Yahoo Sports Hydroplanes roar down the Columbia River for H1 Unlimited spring training in Tri-Cities
Tri-Citians got a sneak peak of the summer’s biggest event Friday when a fleet of hydroplanes hit the waters for spring training.
The high octane kick off to the H1 Unlimited season was an all day event with teams from all over the country at the Neil F. Lampson pits.
The annual event lets teams get a feel for the Columbia River, as well as open up the throttle and make any adjustments they might need to before the season begins.
The boats can reach speeds of more than 200 mph on the Columbia River.
The season kicks off June 29 to 30 in Guntersville, Ala., with the Guntersville Lake Hydrofest.
The boats and drivers that were set to dust the cobwebs off the boats and get ready for the season opener were:
U-1 Miss Beacon Electric, with driver J. Michael Kelly
U-9 Miss Beacon Plumbing and driver Corey Peabody
U-11 Miss Mercurys Coffee and driver Jamie Nielsen
U-12 Miss Graham Trucking, with driver Bobby King
U-40 Bucket List Racing/Flav-R-Pac and driver Dustin Echols
U-60 Go Fast Turn Left Racing/Miss Thriftway and driver Gunnar O’Farrell
U-91 Miss Goodman Real Estate and driver Andrew Tate
In addition, three Grand Prix America boats were expected to hit the water: Richard’s Racing’s two boats, the GP-10 and GP-17; as well as the GP-20 Blown Income Racing.
Plus vintage hydroplane Miss Thriftway was there to test the water.
There was also a post-race concert from Voodoo Alley.
The hydroplanes will be back in the Tri-Cities July 26 to 28 for the annual Water Follies event. Contractor Apollo of Kennewick committed to sponsoring the Columbia Cup back in April, and the name for the race is the Apollo Columbia Cup.
