The National Jet Boat Association came a step closer to wrapping up its 2023 points season with the staging of the October Dash For Cash at their home track at Lake Ming in Bakersfield, California.
Several NJBA race teams and also the Rescue team participated in the Halloween festivities.
Story by Beverly Stokes / Photos by Mark McLaughlin
Attendance was lower than usual, as some race teams had suffered some mechanical breakage the month before, and others were simply holding out for the upcoming SDBA/NJBA Drag Boat Nationals event in November. Approximately seventy boats traveled to Bakersfield, and the competition was certainly no less fierce than normal, especially in the Pro Comp Flat class, which hosted a really tough eighteen-boat field, and even in the classes that featured fewer race teams, there were some very tight races, making for some exciting race action.
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Top Alcohol Hydro
TAH Top Qualifier Mike DeClark posted a 4.305-second elapsed time at 203.69 miles per hourJason Mullican and Mike DeClark were the two contenders in the Top Alcohol Hydro this weekend and Mike had to have been happy with his performance, as he posted a stout 4.305-second run at 203.69 miles per hour to easily take the top qualifying spot in the class,
and on 
Mike DeClark launched hard and posted a stellar 4.267-second elapsed time at 205.01 miles per hour on a single in the final round of Top Alcohol Hydro competition, as Jason Mullican’s “Hustler” machine broke just off the starting line.Sunday he posted what I believe was his personal best to date with a stellar 4.267 second run at 205.01 miles per hour for the win. Unfortunately for Jason, his “Gremlin” machine broke just off the starting line in eliminations on Sunday.
Blown Gas Flat
Shane Westerfield secured the top qualifying position in the Blown Gas Flat class with a 6.025-second run and Frank Kuhs and Joe Martin were closely matched in the number two and three positions with 6.042 and 6.045-second runs, respectively.
In the semifinal matchup between Joe Martin (far lane) and Frank Kuhs, Joe logged the slightly quicker 5.993-second elapsed time, but a late start off the line secured the round win for Frank, who posted a .153 RT and 6.024-second ET on his way to the final.
Craig Lucas and Nick Childers ran qualifying times in the 6.2-second range to take the fourth and fifth spots while Robert Robinson posted a 6.530 for the sixth position on the ladder, Jeff Martin’s “Pooch” machine was unable to fire on the holding rope on both of his two qualifying attempts, and Jim VanKampen was unable to make a qualifying run on Saturday, forcing them to the seventh and eighth spots, respectively. 
In the Blown Gas Flat semifinal matchup between Nicholas Childers (far lane) and Shane Westerfield, both men had nearly identical reaction times, but Nicholas’s “Paycheck” machine suffered mechanical issues on the run, and he slowed to a 22.179-second run.
Shane Westerfield and daughter, Cora, celebrated a solid win in the Blown Gas Flat class, with the Top Qualifier honors and a victory to top it off.
Jim’s luck continued to go bad during eliminations on Sunday, as he was unable to make his call for round one, so Shane Westerfield ran a single where he posted a stellar 5.947-second run at 136.67 miles per hour. Likewise, Jeff Martin continued to have mechanical issues as he broke on the starting line again in his round one matchup against Frank Kuhs, advancing Frank automatically, despite a -.007 red light on his run. Joe Martin also redlit on his round one matchup against Robert Robinson but he advanced anyway as well, as Robert was a no-show, and in the matchup between the number four qualifier, Craig Lucas, and number five, Nick Childers, Craig was unable to fire on the starting line and Nick advanced with a 6.172-second elapsed time at 122.39 miles per hour. Nick went on to face Shane Westerfield in the semifinals where Shane took the win easily with a .054 reaction time and a 5.947-second run at 135.98 miles per hour. On the other side of the ladder, Frank Kuhs and Joe Martin paired up to see who would face Shane in the final, and Frank took the win on a hole shot, as his 6.024-second run and .153 reaction time was good enough to drive around Joe, who posted the quicker 5.993-second run for the loss. In the final between Shane Westerfield and Frank Kuhs, Shane was quicker at both ends of the track, taking the win with a stellar 5.902-second elapsed time and a .052 reaction time with an equally impressive 137.314 mile per hour run, while Frank posted an equally impressive 6.055-second ET and .080 RT for the runner up honors.
