Buis And Turk To Campaign New XINSURANCE/Statement Marine Mod V Team
A pair of devoted fathers who live on opposite sides of Florida, Nick Buis and J.J. Turk already had more in common than their affinity for the Sunshine State. Their respective sons, 15-year-old Owen Buis and 16-year-old Cameron Turk, are promising offshore racers.
With Statement Marine company owner Nick Buis and J.J. Turk in the cockpit, XINSURANCE has signed on to back a new Mod V-class team this season. Rendering courtesy/copyright Chris Dilling/Graik EFX
Now Buis and Turk are about to have one more thing in common, as well as one in common with their boys. Come April 27-29 at the season-opening Race World Offshore 7 Mile Offshore Grand Prix in Marathon, Fla., the dad-and-dad duo will share the cockpit of a Mod V-class raceboat backed by XINSURANCE and Statement Marine.
“I’m excited to have XINSURANCE support another team—or three—in the sport,” said XINSURANCE president and CEO Rick J. Lindsey, who also fields a Class 1 team under the banner of the Sandy, Utah-based specialty insurance company.
For Nick, Priscilla and Owen Buis, offshore racing will be an even bigger family affair this season.
Buis purchased the 29-foot Extreme V-bottom from Class 1 and Super Cat racer Brit Lilly, who built and rigged it at his shop in Arnold, Md. Buis will throttle and Turk will drive.
“I bought the boat from Brit with the hope that I could race it with Owen,” Buis said. “Unfortunately that will have to wait till he turns 16.
“So J.J. and I will run it together in APBA races and Owen will continue this season in Bracket 700 class for APBA races,” he continued. “I am hoping to get him in the cockpit of the Mod V boat for the Offshore Powerboat Association race in Michigan City (Ind.) in August and the OPA World Championships in Englewood Beach (Fla.) in November.”
Returning Bracket 700-class racers Owen Buis and Rick Harmeyer also will be sponsored by XINSURANCE this season. Rendering courtesy/copyright Chad Shuttter BRP Marine Custom.
But the senior Buis won’t be the only member of his family to have XINSURANCE backing this season. The company also has stepped up to support his son in the Bracket 700 class.
“Owen’s big news for the 2024 season is XINSURANCE is sponsoring his Bracket 700 boat,” Buis said. “He’ll be racing with Rick Harmeyer, my son-in-law, again.
“And I have to thank J.J. Turk of the TFR (Turk Family Racing) team,” he continued. “He was the catalyst to facilitate the merger with Rick Lindsey from XINSURANCE to put this team together with Statement Marine.”
J.J. Turk and his son, Cameron, are two of offshore racing’s most devoted competitors.
Lilly said he sold the boat to Buis because, first, his offer was right and, second, because his Class 1 and Super Cat obligations didn’t afford him nearly enough time to compete in the Mod V class. Buis said he turned to Lilly because he “wanted to start with the best.”
Mod V-class fans need not mourn the permanent loss of Lilly, who is the son of the late offshore great Art Lilly and one the most accomplished and best-known racers in the Mod V ranks.
“I’ll build myself another one,” he said, then laughed. “My dad would have beaten me if I didn’t.”
Though Lilly has sold the 29-foot Mod V raceboat he built with his own hands to Buis, he is not leaving the class permanently. Photo by Pete Boden copyright Shoot 2 Thrill Pix.
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