Indianapolis, IN: Driver Stan Ware and throttleman Micheal Stancombe headed up to Liberty Landing State Park and Marina on the lower Hudson River last weekend and put on one of the top shows in powerboat racing. It's unbelievable to conceive of any team in motorsports accomplishing a win, much less finishing a race on land or water, but the legendary men did it in their smashing style!!
Race morning started out with bad weather moving in. They needed to get the race off before the rain came. After testing several set ups on Saturday, and testing for hours, they picked what they would use. Saturday night consisted of changing the oil in the Lucas Oil/ Popeyes 368 skater with new 20/50 Lucas Oil racing oil, so they would be ready to hunt the big boys down. Green flag dropped and the team was off in to the lead.
Stancombe recounts " We were picking off the bigger boats lap after lap until lap 5, when, SUPRISE, the steering wheel broke off the helm. Without skipping a beat I unbuckled my harness, reached for my tool bag, and pulled out a 14 inch adjustable wrench. Handed it to Driver Stan Ware, and said, use this. As the race came to an end, and we collected our checkered flag, I looked back at the feat we pulled off. This one goes in the memory banks of stories as one of the weirdest , wildest wins ever. Who wins an offshore race without a steering wheel? Lucas Oil-Popeyes with Ware driving and me throttling! "
The crew with Popeyes Offshore Racing thanks title sponsor, Salts of the Suncoast.
I'd like to thank Ellen Greenleaf for providing me with the latest press releases from the Popeyes/Lucas Oil race wins.
