July 21-23, 2006 (21st Annual).
The 21st Annual Augusta Southern Nationals had several changes from prior years. First, the Night of Fire was moved to Friday night and held at the 8th Street Plaza adjacent to the Riverwalk just blocks from the race site. This move was made at the suggestion from several drivers that the normal Thursday night date did not give them sufficient time to arrive in town and get set up before the event. Also the usual location at the National Hills Shopping Center located several miles form the race site presented logistical problems to tow the boats to that location. Both the drivers and spectators seem to be unanimous in their opinion that this change was a good one. Secondly, the annual driver/patron low country shrimp boil was moved to Thursday night to accommodate the change of date for the Night of Fire.
A total of 66 boats registered for the event, which was down from the 83 for the 2005 event. Several factors influenced the reduced attendance including the high price of fuel and the fact that there were three events back to back including Oklahoma City, OK, Augusta, GA and Gadsden, AL. A summary of registered boats by class includes:
|
Class
|
Number of Boats
|
Class
|
Number of Boats
|
|
TFH
|
7
|
TAH
|
3
|
|
TAF
|
4
|
PM
|
6
|
|
PCE
|
5
|
PE
|
4
|
|
TE
|
14
|
ME
|
9
|
|
SE
|
8
|
RR
|
6
|
|
PWC
|
2
|
|
|
TFH - TOP FUEL HYDRO / TAH - TOP ALCOHOL HYDRO / TAF - TOP ALCOHOL FLAT / PM - PRO MOD
PCE - PRO COMP ELIMINATOR / PE - PRO ELIMINATOR / TE - TOP ELIMINATOR / ME - MODIFIED ELIMINATOR
RR - RIVER RACER / SE - STOCK ELIMINATOR / PCW - PERSONAL WATER CRAFT
Friday’s test and tune day saw limited action from the drivers and concluded at approximately 5:00 PM to allow the teams to prepare for the Night of Fire. Problem Child (TFH) won the “Best Fire Show”, and the Pro Mod boat Hyperactive won the money for the “Best Dressed Crew” in the non-TFH category.
In Saturday TFH qualifying action, Greg Tedesco continued to have his problems in Augusta, as he was only able to qualify in the number five slot after two runs with a best ET of 8.376. However, the Speed Sport Special boat driven by John Haas showed the crowd that he was ready to repeat the record making runs he made earlier in the year at the Red Bluff race as he posted a 232.72 mph pass in 5.12 seconds on his first attempt. A rain delay late in the afternoon prohibited him from trying to improve on that and he ended up qualifying in the number two position behind Dale Ishimaru in Problem Child with a 225.78 in 5.08 seconds. Qualifying positions for all classes are listed below:
Qualifying
Augusta Southern Nationals 2006
|
Position
|
Boat Number
|
Name
|
Driver
|
ET
|
MPH
|
TOP FUEL HYDRO
|
|
1
|
712
|
Problem Child
|
Dale Ishimaru
|
5.085
|
225.78
|
|
2
|
1
|
Speed Sport Special
|
John Haas
|
5.126
|
232.72
|
|
3
|
724
|
Hot Licks
|
Daryl Ehrlich
|
5.230
|
186.90
|
|
4
|
420
|
Toxic Rocket
|
Glen Wilson
|
5.365
|
187.00
|
|
5
|
702
|
Loose Cannon
|
Greg Tedesco
|
8.376
|
82.52
|
|
6
|
725
|
Berryman Bullet
|
John White
|
10.00
|
00.00
|
|
7
|
469
|
Kemosaby
|
Richard Bean
|
|
|
TOP ALCOHOL HYDRO
|
|
1
|
765
|
The Yellow Boat
|
Gus Ward
|
5.567
|
211.64
|
|
2
|
414
|
Parental Discretion Advised
|
Andy Reynolds
|
5.830
|
203.94
|
|
3
|
628
|
Fair Warning
|
Terry Newton
|
7.00
|
00.00
|
TOP ALCOHOL FLAT
|
|
1
|
535
|
Modern Outlaw
|
Tony Scarlata
|
6.489
|
171.12
|
|
2
|
674
|
Mako Force
|
Don Ermshar
|
6.811
|
163.96
|
|
3
|
2882
|
ATTA Special
|
Bill Diez
|
7.123
|
157.62
|
|
4
|
084
|
Bad Attitude
|
Biddy Tippett
|
7.556
|
147.88
|
PRO MOD
|
|
1
|
025
|
Two Bit Trip
|
Charlie Zalaudek
|
7.008
|