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Unblown Fuel Jet
The UBFJ semifinal matchup between Ken Petrovich and Bryan Glidewell (far lane) was super close, as Ken was off the line first with a stout .017 reaction time, but Bryan paired a .145 reaction time with the quicker 5.830-second elapsed time to take the win by a only 9/1000ths of a second.
Three race teams registered to compete in the Unblown Fuel Jet category, and Duncan Patterson secured the top qualifying spot on Saturday after posting a 5.868-second run during time trials while Ken Petrovich and Bryan Glidewell posted nearly identical elapsed times of 5.9864 and 5.9866-seconds to take the second and third spots, respectively.
In the Unblown Fuel Jet final between Duncan Patterson and Bryan Glidewell (far lane) Duncan struggled on the starting line, allowing Bryan to secure the win easily with .201 reaction time and 5.733-second elapsed time at 129.832 miles per hour.
Bryan Glidewell and a teammate celebrated his first NJBA UBFJ victory with the ceremonial dunking.
Duncan got the bye in round one and the matchup between Ken and Bryan was a great race to the finish, as Ken was off the line first with a stout .017 reaction time, but Bryan posted the quicker 5.830-second elapsed time to take the win by a very slim .009 margin of victory! In the final between Bryan Glidewell and Duncan Patterson, Bryan was quicker at both ends of the track, taking the UBFJ victory with a .201 reaction time and 5.733-second elapsed time at 129.832 miles per hour, and Duncan posted a 5.886-second run at 130.041 miles per hour for the runner up honors.
Bryan Gladstone and his “Blown By Twins” teammates celebrated the Unblown Fuel Jet victory.
Duncan Patterson accepted the Unblown Fuel Jet runner up honors.
Pro Comp Hydro
Pro Comp Hydro is a dial-in index class, making it a fun class to watch, as the staggard start can be hard for the drivers of the “quicker” boat to have to wait for their green light.
In the opening round of Pro Comp Hydro competition between Dan Jensen and Steve Cranford (far lane), Steve picked up a -.029 red light, handing the win to Dan Jensen automatically.
Such was the case at the NJBA Dash For Cash, as each of the round one matchups had foul starts. In the matchup between the number one qualifier, Steve Cranford, and number six, Dan Jensen, Steve picked up a -.029 red light that automatically sent Dan to the semifinals with a stout 6.046-second elapsed time and .046 reaction time. 
Steve Cranford got the number one qualifying spot over the six-boat field of Pro Comp Hydro race teams. 
The Pro Gas Flat final between Jim Watkins (far lane) and Dan Jensen was a great race to the finish, as both men had nearly identical reaction times and both men also had near perfect elapsed times against their respective dial-ins with the win going to Jim by a very slim .019 margin of victory.Number two, Jim Watkins, also redlit, but he advanced anyway, as Rick Box was unable to make the call for the run, and in the matchup between the number three and four qualifiers, Josh Hayde and Jason Silva, Josh posted a too-quick 5.269-second ET against his 5.300 dial-in, but he advanced anyway, as Jason picked up a -.020 red light. Josh became the victim of the dreaded red light in his semifinal matchup against 
Bakersfield local favorite, Jim Watkins, celebrated the Pro Comp Hydro victory with his “Bad Temper” teammates.Jim Watkins, advancing Jim automatically, and Dan Jensen advanced to the final on a bye where he posted another stellar 6.016-second elapsed time against his 6.000-second dial-in. The final round of competition between Dan and Jim Watkins was a great race to the finish, as Dan took a slight advantage off the starting line with a .158 reaction time and posted a consistent 6.038-second elapsed time, but Jim ran closer to his picked index of 6.280 seconds to take the win with a 6.297-second ET and .160 RT by a slim .019 margin of victory!
