June 13, 2009
News Relase

A few of the kids rode on top of the hydroplane as we pushed her to show-center before the final "Survivors Victory Lap" of the North Mason Relay For Life.

Belfair Elementary student 'revs' up North Mason Relay for Life

The West Sound Electric Presents GEICO of Lakewood hydroplane raised $100 in raffles for the North Mason Relay for Life June 12-13. The raffle was for a chance to start the engine of the three-time defending ULHRA Lighter-Than-Lights highpoints championship hydroplane. Spencer Pruitt, who just finished the first grade at Belfair Elementary School, won the raffle.

Decked out in the helmet of owner/driver Bud McKay, Spencer posed for photographs as he climbed into the cockpit. When the announcer gave those magical words, "Spencer, start your engine," the West Sound Electric Presents GEICO of Lakewood's engine fired right up! And it didn't take young Spencer long to find out the harder he pushed the throttle, the louder the engine roared.

-- click her for video -- (must have QuickTime Player)

Spencer had his own Relay for Life fundraising booth at the Relay. This year, his booth was in honor of Sue Veitch who passed away in May from lung cancer. Sue and Bud McKay went to North Mason High School together.

ULHRA veteran Joe Turner, on hand at the North Mason Relay for Life, purchased $10 worth of tickets for Spencer. It was one of Turner's tickets that won.

The West Sound Electric Presents GEICO of Lakewood will be on display again at the Central Kitsap-Bremerton Relay for Life June 27-28 at Central Kitsap High School.

June 11, 2009
News Release

North Mason Relay for Life gets some RPMs this weekend

BELFAIR, Wash. - The three-time defending Lighter-Than-LIGHTS high points champion Bud McKay and his "West Sound Electric Presents GEICO of Lakewood" hydroplane will be on display at the North Mason Relay for Life Friday and Saturday at North Mason High School. Not only will the hydroplane be on display, but McKay will sell raffle tickets for a chance to start the engine of the 8-cylinder stock engine at the finale of the Relay - all proceeds of the raffle stay at the North Mason Relay for Life event.

Relay For Life is a life-changing event that brings together more than 3.5 million people across the country each year to celebrate the lives of those who have battled cancer, remember loved ones lost, and fight back against a disease that takes too much. This is the 10th year of Relay for Life event at North Mason.

McKay's "Namron Racing Team" was started in 2005 in honor of Bud's father, Norman, a hydroplane fanatic, who died of pancreatic cancer in 2003. Namron, simply Norman spelled backward, is the name Bud's father used for his woodshop at his Belfair home.

The raffle costs $1 per ticket or 5 for $3. The drawing will take place around noon on Saturday. Then the boat will be pushed toward the announcer's stand shortly before the final "Survivors Lap" at 1 p.m. where the lucky winner will start the engine.

"It will be the end of a very long day for a lot of people, and the hope is that the firing of the engine will 'rev up' those about to take their lap of honor," McKay said, who is making his third Relay at his former high school. "We can only run the engine without water for about 10 seconds. But it's enough time to get everyone's attention, that's for sure."

And if any of the survivors want or need a little help to make it around the track for that final lap of the Relay for Life, McKay said as long as he can recruit some horsepower to help push the boat around on the track. That way any survivor who wants or needs a ride, can take their victory lap in style riding on the three-time defending champion hydroplane.

More information about the "West Sound Electric Presents GEICO of Lakewood" can be found on the team's website - www.namronracing.com - or by emailing McKay at bud.mckay@wavecable.com.

Photo by Julie Sparrowgrove
Bud McKay, in the West Sound Electric Presents GEICO of Lakewood, skims over a lumpy Lake Sammamish June 6 for "Tastin' n' Racin' 2009." (click on image for high res copy)

May 7, 2009
Kitsap Sun -- North Mason Life

Photo by Mindi LaRose
Bud McKay and his girlfriend, Cheryl Lurz,
are working on his boat at his Belfair home
recently. The racing season started in April.

Belfair Hydroplane Racer Fulfills Childhood Dream

By Rodika Tollefson

BELFAIR — Bud McKay’s earliest childhood memory is about going to watch hydroplane races in Seattle with his father, Norman. McKay, a Belfair resident and North Mason High School graduate, grew up in West Seattle. “Every little boy there goes to the races, dreams to race and win a race,” he says.

McKay is one of those little boys — and his racing dreams have come true. For the past four years, he has been part of the Namron Racing Team. Namron, Norman spelled backwards, honors his father, who inspired him to take up racing: Shortly before Norman’s death in 2003, the pair had started talking about hydroplane racing. “I decided to do it,” McKay says.

It wasn’t easy. At 6-foot-5, McKay doesn’t exactly fit into the average cockpit. It took seven months just to modify a boat for him. The boat, “West Sound Electric Presents GEICO Insurance of Lakewood,” is named after the sponsors, without whom he couldn’t pursue the sport. McKay is retired from the Air Force after 26 years on active duty and as a reservist, and currently works as a civilian in public affairs.

“It’s a really expensive sport… it eats me alive,” he says. “Sponsorships allow someone like me to participate. This is my life.”

McKay’s team has about five people (including another part-owner), and while he is the primary driver, others get to race as well. Although the season is only April through September, the “hobby” keeps McKay busy all year round with the business side of matters. There is no practicing involved, however — you “practice” at the races, McKay says.

McKay doesn’t define hydroplane racing as a dangerous sport, but doesn’t deny that it’s a tough one. “It’s physically demanding; especially a rough course, can do a number on you; it’s a bear,” he says. “Several forces are working against you, plus every half a second it’s like someone is hitting you on the head with a two-by-four.” For spectators, he says, it’s like watching a ballet, but inside the boat is more like football.

