2002 Michigan Cup Highlights

 by Ken Joye 

FRIDAY

This was the 3rd running of the Michigan Cup with the best event weather we’ve experienced yet in Lansing Michigan. The Sharp Park pond and grounds were groomed to perfection awaiting racers from all over the U.S and Canada.

Friday’s morning set-up took a while, but thanks to the MMEU crew things got off to a great start. Thanks to MMEU’s John and Rebecca Hainer, Terry Davis, Andrew and Joshua Joye, Ken Joye and President Dennis Whitt.  

Racing started the Crackerbox class and a battle between Josh Joye and Jay Stolz. Upcoming newbie Jay prevailed with Josh taking 2cd in points.

Q Offshore with 10 entrees was the next class run. Experienced racers Dan Fine, Dennis Whitt, and Chris Fine finished 1st through 3rd consecutively under tough competition from MMEU and CAFÉ members. A large variety of power was used in this class from high-tech brushless systems and turbo-trans geared 700bb motors to brawny 800bbx direct drive systems. This class definitely proved the racers that drove cautiously and had flawless performance from their equipment for the grueling 4 minutes placed in the points.

With 9 boats entered in N-1 mono, the race was a very close battle between Steve Voepel, Neil Reesor and Brian `Big Dog’ Vega. With only 100 points separating 1st from second Steve `the rookie’ Voepel edged Neil and Brian out to take first. It was great to see a kids heat for this class with Josh Joye, Brandy Kennedy, Justin Nash and Alisa Davis placing 4th, 5th, 6th and 9th consecutively to make a great showing for these up and coming racers.

N-1 hydro pitted Steve Reesor, Jay Stolz and Andrew Joye to finish 1,2,3, in 3 clean heats of near perfect racing. MMEU’s Jay Stolz definitely made his presence known as an up and coming serious racer. This class was proudly sponsored by ELECTRO MARINE.

O scale hydro sponsored by TRAPLET, had 7 entries with roosters flying and nervous racers trying to hold a smooth line. Chris Fine had a perfect day with (3) 1st place heat finishes to bring home first overall with the CAFÉ team of Jim Caldwell and Howard Tucker taking 2cd and 3rd respectively. Kevin Whiteheads scratch built shovel entry was a sight to behold running at speed.

The inaugural run of LSH in Michigan fielded 9 entrees. Sponsored by R/CHYDROS.COM, these 700bb powered boats really were impressive to watch. With closely matched speeds perfect driving ability became a must to place. Most of the field finished on the same lap in each flight making competition fierce. In the end Dane Fines boat narrowly edged out Mark Kennedy’s boat by mere seconds followed Jerry Peltier in third. This class resembled the close racing in the IROC series of auto racing keeping you a your seat for each lap.

   N-2 offshore was another popular class with 10 boats entered. Tied in points the Rum Runner hull of Brian Vegas just edged out rookie MMEU’s Terry Davis in lap distance totals to take the win. Terry has been doing FE for about a year now and is a very determined racer, followed by Cafe’s Howard Tucker in a close third. Although there was quite a bit of variation in hull design this class provided some of the closest racing of the day.

SATURDAY 

The  Lightning Man N-2 mono series sponsored by FASTELECTRICS.COM was a competition to finish the race. High winds and choppy water made it anybody’s race. In the end Neil Reesor finished first followed by Howard Tucker then Randy Naylor followed in a close 3rd. From what we hear the Reesors have a lot of practice running in less than ideal conditions in the Toronto area. Strong finishes like this helped edge them closer to the Mi Cup in team points.

N-2 hydro sponsored by RUM RUNNER RACING was another tough class to finish in. The wind and chop was unrelenting but the race must go on. Running 6 cell riggers in these kinds of conditions was very demanding on the equipment. Mark Kennedy finished first followed closely by Brian Vega with MMEUs Joshua Joye and his canard hydro taking 3rd.

If you want to see some big fast boats, Q mono was the class to watch. Most of the colorful hulls serve double duty with offshore enduro, only propped or regeared up for sprint running. Win the roostertails and spray finally settled Dennis Whitt came out number 1 followed by Mark Kennedy in 2cd and Chris Fine in 3rd. Fuller’s Fast Electric’s was kind enough to sponsor this class.

Q hydro was guaranteed to be a tough class with 7 entries. Get out of the way when these big riggers head into the first turn. Brian Vegas head-turning Rum Runner rigger led the class with a perfect 1200 points. Followed by Randy Naylors BBY entry and Dan Fines FDM combination. Top hulls competing in tough competition made excellent driving ability a must to win.

P sport hydro was one of the toughest classes to compete in. With 13 entries it was spread out over three flights. These boats really are picturest flying down the straight-aways a speed. With many veterans entered, MMEUs Ken Joye finished 1st with homebuilt hydro that originally started out as a DPI tunnel hull. Dennis Whitts out of the box H & M entry came in second followed by an unrelenting Brian Vega in 3rd. This was a dream come true for Ken, taking a first with one of his own concoctions against tough competition. 

