Episode 195: Kevin Eacret, Part 2

We pick up our conversation with Kevin Eacret as he explains how a blown gas GP program became a legit threat and how one violent crash changed what could have been a title year. We also dig into Richards Racing’s two-boat approach, the rules that shape engine budgets and why Valleyfield demands a completely different kind of driving. 

This is part 2 to my interview with Kevin Eacret.  If you have not listened to part 1, I highly encourage you to listen to Episode 194: Kevin Eacret, Part 1 before listening to this episode.

Part 3 will be streaming starting next week on Tuesday, September 1st. 

Transcript

Copy Transcript Copied

Welcome Back And Quick Setup

SPEAKER_00 0:51

Hello Race Fans, welcome back to the podcast. Today is Tuesday, August 25th,

Hop Family GP Program Origins

SPEAKER_00 0:56

2026. And this is episode 195, part two of my conversation with Kevin Ekrit. Now, before we get into this episode, if you haven't heard part one of my interview with Kevin Ekrit back in episode 194, I would highly recommend you go back and start from the beginning as he gives a lot of detail about a lot of his history getting involved with the hydroplane racing and his gears racing with unlimited. So we talked a little bit about his starts with the Grand Prix organization in the last episode towards the end, and we're going to continue that talking about his times racing with a hop family. And we're going to get more into his grand prix racing career with this episode. I don't think I nearly need to say much more. So let's jump in and listen to part two of my interview with Kevin E. Critt. Well, shortly after that, and I'm kind of shaky with some of the years and whatnot, but uh you were involved with the Hop family racing with them, with your team. Yep. Talk more about that time and what lessons you came away. Was it another different endeavor, different organization, right? That was a GP class, also.

SPEAKER_01 2:07

Um, but Jerry, he'd been working on what they call a blown gas engine. Because all of our GP boats run injected methanol. And he was trying to show the guys that held old UL boats or uh Grand National Hydro that if you wanted to come GP racing, you could put a blown gas engine together. Because running the methanol boats, you need twice the fuel storage as you do a gas boat. Oh, okay. A lot of people don't realize that. So you run through twice as much methanol, and that was everybody saying is I don't have a fuel cell big enough to run methanol, I'm not gonna add added tanks. So Jerry he he wanted to show people that you can be competitive with the blown gas engine. And they acquired another hull and put a blown gas engine together, and the first year they had Steve Huff run the boat for them. That's right, and he did pretty well. Um, he had his issues, and once again, going from a different class, Steve did very well in the five-leader. Well, GP's a whole different animal, you know, there's a lot more different systems, and they struggled a little bit the first year, and the next year, Steve and them parted ways. I'm not sure what happened or how it happened, you know. I'm sure it was on you know, Steve's. I would have to guess and say it was Steve was stepping away so he could concentrate on his five liter because I believe he did win the national high points the year he stepped away in five liter. I could be wrong. Well, he also he was also involved in quite a lot of other he was involved in electric dragsters and he got his

Learning The Blown Gas Powerband

SPEAKER_01 3:46

start on drag bikes, so he was still doing Bonneville speed records on bikes, he was doing electric dragsters on the pavement, doing his hydro. So, like I said, I'm not sure what sparked the separation there. I'm sure it was mutual. But they got a hold of me, asked me if I come help run the boat. They knew that at that point in time I had good experience with Scott and the UL boat, that I could help him out quite a bit because running two boats is a lot of work. You gotta maintain your stuff. Yeah. And um once again, I'm back in partnership with Jimmy James. You know, I had my buddy, and we ran the blown gas engine, and it took us a while to get it figured out. Well, it took me a while to get it figured out because top speed it was about the same. Okay, but the mid-range and acceleration was so different on them, you know. The the methanol engines just way snappier, yeah. But I did well, and I ended up taking second in national high points with the blown gas engine, and I loved it because I was still working for Scott Pierce. Scott Pierce was running his GP boat. Scott Pierce had me covered, yeah. But, you know, we're first race, we're going to Madison, Indiana. Oh yeah, I can't wait to show you what a fast boat looks like. And yeah, he was right. He he was running, fighting first and second place for Greg Hopp. Yeah, yeah, you know, and and the GP20 at that point in time because they were an unstoppable boat. And welcome third lap of the first heat. I see a yellow boat floating there because I went by him and I'd have to go tell Scott how fast his boat was for three laps, but the race is four, so he didn't like that very much. It was fun, you know. So now we have this battle going back and forth because I'm working for Scott, but I'm driving for hops. Right. And so yeah, it was fun, you know, and it brought a lot of fun. Complete underdog. Nobody expected anything out of that team, an experimental engine. And for us to start and finish and finish off the year in second place high points, which had a nasty accident at the end of the year.

