Fairchild and Shepard Post First Career Wins in Toledo
By Rick Stoff
Tim Seebold’s Boat Crashes, Later Catches Fire During Final Event
TOLEDO, OHIO (August 15) – Sunday was a tough day to be a boat racer on the Maumee River, unless you were from northern Illinois and your name was Chris – or Kris.
Series points leader Tim Seebold crashed and rejoined the race, only to have his boat catch fire. Jason Campbell, who came to town second in the standings, had engines go sour on two different boats during the final.
Chris Fairchild of N. Aurora, Ill., posted his first career victory in the Champ Boat Series by surviving rough water in a crash- and fire-filled 50 laps comprising the first Toledo River Roar. He averaged 107.532 m.p.h. in a race that took more than two and a half hours to complete.
Kris Shepard of Antioch, Ill., was the winner in the 30-lap final for the SST-120 class of boats.
The River Roar, being held in downtown Toledo, is the fifth of eight races this season for the Champ Boat Series presented by Mercury Racing. The Champ and SST-120 boats competed on a 1.1-mile course.
Seebold started on the pole for the Bud Light Racing Team but was beaten to the first turn by Campbell. The race was stopped twice in the early laps for barrel-rolls by brothers Page and Ned Mihajlovic of Pompano Beach, Fla., who crashed at turn three on consecutive laps. Neither was seriously injured.
Campbell still led the race at lap 17 as defending Champ Boat Series champion Terry Rinker closed in to challenge for the lead when his engine failed. Three laps later Seebold was catching Fairchild to challenge for second place when his boat took a bounce in rough water and stuffed into the river, damaging his hull and engine.
During the red flag period needed to collect debris from Seebold’s boat, Campbell realized his engine was damaged and switched to a backup boat, as did Rinker. Seebold’s crew made hasty repairs to his boat. Fairchild took the lead on the restart and Seebold’s boat started misfiring immediately. As Seebold coasted around the course back to the ramp, his engine caught fire and the race was stopped again on lap 29. The rescue crew helped put out the fire and tow the boat from the course. Seebold was done for the day and finished 12th.
Fairchild’s Hooter’s Racing Team boat resumed the lead on the final restart and pulled from the field over the final 21 laps. He finished a third of a lap ahead of Wyatt Nelson of Syracuse, N.Y., and Lynn Simburger of Elsah, Ill., who claimed their first career top-three finishes in the top class of the Champ Boat Series.
Campbell’s backup boat began slowing in the final laps of the race. The boat of Mark Major began sinking as the race ended and was caught and put under tow minutes before it went under.
The Champ class has produced four winners in five races so far this season. The series resumes action next weekend at 33rd annual Bud Light St. Louis Grand Prix.
(more)
Bud Light Racing Team/Toledo
Page 2
SST-120
Kris Shepard of Antioch, Ill., earned his first victory in the Champ Boat Series SST-120 class, coming back from a crash that soaked his boat during practice on Friday. Shepard started first in Sunday’s 30-lap final and held off Scott Landgraf of Maple Plain, Minn., who finished second and edged closer to the top of the series championship standings.
Landgraf finished second while points leader Bill Rucker of Oakdale, Calif., finished sixth. The SST-120 class has two races remaining in its season, at St. Louis, Mo., and Windsor, Colo., over the next two weekends.
Vince Voisin of Atlanta, Ga., finished third and J.R. Saffold of Tampa, Fla., was fourth. Randy Rinker of Syracuse, Ind., was fifth. Shepard is the fourth different winner of 2004 in the SST-120 class. Landgraf, Voisin and Rucker also have been race winners.
The race moved Landgraf to within 30 points of Rucker in the class standings.
Champ Boat Final
Pos. No. Driver Home Laps Avg. Speed
1. 62 Chris Fairchild N. Aurora, Ill. 50 107.532 mph
2. 39 Wyatt Nelson Syracuse, N.Y. 50
3. 72 Lynn Simburger Elsah, Ill. 50
4. 34 Todd Bowden Monrovia, Calif. 50
5. 71 Pete Nydahl Bristol, Wisc. 50
6. 17 Mark Major New Market, Ont. 49
7. 5 Jason Campbell Chandler, Ariz. 47
8. 10 Terry Rinker Riverview, Fla. 47
9. 78 David Ratcliffe Highland, Mich. 46
10. 58 Bill Gohr-r Lake Villa, Ill. 46
11. 26 Brian Venton Toronto, Ontario 31
12. 5 Tim Seebold Osage Beach, Mo. 19
13. 2 Matt Sadl-r Fenton, Mo. 17
14. 22 Garrett Armstrong Hartland, Wisc. 12
15. 43 Ned Mihajlovic-r Pompano Beach, Fla. 5
16. 44 Page Mihajlovic-r Pompano Beach, Fla. 4
r-Sea-Way Marine Rookie Candidate
.
Champ Boat Series 2004 Season Schedule and Winners
June 5-6 New Roads, Louisiana Todd Bowden (Champ) Scott Landgraf (SST-120)
June 19-20 Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan Tim Seebold (Champ) Vince Voisin (SST-120)
June 26-27 Bay City, Michigan Jason Campbell (Champ) Bill Rucker (SST-120)
July 17-18 Saskatoon, Saskatchewan Tim Seebold (Champ)
Aug. 14-15 Toledo, Ohio Chris Fairchild (Champ) & Kris Shepard (SST-120)
Aug. 20-22 St. Louis, Missouri Champ & SST-120
Aug. 28-29 Windsor, Colorado Champ & SST-120
Sept. 18-19 San Diego, California Champ
Champ Boat Series Television
Champ Boat Series races are taped for later broadcast on The Outdoor Channel. The Toledo race will be broadcast on the cable television network at 9 p.m. Eastern on Wednesday, October 27.
