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News from Evansville Final wrap-up formerly on the front page of the site: Evansville Thunder Festival: Last weekend, we provided coverage from the race site in Evansville, Indiana. The team claimed a first place heat finish and strong fourth place finish in the final. The boat really came a long way from the damage sustained during the Barrie race. The team deserves a lot of praise for getting the boat back into competition and out onto the water!
4:38 PM, 6/27/99 Miss Madison finished fourth in heat 3B which put it in the show and on the front row. The team capped off the weekend with a fourth place finish in the final which saw U-100 (Miss PICO) penalized a lap for jumping the gun and U-1 (Miss Budweiser) winning the race. Todd commented after 3B that "the Miss Madison was really crippled last week and we weren't sure we were going to be here. What a great boat we have and what a tremendous effort by our team." 3B: U-1, U-8, U-15, and U-6. U-20 did not finish. Final: U-1, U-10, U-15, U-6, and U-100. U-3 did not finish. Cindy
12:53 PM, 6/27/99 Miss Madison takes a win in its first heat competition of the day! Heat 2A goes to the U-6 Miss Madison team and driver ToddYarling. Beating out the U-1 (Miss Budweiser), U-2 Miss Arc Construction and others, Todd and the entire Miss Madison crew were celebratory as they returned to the pit area. As is often the case, the win came down to timing rather than speed. The U-1, the U-20 and the U-10 all jumped the gun at the start line giving the U-6 and the U-2 the first and second spots on the course. The U-1 finished clearly third in the field and never challenged the U-2 to regaining his lost lap. Final heat 2A order: U-6
9:44 AM, 6/27/99 The course opened at 8:00 AM this morning. Miss Madison began the morning with some final work and trailer fire. The was an early attempt to qualify, but the boat went down part way around the course. It is believed that water may have made it's was in through the cowling and washed out the flame. A very correctable problem. Test/qualifying was extended to 9:30 and the Miss Madison was preparing to return to the water as I returned to make this update. To give you a true feel for the morning, I've added a few photos of the Miss Madison.
More to come! - Chuck
8:44 PM, 6/26/99 I am very happy to report that at 6:50 PM Miss Madison arrived in Evansville. The spectators still around from today's action let out a series of cheers as the fan favorite team and boat entered the pit area. I must say that the Miss Madison looks great. From the way it looked in Barrie to the way it now looks is a clear testament to the work of the dedicated team and volunteers. The boats in heats 1A & 1B were drawn earlier today. Two boats still need to qualify. The Miss Madison will get its chance in the morning. If we are the first to qualify we will be in heat 1A. If we are second we will be in heat 1B. Stay tuned to this page for all the details as they develop in the morning. We'll try and update the page every couple hours. - Chuck
4:39 PM, 6/26/99 Still no sign of the Miss Madison. We also fixed the Hydrofest news links listed below. - Chuck
2:09 PM, 6/26/99 First, thanks to Jeff Ayler... "The U-6 Miss Madison hydroplane is still in Madison as of 11:00 AM EST. The hydroplane will leave Madison early this afternoon or this evening for the trip to Evansville!!! The ALL VOLUNTEER CREW had done a fabulous job reparing the craft. The boat will pull into the pit area SUPER SLICK and that is a tribute to the volunteers that have taken pride in making the race boat look good. Good luck to Todd Yarling and the team in Evansville along with the other ten race teams at Thunder on the Ohio. Jeff Ayler...WORX 96.7 FM Madison, Indiana" We have heard more recently that they have made it to town and they are a local paint shop getting the decals in place. We have also heard that they plan to arrive in the pit area around 5:00 PM (Evansville time). - Chuck
11:50 PM, 6/26/99 Bull, Randy Doughty and other members of the team have begun to arrive. We are now looking for the boat that is due at any time. It will be placed on the Budweiser end of the pit area near the Alamo crew. We'll talk to Charlie and get all the details when the boat is in place. General race details are being regularly sent to http://www.hydrofest.com. - Chuck
7:38 PM, 6/25/99 We just heard from the team. They will be here in the morning. More details to come. - Chuck
3:46 PM (all times are Evansville time), 6/25/99 Speaking briefly with Don Hummel, yesterday quickly became a work and wait game for the crew of the Miss Madison. There was a lot of glue to be applied and a lot of waiting while it dried. Today they finalized the fiberglass and paint. The latest we've heard is that they actually may have to air dry the paint on the way! We've also heard very exciting news that they are planning on eleven unlimiteds at the Madison's race next weekend In addition to our direct coverage of the Miss Madison, our sister site (Hydrofest) is receiving regular updates on everything else taking place in the pits at Evansville. Please visit http://www.hydrofest.com for all the news of the day. As soon as the Miss Madison arrives, we will update the site with all the details. - Chuck
Early news, 6/24/99 Miss Madison will arrive in Evansville tomorrow and should compete throughout the weekend! We are all very excited about the boat's quick return to the water and offer our warmest thanks to those individuals who put in some long, hard hours to make it happen.
Coverage begins on Friday (6/25/99)! We will begin live updates that morning and continue updating this page throughout the weekend. Check back often for all the comprehensive coverage. As an added bonus, we'll be checking the e-mail address listed below throughout the weekend. Have a question about the race? See it answered though the page (or directly via e-mail if you're shy). We're looking forward to all the action and sincerely hope you'll join us for the fun. Copyright © 2003 Chuck Moore |
