Corey Peabody is fastest qualifier for Columbia Cup race
KENNEWICK, Wash. — Corey Peabody of Covington, Wash., drove the Beacon Plumbing to a speed of 162.191 mph today and became the fastest qualifier for the Columbia Cup, which gets underway with competition heats tomorrow. Eight of the world’s fastest race boats qualified during today’s action—the third stop of the 2023 H1 Unlimited Racing Series.
Close competition has been a feature of H1 Unlimited racing so far this summer and the qualifying times on the Columbia River today indicate that trend is continuing. Less than just seven miles per hour separates the fastest qualifier for the Columbia Cup with the slowest.
Dylan Runne of Rumson, NJ, drove the Miss HomeStreet to the day’s second-fastest qualifying attempt with a run of 161.646 mph, while Dustin Echols of Monroe, Wash., was the third fastest with a run of 161.284 mph in Flav-R-Pac. Echols’s boat did an end-over-end flip during the final heat of the race in Madison, Ind., only four weeks ago and had to be repaired of extensive damages.
Rounding out the top four qualifiers was J. Michael Kelly of Bonney Lake, Wash., who drove Beacon Electric to a qualifying speed of 158.974 mph. Kelly, who won the last event on the H1 Unlimited campaign, has now moved into first place in the race for the national points championship.
Bobby King of Shelby Township, Mich., also qualified as a driver in the unlimited hydroplane class by completing the required number of laps in the Graham Trucking boat. Brent Hall of Seattle also is attempting to qualify as a driver at the sport’s highest level, but his boat had mechanical issues and he was not able to complete the laps that he needs.
The Columbia Cup continues tomorrow with testing in the morning, a series of races for smaller classes during the day, and the first set of H1 Unlimited preliminary heats scheduled for 4 p.m. Tickets to the event are still available at waterfollies.com.
For boat racing fans around the world who can’t attend in person, the race also will be streamed live on the H1 Unlimited YouTube Channel. You can find the link at H1Unlimited.com.
Columbia Cup
at the Tri-Cities, Wash.
QUALIFYING — 1, Corey Peabody, Beacon Plumbing, 162.191 avg. speed, 100 points; 2, Dylan Runne, Miss HomeStreet, 161.646, 80; 3, Dustin Echols, Flav-R-Pac, 161.284, 70; 4, J. Michael Kelly, Beacon Electric, 158.974, 60; 5, Andrew Tate, Miss Goodman Real Estate, 157.284, 50; 6, Jimmy King, Griggs presents Miss Ace Hardware, 156.304, 40; 7, Jamie Nilsen, Legend Yacht Transport presented by The Truss Company, 156.220, 30; 8, Bobby King, Graham Trucking, 155.335, 30; Brent Hall, Boitano Homes, DNQ.
Corey Peabody is fastest qualifier for Columbia Cup race
KENNEWICK, Wash. — Corey Peabody of Covington, Wash., drove the Beacon Plumbing to a speed of 162.191 mph today and became the fastest qualifier for the Columbia Cup, which gets underway with competition heats tomorrow. Eight of the world’s fastest race boats qualified during today’s action—the third stop of the 2023 H1 Unlimited Racing Series.
Close competition has been a feature of H1 Unlimited racing so far this summer and the qualifying times on the Columbia River today indicate that trend is continuing. Less than just seven miles per hour separates the fastest qualifier for the Columbia Cup with the slowest.
Dylan Runne of Rumson, NJ, drove the Miss HomeStreet to the day’s second-fastest qualifying attempt with a run of 161.646 mph, while Dustin Echols of Monroe, Wash., was the third fastest with a run of 161.284 mph in Flav-R-Pac. Echols’s boat did an end-over-end flip during the final heat of the race in Madison, Ind., only four weeks ago and had to be repaired of extensive damages.
Rounding out the top four qualifiers was J. Michael Kelly of Bonney Lake, Wash., who drove Beacon Electric to a qualifying speed of 158.974 mph. Kelly, who won the last event on the H1 Unlimited campaign, has now moved into first place in the race for the national points championship.
Bobby King of Shelby Township, Mich., also qualified as a driver in the unlimited hydroplane class by completing the required number of laps in the Graham Trucking boat. Brent Hall of Seattle also is attempting to qualify as a driver at the sport’s highest level, but his boat had mechanical issues and he was not able to complete the laps that he needs.
The Columbia Cup continues tomorrow with testing in the morning, a series of races for smaller classes during the day, and the first set of H1 Unlimited preliminary heats scheduled for 4 p.m. Tickets to the event are still available at waterfollies.com.
For boat racing fans around the world who can’t attend in person, the race also will be streamed live on the H1 Unlimited YouTube Channel. You can find the link at H1Unlimited.com.
Columbia Cup
at the Tri-Cities, Wash.
QUALIFYING — 1, Corey Peabody, Beacon Plumbing, 162.191 avg. speed, 100 points; 2, Dylan Runne, Miss HomeStreet, 161.646, 80; 3, Dustin Echols, Flav-R-Pac, 161.284, 70; 4, J. Michael Kelly, Beacon Electric, 158.974, 60; 5, Andrew Tate, Miss Goodman Real Estate, 157.284, 50; 6, Jimmy King, Griggs presents Miss Ace Hardware, 156.304, 40; 7, Jamie Nilsen, Legend Yacht Transport presented by The Truss Company, 156.220, 30; 8, Bobby King, Graham Trucking, 155.335, 30; Brent Hall, Boitano Homes, DNQ.