A New Benchmark:

Russ Wicks Ups the Mile Record to 205.494

by Dick Sanders

On June 15, 2000, auto and motorcycle-racer Russ Wicks proved his skeptics wrong and carved a notch in history for himself and Ken Muscatel's U-25 Miss Freei race team by setting a one-mile straightaway record for propeller-driven boats on Seattle's Lake Washington at 205.494 mph.   The runs were a thing of beauty; the team's efforts a testament to daring, tenacity, and, yes, luck.

It was the classic story of the underdog from the first announcement of an attempt on the record.   To many, including this reporter, the one-year old Miss Freei seemed the most unlikely active hull to break any positive records.   Overweight and ill-handling from day one in Evansville last year, the boat showed few redeeming qualities throughout 1999 or early this year.   Its volunteer crew seemed overmatched at the 2000 season-opener in Havasu. A rubber glove, dropped into a fuel tank before qualifying began, clogged a fuel line and kept novice driver Russ Wicks from getting any advance seat time, less than four weeks before the scheduled attempt.

Wicks acknowledged having zero experience in piloting a boat.   The 34-year old Enumclaw, Washington, native had years of experience as a motorcycle racer and in a variety of formula car classes.   Testing time on the big oval at Indy in an IRL car meant he had at least seen 200 mph before - but only on a flat, unchanging, well-defined track.   Whether he quickly could transfer those skills to the wide, vague horizon of a boat racer, where the track surface is only as good as the next wave, was very much in question.

Testing during the two weeks before the attempt was an adventure for the U-25 team.   The hull was still showing some handling bugaboos; the crew adjusted the troublesome skid fin.   Wicks had trouble getting used to the limited visibility from under the canopy.   Muscatel tried the boat, too - but probably wished he hadn't.   Returning from a test session, a throttle spring reportedly broke.   Muscatel's boat bore down on the Stan Sayres pits with full roostertail.   With spectators in flight, only a desperate right-hand spin-out by Dr. Ken in front of the docks averted complete disaster.

The team switched to a smaller, cut-down skid fin mounted higher.   Handling and speed improved.   Reported top speeds steadily increased to over 200 mph in the last test session before the record attempt.   Wicks and Miss Freei were now on par with those few drivers of modern top-flight boats who briefly had seen 200 mph on the race course in pre-fuel restrictor days.   To break the record, though, Wicks would have to do more than just touch the 200 mph mark - he would have to exceed it and hold it there for two runs of almost 18 seconds each.

The first day of the sanction, Wednesday, June 14, was forecast to be sunny with little wind.   Instead, 20-knot winds turned parts of the mile trap (the same used by Dean Chenoweth in his ill-fated 1979 attempt) into a sea of whitecaps.   In the pit area at the former Sand Point Naval Air Station, Muscatel put on his best face and summed up the conditions for the assembled media and 200 or so fans with, "Hey, that's Seattle!"   Wicks made one slow pass through the traps to get his bearings before calling it a day.

Early Thursday morning found perfect conditions.   Cool and calm, the lake was on its best behavior.   Wicks made another test run to get acquainted with the course but ran out of fuel completing his second pass.   The crew then discovered that they only had enough fuel on hand for two more runs; a member was quickly dispatched to Boeing Field for more.
The second practice runs went much better - speeds around 195 mph were reported in each direction, causing a new buzz of expectation.   Russ consulted with his crew over the radio about trying to up the speed with another pass; he reminded them they'd run out of fuel the last time.   Caution prevailed, and Russ brought the boat back.

That decision was fortunate.   Damaged shaft-log bushings were discovered, a continuing problem for the hull.   A crewman commented, "Let's just say we found them just in time." The pace of the crew picked up as they replaced the bushings once, then a second time.   It was now after 10 am.   The sanction lasted only until 11 am, and the rescue boat and personnel were obligated to be at the south end of the lake for the debut of Miss Budweiser T-6.   One shot was probably all Wicks would get.

Russ steered Miss Freei across the lake to a point several miles south of the mile trap, turned north, and accelerated.   With a bigger propeller and taller gears, the boat's speed and roostertail slowly grew. Between roughly 150-180 mph, the boat was still porpoising slightly, evidenced by a spiky roostertail.   Nearing the start of the trap, at around 200 mph, the roostertail smoothed to utter perfection.   It stayed that way through the entire trap, Miss Freei not wavering once across the slight ripple of the lake.   Wicks would later say that the boat was still pulling strong at the end.   Muscatel told him he'd been clocked at the end of the trap at 221 mph.

On shore, the fans knew what happened almost instantly as Freei crew members armed with radios and stopwatches started jumping up and down in the back of the team's truck. Word passed quickly: 207.254 mph!!

Could he repeat the magic on the southbound run and officially break the record?   To get a proper run at it, Wicks needed to use every bit of available lake.   Freei became merely a small florescent green dot reflected above the lake surface as Wicks continued north.   Russ reached the end of the lake, turned, and slowly the dot began to take form again.   Freei approached the trap, and once again the roostertail stabilized, the boat riding beautifully.   The crew's elation told the story a moment after Wicks cleared the end of the trap:   203.735 mph!!   An average of 205.494 mph.   A record.   The record.

At the dock, Wicks was mobbed by his crew, Muscatel, media, and fans.   After champagne dousing and numerous interviews, the crew announced they were going to show land-racer Russ "how boat racers celebrate a victory" and tossed him in the lake.   Miss Freei was lifted to her trailer, where the crew tried to turn the prop and found it immovable - the bushings had lasted just long enough.

A note at the end:   The old record of 200.419, set by the late Roy Duby, stood for 38 years, unchallenged for the last 21.   Why did it last so long?   Many in the sport have said for years that the record was very breakable, but few dared step forward - no one in the two decades after Chenoweth's attempt.   Why did it take a total newcomer in Russ Wicks to spur a team to take a great leap into the unknown?   Was it the long-dormant interest by the public in speed records, as some have claimed?   Lack of a big-dollar prize at the end of the day?   Or, just maybe, have the ghosts of Muncey and Chenoweth or memories of Black Sunday for too long dampened the competitive spirit within the close-knit family of unlimited racing?   When Muscatel and Wicks announced the coming record attempt, several other camps suddenly expressed interest in participating during an open sanction.   Muscatel was able to convince them to defer - this time.   What will happen this fall after the season ends?   We may have Russ Wicks to thank, long after his record is eclipsed, for shaking some of the cobwebs out of the sport. UNJ

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