Unlimited NewsJournal

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Unlimited NewsJournal

Unlimited Hydroplane Racing the UNLIMITED NewsJournal is an enthusiast club, interested in promoting and documenting the sport of unlimited hydroplane racing.

The UNLIMITED NewsJournal is based around a full monthly edition, and now with the new website replacing the print version, we have the ability to provide more accurate, timely, & enhanced product.

06/01/2026

Some say that summer begins with the arrival of June. If that’s the case, it must be time for the 2026 hydro racing season to get underway. It also means the June issue of the Unlimited NewsJournal has arrived.

This month’s issue is our annual season preview. Like he does each year at this time, the Swami puts on his turban, gazes into his crystal ball, and foretells what he believes will happen on H1 Unlimited racecourses during the season to come. We also offer readers our annual race program for the hard-core hydro fan. In it, we provide details about the boats and drivers that you won’t find in the race programs that will be sold at the race sites.

To recognize the 60th anniversary of one of the darkest days in the sport’s history, the June issue also looks back to the 1966 President’s Cup and reviews what happened on that Black Sunday when three of hydro racing’s top drivers were killed. After having featured the story of Rex Manchester the past two months, we also include a closer look this month at the career of one of the other victims of that terrible day: Don Wilson.

The June issue then wraps up with two of our usual features: a report about the latest happenings at the Hydroplane and Raceboat Museum and Chris Tracy’s column about the sport’s latest news.

As always, the Unlimited NewsJournal is FREE. You can read the June issue, or any of our past issues, at unlimitednewsjournal.net. Happy Reading!

05/01/2026

The May issue of the Unlimited NewsJournal is now available for your reading enjoyment.

This month, we feature an entertaining conversation between David Williams, the recently retired executive director of the Hydroplane and Raceboat Museum, and one of our former editors, David Speer. The two Davids discuss a range of topics that include how Williams got involved in hydroplane racing, his efforts to preserve the sport’s heritage, and how he thought he might have killed one of the sport’s biggest personalities during a ride in a vintage boat on Lake Washington.

The May issue of the Unlimited NewsJournal also wraps up the story we started last month about the hard-luck career of Rex Manchester, which ended tragically on Black Sunday 60 years ago. Also, as we do every May, the issue looks back to what was happening in the world of big-time boat racing 100, 75, 50, and 25 years ago.

The May issue also includes an update about museum activities from Brad Haskin and a report of the sport’s latest news from Chris Tracy.
As always, the Unlimited NewsJournal is FREE. You can read the May issue, or any of our past issues, at unlimitednewsjournal.net. Happy Reading!

04/01/2026

No joke. The April issue of the Unlimited NewsJournal is now available for your reading enjoyment.

This month, we bring back the first segment of a story we published in 1991 about the hard-luck career of Rex Manchester. We begin with the story of how the World War II hero got involved in the sport and the boats that he drove during the early 1960s.

We also continue with the fourth and final segment of our visit with Steve Reynolds. In this month’s issue, Reynolds talks about driving an Unlimited hydroplane and discusses the issues of safety and the sport’s future from the perspective of when the interview was conducted in 1982.

The April issue also includes a new feature. Brad Haskin of the Hydroplane and Raceboat Museum begins a monthly column that will keep our readers informed about what’s going on at the museum. The issue also has a couple of our regulars. Chris Tracy talks about the latest news, and editor Andy Muntz shares his views about the sport’s new starting procedure.

As always, the Unlimited NewsJournal is FREE. You can read the April issue, or any of our past issues, at unlimitednewsjournal.net. Happy Reading!

03/01/2026

The March issue of the Unlimited NewsJournal is now available for your reading enjoyment. This month, we continue with the third segment of our four-part interview of Steve Reynolds, one of the most popular drivers of 40 years ago. In this month’s issue, Reynolds talks about driving Captran Resorts in 1981 and Miss Prodelco in 1982.

The March issue also includes information about the 2026 edition of our annual Hydro Record Book and a reprint of an interview from the past that featured three of the sport’s most successful boat designers, all from the same family. Ted Jones, designer of the revolutionary Slo-mo-shun IV and many of the most successful hydros of the 1950s; his son, Ron Jones, the designer of the “Winged Wonder Pay ‘N Pak and other revolutionary boats in the 1970s; and his son, Ron Jones, Jr., a successful designer and builder of the 1990s, all talk about their craft in a remarkable discussion.

The March issue wraps up with an editorial comment about an excellent new book about hydroplane racing. As always, the Unlimited NewsJournal is FREE. You can read the March issue, or any of our past issues, at unlimitednewsjournal.net. Happy Reading!

02/01/2026

February has already arrived, and with each new month also comes another issue of the Unlimited NewsJournal. The February issue remembers Brenda Jones, who passed away early last month. We tell the story of her legacy as the only woman to drive an Unlimited hydroplane in competition during the sport’s modern era. You’ll learn the events that aligned to put her in a hydro cockpit and what she thought of that experience.

The February issue also includes the second installment of our four-part interview of Steve Reynolds. This month, he talks about the trials and tribulations of driving Miss Circus Circus in 1980, his last with that team, and about his efforts to drive the team’s experimental four-point boat. Last month we learned that boat was considered by some as the worst of that decade. You’ll see why.