By Rick Stoff
Tim Seebold’s Boat Crashes, Later Catches Fire During Final Event
TOLEDO, OHIO (August 15) – Sunday was a tough day to be a boat racer on the Maumee River, unless you were from northern Illinois and your name was Chris – or Kris.
Series points leader Tim Seebold crashed and rejoined the race, only to have his boat catch fire. Jason Campbell, who came to town second in the standings, had engines go sour on two different boats during the final.
Chris Fairchild of N. Aurora, Ill., posted his first career victory in the Champ Boat Series by surviving rough water in a crash- and fire-filled 50 laps comprising the first Toledo River Roar. He averaged 107.532 m.p.h. in a race that took more than two and a half hours to complete.
Kris Shepard of Antioch, Ill., was the winner in the 30-lap final for the SST-120 class of boats.
The River Roar, being held in downtown Toledo, is the fifth of eight races this season for the Champ Boat Series presented by Mercury Racing. The Champ and SST-120 boats competed on a 1.1-mile course.
Seebold started on the pole for the Bud Light Racing Team but was beaten to the first turn by Campbell. The race was stopped twice in the early laps for barrel-rolls by brothers Page and Ned Mihajlovic of Pompano Beach, Fla., who crashed at turn three on consecutive laps. Neither was seriously injured.
Campbell still led the race at lap 17 as defending Champ Boat Series champion Terry Rinker closed in to challenge for the lead when his engine failed. Three laps later Seebold was catching Fairchild to challenge for second place when his boat took a bounce in rough water and stuffed into the river, damaging his hull and engine.
During the red flag period needed to collect debris from Seebold’s boat, Campbell realized his engine was damaged and switched to a backup boat, as did Rinker. Seebold’s crew made hasty repairs to his boat. Fairchild took the lead on the restart and Seebold’s boat started misfiring immediately. As Seebold coasted around the course back to the ramp, his engine caught fire and the race was stopped again on lap 29. The rescue crew helped put out the fire and tow the boat from the course. Seebold was done for the day and finished 12th.
Fairchild’s Hooter’s Racing Team boat resumed the lead on the final restart and pulled from the field over the final 21 laps. He finished a third of a lap ahead of Wyatt Nelson of Syracuse, N.Y., and Lynn Simburger of Elsah, Ill., who claimed their first career top-three finishes in the top class of the Champ Boat Series.
Campbell’s backup boat began slowing in the final laps of the race. The boat of Mark Major began sinking as the race ended and was caught and put under tow minutes before it went under.
The Champ class has produced four winners in five races so far this season. The series resumes action next weekend at 33rd annual Bud Light St. Louis Grand Prix.
(more)
Bud Light Racing Team/Toledo
Page 2
SST-120
Kris Shepard of Antioch, Ill., earned his first victory in the Champ Boat Series SST-120 class, coming back from a crash that soaked his boat during practice on Friday. Shepard started first in Sunday’s 30-lap final and held off Scott Landgraf of Maple Plain, Minn., who finished second and edged closer to the top of the series championship standings.
Landgraf finished second while points leader Bill Rucker of Oakdale, Calif., finished sixth. The SST-120 class has two races remaining in its season, at St. Louis, Mo., and Windsor, Colo., over the next two weekends.
Vince Voisin of Atlanta, Ga., finished third and J.R. Saffold of Tampa, Fla., was fourth. Randy Rinker of Syracuse, Ind., was fifth. Shepard is the fourth different winner of 2004 in the SST-120 class. Landgraf, Voisin and Rucker also have been race winners.
The race moved Landgraf to within 30 points of Rucker in the class standings.
Champ Boat Final
Pos. No. Driver Home Laps Avg. Speed
1. 62 Chris Fairchild N. Aurora, Ill. 50 107.532 mph
2. 39 Wyatt Nelson Syracuse, N.Y. 50
3. 72 Lynn Simburger Elsah, Ill. 50
4. 34 Todd Bowden Monrovia, Calif. 50
5. 71 Pete Nydahl Bristol, Wisc. 50
6. 17 Mark Major New Market, Ont. 49
7. 5 Jason Campbell Chandler, Ariz. 47
8. 10 Terry Rinker Riverview, Fla. 47
9. 78 David Ratcliffe Highland, Mich. 46
10. 58 Bill Gohr-r Lake Villa, Ill. 46
11. 26 Brian Venton Toronto, Ontario 31
12. 5 Tim Seebold Osage Beach, Mo. 19
13. 2 Matt Sadl-r Fenton, Mo. 17
14. 22 Garrett Armstrong Hartland, Wisc. 12
15. 43 Ned Mihajlovic-r Pompano Beach, Fla. 5
16. 44 Page Mihajlovic-r Pompano Beach, Fla. 4
r-Sea-Way Marine Rookie Candidate
.
Champ Boat Series 2004 Season Schedule and Winners
June 5-6 New Roads, Louisiana Todd Bowden (Champ) Scott Landgraf (SST-120)
June 19-20 Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan Tim Seebold (Champ) Vince Voisin (SST-120)
June 26-27 Bay City, Michigan Jason Campbell (Champ) Bill Rucker (SST-120)
July 17-18 Saskatoon, Saskatchewan Tim Seebold (Champ)
Aug. 14-15 Toledo, Ohio Chris Fairchild (Champ) & Kris Shepard (SST-120)
Aug. 20-22 St. Louis, Missouri Champ & SST-120
Aug. 28-29 Windsor, Colorado Champ & SST-120
Sept. 18-19 San Diego, California Champ
Champ Boat Series Television
Champ Boat Series races are taped for later broadcast on The Outdoor Channel. The Toledo race will be broadcast on the cable television network at 9 p.m. Eastern on Wednesday, October 27.
