Deck2Deck.us: Fantasy Unlimited Hydroplane Racing

Deck2Deckers, it all comes down to this: the 2017 Deck2Deck Champion will be determined on Mission Bay as San Diego Bayfair roars this weekend. The last race of the H1 Unlimited season will host a meager five boats in the pits. Such a low turnout has scrambled the normal racing schedule and served up a new presentation for the fans: heats 1A, 1B, 2A, 2B, and a final, in which reportedly all boats will run. Including qualifying, 2100 points will be up for grabs, making Bayfair a repeat of the Columbia Cup point-earning opportunity.

Fantasy players, if you’ve got any arrows left in the quiver, fire away this weekend, and consider yourself among the fortunate Deck2Deckers not shooting blanks this weekend. Deck2Deck has been especially challenging this year with the combination of a short season and high attrition. The 2017 winner will likely be determined by canny selections earlier in the season rather than the San Diego finale. But don’t give up—things may get goofy, and the unforgiving saltwater racecourse could easily reward pluck and determination as often as it yields to raw speed.

Likely boats at Bayfair:

U-1 Miss HomeStreet Bank, Jimmy Shane
U-9 Real Trac / Delta Gear, Andrew Tate
U-11 DiJulio Presents Miss J&D’s, Tom Thompson
U-12 Graham Trucking, J. Michael Kelly
U-440 Bucket List Racing, Dustin Echols

HydroDan’s Three 2 Think About:

Money, Marbles, Chalk: Andrew Tate, U-9 Jones Racing chauffeur, trails defending U-1 designee Jimmy Shane by just 279 heading into Bayfair. Both the Miss HomeStreet and Jones teams feel the pressure from J. Michael Kelly in the U-12 Graham Trucking, who is just 315 points behind Tate. These top dogs will duke it out for the national points deal all weekend, and fantasy players should expect intense racing. The modified heat format will have no "lucky draws," but instead serve up five runnings of the final. There is simply no telling which of these three will be ahead in each heat, or if an error will produce an unexpected outcome. But if you have saved any of these three boats for Bayfair, you know what to do.

Detroit Demolition Derby: The President’s and Gold Cups were not gentle to the H1 fleet. Returning owner Dave Bartush’s hopes—and boat—were dashed in the GC final when rookie Bert Henderson hooked the U-7 Spirit of Detroit in front of JMK, leaving nowhere for the U-12 to go but over his decks. The Graham boat is back together, but the U-7 is not. Be sure to consult our list of probable boats so you do not select any of the San Diego absentees. Among the missing are fan favorites U-3 and U-99.9.

Props to the U-11: With the backing of Reliable Diamond Tool and J&D’s, the Unlimited Racing Group will head to California to complete the H1 circuit and give Deck2Deckers another fast choice. While an H1 National Points podium finish is just out of reach this year, the 11 is positioned to reward fantasy players this weekend any time that the top dogs make a mistake. While the U-440 does not have the beans in the engine compartment to keep up with the T-55s, Tom Thompson’s U-11 posted quick speeds in Detroit qualifying that should return in San Diego. A thrown prop brought a premature end to URG’s Detroit campaign, but with repairs complete, the low boat count on Mission Bay may benefit this team that has the potential to podium in each Bayfair heat.