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FLORIDA DRIVERS SET FOR BACKYARD SHOWDOWN!!
RINKER, TORRENTE & SEEBOLD LOCKED INTO TITLE RUN!
NAPLES, FL – Wednesday, October 1, 2008 – A pair of Florida pilots, series points leader Terry Rinker of the Amsoil Racing and Shaun Torrente of the Talon Boats/Gary L. Barton Inc. are locked in a head to head championship showdown that will be battled on neutral waters for the inaugural Naples Grand Prix in Naples, Florida, Nov. 1-2.
The 44 year-old veteran driver from Tampa, Rinker, holds 3 National titles to his credit and currently leads the championship by a small 49 points margin over fellow Floridian Shaun Torrente who sits 2nd with 2644 points after the first five races of the 2008 campaign.
“We feel strongly that our season is getting better and better with each passing race,” said Terry. “We have a win in St. Louis and four straight podiums and we believe that consistency is going to win you titles. We however aren’t letting up one bit as we go for our 2nd victory of the season and we are really excited to finally be racing again in our home state of Florida”.
Twenty-nine year old Shaun Torrente started out the season with three
straight victories and looked as if nothing was going to stop him. His
wins at Pickwick, Tennessee, Bay City, Michigan and Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania were strong as he had visions of chasing Terry Rinker’s
all-time winning streak of seven that he accomplished back in 2006.
Since the 4th of July event in the “steel city” Shaun has a 2nd in St.
Louis and crashed out in the last race in Michigan giving up the points
lead at the same time.
“We were doing everything right early and we still believe this is our
championship to lose,” said the native of Homestead, Florida. “We have
one did not finish in Algonac the last time out fighting for the win
and this has put us in a bit of a chase for the title but we feel
confident we can make up the points and still win the championship”.
Tim Seebold of the Bud Light Team Seebold racing organization is the
man who is full of momentum having won the last race from the pole in
the rough waters on the Saint Clair River in Algonac, Michigan ahead of
Terry while watching Shaun crash out trying to stay with the native of
St. Louis, Missouri. The youngest racing member of the country’s most
famous powerboat racing family has 25 career victories and is looking
for his 3rd title in the last 5 years.
“We are doing what it takes to stay in the championship and still have
a lot to say before the season ends in Naples” said Tim. “We are
confident that we can put together another weekend where we won from
the pole position and never trailed and are ready to go right to the
finish with another win in Naples”.
Lynn Simburger and his Playcraft Boats sponsored machine is 4th in the
championship looking for his first win sitting with two top-3 finishes,
while Canadian Brian Venton is 5th in the championship led by team
manager Don Jenkinson in a new Gran Prix hull that seems to suit his
style. Jeff Shepherd of Tennessee who has a podium and sits 6th in the
title chase is hoping for more podiums in ’08, while older brother
Randy Rinker joins his brother Terry on the Amsoil sponsored team in
the top ten with a 7th in the drivers points.
Rookie Thailand driver Nithat Kunjeng continues his first year in
F1-ChampBoat and is enjoying the season despite being on his 3rd boat
as he continues to settle into life in North America. He finished a
much respected 4th in Algonac having charged up from the back at the
start and now has a few top-5 performances in 2008 for the Singha Beer
sponsored team.
Ninth in the championship in his first full year of racing is
Missouri’s Matt Sadl with a 5th in Pickwick, Tennessee being his best
performance so far this season for the likeable driver from the St.
Louis area.
Rounding out the top-10 in the points chase is another St. Louis driver
in speedy Todd Beckman who despite missing Pittsburgh had a fine 4th at
his home Grand Prix for a driver who has won in the past on the tour.
The Champ2 Championship will also be wrapping up there season in Naples
where a large field of F2 boats are expected. The event will be
followed by a season ending Champion’s banquet and 2009 business
meetings on Monday.
ChampBoat Contact:
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Event Information:
www.naplesgrandprix.com
www.champboat.com
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