To start off the 2009 racing season recently, he dropped off 105 cell phones collected by his team in 2008 to Ron House, CEO of West Sound Electric in Bremerton, for the “Cell Phones for Soldiers” program. The business, in addition to being a McKay team sponsor, is the official location for dropping off unwanted phones, which are recycled and traded for prepaid calling cards. The cards are donated to deployed U.S. military members and their families.

McKay’s racing team, the three-time defending champion in the 8-Cylinder Lighter-Than-LIGHTS class of the Unlimited Light Hydroplane Racing Association, collects cell phones at races and displays throughout the year. The program was started by two Norwell, Mass., teens with $21 of their own money, and since then has become a nonprofit organization that has raised nearly $2 million in donations. They have distributed more than 500,000 prepaid cards to military personnel overseas. McKay contacted the teens himself to see if he could promote the cause at events. “It’s a fantastic program,” he says.

McKay personally has contributed more than one phone. He started off the 2008 phone collection with his cell phone, which got wet while in his racing suit pocket when he flipped his boat at Firebird Raceway in Arizona. And this year, his new cell phone once again started off the collection efforts after being left in a load of laundry. He hopes his team will collect twice the number of phones this season compared to last year.

This is not the only cause McKay promotes through his passion. At the North Mason Relay for Life, he sells raffle tickets for the honor of starting the engine of the boat, which is displayed at the event. The funds go to the American Cancer Society through Relay for Life. “You can do so much community support with hydroplane races,” he says.

April 26, 2009
www.ulhra.org

West Sound Electric Presents GEICO of Lakewood 2nd in Phoenix

The Block Head Machine-Speed Hut Revolution Gauges had a near perfect weekend winning the "Warning Power.Com presents Unlimited Lights" at Firebird April 25-26 for the Lighter-Than-LIGHTS series. Kevin Eacret ran away with wins in heat one and two. For heat three, Philip Eacret made his debut in the flighty E-36 and finished ahead of Bud McKay, in the West Sound Electric Presents GEICO of Lakewood, on the course. But the younger Eacret was hit with a one-minute penalty for an improper lane change giving the West Sound Electric Presents GEICO of Lakewood the win.

With the final and fourth heat cancelled due to long delays in the drag-racing portion of the event, only three heats would be run for the LTLs. The Eacrets combined for 1,100 points in the Block Head Machine-Speed Hut Revolution Gauges for the weekend; while McKay's West Sound Electric Presents GEICO of Lakewood earned 1,000 points.

The only thing slowing down the Block Head Machine-Speed Hut Revolution Gauges were the steady winds of 30 mph on Saturday. While the drag boats wouldn't go on the course because of the winds, the LTLs did. Kevin Eacret stopped everyone's hearts in heat one as he had the nose of his hydroplane about as high as it could go without blowing it over as he passed the grandstands. McKay's heart was pounding as well as he had steering issues in both heats Saturday - the boat simply would not steer through turn one, where McKay had flipped the year before.

On Sunday, the winds that roared through the day before were gone - offering a perfect day on the water to race. Barry Eacret, the owner of the Block Head Machine-Speed Hut Revolution Gauges, helped McKay reset his skid fin, and the boat was able to turn during heat three.

With one last rudder adjustment, McKay's West Sound Electric Presents GEICO of Lakewood was ready to battle Eacret's Head Machine-Speed Hut Revolution Gauges for the final. Both boats were ready to go into the water when they got the word their final heat was cancelled.

April 21, 2009
'Black Beauty' heading to Phoenix

The West Sound Electric Presents GEICO of Lakewood is ready to head to Phoenix. The engine is the strongest one ever - and for the first time, the engine is painted black - not "Namron red." We figure this is a stroke of good luck, as we've been through about 10 engines in our first four seasons - all red. We're hoping "Black Beauty" will be the one to last for a couple of seasons. Also, the West Sound Electric Presents GEICO of Lakewood will have a different look on the water in Phoenix. The team was set to paint the boat last night, but even though the weather was ideal - the pollen decided to explode over the weekend. Making any attempt to paint the boat problematic. So, "The Shark" will compete with a tactical gray paint scheme. Others might call this primer, but it's just a trick we're trying to conceal ourselves from the competition. The mid portion remains "Namron red - " we don't want to conceal ourselves from the thousands of racing fans for this weekend's huge event!

I'd like to thank Steve Clark for the work he spent beefing up the hull to support our new skid fin, which we hope will prevent further flips in corners - two was enough last year. I'd also like to thank Greg Sheard for giving us two skid fins to work with - one he fabricated for us; the other from his own boat. And let me send out HUGE thanks to Matt Mattson and Tony Milo for putting together "Black Beauty" and making incredible modifications to the hull as well. These two were great fun! And the power behind "Black Beauty" goes to Bud's Machine and Engine Shop in Lakewood; they're the best. For the better part of six weeks, Cheryl Lurz has gone over every inch of the boat and filled in all cracks and holes and sanded it to one smoooooth surface. Cheryl's endured countless hours of work on the boat since late February. Without her help, we'd not be ready for the race. But the biggest thanks of all go out to Ron House, CEO of West Sound Electric, and Rick Stevens of GEICO of Lakewood who sponsor us in our attempt to four-peat as high points champions in the ULHRA LTL series.

March 9, 2009

Photos by Cheryl Lurz
Bud McKay, left, owner/driver of the "GEICO of Lakewood Presents West Sound Electric" hydroplane, delivers 105 cell phones Monday on the deck of his hydroplane to sponsor Ron House, CEO of West Sound Electric.

2009 hydroplane season electrifies 'Cell Phones for Soldiers'

BELFAIR, Wash. - Snow Sunday. Snow Monday. That just means it must be close to the 2009 hydroplane racing season for Belfair's Bud McKay and the "GEICO of Lakewood Presents West Sound Electric" hydroplane.