164.98
|
|
2
|
281
|
Dick Tater
|
Brutus Utter
|
7.063
|
162.52
|
|
3
|
669
|
Hyperactive
|
Jarrett Silvey
|
7.101
|
170.68
|
|
4
|
178
|
Outta Reach
|
Doug Maderer
|
7.115
|
169.76
|
|
5
|
010
|
Young Guns
|
Joe Link
|
7.570
|
151.08
|
|
6
|
050
|
Gone Crazy
|
Ken Diffenbaugh
|
|
|
PRO COMP ELIMINATOR
|
|
1
|
004
|
Who’s Cheat’ Who
|
Tony Costantino
|
8-053
|
|
|
2
|
508
|
Hot Shot
|
Dave Lipinski
|
8.979
|
|
|
3
|
031
|
Quik Trick II
|
Phil Roeschen
|
8.527
|
|
|
4
|
895
|
Flat Magic
|
Milton Tolen
|
7.956
|
|
|
5
|
302
|
Delaware State
|
Henry Morris
|
8.609
|
|
PRO ELIMINATOR
|
|
1
|
381
|
Fuelish Reaction
|
Ray Wahler
|
8.378
|
120.84
|
|
2
|
739
|
No Name
|
Richard Tippett
|
8.716
|
66.54
|
|
3
|
066
|
Dazed & Confused
|
John Granovac
|
9.000
|
00.00
|
|
4
|
202
|
Lookin’ Good
|
Bobby Mills
|
10.000
|
00.00
|
|
5
|
369
|
Rocket Man Racing
|
Doug Trickel
|
|
|
TOP ELIMINATOR
|
|
1
|
1917
|
Long Shot
|
Thomas Jameson
|
9.002
|
120.58
|
|
2
|
316
|
Mojo
|
Jim Dunn
|
9.012
|
113.06
|
|
3
|
551
|
Daddy Rat
|
Gregg Sink
|
9.066
|
117.44
|
|
4
|
102
|
Flash Point
|
Matthew Ladd
|
9.089
|
114.48
|
|
5
|
122
|
Another Temptation
|
Dallas Collier
|
9.108
|
119.36
|
|
6
|
569
|
Its Only Money
|
Randy Reynolds
|
9.140
|
97.70
|
|
7
|
406
|
Third Shift
|
Jeffrey Field
|
9.197
|
118.32
|
|
8
|
824
|
White Lightning
|
Jamie Watts
|
9.212
|
117.80
|
|
9
|
099
|
Spoiled Rotten
|
Jeff Miller
|
9.259
|
107.56
|
|
10
|
208
|
Your Next
|
David Schovanec
|
9.397
|
115.24
|
|
11
|
1
|
My Coffin
|
Scott Perrreta
|
10.049
|
92.94
|
|
12
|
005
|
River Rat
|
Tim Townsend
|
8.979
|
124.12
|
|
13
|
316x
|
Wet Lick
|
Charles Johnson
|
8.917
|
109.80
|
MODIFIED ELIMINATOR
|
|
1
|
088
|
Ain’t Scared
|
Greg Carr
|
1.078
|
96.68
|
|
2
|
917
|
Hug Um
|
Bill Bailey
|
10.105
|
103.82
|
|
3
|
271
|
Double Dynamite
|
Raymond Moody
|
10.119
|
96.64
|
|
4
|
14
|
FastestRealtor.com
|
Kevin Blount
|
10.166
|
108.34
|
|
5
|
22
|
Double Deuce
|
Michael Chapman
|
10.299
|
109.98
|
|
6
|
60
|
Bad to the Bone
|
David McCabe
|
10.478
|
94.94
|
|
7
|
170
|
Zot Squirt
|
Julius Hughes
|
10.611
|
100.04
|
|
8
|
961
|
Heritage
|
Paul Rogers
|
9.950
|
105.42
|
|
9
|
13
|
Pure Insanity
|
Chip Ellis
|
0.800
|
00.47
|
STOCK ELIMINATOR
|
|
1
|
147
|
Showtime
|
Ed Nettles
|
11.113
|
102.00
|
|
2
|
137
|
Suckin’ Gas & Haulin’ Ass
|
Tommy Hughes
|
11.193
|
92.66
|
|
3
|
019
|
Flat Outta Hell
|
Dan Lawrence
|
11.196
|
95.78
|
|
4
|
34
|
Muscle Boat II
|
Tommy Turner
|
11.306
|
94.26
|
|
5
|
936
|
Lil’ Extra
|
Shawn Price
|
11.333
|
92.12
|
|
6
|
004
|
Bad Habit II
|
Johnny Shealy
|
11.513
|
88.08
|
|
7
|
069
|
SS Commando
|
Steve Smith
|
11.774
|
90.90
|
RIVER RACER I
|
|
1
|
420
|
Miss Coy
|
Dewayne Martin
|
12.117
|
79.08
|
|
2
|
470
|
Bits & Pieces
|
Alan Sapp
|
12.221
|
84.18
|
|
3
|
11
|
Prime Suspect
|
Brit Hail
|
12.461
|
76.74
|
|
4
|
53
|
Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff
|
Chris Varner
|
12.547
|
69.76
|
|
5
|
10
|
No Name
|
Benjamin Chapman
|
13.268
|
75.34
|
|
6
|
F97
|
Rock-n-roll Hoochie Coochie
|
Skully Alley Jr.
|
|
82.06
|
|
7
|
314
|
JD’s Lucky Baby
|
Barry Arnold
|
|
77.36
|
PWC2
|
|
1
|
22
|
|
Jonathan Pinckley
|
14.500
|
65.10
|
|
2
|
124
|
No Name
|
Rob Bush
|
17.422
|
113.60
|
Round one action on Sunday in TFH saw Speed Sport Special eliminated by Tedesco’s Loose Cannon as the Osman owned boat broke at the start and Tedesco cruised to a win at 136.42 mph in 5.894 seconds to move on to round two of eliminations. IHBA points leader Dale Ishimaru proved that his number one qualifying position was for real as he disposed of John White in the Berryman Bullet with a 227.90 mph pass in 5.035 seconds.
