Deck2Deck.us: Fantasy Unlimited Hydroplane Racing

After a long six-week respite following the festivities at Seattle’s Seafair, the H1 fleet is set to renew the Hydro Wars in San Diego this weekend for the Air National Guard Championship on Mission Bay. The fleet, after more than a month for crews to fine-tune their boats and make adjustments, should be in top form and poised to put on a great show for the Southern California hydroplane fans that will line East Vacation Island and Fiesta Island this weekend.

Last season in San Diego, the starting procedure was modified by H1 officials and owners so that lanes were assigned by blind draw to combat the corrosive and damaging effects of Mission Bay’s salt water course. This year the powers that be at H1 have elected to keep the fight for lanes in the rule book at Bayfair. This decision will likely benefit drivers like J. Michael Kelly, Jimmy Shane, and Steven David who have displayed a knack for securing inside lanes.

Also of significance for this weekend’s racing are a couple major driver assignment updates: Rookie relief driver Tom Thompson will jump in the seat of the U-11 Miss Peters and May, as JW Meyers is out due to a shoulder injury suffered during the Detroit flip. Kip Brown is also slated to be behind the wheel of the U-17 Miss Red Dot after missing the Tri-Cities and Seattle events with a broken ankle.

HydroDan’s Three to Think About — San Diego

Bounce Back

After two sub-par performances for the “Bullet from Ballard,” the U-1 Spirit of Qatar 96 looks to rebound. The Qatar boat currently trails the U6 Oh Boy! Oberto for the National Championship deal by a mere 197 points. Fantasy players should also know that Dave Villwock and the Ellstrom Team are going for a three-peat in San Diego.

Roller Coaster Ride

The U-88 Degree For Men looks to right the ship again during this up-and-down campaign of 2012. The “new” team finished on the podium in their inaugural race only to suffer a blow-over accident the following weekend in Detroit. In Tri-Cities the team finish third in qualifying and fourth in the final, but in Seattle only scored 347 points to finish 11 out of 12 for total race points. For many fantasy players who have already used the top three Fantasy choices (U-1, U-5, and U-6) will this be the correct week to select Scott Liddycoat in the U-88?

Running Strong

Although lacking top end speed, the U-37 Beacon Plumbing continues to impress with outstanding cornering ability, consistent finishes, and three final heat appearances in their last three races following an abysmal start the season in Madison. J. Michael Kelly has also proven himself to be one of, if not the best driver at securing lane 1. A sure boat to consider selecting at this time of the Fantasy season.