Doubling down at Lake DePue

David Jones of Oxford, Conn., has the nose of his boat going up, but was able to maintain control in Friday’s DePue races. (BCR photo/Kevin Hieronymus)

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DEPUE — Buddy Tennell and James Nilsen were the big winners Friday at Lake DePue, each taking home a pair of national titles at the APBA National Championship boat races. Doug Hall topped off the list of title winners, finishing first in the 500 Hydro division.

Nilsen, 55, from Edgewood, Wash., captured the first title of the day, winning the C Racing Hydro division after finishing second his first heat, and first in each of the subsequent two heats, to edge out Zachary Malhoit of Allyn, Wash.

“When there’s four, five, or six boats out there anybody can win,” Nilsen said. “It’s all about the starts. The first start I had to back off, I was a second early and that was the difference. The second and third I was lucky enough to just nail those starts, and that’s what it was all about.”

Nilsen picked up his second win of the day in the C Service Racing division, defending his national title from last year with a second-place finish in the first heat and first-place finishes in each of the last two heats.

“It’s awesome, what can I say?” Nilsen said after picking up his second win. “I’m still in awe right now.”

Tennell, who hails from Buford, Ga, also double-dipped into a pair of national titles. He picked up his first win in the 175cc Hydro, a race that saw a scary moment when Will “BJ” Tetro of Melbourne, Fla. flipped his boat end over end during the first turn of lap one in the first heat.

“I just went into the corner and caught a gust of air, and the boat took off basically,” said Tetro, who escaped serious injury despite having his helmet ripped off when he made contact with the water.

“I was right there looking over at BJ to be sure he had enough room, and as I looked over at him I watched him go up,” Tennell said.

Tennell captured first place in the restarted first heat after the accident and added a pair of second place finishes to capture the 175cc title over second-place finisher Ralph Donald of Naples, Fla., who turned in a fourth place and two first-place finishes to come up just short of Tennell.

“It’s definitely a sense of accomplishment,” Tennell said, “We’re not here for the money, the only money in it is all ours, going out.”

Tennell picked up his second win of the afternoon when he edged out local favorite DePue native Paul Bosnich III in the 125cc Runabout division. Tennell got off to a slow start, finishing fifth in the first heat, but added a pair of second-place finishes in the final two heats to edge out Bosnich, who after finishing second and first in the initial heats could not finish the final heat and finished second overall.

Hall, a Shawnee, Kan. resident, won the 500 Hydro division with a second-place finish in the first heat followed up with a pair of first-place runs. Hall thanked his father Rex, who puts his motors together, and his pit crew for helping him win. Hall said the win in the 500 Hydro division was extra special for him, as the race is a memorial for Gerry Drake, a racer who lost his life at Lake DePue in 1994.

“It means a lot to me to win this class. It’s not the biggest class that we run, but with it being the memorial it means a lot to me,” he said.