(Guntersville, AL) — Dustin Echols of Monroe, Washington, became the fastest among the fastest boat racers in the world today
when he piloted the Bucket List Racing hydroplane to a qualifying speed of 171.294 mph. Then, when the race started, Corey Peabody of Covington, Washington, turned in the sport’s fastest average heat speed.
Today’s action took place on Lake Guntersville during the first stop of the 2023 H1 Unlimited Racing Series.
Echols’s qualifying run was the fifth fastest in the history of unlimited hydroplane racing and was the fastest in the nearly 20 years since current fuel-flow restrictions were put in place. “I’m just so glad that everyone else can see that our hard work is finally paying off,” Echols said. “We’ve known it was going to be fast for a while and it finally shows.” His Bucket List race team is based in Snohomish, Washington.
But while Echols was hitting historic qualifying speeds, the rest of the field was also extremely fast due to a new racecourse at Guntersville that features much wider turns than in previous years. Six of the eight boats at the race qualified at speeds over 160 mph.
When it came to the racing for the Southern Cup, it was a good day for the Strong Racing Team of Auburn, Washington, which has won the races in Guntersville the past two seasons. The winners of today’s two preliminary heats were Peabody in the cockpit of Beacon Plumbing and his teammate J. Michael Kelly of Bonney Lake, Wash., in Beacon Electric.
Peabody averaged 162.910 mph during his three-lap heat, which established a new all-time speed record for a 2.5-mile course. He finished ahead after a close battle with Andrew Tate of Canton, Michigan, the driver of Miss Goodman Real Estate. “That was a really good heat,” Peabody said. “Me and Andrew had a great race there. It was fun being deck-to-deck with him but coming out with a win. I’m looking forward to what we’ve got for the rest of the weekend and hope to get the Beacon boats on the podium.”
Kelly had a much easier time winning his heat because Echols was penalized an extra lap for crossing the starting line too early. “Testing and qualifying went well today,” Kelly said. “Winning Heat 1A was an excellent way to start our racing weekend.”
The H1 Unlimited Racing Series opener will continue tomorrow with two more sets of preliminary heats and a winner-take-all final heat. The racecourse will be open for testing at 8 a.m. CDT, preliminary-heat racing will begin at 9:45 a.m., and the final heat is scheduled for 5 p.m.
The event can be viewed live on the H1 Unlimited YouTube Channel. You can find the link at H1Unlimited.com.
SOUTHERN CUP
Guntersville, AL
QUALIFYING — 1, Dustin Echols, Bucket List Racing, 171.294 avg. speed, 100 points; 2, Corey Peabody, Beacon Plumbing, 167.320, 80; 3, Andrew Tate, Miss Goodman Real Estate, 167.078, 70; 4, Dylan Runne, Miss HomeStreet, 166.740, 60; 5, J. Michael Kelly, Beacon Electric, 165.639, 50; 6, Jamie Nilsen, Legend Yacht Transport, 164.977, 40; 7, Jimmy King, Griggs presents Miss Ace Hardware, 159.945, 30; 8, Brent Hall, Boitano Homes, 148.536, 30.
HEAT 1A — 1, J. Michael Kelly, Beacon Electric, 400 points, 152.651 avg. speed; 2, Jimmy King, Griggs presents Miss Ace Hardware, 150.763, 300; 3, Dylan Runne, Miss HomeStreet, 143.714, 225; 4, Dustin Echols, Bucket List Racing, 112.474, 169.
HEAT 1B — 1, Corey Peabody, Beacon Plumbing, 162.910, 400; 2, Andrew Tate, Miss Goodman Real Estate, 160.956, 300; 3, Jamie Nilsen, Legend Yacht Transport, 151.781, 225.
(H1 Unlimited Press Release)