Canadian boat duo captures two class wins at SJ Slough

Sep 02, 20100

Canadian racer Cory Johnson and navigator Gary McNeil spit muddy water out of the slough channel as they take a corner in their number 55 boat Liquid Addiction.

Before a record-breaking Webb’s Slough crowd and national TV film crews, Canadian sprint boat racers Cory Johnson and Gary McNeil claimed the top spot in two separate race classes Saturday.

The duo from Maple Ridge, B.C., topped the Super-Modified and Super Boat classes by booking clock-burning runs in the finals of each event.

Johnson and McNeil’s number 55 Liquid Addition boat brought the crowd to a roar with a best-of-the-day 42.070 on the final lap.

Dan Morrison of Port Angeles and Dean Lautenschlager then took the slough in their neon green number 10 Wicked Racing boat to chase down the Liquid Addiction time.

They roared out of the gate, but the boat bucked heading into a turn, and when Morrison pushed hard to make up lost seconds their boat bounced out of the channel onto the beach in front of the fans in the beer garden.

With more than 4,200 paid through the gate, the St. John slough was overflowing with fans out to see the 34 teams in their high powered jet boats.

Champion racer Cory Johnson is interviewed by crews from the Speed Network after his win. Saturday’s race will be broadcast on the channel later this year.

The channels on the tight SJ course claimed several boats with 10 of the 18 in the Super Mod class burning out before the finish.

One of those was the all-girl team of Amanda Vestal and Nichole Heaton, who spun their pink boat out of the channel three times in their debut race.

Members of the renowned “Slough Crew” help put Port Angeles racer Dan Morrison’s number 10 Wicked Racing boat back in the channel after he spun out in the finals of the Super Boat class.

Colfax racer Scott Ackerman’s number 17 boat, Two-Pump Chump, ended the day with 422 racing points and a third place finish in the Super-Mods.

Jack Bright of Ontario, Ore., King of the Slough, bagged a second place finish behind Pasco racer Doug Hendrickson in the A-400 class. This was Bright’s first race after completing cancer treatment.

Bright’s engine burned up in the final lap, chasing down Doug Hendrickson’s 46-second run.

Johnson and McNeil lead the season standings in both the Super-Mod and Super Boat classes. Hendrickson sits atop the A-400 season totals.

Ackerman’s Chump is 48 points behind Liquid Addiction in the Super-Mod class for second place on the season.

Two more races remain on the United States Sprint Boat Association’s schedule. The Sept. 4 race will be on the circuit’s newest course in East Wenatchee.

National Finals will be Sept. 18 at Albany, Ore.