To start off the 2009 racing season, McKay delivered the 105 cell phones the team collected in 2008 to Ron House, CEO of West Sound Electric in Bremerton Monday. West Sound Electric is an official drop off location for unwanted cell phones for "Cell Phones for Soldiers." "Cell Phones for Soldiers" collects used and outdated cell phones and recycles them to earn prepaid calling cards donated to deployed military members and their families.

House became an official drop off location in October after his first year of sponsoring McKay's Namron Racing Team's hydroplane.

"I first learned about the 'Cell Phones for Soldiers' program through Bud since he's been working with the program for the last two years," House said, a Vietnam veteran who served in the Marines. "When I checked out the program, I was very impressed with the entire concept. I just wanted to do whatever I could to support our guys and gals in the military - they more than deserve it."

West Sound Electric is just one of 3,000 collection sites across the country for "Cell Phones for Soldiers." The overall goal is to collect 50,000 each month nationwide. Teenagers Robbie and Brittany Bergquist from Norwell, Mass., with $21 of their own money, founded "Cell Phones for Soldiers." Since then, the registered 501c3 non-profit organization has raised almost $2 million in donations and distributed more than 500,000 prepaid calling cards to soldiers serving overseas.

Through increased fundraising efforts, "Cell Phones for Soldiers" hopes to raise nearly $10 million in the next five years to fund new programs, such as providing videophones with prepaid service to allow soldiers abroad to see their families on a regular basis.

McKay's racing team, the three-time defending champion in the 8-Cylinder Lighter-Than-LIGHTS class of the Unlimited Light Hydroplane Racing Association, collects cell phones at races and displays throughout the year. The first phone from the 2008 season came from McKay himself after flipping his boat at Firebird Raceway in Arizona at the season opening race - his cell phone was in his racing suit pocket and got wet when the cockpit filled with water.

And there is already a cell phone in the bin for the 2009 season. And like last year, the first phone is from McKay. It seems McKay forgot to remove his cell phone from his pockets before running a load of laundry as he left for West Sound Electric.

"I don't look at is as a wasted cell phone," McKay said, a retired Air Force Reservist. "That's now an hour's calling card for some deployed service member's family."

McKay plans to test the "GEICO of Lakewood Presents West Sound Electric" hydroplane April 14 at Lake Washington and then defend his win last year at Firebird Raceway April 25-26. Between the season opener and season finale in October, McKay hopes the team collects twice the cell phones as they did in 2008.

For more about the "Cell Phones for Soldiers" program, visit www.cellphonesforsoldiers.com. For more about the Namron Racing Team, visit www.namronracing.com.

This pile of 105 unwanted cell phones on the deck of the "GEICO of Lakewood Presents West Sound Electric" hydroplane will be recycled earning the "Cell Phones for Soldiers" program with 105 hours worth of free long-distance calling cards for the troops overseas.

Aug. 6 , 2008

Belfair hydroplane thunders for 'Cell Phones for Soldiers'

BELFAIR, Wash. – Bud McKay completed the ceremonial tossing of the first cell phone for the kickoff of this season's "Cell Phone for Soldiers" drive by throwing in the phone he had in his pocket when he flipped his hydroplane in Phoenix at the first race in April.

"At least that phone went out in style," said McKay, who is the driver of the two-time defending 8-cylinder Lighter-Than-LIGHTS high points champion "GEICO of Lakewood Presents the Namron Racing Team" hydroplane competing this weekend at "Silverdale Thunder." "It seemed like a good idea at the time to carry it with me in case the boat broke down on the course – I could call the crew and let them know what was going on. But, I guess you can say I took one for the cause."

In this case, the "cause" is for the deployed military members overseas and their families. "Cell Phones for Soldiers," collects used and outdated cell phones and recycles them to earn prepaid calling cards donated to deployed military members and their families.

At this weekend's "Silverdale Thunder," a collection bin will be in the pit area around the GEICO of Lakewood hydroplane. McKay will collect cell phones at the Silverdale, Spanaway and Port Angeles races and turn them into Belfair's Sand Hill Elementary School in October. The school is an official collection area for the program.

McKay hopes fans coming to the racecourse at Silverdale's Waterfront Park Aug. 9-10 will bring their old, unused cell phones to the race and drop off them off in the pits.

"Just one phone turned in means an hour's worth of a calling card for a family of a deployed member of our military," McKay said, a retired Air Force Reserve master sergeant. "One phone can really make a difference."

Aug. 6 , 2008

GEICO of Lakewood hydroplane hopes to seal 3rd straight title in Silverdale

BELFAIR, Wash. – Don't be surprised if you see Bud McKay with a calculator in his hands after every heat in the pits at the "Silverdale Thunder" hydroplane race this weekend. The Belfair, Wash., driver of the two-time defending 8-cylinder Lighter-Than-LIGHTS high points champion "GEICO of Lakewood Presents the Namron Racing Team" hydroplane could clinch his third-consecutive high points title this weekend.

"Sure it's possible to win the high points this weekend, but it's also possible for me to lose it all if I do something stupid," McKay said, a 1978 North Mason High School graduate. "But I'm going to go for it – I have to. Silverdale is my home course. I'll have my hands full as we're expecting six boats in the field this weekend – that's the largest turnout in Silverdale in our class since we started racing here."

It's also the largest turn out of boats this season for the 8-cylinder LTL class. Last year's Silverdale winner, Kevin Eacret, of Mukeltio in the "Baker Equipment" hydroplane is fresh off his win in Polson, Mont., three weeks ago. However, Eacret's boat suffered damage in Montana, but he's expected to make Silverdale.

"We've had a lot of busted up boats this season," McKay said, who is also the class representative for the series. "And the economy is tough on us 'little guys' with very limited budgets. I'm so blessed because of my sponsorships with GEICO of Lakewood, TranquilityHomeCare.com and McDonough and Sons Inc., have allowed me to compete in the entire series this year – including the first-ever out-of-state races for the LTL series."

