Superior Lubrication Products & Amsoil, Inc
Co-op Sponsors of Madness Racing 2004 Season
Photo Courtesy DeFord Photo. I'd like to thank Jim DeFord for his outstanding photography. To see more of Jim's work, follow the link, Race Family Motorsports below or click here.
About Our Sponsorship
When I went to see my first Sprint Boat race during the 2003 race season I met Curt Elliot, the 61 year old driver of boat #48, "Madness". We talked about the possibility of a sponsorship. He was currently buying another brand of synthetic motor oil for his engine. He had asked the distributor about sponsorship and they were not interested. Curt gave me a video shot earlier that year which I sent on to Amsoil with a co-op sponsorship application. Curt is now running Amsoil ASL 5W-30 Synthetic Motor Oil in the Chevy 365cu.in., 467hp naturally aspirated motor and Amsoil GWR Water Resistant Grease in the Kodiak 3 stage jet pump and boat trailer wheel bearings. Curt is also using Amsoil ATM 10W-30 Synthetic Motor Oil in his 1998 Dodge Ram 2500HD V-10 P/U tow vehicle.
September 11, 2004. This racing season is over. It's been a very interesting season what with all the politics involved with the Woodland, WA. track and the county commissioners. Five or six racers lost multiple engines during the course of the season. Some of these losses were due to just plain "burning up engines". Lost pistons, spun bearings etc., but Curt's engine, with the Amsoil is, as he says, "still purring along". His engine has only had synthetic motor oil in it and he's convinced that's why he's not had a problem. He likes the Amsoil and intends to stay with it.
If you want to buy AMSOIL products, visit our AMSOIL Online Store
A Little History
Sprint boat racing or Jet Sprinting as a sport, started in New Zealand in the 1980's. It started on the rivers and then slowly progressed to tracks scraped out of the shallow areas along the rivers.
Soon the Australians discovered this extreme sport and started building tracks. The first in ground, “dug” track was in Australia. Of course the great rivalry between New Zealanders and Ausies sparked many great races. They were always trying to find a way to go faster and turn quicker. They put larger and larger engines in these tiny boats.
By the early 1990's the Americans had seen the sport and started to build boats in Lewiston Idaho. Lewiston has a sister city just across the Snake River called Clarkston, Washington. These two cities were the hot bed of activity in the early stages of racing in the U.S. Soon other racers started getting involved in the Boise, Idaho area. The sport has grown like wild fire ever since then. In the early days in the U.S. racers raced around buoys in rivers and ponds located in Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. The first dug track in the U.S. was built in Marsing, Idaho in 1997, on the banks of the Snake River. The second dug track was built in Spokane, Washington. Then a third track was built in Richland Washington. The latest is a new track in Woodland, Washington. The first race held there was in August, 2002.
The boats are really getting extreme now. In the "Open/Super Boat Class" boats are running fuel injected engines (406-475 cubic inches average) producing 700-975 horsepower. Some of the most extreme boats are running 500 cubic inch fuel injected, all aluminum small blocks, weighing in at 300 pounds. These boats are claiming 1000 horse power at 6500 RPM. They are capable of accelerating from 0-80 mph in 3 seconds.
When you watch the videos of the races you can see that some of the boats are making near 180 degree corners on some tracks depending on how the course is laid out that day. They are making the corners in an area similar to the length of the boats, which average 13 feet 6 inches. To accomplish this at speeds of 70-90 mph, the Super Boat class drivers/navigators are subjected to 6-7 g's. In a 90 degree corner they average 3-4 g's. The crews work very hard to set the boats up so they will corner properly.
Once people see the sport they are hooked. It is the most extreme type of boat racing ever conceived. You can view races on ESPN2, Speed Vision, Extreme Machines, and Extreme Crashes. But there is nothing like being there in person. The sights, and sounds and the smell (“there’s nothing smell of methanol in the air in the morning”).
The racers come from every walk of life, hard working, honest, fun loving, family people. Some are doctors, pilots, electrical linemen, telephone company workers, construction company owners, boat builders, farmers, printers, machinists, nurses, just to name a few. Some are even 60+ year old retirees. They work hard and play hard.
The biggest plus to this sport are the families. Unlike any other sport, whole families come and enjoy themselves. The kids come and play and the moms and dads kick back and relax in their lawn chairs under a sunshade or umbrella. Mom gets a little time to relax, and dad gets his adrenalin fix. All in all it makes for a great family outing.
Link to other Sprint Boat sites:
United States Sprint Boat Association
Woodland Washington Sprint Boat Racing
Riddle Marine Lewiston Idaho. One really Cool Site See the James Bond Boat
RaceFamily Motorsports Great site for Sprint Boat Pictures & News
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