Smokin’ Joe Cooks

Mark Tate aboard the yellow-and-purple Smokin’ Joe’s overcame a third-lane start to win the Thunder on the Ohio unlimited hydroplane races.

The favored Miss Budweiser came apart in pieces on the final lap, struck a buoy and did not finish. It left a trail of debris along the 2-mile oval on the Ohio River.

The right sponson, the large pontoon-like structure on the bright red hydroplane, peeled back like a banana and brought replacement Budweiser driver Mark Evans to a sudden halt near the first turn. He was not injured.

Tate held off second-place finisher Dave Villwock aboard the Pico American Dream, squeezing the Pico boat early in the race between himself in lane three and the Miss Budweiser inside.

Things got very tight for the royal-blue boat, which was forced to back off the throttle.

Tate had not won a heat all day, taking three second-place finishes. He was upset in the second race by the Pico - which Tate complained had purposefully drifted wide in turns to stay ahead and push him farther outside.

The Miss Budweiser defeated Tate in the first and third heats.

Steve David in the T-Plus boat finished third, ahead of Mike Hanson in the Jasper Engines and Jerry Hopp in the Busler Enterprises.