The saying goes good things come in threes. Coming into "Silverdale Thunder," The GEICO of Lakewood hull has two wins this season (Phoenix and Richland) and has two, consecutive high points titles.

"If the stars are aligned and the planets are in position," McKay said, "sure it's possible that we can win the 'Silverdale Thunder,' and get the points to get our third high points title in a row, and win our third race of the season. Three good things just sounds better than two."

But if anyone knows there are no automatics, it's McKay.

"I went to start up the boat Monday night preparing for Tuesday's display at the Kitsap Bluejackets game, and the boat wouldn't fire at all," he said. "And last year going into Port Angeles, all I had to do was finish all of the heats and I would win the high points title no matter what anyone else did. But in the first heat, I forgot to hook up the waterline to the engine and the engine overheated before I completed my first warmup lap. And, not to mention I flipped the boat in Phoenix at the first race of 2008.

"So no, it's far from an automatic thing to win the high points title at home, in Silverdale, or at Port Angeles."

The GEICO Of Lakewood Presents the Namron Race Team donates all prize and apperance money to cancer support programs. They also campaign for the "Cell Phones for Soliders" program turning unwanted cell phones into pre-paid calling cards for deployed military members and their families.

Racing for "Silverdale Thunder" begins at around 12:30 p.m. both days, depending on the tides. Admission to the race is free and features the Unlimited Light hydroplanes. The Lighter-Than-LIGHTS is an affordable, entry-level style of inboard hydroplane racing under the Unlimited Light Hydroplane Racing Association. Fourteen LTL drivers have graduated to drive the larger UL boats over the last five years.

McKay hopes to be the next graduate to the UL field.

"We're working on sponsorship possibilities now that might make this work out for next year or for 2010 so we can run with the 'big guys,' said McKay, who is 6-foot-5, and close to 300 pounds. "But if that doesn't work out, it's not so bad being the biggest, 'little guy' on the water."

Aug. 3, 2008

Displays...

We were on display in Seabeck at Turies Seabeck Espresso and at MAX RPM in Bremerton as well.

The Seabeck display was for "Stargis 2008" ride. This is one of her breast-cancer fundraising rides and is for the local bikers not going to Sturgis. So this is kind of like Sturgis-light. Turies coffee shop had a nice parking lot, and the owne was fantastic. She even shooed away a couple cars that parked in front of her shop so I could park in front. She had a few customers in the shop at the time, too. But she even came out with her camera and took pictures of the boat -- of course, I asked her to be the first person in the boat for the display -- it's kind of like throwing out the first pitch in baseball. :) Anyway, the place went nuts when the bikers showed up. That pretty much double the town's population. We had a lot of leather in the boat!

After the display there, we headed off to Bremerton and set up at the MAX-RPM store. We were there for a couple hours.

July 31 , 2008

Kitsap Bluejackets display

Well, good thing our sport is a water sport! It poured down on us while we were on display at the Kitsap Bluejackets game tonight. During the rain delay, the GEICO Presents the Namron Racing Team was the entertainment on hand. Thanks to Carrie and Jeff Clark who dropped what they were doing and came out and helped at a moment's notice -- it's a Belfair thing. Thanks to Jeff for enduring the rain in his debut in the Gecko costume.

We're planing to go back on Tuesday -- and we'll be ready because the Gecko says it will be a sunny day! We'll have a drawing at the game to fire the boat up!

Sept. 30, 2006

8 Cylinder Stock high points
title up for grabs

BELFAIR, Wash. – Math has never Bud McKay’s forte, but with the Victoria Express Presents Straight Thunder just a few hours away, McKay spent most of Friday night crunching numbers like an accountant on April 14. McKay’s crunching the numbers because his GEICO Presents Namron Racing Team is tied for the high points lead for the 8-Cylinder Lighter-Than-Lights championship.

"I was trying to figure out how many points we need to clinch the title this weekend, but holy cow – all four boats on hand this weekend could, conceivably, either share or win the high points title outright," McKay said with a groan. "The easiest thing for us to do is win every heat – then we don’t have to worry about the points at all. But that’s like telling a big-league hitter to hit a homerun each time he comes up to the plate in a game."

The GEICO hull needs to score 845 points over the weekend to clinch the 2006 high points title. But it’s going to be anything but easy.

The Lighter-Than-Lights are part of four races on the Unlimited Lights Hydroplane Racing Association campaign. Besides, the 8-cylinder stock hydroplanes, 4-cylinder stock hydroplanes make up the Lighter-Than-Lights series and race between Unlimited Lights and American Challenge Cup Series races, offering fans a full and exciting day of racing.

McKay missed the first race of the season in Issaquah. The boat and the team were in the pits, but were at the final stages of putting together a new engine for the race and just didn’t get it done in time to get on the water.

At Tri-Cities, high winds and extremely rough water kept the smaller boats on the beach for most of the weekend. The 8-cylinder stock class was limited to just two heats of racing. McKay and his GEICO Presents Namron Racing Team won both heats to earn his first-ever hydroplane victory.

In this race, McKay’s wife, Gigi, raced another boat against him – GEICO Presents The Terminator. Gigi lost power and went dead in the water just 200 yards from the finish line in the final heat after slamming down hard on the water. Had she finished, the two GEICO hulls would have finished 1-2. Gigi, who had just gotten off of chemotherapy for breast cancer two weeks earlier, was injured and suffered a torn ligament in her neck and also suffered from two bulging discs in her neck.

Next was Silverdale’s quicksilver race. Like Tri-Cities, the 8-cylinder stock class was reduced to just two heats, and McKay won both of those heats as well. The other boats either blew their engines or sank.

