Deck2Deck.us: Fantasy Unlimited Hydroplane Racing

Best Play: At this point, If you still have the U-1 Oberto, U-7 Graham Trucking, or U-96 Spirit of Qatar remaining in your boat selection pull-down, you better not wait any longer! This is the final race of the 2010 season, and as they say, it all comes down to this. There is little doubt that these three raceboats (U-1, U-7, U-96) have risen as the cream of the 2010 fleet. With the U-96 a mere 186 points behind the leader, and the U-7 mathematically alive trailing by 1292 points, there is still much to race for. Look for these three to let it all hang out in Doha.

Worth the Risk: Although only 8th in the National Standings, the U-17 Miss Red Dot has displayed itself as one of the faster hulls in the fleet, having posted the third fastest qualifying time in both Tri-Cities and San Diego. The performance of the boat in heat competition, however, has been less than consistent throughout the year and the team has also been known to throw in the towel to save equipment from time to time. Despite all of this, the U-17 may prove to be worth the risk for fantasy players that have already spent picks on the U-1, U-5, U7, and U-96.

Most Intriguing: Two raceboats are extremely intriguing and it is no coincidence that they are both Leland hulls. If the water on Doha Bay this weekend is anything like it was in 2009, expect it to be rough. The narrower design and weight of a Leland hull historically has proven beneficial in such rough water conditions. Fred Leland’s U-100 has shown brilliant flashes of speed and performance this season, and has always had a reputation as a solid rough water boat. At Seafair, widely known as one of the roughest courses on the circuit, it placed third in qualifying and collected a heat victory in 2B. Another Leland rough water hull is the U-37 Peters & May backup boat, which is scheduled to compete for Team Schumacher one final time in 2010. Also adding intrigue to the U-37 is the return of JW Meyers to the cockpit after his frightening accident in Detroit. Expect J-Dub to require a couple heats to knock the rust off and get a feel for the boat, but don’t be surprised if he finds himself in the final heat with a healthy point total under his belt.

Even though they quit on me in SD, Nate has assured me that they will go for it in Doha. The problem has been money and we all can understand that. With their special prop, I wouldn’t be surprised if they were on top of the qualifying ladder for a minute…

Congrats on the top 10 finish Snook. Ya tried hard but ya just couldn’t run me down! The 17 killed you in SD…