SPEAKER_00 6:03

Something sponsin fell off.

SPEAKER_01 6:05

Yeah, ripped the whole left front sponsor off the boat. I got cut off going through a corner. Okay. Boat kind of came airborne and down sideways a little bit, and the whole left sponsor and canoe just exited stage left. Yeah. So had that not happened, Greg went dead that heat also. I believe I would have passed him for national high point championship. Wow. That was the only heat all year long that boat didn't finish. And uh, kind of hard to finish missing a quarter of your boat. Right. Right. What could have been? What could have been?

SPEAKER_00 6:38

Exactly. So I remember that I was down there that year, and I think it happened right in front of the pits. Yep. It did. Yeah, the water went everywhere, and your boat was there, and then there was more of your boat floating away from it. I said, Okay, that's he's not gonna come back.

SPEAKER_01 6:51

Yeah, this isn't looking good. So, but no, it was a good year. Finished second in the high points. Greg finished first

The Crash That Changed High Points

SPEAKER_01 6:58

in high points, and so yeah, no, it was a great year. Brett Holloway was the crew chief for the boat that year, and so he had great excitement. You talked to him, that was one of the highlights of his racing career. Jimmy James was on our team, he's still with me now. You know, we we talk about that all the time because two boats and finishing first and second is a great thing to be proud of.

SPEAKER_00 7:20

Yeah, I mean, you can't do any better than that, right?

SPEAKER_01 7:22

No, no, not at all, especially when you're mean being the underdog and people didn't expect nothing. But one way or another, and that short little gray-haired midget was always standing there on the podium, normally in third spot, you know. It's funny when you look at pictures, and there's me standing there with Ed Preston and Greg, and I look like a little minion or something. You know, but it's very good times.

SPEAKER_00 7:44

Yeah, fun, fun to think back on.

SPEAKER_01 7:47

Yeah, absolutely.

SPEAKER_00 7:49

So well, from

Joining Richards Racing And Expanding

SPEAKER_00 7:52

there, uh you know again, I'm kind of fuzzy on some of the years, but you came on board with Richards Racing. What what year was that?

SPEAKER_01 8:00

Let's see here. Um we're in 26, 25, 20. I guess in 23, Brian bought the 17. And they were getting ready to go racing, get ready to head out. And I got a phone call asking to come lend a hand because of my experience with the boats and just you know, whether it be the unlimited's or GPs or whatnot, whatnot. It just they needed a crew guy. And so I said, Yeah, sure, not a problem. And I came along and helped. That's I I was helping the GP20 team before that happened. Right. I went from the hops and I started helping the 20 team.

SPEAKER_00 8:41

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 8:42

So I went with them for a year or two on the road, helping them run the boat, and then I thought I was just gonna be a pickup crew guy for a race or two back east, and well, he asked me to go to Tri-Cities and Seafare with them, and I did so. Went down to San Diego that year, and everything was all good. Well, the following year, Dustin was scheduled, Dustin was the driver that year.