Beyond crunching the numbers, McKay said the GEICO hull is faced with many challenges in this last race.

"Our engine is tired," he said. "Brandon (Payne, Namrom’s crew chief) has gotten more out of this engine this year than anyone thought possible. ‘Frenchie’ Bourdeau, our hull specialist, has spent more time patching holes on the bottom of the boat than a quilt club’s got together to patch together a quilt. If we can survive this weekend, let alone win it all, that will be a victory for us as well."

Payne will share the driving duties with McKay this weekend. Gigi McKay is on her Amazon Heart Thunder charity Harley-Davidson ride in California for breast cancer support programs and doesn’t return until Sunday night.

While the GEICO engine is tired, two other boats will be featuring new engines. Bob Donley’s The Terminator, the boat Gigi drove in Tri-Cities, has Steve Clark’s very fast and fresh Chevy 305 in it. Clark, another racer from Belfair, will share driving duties with Donley.

Debi and Wil Muncey’s hull also a brand new engine in it.

"The Muncey’s engine still has that new-engine-smell to it, too," McKay said with a laugh. "And then there’s Rob Schueler in the E-711 boat. He was running fast at Silverdale; until he ripped open the sponson and sank. He’s back, refreshed and ready to go.

"Our boats are all pretty evenly matched – it’s going to be a great weekend for all of us."

Sept 10, 2006
Namron scrathes from Spanaway

I’m sorry for the late notice, but at 1 in the morning today, we had to throw in the towel and scratch from today’s race. We have a blown head gasket and a warped head. Our backup head was uncooperative and has just too much leakage for us to be able to run the boat. We made a huge extra effort since we knew some of you made plans to head down to the lake – it’s still a fun time if you still want to come down. Some of you won’t even get this email until tomorrow.

(sigh) that’s racing.

It seems something always comes up at Spanaway. Out of the three races we’ve been to there, we’ve blown three engines! So in all, this is a minor setback. We’ll get the backup heads machined to stop the leakage and plan to rock and roll at Lake Chelan Sept. 23-24.

For sale; one Chevy 305 head (with an impressive racing warp in it). Good for paperweight or makes a unique pencil and pen holder. It also has an additional marine purpose – boat anchor. Want to be the hit of the party? You can paint the head any color to blend into carpets and watch as your drunk friends trip over it; a perfect gift for a lieutenant.

Make offer.

July 31, 2006
GECIO Presents Namron Racing Team wins at Tri-Cities

BELFAIR, Wash. -- The GEICO Presents Namron Racing Team from Belfair, Wash., didn't even know they won the 8-Cylindar Lighter Than Lights Hapo Credit Union Thunder Cup in Tri-Cities, Wash., until Monday morning. On the course, Bud McKay, driving the GEICO Presents Namron Racing Team hydroplane finished behind Marty Porter's Miss Understood at the finish line, but a course infraction by Porter added a minute to his overall elapsed time and gave McKay his first-ever hydroplane victory.

"I knew Marty didn't make it to the score up buoy at the 1-minute gun, so I had a pretty good idea I had won the race," McKay said. "But when I came back to the pits, Marty got tossed into the water by his crew. I went over to the official and asked if it was a legal start and he said it was, which meant that I got second - I thought."

McKay went over to soaking wet Porter and gave him a wet bear hug and offered his congratulations.

"Then it was time to pack for the long journey home," Bud McKay said. "I wish I'd have known I won at the time; it sure would have made packing and the drive home a lot better."

Due to high winds all weekend and delays in the schedule from the unlimited Atomic Cup, the 8-Cylindar Stock class was limited to just two heats - the preliminary heat on Friday morning and the final heat Sunday afternoon. The Lighter Than Lights series is part of the Unlimited Lights Hydroplane Racing Association. With the unlimiteds, unlimited lights, G-Boats, 4-cyilndar and 8-cylindar boats, racing action was non stop when the winds allowed.
Bud McKay won the preliminary 8-cylindar heat Friday.

After the preliminary heat Friday, race officials called it off due to winds gusting at 30 knots along the backstretch.

Sunday morning's preliminary heat was also cancelled due to high winds and white caps on the backstretch. Once the final heat was run, McKay got lost on the course and ended up turning at the wrong buoy just before the start of the race.

"I had the start nailed, too," Bud said. "Then all of a sudden, there was a patrol boat in my path and I thought, 'What is he doing out here?' Of course I'm sure he's on his radio to the tower saying, 'What is he doing out here?'"

Bud was able to veer to the right and head back on course, but lost the inside position to Porter. Both came around for the start side-by-side and were in a classic deck-to-deck battle heading into the treacherous turn one with Bud holding onto a two-length lead.

"But I hit a hole and I thought for sure I was going to submarine the boat," Bud said. "I not only lost my momentum, but I lost my breath as I was jarred forward in my seat belts - it felt like I ran into a brick wall.

Coming up for the final turn, Bud took the turn as wide as the course would allow to take the checkered flag.

The next stop on the series for the Lighter Than Lights is in Silverdale, Wash., for quicksilver Aug. 19-20, while the unlimited lights battle this weekend at Seafair. For the McKay, the quicksilver race is his "home course."

June 13, 2009

So long 'Chopper' aka "Troxilla" -- may you race in peace.

Our heartfelt best wishes go out to the Terry Troxell family. Terry passed away Saturday, June 13, from a heart attack. Terry was an incredible talent behind the wheel of a hydroplane and even won the "Gold Cup." More importantly, he was an even more incredible dad, grandfather, husband and friend. When it rains, I know it's just "Chopper" on the skid fin in hydroplane heaven.

