Seafair Hydros -- Race Is But A Dream For Pico Team

Whether it's illegal or just "Lucky," PICO American Dream is about to make owner Fred Leland a series champion for the first time in 18 years of unlimited hydroplane racing.

Never mind that three races remain in the 10-race series. Never mind that the two most highly financed boats remain in mathematical contention.

Leland can't lose.

Not this race. Not this year. Not for protests, traffic mishaps, upside-down boats, broken parts or lack of fuel.

Not anymore.

"I guess we're living a dream," said the Kirkland-based owner, whose boat was driven to victory by Dave Villwock in the Texaco Cup yesterday on Lake Washington.

Villwock came back from a blowover accident Saturday to win all four of his heats - including the final - in the team's backup boat yesterday. He took an early lead in the choppy final and extended it to victory, despite breaking the rear horizontal wing on the boat along the way. He averaged 133.075 mph after racing had been delayed twice by high winds, beating second-place Smokin' Joe's by the length of a straightaway. Mark Tate came from third place in the Smokin' Joe's to pass Mark Evans in the Miss Budweiser at the finish line.

Leland, long a distant pack-chaser in the sport, has gone from hydro racing's favorite underdog to its favorite winner.

"The volunteers all think it's great that Fred Leland's winning," said a Seafair volunteer. "For so many years he ran a boat that was more famous for letters at the end of the results instead of numbers."

Indeed, DNF and DNS followed the name of Leland's boats on results sheets most of his unlimited career until Villwock gave Leland his first victory two years ago in Seattle.

Success? It was the team's fifth victory in seven races this season and second in a row. The team will win the series title even it finishes second in every heat race left this season.

"It's super," said Leland, a team mechanic as much as team owner. "But it's hard for me to really get too excited over anything."

Leland had no trouble getting excited yesterday when he found out several teams accused him of using outlawed engine parts.

"Yeah, I was a little aggravated over it, to say the least," Leland said.

Although no formal protests were filed with the Unlimited Hydroplane Racing Association, some opposing crews said they noticed illegal parts on the engine when Villwock's crashed hull was towed back to the docks Saturday.

"I did notice it," said Jim Lucero, Smokin' Joe's crew chief. "They covered it (engine) up pretty quick."

The UHRA issued a rules interpretation yesterday saying the parts Leland's team reportedly used were illegal, and UHRA Commissioner Bill Doner said the rule would be enforced from that point on. Leland said the parts weren't illegal; they just looked illegal after the team retro-fitted them.

"I guess that's possible," Lucero said. "I wasn't making any accusations."

Leland said the parts "made no difference in the horsepower." And Villwock seemed to prove it in the final, driving the new boat to the team's sixth consecutive heat victory.

"I think we proved a point," Villwock said. "Go ahead, take your best shot. We're still going to win boat races."

The charges, Villwock said, motivated him.

"They couldn't have put me in a better mood this morning if they'd tried," he said.

The only thing with a better disposition seemed to be the PICO backup boat - the same hull that won the Gold Cup in Detroit this year and the Seafair race two years ago.

"That's a pretty good rough-water boat," Villwock said of the boat that wouldn't have been used if not for Saturday's flip. " . . . I thought that boat was better for this course today."

The backup is also the team's "Lucky" boat - ever since escaping unscathed from an accident on I-5 returning from the season opener in Phoenix three months ago.

The trailer hitch broke on the team's truck as it headed north on I-5, sending the trailer and boat skidding on the freeway.

"It could have easily just crashed and broken this boat we just won with in a million pieces," Villwock said. "But it didn't get touched."

Since then the hull has been known as "Lucky." Which is exactly how Villwock characterizes much of the past two days.

"It's too bad we crashed (Saturday), but it was lucky," he said of the blowover caused by a broken propeller shaft. "It was lucky we didn't break that shaft this morning in the first heat. Instead, the season continues.

"We're living right, I guess."

------- RESULTS -------

Final

1, PICO American Dream, 133.075, 400; 2, Smokin' Joe's, 130.241, 300; 3, Miss Budweiser, 129.889, 225; 4, DeWalt Tools, 121.362, 169; 5, Miss Kiss 106, 117.959, 127; 6, Lynnwood Honda, 113.738, 95; DNF, Chaplin's Bellevue Mazda, 0.

Point standings.

PICO American Dream 10,166 .

Smokin' Joe's 8,568 .

Miss Budweiser 8,117 .

DeWalt Tools 6,454 .

Miss Kiss 106 6,046 .

Miss Exide 3,522 .

Performance Mortgage 3,393 .

Chelan's Mill Bay Casino 2,033 .

Miss Spring Air Mattress 1,878 .

Computers & Applications 1,565 .

Lynnwood Honda/Graham Trucking 1,687 .

Chaplin's Bellevue Mazda 1,090 .

Miss E-Lam Plus 990 .

Miss Exide 2 719 .

Appian Jeronimo 652 .

Outback Aussie Endeavour 95 .