SPEAKER_00 9:07

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 9:08

Well, the following year, Dustin took a step back, said, I'm not driving anymore, and they named Tyler Eccles the driver of the 17 boat. He's like, Alright. Well, I went back down to the 20 shop and I'm helping them because fixing the boat from a blowover. Um, Larry Lynn and Ed Preston from the 20 team, they were talking about wanting me to get it in the 20 boat and take the 20 boat for some laps and see what we can do to help get that thing dialed in and you know, just get my thoughts on it. So I was pretty excited. That's a nice team. I I love the guys on that team. Superior boat, just beautiful equipment. Yeah, beautiful. And then I get a phone call from Brian again. Brian says he would like me back on his team. And I'm like, oh, that's great, you know. But you you I kind of want to get back into driving. These guys are offering me to take their boat for a ride. And yeah, well, you know, you offered somebody your seat in the 17, and I don't, I I I won't push somebody out of a seat. And he's looking well, what if I bought another boat? Well, now I'm trying to be a little hard-headed because I I got the option to get the GP20 boat. And if you've ever met that team and that crew, everything is top-notch. I mean boat, trailer, hauler, uniforms. I mean, it's down to the T on how something should be ran. And I'm gonna have the possibility of driving this boat. So I told Brian, well, I don't know. Depends on what boat you buy, I suppose. Yeah, and he told me he was looking at the GP10. Well, back in, I don't know, I guess it's probably 2013 or so, I flew down to Lake Havasu and painted the GP10 for Dean Rojas. So I always had a love affair with this boat. Dean would bring it out, and it's just like, oh, that's a sexy looking boat. I don't know what it was. That boat just always got me. And so yeah, he said he was gonna buy the boat, and I'm like, Well, that's one boat I would come and buy or come and drive. Right, right. Brian said, Do you think I'm stupid? I said, for buying another GP boat? He goes, Yeah, oh, absolutely you're stupid. Worst idea in the world. Yeah, but it's fun. But you give me the shot, and you know, I'll run it to the best of my abilities. I'll try to keep any worries about that boat off your chest. I know that the 17, Miss Renee, is the flagship. Brian already had a killer engine program going together for the 17. He's already worked on it from the following year. I told him I'll come run the 10, I'll take care of it as best as I can. And I know at this point in time it's a filler boat. And he's like, nope, I don't want you to think of it that way. It's not a filler boat,

GPA Versus HRL Engine Rules

SPEAKER_01 12:00

I want you to go out and race it. Okay. And Brian, being a man of his word, he has put together an engine program the following year for that boat that was just phenomenal. And yeah, he he tries to give equal equipment to each boat, and here you go. And allows Jimmy and I to run the 10 boat to the best of our abilities. And well, thank you.

SPEAKER_00 12:29

Can't thank Brian enough. Yeah, yeah. Well, it's and glad that there's he has two boats out there, so it's more for the sport, right? There's more boats out there. Um but I feel talking to you before, I feel like he said that there was a a different kind of motor program in the 10 than the 17. Absolutely. You talk a little bit about what the differences are.

SPEAKER_01 12:49

Yeah, absolutely. We we have everybody's heard of the HRL, the Hydroplane Racing League, and the APBA Grand Prix America. Well, Grand Prix America, our engine package, is they'll let you. We got cubic inch standards, you know, but you can run any head you'd like, any cam you'd like, and you're delegated to a 671 blower. You can't do anymore. Well, the HRL setup allows you to run which we call option B for APBA. Is it's still the 468 cubic inches, but I am regulated to a set of spec heads, dart heads, or what you call. Um, I've got cam limitations. I I can only go so high and lift of cam. But I can run an 871 blower. So you two different engine combinations. We run the 671 in the GP17, and we run the 871 package in the GP10. And a lot of that is a lot of people are well, the GPA system's better or the HRL engines better. And well, we have the possibilities to run both, so let's figure out what we feel is better. Yeah, you know. So yeah, in my opinion, I like the 871 setup. I think it's more financially feasible to put an engine together with the 871 setup, having the spec heads the way they are and the limitations on the cam. Some of these head builders, you you can go out and you can be out, you know, close to $20,000 in a set of heads. Oh wow. I think my heads, brand new heads, new everything inside them. I think they're $7,000 or so for a set of heads.