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Pro Comp Flat
Also a dial-in class, eighteen race teams registered to compete in the very popular Pro Comp Flat class.Ben Wurster drew the top qualifying position and faced Sean Rogers in the opening round of eliminations where Ben was off the line first and posted the quicker 6.497-second elapsed time against his 6.400-second dial-in to advance to round two, 
Mike Ryckabosch (far lane) paired a stout .021 reaction time with a 6.055-second elapsed time against his 5.920 dial-in to defeat Tony Rossi in round one of Pro Comp Flat competition.
In the opening round of Pro Comp Flat competition, Gary Riggins ripped off a 6.045-second elapsed time against his 6.000 dial-in to take the win over Jesse Gregerson (far lane).while Mike Ryckebosch posted a 6.055-second elapsed time against his 5.920 to take the win over Toni Rossi. And the round one matchup between Alan Asbe and Shaun Forrest was a great race to the finish, as Shaun was off the line first with a .023 reaction time, and he posted a 6.412-second elapsed time against his 6.380 dial-in compared to Alan’s quicker 6.338-second ET against a 6.300 dial to take the win on a hole shot by a slim .097 margin!
Jordan Endler and Kelly Black (far lane) both chose a 6.500-second dial in on their round one matchup, and although Jordan had the better reaction time, Jordan’s 6.530-second elapsed time was plenty good enough to drive around for the win.
The round one race between Pro Comp Flat racers Matt Thurston and Jay Brakefield (far lane) was a great race to the finish with Jay taking the win on a hole shot by a slim .054 margin of victory.In the matchup between Jordan Endler and Kelly Black, Jordan was also off the line first with a .105 reaction time, but Kelly was able to drive around for the win with a 6.530-second elapsed time against his 6.500 dial-in. Brandon Grider was better at both ends of the track to take the round one win over Dale Pinckney, while Gary Riggins drove around Jesse Gregerson with the quicker 6.045-second against his 6.000 index, and Brien Dunn broke out,
Jay Brakefield and his “Snakebite” friends and teammates celebrated a stellar weekend as Jay waded through the very tough eighteen boat field of Pro Comp Flat race teams to take the class victory and secure the Best Reaction Time of the weekend. advancing Paul Bauer automatically. In another great race to the finish, Jay Brakefield logged a .151 reaction time and posted a 6.360-second elapsed time against his 6.250 dial-in to take the hole shot win over Matt Thurston by a very slim .054 margin, and last, but not least, David Poffenbarger advanced easily over Tom Lagomarsino, who slowed to a 10.816-second elapsed time on his run. David faced Shaun Forrest in round two where both men broke out, and David advanced on the lesser of the two infractions while Ben Wurster posted another stout 6.522-second ET against his 6.500 dial-in on his round two bye, Jay Brakefield advanced automatically over Mike Ryckebosch when Mike red light and broke out, Paul Bauer advanced over Kelly Black on a double break out, and Brandon Grider advanced automatically when Gary Riggins broke out. In round three Brandon went up against Ben Wurster, where both men broke out and Ben advanced with the lesser 6.474-second elapsed time against his 6.500 dial-in, while Jay Brakefield advanced over Paul Bauer on a double breakout, and David Poffenbarger advanced on a bye. Jay got the bye in the semifinals while Ben Wurster and David Poffenbarger paired up to see who would face Jay in the final. 
In the Pro Comp Flat final round matchup between David Poffenbarger (far lane) and Jay Brakefield, David was off the line first with a .106 reaction time, but Jay logged the better 6.380-second elapsed time against his 6.350 dial-in to drive around for the class victory.
