Doug Wright Powerboats Adding Bracket 700-Class Purse For LOTO Powerfest
With registration now open for the fast-approaching LOTO Powerfest races on the Lake of the Ozarks in Central Missouri, Melbourne, Fla.-based Doug Wright Powerboats is adding incentive for Bracket Class 700 teams in the form of a $5,000 purse. The Offshore Powerboat Association-produced event, which is set for June 1-3, typically attracts 40-plus boats across offshore racing’s Bracket and spec classes.
The Bracket 700 Class teams that make it to next weekend’s LOTO Powerfest will have added motivation in the form of a $5,000 purse from Doug Wright Powerboats. Photos by Pete Boden copyright Shoot 2 Thrill Pix.
“We won’t be racing for just a checkered flag,” said throttleman Julian Maldonado, who, in addition to taking the checked win last weekend at Thunder On Cocoa Beach in Cocoa Beach, Fla., with driver Brian Guy in the Bracket 700 Jackhammer V-bottom, claimed victory owner/driver Reese Langheim in a Super Stock-class 32-foot Victory catamaran of the same name. “We are extremely thankful to Doug Wright Powerboats doing that. It shows that they are in the sport for the right reasons.
“Bracket 700 is honestly some of the toughest racing, even though it’s limited to a top speed of 60 mph,” he added. “All teams are neck and neck all the way around the course.”
Ed Smith, OPA’s president, agreed.
“It’s nice to see that some understand the growth in offshore racing starts in Class 7,” Smith said. “So many have moved up into other classes. Some are very content right where they are.
“I refer to them as my ‘offshore warriors,’” he added. “They are out there out of sheer love of the sport. I understand that completely.”
Said Maldonado, “Bracket 700 is honestly some of the toughest racing.”
According to Maldonado, payout breakdowns for podium finishes have not yet been determined. “I am guessing we will vote at the drivers meeting before the race,” he said.
According to a post on the OPA Racing Facebook page, the purse in part was set up to honor James Jaronczyk, who ran the No. 711 Nauti Boyz Bracket 700-class raceboat. The popular 28-year-old competitor died earlier this month in a recreational boating accident off Long Island, N.Y. His death rocked the tight-knit offshore racing community.
“This will be the first (OPA) race for me without No. 711,” said Maldonado, who was close to Jaronczyk. “But we are racing with him in our hearts.”
The Bracket 700-class purse at the upcoming LOTO Powerfest race honors the memory of racer James Jaronczyk of the Nauti Boyz team.
Sanctioned by the American Power Boat Association, LOTO Powerfest is the first of eight races on the 2023 OPA regular-season schedule ahead of its world championships November 16-19 in Englewood Beach, Fla.
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