Since the Speed Sport Special and the Toxic Rocket had both been eliminated in round one action with mechanical problems, they agreed to a grudge match prior to the final pairing in the TFH class. This match proved to be the most exciting of the weekend as the Speed Sport Special boat posted a 4.74 pass at 252.94 mph only to wreck in the shut down area. Haas was not injured and was back at the race site in time for the awards ceremony. After the crash, boat owner Lou Osman stated that they had already decided to retire the boat. He stated that they had noticed that the boat was handling a little different the previous weekend in Oklahoma City and he had decided that there were only a certain number of hard runs that the boat could withstand and they had reached the limit. IHBA announcer Rick Carlson informed the crowd that this was the fourth fastest pass on record. In the final paring of TFH’s, Problem Child driven by Ishimaru easily took the win with a 228.22 in 4.982 seconds over the Hot Licks machine driven by Daryl Ehrlich with a 166.58 in 7.534 seconds. Final results for all classes follows:
Final Results 2006
Augusta Southern Nationals
|
Class
|
Final Position
|
Qualifying Position
|
Boat Number
|
Boat Name
|
Driver
|
ET
|
MPH
|
|
TFH
|
WINNER
|
1
|
712
|
Problem Child
|
Dale Ishimaru
|
4.982
|
228.22
|
|
TFH
|
Runner-up
|
3
|
724
|
Hot Licks
|
|
7.534
|
166.58
|
|
TAH
|
WINNER
|
1
|
765
|
Yellow Boat
|
Gus Ward
|
|
|
|
TAH
|
Runner-up
|
2
|
414
|
Parental Discretion Advised
|
Andy Reynolds
|
Wreck
|
Wreck
|
|
TAF
|
WINNER
|
1
|
535
|
Modern Outlaw
|
Tony Scarlata
|
6.573
|
167.02
|
|
TAF
|
Runner-up
|
2
|
674
|
Mako Force
|
Don Ermshar
|
7.267
|
141.24
|
|
PM
|
WINNER
|
1
|
25
|
Two Bit Trip
|
Charlie Zalaudek
|
7.136
|
161.84
|
|
PM
|
Runner-up
|
2
|
281
|
Dick Tater
|
Bruce Utter
|
7.163
|
149.58
|
|
PCE
|
WINNER
|
2
|
508
|
Hot Shot
|
Dave Lipinski
|
9.082
|
122.14
|
|
PCE
|
Runner-up
|
3
|
31
|
Quik Trip II
|
Phil Roeschen
|
8.487
|
120.00
|
|
PE
|
WINNER
|
1
|
381
|
Fuelish Reaction
|
Ray Wahler
|
8.269
|
102.36
|
|
PE
|
Runner-up
|
4
|
202
|
Lookin Good
|
Bobby Mills
|
8.782
|
121.24
|
|
TE
|
WINNER
|
7
|
406
|
Third Shift
|
Jeffrey Field
|
9.021
|
118.70
|
|
TE
|
Runner-up
|
6
|
569
|
Its Only Money
|
Randy Reynolds
|
8.983
|
109.50
|
|
ME
|
WINNER
|
2
|
917
|
Hug Um
|
Bill Bailey
|
10.018
|
102.78
|
|
ME
|
Runner-up
|
1
|
88
|
Ain’t Scared
|
Greg Carr
|
11.696
|
86.24
|
|
SE
|
WINNER
|
5
|
936
|
Lil’ Extra
|
Shawn Price
|
11.319
|
92.68
|
|
SE
|
Runner-up
|
2
|
137
|
Suckin’ Gas & Haulin’ Ass
|
Tommy Hughes
|
11.356
|
84.72
|
|
RR
|
WINNER
|
2
|
470
|
Miss Coy
|
Alan Sapp
|
14.735
|
59.42
|
|
RR
|
Runner-up
|
1
|
420
|
Bits & Pieces
|
DeWayne Martin
|
11.871
|
92.82
|
|
PWC2
|
WINNER
|
N/A
|
22
|
No Name
|
Jonathan Pinckley
|
14.50
|
65.10
|
|
PWC2
|
Runner-up
|
N/A
|
124
|
No Name
|
Rob Bush
|
17.422
|
113.60
|
TFH - TOP FUEL HYDRO / TAH - TOP ALCOHOL HYDRO / TAF - TOP ALCOHOL FLAT / PM - PRO MOD
PCE - PRO COMP ELIMINATOR / PE - PRO ELIMINATOR / TE - TOP ELIMINATOR / ME - MODIFIED ELIMINATOR
RR - RIVER RACER / SE - STOCK ELIMINATOR / PCW - PERSONAL WATER CRAFT
