Deck2Deck.us: Fantasy Unlimited Hydroplane Racing

For the first time in 46 years a full fleet of Unlimited Hydroplanes will shred the beautiful surface of Folsom Lake, located just outside of Sacramento, California. In 1967 the boats were shovel-nosed, rear-seated, open-cockpit configurations packing fire-breathing WWII-vintage Allison and Rolls Royce engines. Today’s pickle-forked, enclosed-capsuled hulls, powered by whispering turbine engines, hardly resemble their bucking and growling ancestors. This weekend, after a lengthy wait, ten Unlimiteds will vie for all the money, marble, and chalk at this, the first domestic race of the 2013 H1 season, which began four months ago on the other side of the world in Doha, Qatar.

In order to compete, you must answer the bell! Make sure to lock your fantasy pick by Saturday at noon Pacific.

HydroDan’s Three 2 Think About:

The Sentimental Choice: The winner of the 1967 Folsom Lake race was a brash young driver named Billy Schumacher behind the wheel of the famous Miss Bardahl. Schumacher returns in 2013 with wife Jane as co-owners of the U-37 Performance Chevrolet driven by J. Michael Kelly. During an exclusive pre-season interview with D2D, Kelly indicated a new propeller unveiled in Doha might be the answer to the team’s persistent lack of top end speed. Although the U-1 and U-5 are the odds-on favorites, make no mistake: the U-37 will be the sentimental favorite on the shores of Folsom Lake.

Seeing White Again: Following two tantalizing performances in Doha in which the U-9 collected four heat victories as well as podium finishes in both final heats, the team added Red Dot’s backing to bolster the resourceful effort of Jones Racing. This crew follows the leadership of the Campbell brothers (Jeff and Mike) of Miss Budweiser fame. Driver Jon Zimmerman indicated to D2D that his boat was better than he was at the start of the 2012 season, but as the season went on his performance improved and he was able to achieve the aforementioned eye-popping results. Although the hull is not designed to troll at low speed — a trait desired for securing inside lanes during the “race before the race” — the speedy craft has proven it can and will be a factor on Lake Folsom.

Motor City Madness:  Earlier this week it was announced that a newly rebuilt T-4 hull will take to Lake Folsom for the U-11 Peters and May team after it was nearly destroyed in 2010 following a horrific collision with a seawall in Detroit. The U-22 Webster Racing team also returns to the fray following a ten-month-long rebuild after suffering a destructive blow-over incident on the very same Detroit River. In another surprise pre-season press release, it was announced that the former U-13 Sprit of Detroit hull has been leased by Seattle’s Jay Lecrone and will run this season as U-14 Centurion Racing, with veteran Greg Hopp at the controls. These three hulls with Detroit connections could very well factor this season — perhaps as early as this weekend — but for now there is not enough substantial information on any of these to expend a fantasy pick at this early stage of the tour.