers during future events unless explicit permission is granted by the appropriate authorities to prevent any similar situations from arising. This statement serves to clarify GPA's position on the matter and ensures that all parties involved are aware of the guidelines moving forward. Respectfully, GPA board of directors. So Brandon Kennedy, the GP35, was awarded the victory full points for their efforts in Seattle and taken away the uh the punishments that were presented on that Sunday at Seafair. Now, I think moving forward, there should be more discussions on what drivers can and can't do, what areas they could do. I would love to see some sort of celebration happen on the course. I don't know if we could do much more than donuts. I can't really do a burnout. Don't want to have them do a wave or where they get catch air or something like that. That would be um a little bit too dangerous for the teams. But maybe in moving forward, there can be a designated area for donuts or some sort of celebration to have place because I know the fans did love that. Uh, I was sitting on the bleachers on the other side of the pits when that happened. Could kind of see it, not so much, but the fans knew what was happening, and I could hear lots of cheers from the grandstands uh where their view was very much so blocked. So hopefully they can work together in the future and have some sort of celebration for the fans because fan engagement is a priority for the Grand Prix Americas, and I can see um and I hope that they continue uh to build upon that. Well, that's the season in a nutshell. We have three down, one more to go. I'm unfortunately not going to be able to make it to San Diego this year. I wish I could, uh, but time and funding doesn't permit me this year. Hopefully, next year I'll be at a few more races and can do some more coverage. I've loved being able to have more of a social media presence with my coverage, um, hoping that it has raised your fan experience. And hopefully I can communicate and connect with some other people down in San Diego to bring some more content

Future Celebration Rules And Sign Off

SPEAKER_00 29:45

to you. But that's all we have for this week. Make sure you check us out on social media. We're on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, we're on our website, crucial telk.com. And until next time, I hope to see you at the races.