A DePue boat racing spectator's guide

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How To Watch A Race

The boats are carried to the water to wait for the three minute gun. When the three minute gun is fired, that tells the drivers to start their engines and go out on the course. A green flag is displayed on the starting barge and patrol boats at each turn. The numbers above the clock indicate the number of minutes to the start of the race.

The one minute gun is fired, and a white flag is displayed, the hand on the clock begins to move.

The flying start: The drivers move to the second turn picking their lanes and watching the clock, timing themselves to fly past the starting line the exact second the clock hand hits zero.

The first turn: It is every man for himself with boats side by side and rooster tails flying. Someone will be in the lead and everyone else will play catch-up.

The finish: the white flag, one more lap to go and finally the checkered flag. The race is over! Relief - but not for long. They must do it all over again two more times. The total points from three heats of racing proclaims the PRO National Champion.

Color of flags

Black  — return to pits - do not leave pits - course is closed

Red flag — activity is stopped - slow down

Yellow flag — problems on course - continue with caution or hold position

Blue & white flag —  used to warn of flipped boat or other problems

White flag — time between one minute gun and start, leader has started last lap

Green flag — time between 3 minute gun and 1 minute gun, while race is underway except for last lap

Checkered flag — finish

Racing identification letter; home state of boat owner

A    Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont    

B    Massachusetts    

C    California, Arizona, Nevada, Hawaii    

CE    Eastern Canada, Ontario, Quebec,    

    and Maritime Provinces    

D    Connecticut, Rhode Island    

E    Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland,    

    District of Columbia    

F    Florida, Georgia, Alabama        

G    Minnesota, South Dakota    

H    Indiana    

L    Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas    

J    New Jersey    

K    Kentucky, Tennessee    

M    Michigan    

N    New York

P    Pennsylvania

Q    Delaware

R    Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Alaska

S    Ohio

T    Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico

U    North Dakota, Wyoming, Montana, Colorado, Utah

V    Illinois

W    Wisconsin

X    Iowa, Nebraska

Y    Kansas, Missouri

Z    North Carolina, South Carolina

2007 National Champions

Class    Driver

125ccR    Paul Bosnich, DePue, IL

250ccR    Richard Krier, Indianola, Iowa

350ccR    Tim Small, Lighthouse Point, Fla.

500ccR    Michael Thirlby, Fife Lake, Mich.

1100ccR    Terry Klemm, Stockton, Calif.

C Ser R    Zachary Malhiot, Allyn, Wash.

C Race R    Jim Nilsen, Edgewood, Wash.

K PRO H    Wendy Eldredge, Malabar, Fla.

125ccH    Buddy Tennell, Bufford, Ga.

250ccH    Brandon Thirlby, Traverse City, Mich.

350ccH    Zachary Malhiot, Allyn, Wash.

500ccH    Brandon Thirlby, Traverse City, Mich.

700ccH    Brandon Thirlby, Traverse City, Mich.

1100ccH    Sean McKean, Irvine, Texas

500SH    James Yoder, White Pigeon, Mich.

175ccH    Buddy Tennell, Bufford, Ga.

OSY-400    Joe Pater, Saint Joseph, Mich.

C SerH    Jim Nilsen, Edgewood, Wash.

C Race H    Jim Nilsen, Edgewood, Wash.

H O175 World Champion    Buddy Tennell, Bufford, Ga.

Scoresheet

For the Pro National Championships the drivers run three heats in each class. They receive points for each heat. When the heats are finished, the points are totaled to determine the winner. The drivers are ranked according to this total points’ figure and are then given a final position based on this figure.