S scale hydro was where the big boys played. Chris Fines FDM Cat finished with a perfect score of 1200 points to take first. Randy Naylors lobster boat entry finished second following closely by Dennis Whitt. This class was responsible for some of the largest roosertails of the day.

P offshore sponsored by FULLERS FAST ELECTRICS was can’t miss event. With 14 entries spread out over three flights it was one of the toughest classes to place in. These Cats and Vees stirred up the challenging course to make it nearly impossible to run a flawless race. Most racers were just happy to finish. In the end, offshore master Chris Fine used his FDM prepped Key West, and all his experience to finish 1st with a combined total of 31.5 laps. Up and coming `Catman’ John Hainer also using a FDM prepped Key West shined as he came in second with 28.75 laps. Johns the webmaster for the MMEU web site and owner of SEMOL.COM. Dan Fines vast racing experience enabled him to come in third. Many racers had high hopes of finishing at the top, only to hope for a better shot next year.

SUNDAY

O mono, sponsored by FULLERS FAST ELECTRIC, with 6 racers was the first event of the day. The top 3 mono masters used their wood hulls to log some fast laps. In the end Neil Reesor finished first in over points followed by fast lapping Alan Nayman with Brian Vega following in a close third.

O hydro sponsored by RUM RUNNER RACING fielded 7 entries. With 100 points separating 1st-3rd competition was fierce. CAFEs Jim Caldwell finished 1st followed by Chris Fine then the unrelenting Brian Vega in 3rd.

P mono generously sponsored by FULLERS FAST ELECTRICS had 8 entries. This popular class also had yielded some great racing action with some fast offshore hulls mixed in with those sleek low profile monos. Dan Fine conquered the group followed by Brain Vega, then Mark Kennedy in third. Brian and Mark were tied in points leaving their lap times as the deciding factor.

P hydro with 9 entries was sponsored by RUM RUNNER RACING. With a mix of riggers and sport entries, the field was divided into 2 flights. After the roosters settled and points were tallied Randy Naylor prevailed in first followed by Jim Caldwell, then Brian Vega in third. Don’t blink or you’ll miss the fast action in this class. 

S mono had some record setting performances. With only 2 boats in the field it was brother against brother as the Fines battled it out. Chris proved supreme over younger brother Dan posting a 66.00 lap in the 3rd heat and taking first in overall points to edge out his brother Dan.

S hydro again posted some record setting times. Brian Vega finished first overall with a second heat time of 56.34 proving his Rum Runner hull was dialed in. Chris Fine earned 2cd followed by Jim Caldwell in 3rd. These boats really moved and were popular with the fans.

Unlimited Offshore was proudly sponsored by our event sponsor FINE DESIGN MARINE. This class was a 19-cell minimum, anything goes, offshore class. The following entries were fielded: Howard Tucker/Systems Cat, Ken Joye/Aeromarine Scorpian, Chris Fine/Aeromarine Challenger, Dan Fine/Aeromarine Challenger. The enduros yielded some very close racing between Chris Fines and Ken Joyes entries battling for first and Dan Fine and Howard Tucker ducking it out for second. At times the leaders were trading paint , piggy backing and doing anything to gain position. After the white capped course subsided Chris Fine prevailed, taking the first 2 heats, followed by Ken Joye who won the exciting final heat. Dan Fine took third place honors with Howard closely following in 4th place. This class was a big success and promises to have an even larger field next year.   

In closing this year’s `Michigan Cup’ race was a huge success. The Mid Michigan Electrics Unlimited’s were pleased with the excellent racer turnout and extreme generosity of its sponsors. Next years `Michigan Cup’ promises to be an even better, as we look forward to meeting new racers and returning veterans. For pictures of the 2002 Michigan cup race or information on the 2003 Michigan Cup race stay tuned to the MMEU website: http://www.mmeu.com

Next time you need to purchase an item for your R/C or Internet needs please consider the people listed below. They’re special to us because they choose to put a portion of their time and earnings back into the sport by sponsoring `The Michigan Cup’.

RACE SPONSOR: FINE DESIGN MARINE

CLASS SPONSORS: ELECTRO MARINE

FASTELECTRICS.COM

FINE DESIGN MARINE

FULLERS FAST ELECTRICS

R/C HYDROS.COM

RUM RUNNER RACING

TRAPLET

DOOR PRIZES: AEROMARINE

FASTECTRICS.COM

GREATPLANES

HUGHEY BOATS

PROP SHOP HOBBIES INC.

R/C HOBBIES

TRAPLET

WEBSITE SPONSOR: SEMOL.COM

Rum Runner Racing

www.RumRunnerRacing.com