Enjoying f riends at the North Mason Relay for Life

It's always nice to run into old friends. Seems like that's always the case anytime we're on display or at a race. At this weekend's North Mason Relay for Life, I ran into Bruce Veitch. Bruce graduated a couple of years before me at the mighty North Mason High School. Turns out he married Sue Foley - one of my first friends at the school when I moved there my sophomore year. What memories that brought back - my first weekend at the school, we loaded into a car. And I mean "loaded." About five of us in the backseat; at least four in the front - I can still name them all, but I better not (we all have kids now ;) all I'll say is it was a much different time.) What a great night.

I was just about to ask Bruce where Sue was; I've not seen her in years. Then Bruce told me that Sue had died just a month ago to lung cancer.

"That's why I'm here (at the Relay) - for her," he said.

I'm telling you, cancer sucks. Most everyone at the Relay echos that sentiment. I even saw a young child wearing that slogan on a T-shirt. Right on!

Speaking of old friends - not shortly after we set the boat up for display (yes, I was late again), Spencer Pruitt walks over to take his customary spot in the cockpit. Spencer just finished the first grade at Belfair Elementary School. He showed up with two dollars asking for two tickets for the raffle to start the engine of the hydroplane.

He has his own booth at the Relay. And no doubt raises quite a bit more than we were able through our raffle.

Throughout the night, Spencer came and sat in the boat about five times. Bruce had come over about the same time, but he would never sit in the boat. Just kept asking me how I fit.

Around 11 p.m., they turn out the stadium lights and light the Luminaries - that line the entire track. It's quite a site. And then the Relay goes silent as we all pay tribute to our loved ones we've lost to cancer.

Harley stayed with me during the Relay. Her and I walked with Bruce around the track. In fact, another old friend, Toni VanBuskirk joined us for the walk. Bruce walked for Sue; I walked for my dad.

We got to the far-end of the track and stopped at Spencer's booth. Bruce pointed out the large picture in front of Spencer's booth. I recognized the picture because Spencer had a button with the same picture.

"That's Sue," he said.

Spencer had his fundraising booth in honor of Sue.

How amazing and touching that was. I'm sure Bruce explained why, but I can't remember.

I left Bruce and Toni as they stayed in that area, and Harley and I walked off to go back to the boat and finish our lap. Just as we were about finished, I told Harley to say, "I love you, Gramps."

Harley said, "But he can't hear me."

"Of course he can," I tell her. "He's here right now walking along side of us."

"No he's not."

"Yes he is, and he just kicked me because of what you said!"

"Daddy, I know you're tricking me."

I just said, "Will you please say it?"

"OK. What is it I'm supposed to say?"

"I love you, Gramps."

Harley said, "I love you, Gramps. Please kick daddy again."

My dad's laugh was famous all through Belfair, and I swear I heard it loud and clear.

We came home shortly after that, and in the morning Cheryl, Harley and I went back to the Relay to get ready for the big day. Where some lucky person gets to the start up the engine.

Early in the day, another old friend came over to the boat. Joe Turner. Joe's been racing hydroplanes for a very long time. He lives in nearby Allyn. He destroyed his boat two seasons ago in a very scary flip. I had the pleasure of pitting next to him at a couple of our races. A very nice person. But of course he is, he's a Bulldog, too.

We talked for a while, and like clockwork, Spencer came over to the boat about every 15 or 20 minutes. I told Joe about Spencer. Joe digs into his pocket and says to give him 10 raffle tickets. He said, "Put Spencer's name on mine if I win."

He did. And Spencer put on the helmet and started the boat without any hesitation whatsoever.

Ask me why I enjoy the Relay for Life so much? It's friends, and even strangers, getting together on one special day to celebrate those who battle cancer and win the fight - and to celebrate the lives of our loved ones who battled cancer but lost the fight.

There's not a hydroplane race I'm in when I don't feel the loving kick of my dad. "Go faster, Budley!"

"I'm trying, Dadley."

With amazing help and support of new friends or old friends, all of us can go a little faster, push a little stronger, run a little further - no matter what race or battle we're in.

Bud McKay
Proud son of Norman Delano McKay - Mr Namron

May 30, 2009

No more duct tape! Since season one, we've had to use about 22 miles of duct tape on the boat for a variety of reasons. With the new paint, I want to eliminate duct tape on the hull. Today, I secured all of the deck plates with new sleeves for the screws. Who knows, maybe the boat will be so much lighter now without the duct tape, we'll fly more!

May 28, 2009

We have just been notified they added our class to the ULHRA race in South Dakota July 11-12. We'll be there.

May 25, 2009

Oh Good Grief! After an 8-week process to paint the boat, you'd think I'd have been more careful. But...those who know me...well, they know me.

Our good friend, Matt Mattson, painted the boat. Check out the Pictures page. Cheryl Lurz did about 4 weeks of "woman-hours" sanding the boat. I spent about 1 week of "man-hours" sanding and preping. :) The final paint looks great. She looks brand new.

But...while we were taking off the tape and masking paper, I had a little boo-boo. You see, since I was taller than Cheryl and Matt, my job was to get the tape and paper off the high parts of the boat. Mostly, the cockpit section. No problem. I was just getting the last off, when I needed to reach a little further to get the tape. SO...Needing just a tad more leverage, I (sigh) put my hand down on the boat to brace myself so I could get that last little, itty-bitty piece of tape. Well. DAMN! First, I should point out the boat has about 6 coats of white paint and four of blue. Now each coat dried in about 10 minutes.

Now, the clear coat -- that goes ontop of the paint, can take almost 8 hours to dry. Matt put four coats of clear coat on. Unfortunately, when I took off the last little bit of tape, it had only been 20 minutes that Matt finished. In other words, my hand stuck in the clear coat.

I about cried. Matt said we can wet sand it after 48 hours, and my hand print should come off. Oh, I hope so! If not, you'll never see it! That will just be the first place for a decal! ;)

Thanks to Matt Mattson for all of his help. And many thanks to Cheryl for all of her hard, hard work!

