2/2/12- Training in the
We’ve just returned from
3 and a half months of rigorous training in the
8/28/11
Lake of the Ozarks
Shootout
We went to the Shootout
with only 4 test runs on our new setup. We played with prop rotation for 2 runs
each and found spinning in was faster but a handful to drive. The boat lifts
clear out of the water, even with my 2” shorty drives. I did my best to get a
smooth run but every time I opened it up we were chine walking. It bounced from
prop to prop like crazy. I even tried tucking in the drives and dragging tabs.
The photographer who took this great shot even said I had him nervousJ
Awesome Photo by Jay at http://www.naplesimage.com/
In hindsight I should
have went swimming and flipped the props back to Cadillac mode for the final
run to get a clean pass. But all said and done we did ok. We won
our class NV2M2 at 84mph while also tying with the pro class winner in our
boat category PV2M2. It was a blast to cross off one more “must do” event from
out bucket list.
We stayed at the best
marina on the lake with the best staff and owners we could have asked for. The
great folks at Miller’s Landing
treated us like gold and are letting us stay free next year for being “Top Gun”
in our class. Bob and Lynn Miller are the greatest. They had 3 winners burning
their 93 octane fuel this year.
Check out this sunset
view from our covered slip at Miller’s Landing.
2/2/11
Happy New Year! The
water is still hard in Ohio but we are working hard to make this season our
best ever.
The motors are in my
shop for a bit more tweaking and we are making plans for a full season of fun.
Check our Plans page for more info and it will be added to as plans firm up asap. We will attend a couple
races if not race in them as desired. (we’re watering
the money tree now)
We will be competing in
the
11/15/10 Indian Summer!!!
Fortunately we’ve had a wonderful
fall in Ohio allowing us to boat 8-9 days and break in the new power. We’ve got
about 10 hours on the motors now and only a few small bugs left to work out. A
minor oil leak and a hard to find ticking rocker arm. The oil is coming from
the fuel pumps which do not like the new ethanol blended fuels I believe. Two
new Holly pumps are on their way. After many valve adjustments, I believe we
have a bad roller rocker arm causing our noise. That will be 
replaced as soon 
as I can determine the
culprit.
I built these motors
with expectations of running 80mph. I managed 79.2 GPS last week and still
climbing but ran out of lake. The water was sticky smooth and a small bit of
chop would have easily got us where we wanted to be. Overall I’m happy!
The all new dash is keeping me informed of what’s up
under the hatch. This was a much needed upgrade and I still have yet to hook up
the EGTs and oil temperature gauges. Winter projects…
10/5/10 Motors Running
and New Writing Gig
New motors are in and
running. They sound SWEET!!! While I
still have a lot of rigging to do our fall break-in plan is on schedule. We
hope to head south to do some testing later this fall.
We are now writing
freelance articles
for the Examiner.com check them out and subscribe to help fuel the fires listed
above pleaseJ
9/28/10 We
missed the Season…
My Dad use to call it
“The Underwood Curse” and sometimes I think that was my inheritance.
The first half of
the season slipped away while trying to port heads for some free horsepower,
only to discover upon assembly we had problems. A ton of time and effort went
into saving these heads to come up empty.
The second half slipped
away while trying to find the money for four brand new aluminum heads which are
now installed. The motors were sat in the boat yesterday as the temperature
dropped 30 degrees and rain came after near drought conditions. The boat will be in the water before it “gets
hard” around here. Hopefully with some break in time and tuning we’ll head
south with it soon.
4/15/10 – The Velocity Race Boat Getting
Total Rebuild/Re-Rigging For Competition
Two fresh Big Block
Chevy short blocks were completed over the winter and I’m currently reworking
and porting our 4 Merlin cylinder heads. We are expecting over 500HP each with
potential for more. The boat cockpit has been totally gutted and strengthened
for serious competition to the best of my abilities while lightened at the same
time for speed. The dash and controls have been completely revamped including a
pair of every gage SSCompetition.com has to offer. We WILL know what’s going on
with our “twins” under the new lighter race hatch.
This will still be a
pleasure boat with a race boat demeanor. In my 20 years of Motorcycle Drag
Racing, my fondest memories were the early years when we started racing with a
street bike. Fun was the goal and we are trying to get back to that aspect of
racing we were missing.
4/4/10 – The Lake Rescue Shootout 8/23-29
The Lake of the Ozarks Shootout is the largest
unsanctioned boat race in the
In the past, this event has provided the Water
Rescue Teams of
The
More info here: http://www.lakeoftheozarksshootout.org/history.html
More boat info can be found here…
All contents property of UnderdogRacing.com