Hydroplane Driver Bios

Nate Brown / U-16 Miss E-Lam Plus

Age: 37. Residence: Preston. Personal: Wife Janet, son Derek, 5. Full-time job: Owns Preston Performance Marine, a repair shop for pleasure and racing boats. Also builds race boats. Unlimited driving experience: 5th year. Unlimited wins: none. Unlimited blowovers: 2.

Rick Christensen / U-7 Cost Less Carpet

Age: 41. Residence: Eatonville. Personal: Wife Julie; daughter Michelle, 15; son Justin, 13. Full-time job: Third-generation owner of Christensen Department Store in Eatonville. Unlimited driving experience: 1st year. Unlimited wins: none. Unlimited blowovers: none.

Steve David / U-2 Trendwest

Age: 42. Residence: Pompano Beach, Fla. Personal: Wife Wanda; daughter Emma, 12. Full-time job: President of Century 21 in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; conducts real-estate courses; president-elect of American Power Boat Association; also served as Port Everglades commissioner 1978-82 and now serves on the Pompano Beach planning and zoning board. Unlimited driving experience: 9th year. Unlimited wins: 3. Unlimited blowovers: 1.

Mark Evans / U-1 Miss Budweiser

Age: 39. Residence: Wenatchee. Personal: Wife Linda. Full-time job: Builds and repairs hydros with his brother, Mitch. Also races snowmobiles and small stock cars. Unlimited driving experience: 9th year. Unlimited wins: 1. Unlimited blowovers: 1.

Mitch Evans / U-3 Mill Bay Casino

Age: 36. Residence: Chelan. Personal: Unmarried; daughter Erin, 10. Full-time job: Owns Evans Marine, a Chelan repair shop for snowmobiles in winter and pleasure boats in spring and summer. Also spends several weeks each year in Indiana working on boat for owner Ed Cooper Jr.'s team. Unlimited driving experience: 17th year. Unlimited wins: 1. Unlimited blowovers: none.

Mike Hanson / U-6 DeWalt Tools

Age: 35. Residence: Madison, Ind. Personal: Wife Tonya; son Trevor, 7; daughter Aubree, 3. Full-time job: Building and driving hydroplane for DeWalt boat owned by city of Madison. Unlimited driving experience: 11th year. Unlimited wins: 2. Unlimited blowovers: 3.

Mike Jones / U-9 Miss Exide

Age: 54. Residence: Sumner. Personal: Wife Lori Jones (team owner); son Mike Jr., 29; son Chris, 26; daughter Robyn, 24; son Ryan, 24; daughter Kasey, 8. Full-time job: Founding partner in Kent accounting firm Jones and Associates, Inc., PS. Unlimited driving experience: 4th year. Unlimited wins: none. Unlimited blowovers: none.

Jimmy King / U-8 Miss Lynnwood Honda/Graham Trucking

Age: 35. Residence: Richmond, Mich. Personal: Wife Tammy; daughter Kiara, 5; son Bobby, 2; son Jeffrey, 5 months. Full-time job: Brick mason; owns Alternative Glass Block, a Richmond company that lays bricks and does windows. Unlimited driving experience: 3rd year. Unlimited wins: none. Unlimited blowovers: none.

Larry Lauterbach / U-99 Appian Jeronimo

Age: 49. Residence: Chester, Md. Personal: Unmarried; son Brandon, 16. Full-time job: Builds race boats, mostly smaller classes. Unlimited driving experience: 6th year. Unlimited wins: 1. Unlimited blowovers: none.

Ken Muscatel / U-14 Miss Computers and Applications

Age: 47. Residence: Seattle. Personal: Unmarried; daughter Jillian, 10. Full-time job: Clinical and forensic psychologist; also president of Seattle's Hydroplane Race Boat Museum. Unlimited driving experience: 6th year. Unlimited wins: none. Unlimited blowovers: 1.

Dennis Parker / U-15 Aussie Endeavour

Age: 43. Residence: Melbourne, Australia. Full-time job: Truck driver. Owns and operates No Drama Transport. Unlimited driving experience: 4th year. Unlimited wins: 10 major wins (all in Australia). Unlimited blowovers: none.

Scott Pierce / U-98 Chaplin Volkswagen

Age: 40. Residence: Edmonds. Personal: Wife Sue; daughter Jamie, 13. Full-time job: Owns two boat dealerships (Tournament Boat Center in Bellevue and Seattle Boat Company in Seattle). Unlimited driving experience: 16th year. Unlimited wins: 7. Unlimited blowovers: 5.

Mark Tate / U-10 Smokin' Joe's

Age: 36. Residence: Canton, Mich. Personal: Wife Sandy; sons Andrew, 6, and Brent, 4. Full-time job: Driving Smokin' Joe's; also has manufacturer's representative business (seller for auto parts companies). Unlimited driving experience: 7th year. Unlimited wins: 11. Unlimited blowovers: 1.

Dave Villwock / U-100 PICO American Dream

Age: 42. Residence: Auburn. Personal: Wife Pam. Full-time job: Driving and working on PICO. Unlimited driving experience: 5th year. Unlimited wins: 7. Unlimited blowovers: 2.

Mark Weber / U-11 Miss Exide II

Age: 32. Residence: St. Clair Shores, Mich. Personal: Wife Lori. Full-time job: Administrator for Inboard Racing Commission in St. Clair Shores; also owns Performance Racing, an events-management company that stages inboard boat races. Unlimited driving experience: 1st year (2nd race). Unlimited wins: none. Unlimited blowovers: none.