Locally-based hydroplane Miss Peters and May will have to wait until Sunday to see how boat upgrades influence performance. The race this weekend is the Gold Cup, the longest- running competition in motor sports in the country. Detroit, host of this year’s event, is celebrating 100 years of boat racing.

Tom Thompson drove our local boat and has been showing improvement each time out. During qualifications on Friday, the boat was faster each of six consecutive laps, culminating with a top speed of over 152 miles an hour,

Racing was scheduled for Saturday with completion Sunday. However, after the first set of heats, the high winds, thunder and lightning moved in over the Detroit River course and forced the cancellation of the rest of the day’s racing.

Scott and Shannon Raney, owners of our local boat, are pleased with the improvements it has shown and are looking forward to showing more in a busy schedule Sunday, as Saturday’s canceled heats will be added to Sunday’s schedule.

In the racing Saturday, Jimmy Shane won the first heat in his Home Street Bank boat, followed by J. Michael Kelly in the Graham Trucking. Miss Peters and May took third while the Miss Rock suffered engine failure.

The second heat was won by Andrew Tate, winner of the race in Seattle in his boat, now called the Delta/Realtrac. Second was Brian Perkins in the Miss Al Deeby and the third was Graham Trucking II, driven by Jeff Bernard. Rookie Corey Peabody finished fourth in the Spirit of Detroit.

They were able to run the first of two heats in the second round before the bad weather kicked in. Shane and the Home Street was first once again followed by Bernard in the Graham Trucking II and Peabody with the Spirit of Detroit.

Heat 2B, which will include our local Miss Peters and May, will be run Sunday morning. The remaining two sets of preliminary heats in the finals will be Sunday afternoon Detroit time.

Follow the results here on My Edmonds News.

— By Harry Gatjens