With rumors that the sport is considering a change in the way it starts races, we also review the history of the many different starting procedures (including the one that is again being proposed) that have been used during the past four decades, and why each variation was eventually dumped on the scrap heap by the sport’s decision-makers. Finally, you’ll read about the retirement party for the hydro museum’s long-time executive director, David Williams.

Best of all, as always, the Unlimited NewsJournal is FREE.

You can read the February 2026 issue, or any of our past issues, at unlimitednewsjournal.net. Happy Reading!

01/01/2026

Happy New Year! The start of another year, and of another month, can mean only one thing: it’s time for the January issue of the Unlimited NewsJournal. Reading it (along with maybe watching some football) will be a great way to celebrate today’s holiday.

With the 2025 season now behind us, and the 2026 season still over the next horizon, the next few NewsJournals will focus on the history of the sport. This month, we feature the beginning of a four-part interview with one of the most popular drivers of the late 1970s and early ‘80s: Steve Reynolds. Taken from our archives, the interview was conducted and was originally published by the NewsJournal in 1982, before the accident that would unfortunately cut short his driving career. In the first segment of the conversation, Reynolds discusses his first involvement with the Miss Circus Circus team in 1978 and he reviews the 1979 season, when he drove a new hydroplane for Circus Circus.

The January issue also travels back in time and resurrects a New Year’s article originally published in 1990 that identifies the best and worst hydroplanes of the 1980s. Can you guess which boat was Number One? Also in the issue is an interview of Peter Orton, who has worked on vintage hydroplanes for many years. He talks about the old Rolls-Royce Merlin engines and the beautiful restoration of the 1967 Miss Budweiser. Chris Tracy’s column this month is devoted to the latest goings-on, including some exciting news, at the Hydroplane and Raceboat Museum.

Best of all, as always, the Unlimited NewsJournal is FREE.

You can read the January 2026 issue, or any of our past issues, at unlimitednewsjournal.net. Happy Reading!

12/01/2025

The final month of 2025 has arrived already! That means it’s time for the December issue of the Unlimited NewsJournal.
This month, we feature the career of the most successful driver the sport has ever known. With the announcement of Dave Villwock’s retirement, we offer a story about his distinguished driving career, as well as a chart that summarizes his remarkable driving statistics. For fun, we also reached into the NewsJournal vault and pulled out our race coverage of his very first victory, the 1992 event in San Diego. As a bonus, that coverage also included a quick interview where the rookie talked about winning, something that over the next three decades he’d do more than any other driver in the sport’s history.
The December issue of the NewsJournal also reports on the return of Jimmy Shane to Unlimited racing, looks back at the 2025 H1 Unlimited season, which includes our annual season summary chart, and we report on what happened at last month’s H1 awards banquet.
As always, the Unlimited NewsJournal is FREE. You can read the December issue, or any of our past issues, at unlimitednewsjournal.net.

11/01/2025

Welcome to November! It’s time for the next issue of the Unlimited NewsJournal.

This month, as promised, we feature the full story of the season’s final race, including the statistical results of the Bill Muncey Cup and notes and quotes from the San Diego pits. We also tell a story about the filming of a Budweiser commercial, and about the day when the Miss Budweiser hydroplane dashed across Lake Wenatchee in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains.

The November issue of the NewsJournal also includes our report of the annual Mahogany and Merlot event on Lake Chelan. This year, eight vintage hydros reminded spectators of the sights and sounds of when the boats were powered by those old World War II fighter plane engines. Speaking of sights and sounds, one of the features of the event is the opportunity for fans to take a ride in one of the boats. This month’s issue offers three different perspectives of what that experience is like.

As always, the Unlimited NewsJournal is FREE. You can read the November issue, or any of our past issues, at unlimitednewsjournal.net.

10/01/2025

Attention hydro fans! The October issue of the Unlimited NewsJournal is now available for your reading enjoyment.

This month, we remember two members of the hydro racing family who recently passed away. The October issue offers tributes to H1 photographer Chris Denslow and to former driver Ron Snyder. We also tell the little-known story of a mile trial event that was planned to be held in Chelan in 2000. Dave Villwock talks about the two Miss Apollo boats that he drove this season, Chris Tracy provides news and rumors from Around the Circuit, and the editor offers his two cents worth about the issue of boat count.

Like always, the publication is free and available online at unlimitednewsjournal.net.

09/01/2025

Happy Labor Day and welcome to September. With the first of each month comes a new issue of the Unlimited NewsJournal. The September issue is now available for your reading pleasure.

This month’s issue features detailed reports of two races: the historical outcome of the APBA Gold Cup held in the Tri-Cities and the results of the Apollo Mechanical Cup held in Seattle a week later. Our reporters describe the action for you lap by lap and we also provide interesting notes and quotes from the pits at both events.

The September issue then continues with an interview of Graham Trucking driver Jeff Bernard, who describes the work his team did to prepare the boat for racing this year, and we offer an article about some recent news happening at the Hydroplane and Raceboat Museum.

We’ve got our regular features, too. Chris Tracy gives us the inside scoop about what’s going on within the race sites and the race teams, and we’ve got letters to the editor that comment about articles that appeared in our previous issue.

And, the best part, It’s all available for free. All you need to do is go to www.unlimitednewsjournal.net and enjoy.

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