Jimmy Shane clinches title in San Diego

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By: Owen Blauman | H1 Unlimited Reporter | Sep 15, 2019

Photo: Own Blauman

Jimmy Shane and Miss HomeStreet

Jimmy Shane and Miss HomeStreet clinch H1 Unlimited National Championship in San Diego

Jimmy Shane, driver of the U-6 “Miss HomeStreet” Unlimited hydroplane, clinched his sixth H1 Unlimited Hydroplane Racing Series national championship after scoring top qualifier points and winning his preliminary heat, scoring enough points win the title on Mission Bay.

Shane has won the championship six of the past seven years--five with his current team, Miss Madison Racing, owned by the citizens of Madison, Indiana

Shane won the championship in 2013-17, and now in 2019.

After Saturday’s racing, Shane said, “It feels great to win my sixth championship. We are going to stay clean during tomorrow’s two sets of heats and go into the final and lay it all on the line.

“We are going to race smart leading up to the final of the HomeStreet Bank Cup and throw everything we’ve got at it,” Shane said.

Shane said he has to stay away from the saltwater spray from the other race boats, to keep the engine from digesting the salt that could lead to damage--“stay out of trouble.”

Shane’s biggest challenge of the day came from his teammate Jeff Bernard, driver of the U-1918 Oberto Super Salami, who nearly caught him at the finish of the four-lap heat. Bernard finished a boat length behind Shane. Third place went to Jamie Nilsen, driving the U-11 J&D’s presented by Reliable Diamond Tool. Fourth place went to Canadian driver Bert Henderson in the Spirit of Detroit.

In the second preliminary heat of the day, J. Michael Kelly in the U-12 Graham Trucking made a parade out of it, easily beating Bernard in the Oberto Super Salami and U-11 J&D’s presented by Reliable Diamond Tool

Corey Peabody, driving the U-98 Graham Trucking American Dream failed to finish.

“We need to keep getting this boat going faster and faster,” Kelly said.

Kelly said they would try different things on Sunday, because he was unable to get good timing marks Saturday after his boat suffered steering issues during qualifying.

“The guys worked hard to find the issue, which is nice. You want your steering to work when you are going 200 mph on the water,” Kelly said.

Kelly said he didn’t know exactly what went wrong with his steering, other than that it wasn’t right.

“I’m just the driver; I just turn the wheel, but I knew something wasn’t right,” he said. “I explained it to my crew and they thankfully figured it out.”

Racing continues Sunday at the HomeStreet Bank San Diego Bayfair on Mission Bay with two additional preliminary heat races and with the winner-take-all final scheduled for 4 pm (PDT).

HomeStreet Bank Cup at Bayfair Qualifying Results

1) Jimmy Shane, U-6 “Miss HomeStreet,” 158.623 mph

2) Jamie Nilsen, U-11 “J&D’s presented by Reliable Diamond Tool,” 157.585 mph

3) Jeff Bernard, U-1918 “Oberto Super Salami,” 157.499 mph

4) J. Michael Kelly, U-12 “Graham Trucking,” 156.220 mph

5) Bert Henderson, U-7 “Spirit of Detroit,” 141.262 mph

6) Corey Peabody, U-98 “Graham Trucking American Dream,” 133.360 mph

Preliminary Heat One

1) Jimmy Shane, “Miss HomeStreet,” 151.276 mph average

2) Jeff Bernard, “Oberto Super Salami,” 151.268 mph average

3) Jamie Nilsen, “J&D’s presented by Reliable Diamond Tool,” 143.870 mph average

4) Bert Henderson, “Spirit of Detroit,” 132.716 mph average

Preliminary Heat Two

1) J. Michael Kelly, “Graham Trucking,” 152.341 mph average

2) Jeff Bernard, “Oberto Super Salami,” 147.612 mph average

3) Jamie Nilsen, “J&D’s presented by Reliable Diamond Tool,” 143.762 mph average

Did Not Finish: Corey Peabody, “Graham Trucking American Dream”