Sprint boat season kicks off at Webb's Slough

Water-spewing, mud-chewing racing action returns to Webb’s Slough outside St. John Saturday as the United States Sprint Boat Association kicks off its 2012 season.

The jet-powered race boats will descend on the town Friday night, lining Front Street with their boats for safety and technical inspections. The line-up gives race fans a chance to view the boats at their polished best before they are coated with mud from the Webb’s Slough track.

This marks the sixth season the boats will rip through the narrow channels at Webb’s Slough.

Saturday’s race is the first in the USSBA’s six-race season. Boats with racers from Nevada to Canada are on the race slate this year across all three classes.

Canadian sprint boat racer Cory Johnson will return to the St. John track with his superboat where he has dominated in previous runs.

The bright yellow number 17 Two Pump Chump boat of local racers Scott and Lori Ackerman is geared up and ready to rip through the canals.

The “Chump” team finished second in the Super-Modified class with strong runs in last year’s sprint boat campaign.

They will be chasing down Eric Werner of Wrangell, Alaska, and Jana Horton of Des Moines, Wash., whose number 146 Jolly Rogers boat took the Super-Mod title in the 2011 season.

Slough owners Matt and Amanda Webb added more to the track over the past year. Slough fans will see more grass, more parking and more room for fans to watch the jet boats rip through the muddy, narrow Webb’s Slough channels.