Boats go from 0 to 100 mph during Thunder on the Fox
Nine tunnel boats lined up in their starting positions on the edge of the Fox River in Elgin Sunday.
Their drivers were primed and ready to take off on the most important race of the weekend's Thunder on the Fox powerboat competition. The gun sounded for the one-minute countdown. Ten seconds passed. Then the race was put on hold.
Almost a dozen baby ducks, led by their mother, were steadily paddling into the race area.
Once the ducklings passed, the Powerboat SuperLeague race got under way and all nine boats launched from a complete stop to about 100 mph in seconds.
Mark Jakob, of Clifton, Ill., stayed in the lead for the entire 30-lap race, finishing in less than 15 minutes — six laps ahead of his slowest competitor.
Jakob, who made the crowd nervous more than once by catching extra lift as he sped on top of the water, said the course was a good one.
“It's kind of tight but it does the job,” Jakob said of the .8-mile lap distance that spread along the Fox River north of Elgin's Gail Borden Public Library and the Kimball Street bridge.
About 2,500 people showed up for Sunday's championship races, and the weekend attendance was below 5,000. Race organizers originally predicted up to 20,000 attendees but said for the first year, the turnout was good enough.
Sherron Winer, co-owner of Powerboat SuperLeague, said there were glitches but no major problems.
“For a first year event, this was a wonderful experience,” Winer said.
No crashes marred Sunday's racing, but Dana Tomes was notably missing from the championship round after an accident sent him to the hospital late in the day Saturday.
Sam Winer, the other co-owner of SuperLeague, said there were four boats turning a corner at the same time and two got into what was only enough space for one.
Winer said Tomes was not seriously injured, but the driver did not compete at all Sunday.
The weather held out for fans and racers alike with rumbling thunder starting only after the final round.
SuperLeague owners and promoter Jim McGrath have already begun talk of next year and the potential for a second annual Thunder on the Fox. Until then, competitors have about seven more races throughout the country before the circuit wraps up in October.