Today at the shop...

7-7-11

You know, I still have some spring in my step from Madison. We have been working on, nay, FLOGGING, this boat since its inception, and to have the kind of weekend that we just had made it worth it. I am SO proud of my guys, both the crew that came to Madison, and also the guys that did not make it. Most of them will be at Detroit to help push Cal Phipps (driving this weekend) to another great finish.

The outpouring of support for our team has been phenomenal. My Facebook has been blowing up with folks backing us. I would like to thank all of them for their kind words. Strangely, several of the people are Madison locals who are Oberto fans, but disagree with the decision made by the H1 officials. Well, here are my thoughts: There are rules in our rule book that state we should be the winner. There are rules that state that the U-1 should be the winner. There are even rules that state, arguably, that the U-96 should be the winner. The officials made a decision that the U-1 won their home town race. I support that decision. I want to win my first race on the race course. Now, if they immediately called the U-17 in first place, I would have made sure that Steve and Super Dave were OK, and then I would have jumped up and down on the cowling and had my crew up on the boat for a party. That's how I picture my first win. I will never forget when my father in law, Terry Troxell, won the Tri Cities Columbia Cup. He did donuts out in the water with his boat. When Jeff Bernard (my brother in law) won Madison, he hopped on the cowling and pointed at the heavens. I want a moment like that. I want to EARN it, not have it given to us. And I am confident it is coming. Just wait and see....

By the way, I have a crew guy from Chicago named Spider. Michael Jackson is his real name. 'Nuff said about the use of a nickname. He is a stud. He is 6 foot 4 or 5, 240 pounds, plays hockey, and can reach things on any shelf you throw at him. He used to crew with my buddy Matty Gregory on the U-10, and was a crew guy for Mike Weber on his GP back in the day. Most of you know Ginger, who is Spider's sister. When Nate won the Gold Cup with the U-10, Spider was on the crew. Spider has been working with us for the past few years and I have gotten really close to him. And I am not a big spider fan. But I AM a big Spider fan. Know what I mean? One of the coolest things about our sport is the relationships that form because of it. Well, I can truly say that Spider is one of my best friends, and if it weren't for this sled that we call a race boat, I would never have met him. Also, the experience and expertise that he brings to our team makes me feel incredibly fortunate to have him. Have a good day, Bug!

Kip Brown