SPEAKER_00 14:41

Yeah, notable difference.

SPEAKER_01 14:42

So yeah, it it it just helps bring the cost down. And I think the power is pretty close to being the same. You know, as you can tell, the 10 and 17 are pretty fairly matched, especially when the 17 is running well, which is great.

Finally Driving The GP10

SPEAKER_01 14:58

I I I love to see it running great, but in the same aspect, my little cousin drives the 17. So, you know, everybody always, well, isn't there team driving? No, no, there is absolutely not because you got two relatives in a boat, and neither one of us want to lose to the other person. No, so it the only team driving there is is it's two Richards boats, and neither one of them want to lose. So there's our team driving.

SPEAKER_00 15:25

You don't want to see him for Christmas Day and then hear him lost to him.

SPEAKER_01 15:28

No, you don't want to hear your little cousin beat you, which I've heard my little cousin beat me.

SPEAKER_00 15:33

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 15:33

Ah, it works.

SPEAKER_00 15:34

I'll get you. Well, it's funny you can have that dynamic with your and keep it with your family like that.

SPEAKER_01 15:40

You have to.

SPEAKER_00 15:41

Yeah, yeah. Well, going back to the GP10 though, uh, I forgot to ask though, because you said you you always had a special place in your heart for that boat. What was it like to sit in it for the first time and go out on the water with it that first time?

SPEAKER_01 15:54

Well, I sat in it quite a few times before Brian actually bought the boat. Um, there's a couple times when Dean

Why The Boat Is The Freak

SPEAKER_01 16:03

Rojas still owned the boat. It was up here in Washington, and he wanted to go testing. And hey, Kevin, I want you to drive my boat.

SPEAKER_00 16:09

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 16:10

And I got real excited because, like I said, I already had a love affair with the boat, and those never transpired. So when Brian actually purchased the boat and I had a chance to get in it and drive it for the first time, I was ecstatic. It was, you know, it was that first date with that cute girl that you were always afraid to talk to, you know, and so it was a good time. It was the boat did well, the boat handled well, and um, yeah, it was very very gratifying time.

SPEAKER_00 16:40

Yeah, yeah. Well, uh it was called the Challenger, I believe, right? It was called the Charger. The charger. The charger. The charger. Yes. Uh, but it's now called the Freak. Exactly. How where did this name come from?

SPEAKER_01 16:54

Well, the name actually came with the boat. Okay. Um Dean Rojas, he he had the charger. And that was his boat. That was his model. That's that was his brand that he sold was the charger. And well, the nickname to the boat was always the freak. It was on the back corner of the boat when we got it. The the the name came with the boat. Okay. Okay. But we liked the freak. And so we, you know, I've always loved the name The Freak. You know, I thought it was great. And so when we got the boat, um we're not San Diego fans, we're not Charger fans. No. And and the logo kind of represented the San Diego Charger. I love going to San Diego, mind you. I love the race site down there. But I'm a Seahawk fan, not a Charger fan. And we like the freak. You look at me, I'm kind of a freak of nature. You know, I broke my neck in three different places in a motorcycle accident, and I walked out of the bushes, stood other bike up, and rode away. I broke C1, C2, and C3 in my neck. That doesn't happen. Um, a later time I ruptured my Achilles. That's back when I was driving the unlimited boat. Yeah. Um ruptured, ruptured my Achilles tendon. One of the first people around that had a non-surgical reattachment of the Achilles tendon. People are like, that doesn't work. Well, I'm I'm I'm a freak of nature. I'm here to tell you that it does work, you know. Um, Jimmy James, my crew chief. He looks like Rob Zombie's brother. Right. You know, I mean, where's a top hat in the middle of summer? Who's gonna do this?

SPEAKER_00 18:36

With a long beard.