May 7, 2009
I had no sooner posted the photos from Julie Sparrowgrove from Firebird Raceway when I saw the pictures from Tim Crowley as well. I posted them as well. Tim had a different perspective. He stood on the infield of of the course and got us going in front of the main grandstands. I had planned to pop the canopy open in the final heat to wave at the crowd, but we never got that chance. That would have been a great photo with the crowd in the background. My sponsors would have loved it. ;) So Check out the photos on our Pictures page from Tim Crowley as well. Thanks, Tim. As usual, they're great!

May 6, 2009
Holy Cow! Check out the photos on our Pictures page from Julie Sparrowgrove. They're fantastic! Some of the best I've ever seen. In fact, I'm not sure if she Photoshoped them, but she sure makes me look as if I'm going faster than I remember! ;) Many thanks to Julie for sharing the pictures. Julie and I went to high school together at the mighty North Mason -- she graduated in 1977; I graduated 1978. She's married to Ed Sparrowgrove. He was in Julie's class. Ed and I played football and baseball together for the Bulldogs and lived up the street from each other in high school. Ed and I were also stationed together in the Air Force from 1985 to 1987 at Mountain Home AFB, Idaho. Anyone who tells you it's not a small world is crazy! Now, quit reading this and go check out the photos.

Bud McKay

Phoenix Notes…

May 3, 2009
It's taken a few days, but I've shaken off the jetlag of the Phoenix trip. Hard to have jetlag when you're traveling in the same time zone…and driving. But drivelag just doesn't have the same tone. Overall, it was a fun trip with Cheryl and her girls - a needy Jack Russell named "Baby Girl;" and an always hungry Boxer named "Pepper." Let me just say after more than 3,000 miles round trip, they were often the entertainment.

As usual, we had lots of help at the race. So let me start off with thanks to Cheryl for holding the boat in the water by herself on Saturday. With winds in the 30 mph range, she had her hands full. She also did most of the prep work on the boat between heats. Thanks to Barry Eacret for helping me set up the skid fin on Sunday. You'll see below that I had my hands full turning the boat on Saturday. After we tweaked the skid fin Sunday morning, she turned like a champ! Thanks also to Travis Johnston and Tyler Echols for taking turns to strap me into the cockpit. Thanks also to Becky Pradmore and John Ault for helping to hold the boat in the water as well.

Sunday, April 26, 2009
Before the race: Reset the skid fin. Found out it was a full inch off. No wonder she didn't want to turn or go straight. With Barry Eacret's help, we realigned the skid fin. I went around to a couple other boats and turned their rudders. I found all that I tried to be pretty loose - compared to mine. So I loosened the bolts on mine a tad as well. We'll see.

Heat 3 - WOW! This is how she's supposed to be. She not only turned, but turned with ease. It's best it's ever felt in the turns. We end up with a win. Philip Eacret drove the E-36 and was penalized for an improper lane change. But I felt good about going into the final.

Final heat - No final. What a bummer.

Saturday, April 25, 2009
Before the race - Good grief. Where is Mike Schroder? He lives in Arizona, and his boat's not at the race? Steve Clark busted his hiney to try and get his boat in the water, but just ran out of time. Mike registered for the race and told us all he'd be there. Seems odd.

Heat 1 - Good thing Mike's not here. I can't turn the boat. Going into turn 1, I turned the steering wheel about a half a turn. She didn't budge. About four seconds later, she started to react. That's not good. Especially when the shore is approaching rapidly on this man-made lake. With the winds in excess of 30 mph, I just wanted to finish. Kevin showed great sportsmanship by not running away from me.

After heat 1 - I tightened the rudder. I looked for Travis Johnston, to help realign the skid fin, but I couldn't find him. Before going out for Heat 2, I told Kevin not to come close to me in the turns.

Heat 2 - Not only could I not turn, I couldn't keep the boat from fish-tailing down the straightaway when I got in the throttle. At one point, I was aimed right at the grandstands. That's never good. Just survived and lived to race another day.

After heat 2 - I called Steve Clark and told him about the problems. He told me to check the skid fin again and ensure all of the bolts are locked down on the strut, skid and rudder.

Friday, April 24, 2009.
What a day. We drove all night. Pulled into the pits around noon. I still had about three hours of work to do on the boat. Turned out to be about five. When it came time to test, I asked for 15 more minutes. The ULHRA wouldn't give it to me. Just part of the fun in store for us this weekend.

April 22, 2009 - 12:45 a.m.
Cheryl Lurz and I are wiped out. What we thought was going to be an easy day, turned into a nightmare. We started working on the boat at 8 in the morning. We called it quits for the night at midnight. We still have about three hours of work to do on the trailer - we put a new bunk on the left side of the trailer to replace a cracked bunk. Well, the new bunk cracked, too. That was just one of 200 things on the agenda today (yesterday) to fix. We got to number 185. We'll get up early and get started at 7 - that's about as early as I dare to run power tools in the neighborhood.

April 21, 2009
Travis Johnston, one of the country's top drivers in the 5-Litre class, is going to help us at Phoenix. We asked Shockwave Racing if we could have some help this weekend - they usually have about 20 people helping with their gorgeous G-boat (I'd love to have one of those monsters when I grow up). Travis and his dad, Wally Johnston, are about the classiest people I've come across in this sport. They are fierce competitors, but the first to jump on a boat of a competitor to lend a hand. Also, let me tell you, I'm going to pick the brain of Travis for the setup of my boat. I can't tell you how much I appreciate this. Thanks, Travis.

