Guest Blog by Brett Seubert, president, UMPBA
The Upper Midwest Power Boat Association kicked off its first race of the 2024 season in Chetek, Wis., on Saturday, June 8. This was the first time the UMPBA raced at this venue so early in the season but the weather held together for a fun, fast and safe day on Lake Chetek.
The season opener kicked off around 11:30 a.m. and started out with some close racing in the 65 mph class, which saw six boats and over 30 entrees. Fast forward to the last class of the day – unlimited – where a Jet boat driven by Jason Fandre took the win with a top speed of a blistering 116mph in 800’. Below is the list of the class winners for Chetek.
65 mph class:
- Scott Kunke
- Mark Gajdos
- Aaron Ashenbrenner
75 mph class:
- Jake Smiley
- Kevin Johnson
- Mark Gajdos/Scott Kunke
85 mph class:
- Bob Carlson
- Chris Lake
- Jack Devlin
95 mph class:
- Nick Petersen
- Ed Lamb
- Chris Daniels
105 mph class:
- Chris Daniels
- Dan Bulger
- Ed Lamb
Unlimited class:
- Jason Fandre
- Chris Daniels
Mercury Racing, in its commitment to Wide Open and its history in powerboat racing, is proud to serve as a season sponsor of the UMPBA. The UMPBA is a non-profit organization that started in 2005, dedicated to bringing the thrill of high-performance boating to its local communities. It has classes that are open to all types of propulsion systems: outboards, inboards, jets, v-drives, as long as the entrant stays within the MPH limit of whatever bracket they are racing. The brackets are set up at 10 mph intervals and range from 65 mph under to 95-105 mph, with an additional unlimited class where any speed goes. The UMPBA uses a system by LiveTime Scoring to monitor speeds and any boats breaking out of the mph brackets. It is a GPS/Transponder based speed and data accusation system used across many powersport platforms from F1 boats to racing drones.
The Upper Midwest Power Boat Association’s next race is in Pelican Lake, Wis., on July 20, followed by Stevens Point, Wis., on August 10, and the end of season finals September 7-8, in Fremont, Wis. We look forward to seeing you on the water!