SPEAKER_01 18:38

Long beard. I mean, it's it's it's right there. And my radio guy is my uncle, which is Boston's father. He's my uncle. People call him the Hydro Jesus, long hair, hippie guy, right? He's got the beard going on. And I mean, you look at us, and we all look like freaks in our own way. And so it's you know what? Let's embrace our inner freak. We're all freaks, the freaks coming out of the box, and we are now the freak. And it's been actually taken very well because there's a lot of people, they'll ask you where the name comes from, and I'll tell them we're all freaks in our own nature, right? Just embrace it, quit running from it. Let's embrace the freak. True, and there's been people, I've been called a freak once or twice. Yep, so have I. We're gonna embrace it. We're proud to be a freak. Yeah, wow. Oh, that's my new favorite boat, you know, is this person's looking at you. And yeah, a lot of people probably look at them and go, look at that freak. Well, you know what? Everybody's different, right? But everybody's the same. So that's where it comes from. Yeah. Get your freak on. Yeah, get your freak on, enjoy your, you know, embrace your inner freak. Whatever the case might be, it goes in all directions.

SPEAKER_00 19:50

So you know, we love it. Yeah, I was gonna say I love that. Yeah, embrace, embrace who you are, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 19:57

And then we came out, Jimmy's wife comes up with a design of the design on the boat, and it's one side's got the tribal stripe, the other side's got the freak, and the Richard's racing. And first thing I was told is you can't do that. I'm like, what do you mean you can't do that? Because it's not symmetrical, you can't put the name on just one sponsor. It's like, well, why can't you? Yeah, you can only see one side of the boat at the time when it's up on tilt, it's the full picture. I mean, it looks, we think it's the best looking boat, Jimmy and myself. Um, think it's the best looking boat out there, you know. You run the name the freak. You look at our engine cowl, it stands apart from everybody. Right, you either love it or you hate it. You know, we happen to love it, we think it's great. Well, you never see that. That's why we like it, you know? And so, yeah, everything we try to do is slightly a little different. But we embrace it, we enjoy it, and the package came out looking great, you know. And people are, you can't do that. It's not, you don't have the freak on the other sponsor. Oh, so what? When we put it on tilt, it's upside down and backwards? That don't look right. So, you know, this whole time we've been trying to not play the same game every time. We're trying something new, trying something different. Yeah. And as we are here in the shop this weekend, trying to fix things and maintain. Boat's not broke, but as a crew, we're still here fixing and maintaining and trying to figure out what little thing we can do to get that much faster. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 22:35

Well, yeah, it takes a village to make make it happen. Oh, yeah. Um, yeah, and there's right now for listeners, there's I don't know, five or six people out there working on stuff right now out behind us. But I really do appreciate it's something different as a fan of the sport. If you look at Unlimited Snow, all the silhouettes, if you just look at the silhouettes, they're all the same. Yep, they're cookie cutters. And one thing I like about the Grand Prix by the silhouette, you can pretty much tell every boat. Out there. A lot of them, yeah. Different. They look different, right? So I appreciate that. And like I really do like the paint scheme on there because it is something different, like you said. It's not symmetrical. It's it's beats to its own drum.

SPEAKER_02 23:15

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 23:16

So yeah. I think you just need next year. You need to put get your freak on somewhere. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 23:20

Well, the first year we did it, we had freak flags. So um flying far. Yeah, it's fly your freak flag, you know, and it was pretty good. You'd walk around, see people flying their little freak flags, you know.

Valleyfield Logistics And Tight Turns

SPEAKER_01 23:32

So, or you know, let your freak fly, whatever you like to say.

SPEAKER_00 23:36

So it was fun. Well, like earlier in the interview, you said you've had a busy summer, and part of that was going up to Valleyfield. Both boats were up there. Wasn't your cousin driving at the time? I think Josh Culver was stepping in for him for the 17 Miss Renee. But you were up there with uh the GP 10 with Freak. And was that your first time in Valley Field? No.

SPEAKER_01 23:58

Um, this year was my fourth year. My first time in Valley Field, I went with Scott Pierce. We took Scott Pierce's boat to Valley Field, and um then yeah, I've driven in Valley Field every year. Brian's had the GP boat. I've gone to Valley Field. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 24:15

So talk about that experience because it's it's a different vibe over there.