April 20, 2009
Matt Mattson came over tonight. He did repairs to the strut - he basically rebuilt it. It looked great. He also brought over a unique pumping system to change the oil. What I've had to do for four years is take the engine out of the boat to drain the oil and put on a new filter. With Matt's contraption, all I do is hook up my shop vacuum to the end of an enclosed bucket - put a skinny hose down the dipstick hole and turn on the vacuum. Holy Smokes! It took about 5 minutes, but all of the oil came out. Amazing. I put a pan under the oil filter and took that off. The tube of the vacuum was in the pan and sucked up all of that oil, too. Put the new oil filter on and - in 10 minutes, I had the oil changed - and more important - I didn't have to round up my neighbors to help me get the engine back in the boat! If you knew what I've endured for four years, you'll understand why I cried.

April 20, 2009
Change of plans. We're not going to be able to paint the boat before this weekend's race. In fact, we're not even going to sand the primer off the boat. It's not that we did a great job of putting on the primer. We figure we're just going to get the boat oily and dirty. So sanding before won't do any good. But, I think we did a great job on the primer. OK, so Cheryl Lurz did about 2/3 of the primer - but it's still a "we" thing.

April 18, 2009

We had a fun day yesterday. A full day. Cheryl Lurz got in about a six-hour horse ride (with real horse power!) with a group of friends in Long Branch. I think she has more time in on the repairs of the boat than I do -- I think she even sands in her sleep.

While she was riding, I finished the work on the skid fin. Harley McKay (one of the "Bud Girls), helped me with some wrench work and picked up dropped washers and nuts in small places that only little hands can get into.

When Cheryl came home, she went right to work on the boat as well. She taped off the boat to get ready for the primer coat that we will, if all goes well, will go on today! Stay tuned.

Bud McKay

April. 17 , 2009

Cheryl Lurz and I drove over to Tony Milo's house this morning to work on the boat. By the time we got there, around 11 a.m., Tony had already gone through the engine - looking for the little things and fixing or tweaking it on the spot. I think we're getting him hooked on the sport. Cheryl did her master sanding job and did an amazing finish job on some of my sloppy fiberglass work in the inside corners of the sponsons. That area always as surface cracks and drives me nuts. I put three layers of fiberglass on to help strengthen it. We'll see.

Tony ran the engine again for about 5 minutes. "Thumping" the throttle every now and then. I swear - that sound when the engine roars makes my heart race just hearing it. Once he was done with that, he made a couple of patterns for new deck plate materials. I don't know what I'll do without the duct tape this season. I've just gotten used to it over the last couple of years. I guess change was inevitable.

I put the rudder assembly back together.

I met Matt Mattson in downtown Gorst on the way home from Tony's. Matt is going to work on the strut and make a temporary repair to the strut - which has been cracked for two seasons.

This weekend, Cheryl will give the decks a finer sanding job - finer meaning higher-grid sandpaper. Then we'll tape off the boat and get her ready for primer. We'll see how far we get before Wednesday on painting the boat. I'll work on connecting the skid fin again. There are some little nitnoid (sorry if that's too technical for you) modifications I have to before that, but luckily nothing major thanks to Steve Clark.

Oh. We decided late last night that it would be best not to try and throw the rest of the boat together in a rush for Moses Lake. So our target date is Tuesday night to have the boat race-ready. We'll leave Wednesday morning for Phoenix. We might leave Tuesday night, but we'll see how it goes.

Bud McKay

April. 17 , 2009

The engine we affectionately call "Black Beauty" came to life around 9 p.m. last night (see the Pictures section). Matt Mattson and Tony Milo did about five days of work in two days. They are expert mechanics. I was deeply impressed with how they bounced ideas off each other and seemed to even understand their grunts and groans during the assembly period. The engine went inside the engine bay near perfect on our first shot - that alone was an achievement.

Tony eyeballed the distance between the coupler gears (one on the engine and one on the propeller shaft) and said the bottom looks to be too close. I'm telling you, we're talking about a space of about three sheets of paper. I said, "It looks good to me." Of course Matt and Tony snicker at me. Matt gets out a set of feeler gauges and confirms Tony's eyeball measurements were spot on - the bottom was about a thousandth's of an inch too close. "We can fix that easy," Tony says. Who am I to disagree?

All went well with the engine break in. Both Matt and Tony were very happy. As long as they're happy, I'm happy.

We'll start to put the rest of the boat back together tonight and see where we are about making the Moses Lake race. If you're anywhere near the Moses Lake area this weekend, you want to get to this race! It will be a record course with a lot of great boats out there competing. We'll keep our fingers crossed that we're out there with them.

Bud McKay

June 9 , 2009
Tastin' n' Racin' 2009
(click on image for high res copy)

Photo by Julie Sparrowgrove
Bud McKay, in the West Sound Electric Presents GEICO of Lakewood, skims over a lumpy Lake Sammamish June 6 for "Tastin' n' Racin' 2009."

March 26, 2009
Bud going through capsule training on March 21, 2009, at Underwater Sports in Seattle.

Click here for low res video clip
(Recommended for computers that operate at the speed of carrier pigeons)

Click here for high res video clip
(Recommended for computers that operate at the speed of sound)

April 2008
Unlimited Lights Hydroplane Racing Association's Spring Training

Photo by Chris Denslow
Bud McKay, driving the GEICO of Lakewood Presents West Sound Electric, runs on Lake Washington with the Miss Bardahl.

Aug. 22, 2006

Photo by Mark Sharley
Bud McKay, driving the GEICO Presents Namron Racing Team, wins "quicksilver" at Silverdale. Click on the photo for a larger image.

July 10, 2006
Photos from Black Lake

Tim Crowley took some photos of us racing at Black Lake at the Western Divisionals. He's posted some of them on his website.

Click here to view photos

Posted March 15, 2006 -- Adam Wilson
Inboard Powerboat Circuit

A nation-wide promotional video the inboard division made when they created the Inboard Powerboat Circuit. Watch close to see the Namron Racing Team in the video.

Click here to check it out

Promotion