Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
APBA event set for Sunday Lake
ONE OF NEXT week's racers demonstrates on Friday the kneeling form he will use in the 2019 Stock and Junior National Championships on Sunday Lake in Wakefield. Registration for the week-long event by the American Power Boat Association will begin Sunday at Wakefield VFW Post 9084 on U.S. 2. Shown here is Mitchell Sampson and his wife, Julie, of Lake Stevens, Wash. Sampson will use his Darneille boat to compete in the fastest D-Stock Hydro category. The photo art on the boat is of him competing here in 1988.
By P.J. GLISSON
Wakefield - All systems are go for the 2019 Stock and Junior National Championships to be held on Sunday Lake next week.
The week-long event is authorized by the American Power Boat Association, which is the governing body for national outboard motor races.
The Badger State Outboard Association in Wisconsin submitted the bid for the local races, and the Wakefield-Bessemer Rotary Club is providing local sponsorship.
"It's fun to watch," said local race coordinator John Siira. "If you haven't seen it before, it's interesting."
The event is free and will include food and beverage vendors.
Siira added, "These racers come from all 50 states. A lot of them camp here, but a lot of them use motels too."
The first to arrive this year was Mitchell Sampson of Lake Stevens, Wash., who set up in Eddy Park on Thursday.
"It's been a long drive - 2,000 miles," Sampson told the Globe Friday. "The last time I was here was in 1988." He added with a broad smile that the trip brings with it "a lot of nostalgia."
Sampson said he'll race in the D-Stock Hydro division, which will be the fastest category. He said his 50-horsepower Darneille boat will go more than 80 miles per hour. "You're basically above water," he said.
Sampson is a second-generation racer, following in the footsteps of his father, Ralf Sampson, who now directs the race crew. Mitchell Sampson's wife, Julie, and son, Levi, are among crew members.
Julie said she'll help her husband to get his boat in and out of the water, and to clean up and provide other support as needed - for instance, during breakdowns.
"A lot of these people are three, four, five generations," said Julie Sampson of this year's racers at large.
The Sampsons said it's a lot of fun to reunite with other racers at what is the APBA's largest event of the year.
Race registration will take place on Sunday and Monday at Wakefield's VFW Post 9084 on U.S. 2. Missy Umland, from the VFW, said the post also will provide racers breakfast and lunch at the park all week.
Lake closes to public Sunday
Meanwhile, Sunday Lake will close to the public on Sunday so that race officials can prepare for Monday testing.
Weather pending, official races will take place on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, starting at 8:30 a.m. each day. If needed, Friday and Saturday will serve as makeup days.
As the conducting club, the BSOA will award prizes for winners at a local banquet at the end of next week.
The regatta will include no modified division this year, and all races are contingent upon weather.
Mike Sibley, Public Works lead for Wakefield, was monitoring the park Friday and expected race officials to begin setting up at any time.
He said city workers prepare for the event by cutting Eddy Park lawns and setting up barricades where needed-for instance for motor teardowns. They also remain available for any further needs throughout the week.
Sibley added that a continuation of Friday's weather would be ideal for the event. "This is perfect," he said of the calm conditions.
According to Siira, Pepsi and Rockstar energy drinks will be the title sponsors for the event.
The APBA last had races here in 2015 and 2011. For more information, see http://www.apba.org.
