Team Information:
Hull Details:
Owner: Jim Harvey (Seattle)
Built: 2003 by Jim Harvey Motorsports and Ron Brown
Designer: Ron Brown (Seattle)
Team Manager: Dr. Ken Muscatel (Seattle)
Driver: Dr. Ken Muscatel (Seattle)
Driver: David Williams (Seattle)
Crew Chief: Jay Leckrone (Seattle)
Chief Engineer: Kevin Stoltz
Home Port: Renton, Wash.
Boat Registration Number: U-2.25
2005 ABRA Boat Points: 4,448 (7th)
2005 ABRA Driver Points: 3,914 (8th)
Length: 28 feet, 8 inches; Width: 14 feet, 6 inches.
Weight: 6,750 pounds.
Affiliation: American Boat Racing Association (ABRA) www.abrahydroplanes.com
Construction: The U-2.25 hull is built from aircraft specification composite materials including carbon fiber, aluminum, graphite, and fiberglass, among others.
Top Speed: More than 200 miles per hour in the straightaway. Top average lap speeds exceed 150 miles per hour.
Engine: Lycoming T-55 L-7C Gas Turbine, which is the same type of engine used in the U.S. Army's Chinook helicopters.
Engine Preparation: Competition Specialties, Inc. (Auburn, Wash.)
Chief Engineer: Kevin Stoltz (Seattle)
Gearbox: Maddox gearbox with 50-57 gear ratios.
Propeller: Three-blade, forged stainless steel. 16-inch diameter with 25 degree pitch angle.
Fuel Capacity: 50 gallons jet fuel (JP-5 or Jet A).
Fuel Consumption: Limited, by rule, to 4.3 gallons per minute.
Oil/Lubricants of Choice: Royal Purple: “Grape Juice”
Tools of Choice: DeWalt.
Safety Features: Enclosed cockpit constructed of stainless steel covered with a canopy from an Air Force F-16 fighter. Canopy reinforced with roll cage inside the cockpit. A five-point restraint harness is in the driver's seat. The driver has a compressed air system, and Halon fire suppression systems are installed on board.
“Former Life”: This boat — at least the center section of it — was originally born as the first incarnation Miss Budweiser T-5. In 2002, Jim Harvey Motorsports bought the boat and essentially started over with a radical new design that includes drop sponsons, which hadn’t been seen on unlimited hydroplanes since the classic shovelnose boats of the 1960s. Its first season on the water was 2003 as the Miss Trendwest. In 2004, it ran a limited schedule with sponsors including
Chrysler-Jeep Superstores (Detroit), Graham Trucking, APBA, the Dick Scott Motor Group (Detroit), and the Detroit Yacht Club. In 2005, the team completed the entire circuit with sponsorship from Graham Trucking and the Detroit Yacht Club.
Transport: The U-2.25 unlimited hydroplane is towed around the nation each season by a Kenworth tractor-trailer rig. The boat rests on a 45-degree angle while being towed. The trailer is approximately 40 feet long and has motors to tilt the boat on angle in order to be transported without being considered a “Wide Load”. While on tilt, the boat/trailer/truck rig takes up less than nine feet of a lane of traffic. The truck's shop area includes storage for tools, engines, fairings and wings while being transported; a changing area for the driver; machine shop equipment and workspace; an on-board crane; and an area of computer workspace.
World Record Holder: While it was done with a different boat than this one, Superior Racing Team still can lay claim to the World Straightaway Record for a propeller-driven boat. In June of 2000, Russ Wicks drove Dr. Ken Muscatel’s boat, the Miss Free-I, on two record-shattering runs through the 1-statute mile course — two runs that averaged out to 205.494 miles per hour, a new record.
Sponsorship, Publicity & Media Relations:
Nelson Holmberg
Noslen Communication
(360) 521-1590
nelson@noslencommunication.com
www.noslencommunication.com
Owner
Jim Harvey (Redmond, Wash.)
Jim Harvey Motorsports
As an unlimited hydroplane crewman, crew chief and owner, Jim Harvey's boat racing career has spanned three decades. Harvey’s accumulated expertise covers every phase of hydroplane racing from hull design and construction to race setup. He is always on the vanguard of trying something new. Throughout the 2000 season, his experimental two-wing hull clearly showed fans a new level of speed and performance that stood poised to put the team in the winner's circle throughout the season. He ranks ninth among all-time leading crew chiefs with 12 victories and has won two national championships as a crew chief. Harvey has been honored as "Crew Man of the Year", "Crew Chief of the Year", and received the Unlimited Racing Commission's prestigious "Man of the Year" award.
Driver/Team Manager
Dr. Ken Muscatel (Seattle, Wash.)
Known as the “World’s Fastest Forensic Psychologist,” Dr. Ken Muscatel is the driver of the Superior Racing Team’s U-2.25 unlimited hydroplane. He’s also as big a part of hydroplane racing as some big red boat is. Dr. Ken is quite literally the driving force behind Superior Racing team, not to mention one of the key management components of the American Boat Racing Association. Muscatel has been driving unlimited hydroplanes since 1990 when he moved up from success in the limited ranks to become driver of the Miss Northwest, owned by Tim Donnery and Dave Culley. Muscatel wasn’t shy, either. The Miss Northwest was once the famous Griffon Bud, and in its day, was one of the fastest boats in the unlimited ranks. In 1991, Muscatel was chosen URC Rookie of the Year while driving the Jackpot Food Mart for Bob Fendler. It wasn’t until 1993 that Dr. Ken founded Superior Racing Team and was off on his own. Since then, Muscatel has achieved more than most in the sport. He has served as the URC commissioner, and as president of the Hydroplane and Raceboat Museum board of directors. Dr. Ken’s team also holds the world’s 1-mile straightaway speed record at 205.494 miles per hour. He also owns and drives several vintage hydroplanes, including the replica Hawaii Kai III.
Driver
David Williams (Seattle, Wash.)
You may have heard of David Williams before. He's a bit of a movie star, and
as executive director he's also the driving force behind the Hydroplane and
Raceboat Museum. Williams has been driving vintage unlimited hydroplanes
since 1992, and he was the primary stunt driver for the 2005 hydroplane
movie "Madison", which won rave reviews at the Sundance Film Festival. Since
1994, Williams has driven literally thousands of exhibition laps in Gold
Cup-winning boats including everything from the Slo-Mo-Shun to the Griffon
Miss Budweiser. All of the boats have been meticulously restored by
volunteers at the Hydroplane and Raceboat Museum. Williams is also an
accomplished boat racer in his own right, having enjoyed success in the
limited ranks. In 2002, Williams took the U-6 Oh Boy! Oberto hydroplane out
for a "test drive" and recorded a very respectable lap of 135 mph. Williams
is a published author whose fourth book "Hydroplane Racing in Seattle"
(Arcadia Press) hits books stores in June. No doubt his experiences behind
the wheel of U-2.25 will play a big part in and his fifth book "Turbine
Racing!" which is due out from Arcadia next Spring.
Crew Chief
Jay Leckrone (Seattle, Wash.)
Formerly the crew chief of the two-boat Miss Exide team owned by Mike and Lori Jones, Jay Leckrone is widely regarded as one of the brightest hydroplane racing minds. He’s been a valuable member of Muscatel’s team for several years and spent most of his time in the winter of 2004-05 working hard to make sure Muscatel had a good race boat to run for the inaugural season of the ABRA.
The Crew:
Jerry Bowers
Chris Brensfield
Howard Price
Mark Remington
Gary Scott
Chip VanAntwerp
John Williams
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