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Unlimited hydroplane racing gets a new TV network, more hope Will unlimited hydroplane racing ever make a mark on the national sports map? Signals point in different directions. On the down side, the season will consist of only six races again this year. The Columbia Cup is scheduled for July 29, with other stops at Evansville, Ind., Madison, Ind., Detroit, Seattle and San Diego. An exhibition is scheduled for Owensboro, Ky., in preparation for a race in 2004. There could be an upside, though, when it comes to national television. Instead of being telecast on ESPN2, next year's races will be carried by SPEED channel, a subsidiary of Fox. No, the races won't be broadcast live, but they will be aired within two weeks of the race and shown in prime time and on the weekends. The three-year deal calls for the shows to be at least an hour long, the same as what they were on ESPN2 last year with broadcaster Trent Ling aided by hydro legend Chip Hanauer. "The SPEED network is the place where motorsports fans go," said Bart Garbrecht, the sport's CEO. "It will increase our ratings, and they're also going to give us a lot of plugs during the other broadcasts. It will be interesting to see what happens. I think once they see the product, they will consider live coverage." According to industry figures, SPEED is the fastest growing sports network in America and the ninth fastest growing channel in the cable world. As of last month, it reached nearly 55 million households in the United States and another 4.5 million in Canada. Other events include NASCAR races and the American LeMans Series. Also on the plus side, Garbrecht believes there will be at least eight races in 2004 and it will be back up to 10 races after that. "We've received a lot of inquiries from new site locations," Garbrecht said, "and we have two to three firm prospects for the 2004 season." The biggest plus of all is that the racing is definitely better. Ever since commissioner Gary Garbrecht bought the sport three years ago and began implementing fuel restrictions to foster closer competition, good racing has been the norm rather than the exception. Although Dave Villwock helped Miss Budweiser win its 22nd national points championship in 2002, it wasn't decided until the final race in San Diego and came after a stiff challenge from both Nate Brown - the Tri-City winner - and Mike Hanson. While there were five different winners in six races in 2001, in 2002 there were more different heat winners than in any other season. Bart Garbrecht said he was generally pleased with the races in 2002 and expects an even better year in 2003, especially if an improving economy entices new sponsors. "We've upgraded all of our equipment and just bought a new rescue boat," Garbrecht said. "We've improved the starting clock and bought some new trucks. We've also paid off some of the debt that carried over from when we bought the sport. It's all coming around." The sport still needs more of everything - more sponsors, more races, more boats, more fans. It's been widely debated about which order they need to come, but sponsorship is always the key. "Finding new sponsors is always tough," Garbrecht admitted, adding that O'Doul's will remain the sponsor for the national points race and Budweiser will remain the circuit's official title sponsor. In the meantime, Hydro-Prop will hold its annual meeting and awards banquet at the Aladdin in Las Vegas on Feb. 22. If there's one thing the unlimited circuit has always known how to do, it's to throw a great party. | ||||||||||
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