It’s Turbo Time:  QUAKE THE LAKE III

By Ross Rolshoven
Contributing Writer

“Quake the Lake” returns to Detroit Lakes on June 6 and 7. The Twin Cities Power Boat Association is bringing professional boat racing back to the beach in front of Zorbaz for the third year.

We all know it’s been a tough year economically for a lot of people. So, the Twin Cities Power Boat Association is providing this “Stimulus Racing” free of charge to raise everyone’s spirits and to get the summer season kicked off with the rooster tails of tunnel hull race boats.

There’s going to be seven classes of boats racing over the weekend. The first class is the GT Pro, which are the entry level boats. This is a great class for people who want to try racing. There should have about seven GT Pro boats at the race.

They will also have both the Formula V and the VP 75 race boats as well. These are V-bottom boats with a couple of different categories of larger outboard motors. The drivers typically sit in a roll cage setup. These boats tend to get airborne quite a bit and always put on a wild ride for the both the drivers and the spectators. It is anticipated that there will be between 12 and 14 of those two classes of boats at the event.

The Sports C-class is the 12-foot tunnel hull race boat that will reach speeds up to 60 miles an hour. You’ll find both open cockpit and canopy boats in this class. We should have four or five Sport C boats present. Past national champion Allen Hunting will be getting chased by some of the best female Sport C drivers, Nancy Landgraf and Denise Talcott.

The SST 60-class is a tunnel hull race boat category running the Johnson or Evinrude SST 60 motor. These boats will reach speeds of up to 100 miles an hour. This is going to be one of the most exciting classes in the race this year because there will be up to eight boats in the class. Whenever you add more boats, there is always more excitement, crashes, and fast finishes. This will be one of the biggest number of SST 60 boats racing in the Upper Midwest.

Then there are the “Big Boys” of the outboard performance craft category. These are the SST 120 and the Formula 150 boats. These boats are the fastest that the club has and will travel at speeds between 120 and 130 miles per hour. As you’ll remember from Quake the Lake I, there was a spectacular crash that took place when three 120 boats went into a corner at 120 miles an hour and only one boat came out. Two boats literally disintegrated with the impact. Everyone held their breath as the race course rescue drivers got to Allen Tucker and Katie Tucker to make sure that they were safely retrieved from the wreckage. Both of those drivers should be back at the race this year.

One of the new things that’s going to happen this year during Quake the Lake is that J & K Marine is going to have several of their new boats and pontoons available for free test drives. The test drives will take place at the adjacent J & K Marine just down the beach from where the race is going to be held. Make sure you check out the new “Sea Legs Pontoon” that’s a cross between a transformer and a pontoon. The boat has a built-in boat lift so you can park it anywhere you desire.

The third event that will be taking place this weekend will be the Red River Valley Truck and Tractor Pull on Saturday night, June 6, starting at 6:00 p.m. The event will be held at the Becker County Fairgrounds, just down the beach from Zorbaz Restaurant. Advanced tickets for the event are $10.00 and tickets at the gate will be $12.00. Children 10 and under are free.

Book your hotel rooms early, and make sure you bring a blanket or lawn chair for sitting on the beach. Zorbaz will be serving up their world famous food and drinks throughout both of the days. You can see that there isn’t going to be a better place to be at during the weekend of June 6 and 7, than Detroit Lakes.