SPEAKER_01 24:21

I feel like there's Valley Field is a complete different vibe. It just everything has a purpose at Valley Field. Nothing happens without a purpose. So from the day you pull into the pits, everything is on a schedule, everybody has their spot, and everything rolls. You get placed, you get parked, trucks parked. That's where you're gonna be for the weekend. Um, race course is a course you can't describe to anybody. I've watched before my first time going with Scott Pierce, I used to watch video after video to try to get Valley Field down. And it's like, man, they got some tight turns. And I remember going there the first year, and I was looking at that turn, and I'm like, you gotta be kidding me. We gotta turn around that. Then a guy speaking the best English he can because everybody's French in Valleyfield tells me that that's nothing, that's the big turn, the small turns at the other end of the course. And I thought he was kidding me, and walked to the other end of the grandstands, and lo and behold, it's like wow. So, yes, Valley Field is a driver's course. You cannot run Valley Field like any other course on the circuit or any other course you've ever been to, because you've got a tight turn and an insane turn, is basically how Valley Field is. You can't even say there's two tight turns because there's not. There's a tight turn and an insane turn. Yeah, and it'll make a driver out of you. You think you're gonna go flat footed and go through the course? That ain't gonna happen. You definitely got to check up, you gotta learn how to set up your boat. And yeah, you will hook and spin in the corners. First year I was there in Scott Boat, I hook and spun in both corners. Figured out, well, I guess you gotta lift a little bit and drive a little different. Um, past two years previous and done pretty well. This year, I get a little cocky and boats running really fast this year. I'm hanging with the best of them and very happy. And well, I was in lane one in Valley Field this year and uh went to turn two and she bit me. Yeah, and I I hooked and spun, and I don't feel bad about it. I mean, people in two fives, five liters, GPs, I'm not the only one to hook and spin in that corner on that weekend or that year. So I overdrove the boat, I didn't get it calmed down and set up enough, and she bit me. Yeah, so but it is a fun course, driver's course, and that's just for the racing at night. They'll clear out the pits again, and once the pits have fully cleared, they open them back up and have a full-blown concert at night. You know, another 20,000, 30,000 people will swap in for the concert. So now you got drivers' introductions up on the concert stage, and it's a production. The whole thing is a production morning, noon, and night.

SPEAKER_00 27:19

Yeah. Well,

Shore To Shore Fans And No Downtime

SPEAKER_00 27:20

I I mean, I haven't been there, I haven't gotten to experience it in person, but looking at the videos, it's gotta be something to see fans just shore to shore. Oh, yeah, wall to wall on both sides, not just one.

SPEAKER_01 27:35

Absolutely, because it's just in a little canal, in a little finger of a canal, and so you will blow by the grandstands. I bet you're 30 yards off the front row seat of the grandstands. Sometimes if the wind's blowing right, when the boats go by, they're so close you'll get a um mist of water. Yeah. So the fan interactions with just loving the race boat is unreal. And it's not just on both sides because down at turn two, they got a log boom kind of in Seattle. And so the whole outer, whole outer part of the lagoon gets full of boats. And so you were literally surrounded by fans at Valley Field, and they're on their feet yelling and cheering the whole time around. Doesn't matter what side of the lagoon you're on, they're gonna be cheering for you. Yeah. And um, yeah, the fan interaction's great. The race committee doesn't, they don't have any downtime, so you don't have time for the fans to get tired or bored or walk away. Because I believe they run a heat race within every five minutes. Right. You can break your boat or blow your boat over and turn two, and they're on such a tight schedule, they will pull your boat to the infield of the racetrack. If you blow it over, your boat will be floating upside down. They'll get you off the boat, they take you to the rescue dock, they make sure their drivers are okay. But your boat, she's already wet. They don't care if it's gonna float for another 10 minutes upside down. That's not their problem. Yeah, we got a race to put on, and yeah, they'll tow your boat slowly up the race course, but they're gonna send another race out while they're pulling. They won't sit and wait for your boat to come back. Yeah, you know, they'll get it out of the water as soon as they can. No time for the for delays there. No time for delays. It it they got things to happen. You know, this year we had a crane blow up on us. We lost all kinds of hydraulic fluid all over the ground. And I think they have seven or eight cranes up there, and it didn't phase them, they didn't stop at all. They they within minutes, you wouldn't have known that we had a crane blowdown. I think there was 15 boats on this one crane.

unknown 29:36

Wow.

