Pico Wins Wild Seafair

The PICO American Dream won the Texaco Cup at Seafair on Sunday, a comeback victory for driver Mark Evans after his unlimited hydroplane flipped and favorite Miss Budweiser was damaged in a collision in earlier heats.

Evans, of Wenatchee, captured the winner-take-all, 10-mile final heat after his boat rolled over during the second turn of the first lap of heat 2A. He started from Lane 4, powered through the first turn and sprinted away to victory. His average speed was 135.363 mph.

The PICO, owned by Fred Leland of Kirkland, Wash., has won the Texaco Cup three of the last four years. Miss Budweiser won in 1995.

Evans said winning in Seattle was special because his father, Norm Evans, who drove hydroplanes in the 1950s and ‘60s, used to bring him to the races here.

Second place at 132.234 mph went to Close Call, driven by Mark Tate of Canton, Mich., who gave chase throughout the first lap but was unable to handle the rough water.

Pennzoil Pit Stop, with Steve David of Pompano Beach, Fla., at the wheel, was third at 130.607 mph. David had a neck-and-neck race with fourth-place finisher Team Stihl.

The Bud was damaged in a 190-mph collision when the Miss E-Lam Plus, driven by Jimmy King, ran atop the Bud, driven by Mark Weber, and rode it piggyback until the boats were halted in the first turn of the first lap of a rerun of heat 2A. King was disqualified from the heat.

The hydroplanes slid to a stop a few feet from a long boom jammed with spectators and their boats.