SPEAKER_01 29:36

Well, they said this is what we're doing. We're bringing tractors and we're gonna hook you up and we're towing you guys to that crane, and these guys are going to that crane, and the

Reading Water And Surviving The Course

SPEAKER_01 29:43

show must go on. All right, just get me in the water. Yeah, and yeah, they did it. And so they got backup plans for when things go sideways. And yeah, very impressive race side. I if you haven't been to a race, definitely got to check out Ballyfield, you know. Yeah, but definitely if you have your insights, get on a team so you have your team pass because the teams can stay in the pits all night long, they're not gonna clear you out. Like I said, they have a concert at night, and so they have what they call day passes. If you're a sponsor or whatever, like that, and you have the day pass, you ain't getting back at night for the for the concert. So definitely make sure you're on a team pass and you're able to enjoy the concert at night, also. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 30:27

Well, another question about that course, it it seems very intense with how things how close things are. And imagine some of the larger courses, uh, maybe at Tri Cities, you might have a minute or not a minute, but a few seconds to think about your next move. I feel like is in Valleyfield, is it you're just constantly on your toes thinking about your next move? Yes.

SPEAKER_01 30:51

Um, they all have they all have their own particular ways. Um, but yes, Valleyfield stuff's coming at you quick. Very, very narrow finger, like I said before. So you got waves coming at both directions. Um, turn two, it doesn't seem like the waves go anywhere. So you get a vortex in lane two. And so yeah, you're you're constantly on your toes, you know, going by the front stretch of the grandstand. Waves are coming back off the side of you. So yeah, you're constantly on your toes. Um, courses, Seattle, Tri-Cities, what we, you know, basically the super speedways of boat racing. Yeah, you're on your toes because you're carrying some big speed, they're big courses, and so stuff's still coming at you fast. You're trying to read the water, read the wind, seeing what's going on, but you know that you got to be on your toes and reacting because you're carrying some good speeds. And so they all have their own insights and outs of what you got to be particular of. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 31:59

Okay. Could you imagine driving unlimited in Valley

Next Week Tease And Where To Follow

SPEAKER_00 32:02

Field like they did one time?

SPEAKER_01 32:03

No, no, I could not. I I cannot. We put three GPs on the course in Valley Field. Last year I was in lane three, and after the first lap, we were coming around lane two, and the two inner boats, we were all driving hard enough that the two inside boats, lane one and lane two, well, by the time we came through lane or turn two, I was running over an outer course marker buoy, and I couldn't go any closer to the left because that's how hard the boat slid out. So that's a GP boat. Yeah, I could not imagine trying to do that in an unlimited boat. There is no way. No.

SPEAKER_00 32:39

So I don't think we'll ever see that again.

SPEAKER_01 32:41

No, I don't think that'll happen neither.

SPEAKER_00 32:46

Well, Knuckleheads, once again, that's all the time we have for this week. Really hope you enjoyed listening to part two of my interview with Kevin Ecrit. And make sure you come back next week as we're going to pick up right where we left off with part three and the conclusion of my interview with Kevin. In the meantime, don't forget to check us out on social media. We're on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, and also online with our website www.richateltalk.com. On there you can see all of our previous episodes. And check out that Richel Talk Plus subscription tab because you're going to get fine more information about what you can earn by having a paid monthly subscription. And as you get back to the show with your support, you also get some bonus features with that as well. I got nothing else for you though this week. So until next time, I hope to see you at the Racer.