In their semifinal matchup, David was off the line first with a .057 reaction time and Ben broke out while trying to catch David at the top end of the track, advancing David automatically. In the final between David Poffenbarger and Jay Brakefield, David was off the line first again, but Jay posted the better 6.380-second elapsed time against his 6.350 dial-in to take the Pro Comp Flat victory.
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660 Class
The 660-foot heads up class is also quite competitive, and Matt Hudson secured the top qualifying spot in the class after posting a 3.697-second elapsed time during time trials on Saturday, and Glenn Hutchison posted a closely matched 3.829-second run for the number two spot while Duncan Patterson and Bryan Glidewell each posted elapsed times in the 4.1-second range to take the number three and four spots, respectively. Bryan faced Matt Hudson in round one, and although Bryan was off the line first with a .129 reaction time, Matt took the win handily with the quicker 3.698-second run. On the other side of the ladder, Glenn Hutchison posted a 3.812-second elapsed time to advance easily over Duncan Patterson, who got a late start off the line. The final between Glenn Hutchison and Matt Hudson was a super close race to the finish with Glenn taking the starting line advantage with a .100 reaction compared to the .177 RT by Matt, but Matt’s 3.697-second ET was just enough to beat the 3.783-second run by Glenn by just 9/1,000ths of a second!
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Pro Outlaw
The 5.2-second Pro Outlaw class featured three race teams, and Vic Esposito led the field at the close of qualifying with a 5.253-second qualifying effort while Jack Wright posted a 5.307-second ET for the number two spot and Danny Stone was third with a 5.548-second run.
Danny Stone with the Top Qualifier
Vic got the bye in the opening round on Sunday where he clicked off a near-perfect .009 reaction time and posted another impressive 5.253-second run while testing the clocks, and Danny Stone advanced on a single when Jack Wright was unable to make the call for the run.
Danny Stone (far lane) was quicker at both ends of the track in his final round matchup against Vic Esposito, who slowed to a 5.452-second elapsed time on his run.
In the final between Danny and Vic Esposito, Danny brought out the big guns, posting a stellar 5.232-second run at 165.036 miles per hour to take the win over Vic, who slowed to a 5.452-second run for the runner up honors.
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Quick Eliminator
The 6.00-second Quick Eliminator class played host to a full eight-boat field, and Dan Jensen took the top qualifying spot after posting a near-perfect 6.019-second run, and Ken Petrovich posted an equally impressive 6.031 for the number two position. Kristopher Cranford posted a 6.102-second ET for the number three position and Tony Rossi was fourth with a 6.255-second effort, while Shaun Forrest, Dale Pinckney, Jason Silva and Kristopher Cranford rounded out the field in the number five through eight spots, respectively.
In the round one matchup between Quick Eliminator racers Dan Jensen (far lane) and Steve Cranford, both men left with closely matched reaction times and both men also broke out at the top end of the course, with Dan advancing with the lesser of the two infractions.
Steve, who was unable to make a qualifying pass in the class on Saturday, faced Dan Jensen in the opening round of eliminations on Sunday where both men broke out and Dan advanced with the lesser breakout of 5.999-seconds. Jason Silva was unable to make his call for his round one matchup against Ken Petrovich, so Ken advanced automatically on a single with a nullified red light.
Ken Petrovich (far lane) took the Quick Eliminator victory over Dan Jensen by a slim .061 margin on a hole shot.
Ken Petrovich and his “Orion” team celebrated the Quick Eliminator victory in the NJBA Winner’s Circle.Dale Pinckney was off the line first with a .096 reaction time and he posted a stout 6.2096-second elapsed time that forced Kristopher Cranford to break out while trying to catch Dale at the top end of the course, and Tony Rossi posted a -.066 red light but advanced anyway, as Shaun Forrest was unable to make the call for the run. Tony faced Dan Jensen in the semifinals where he picked up another -.036 red light that automatically advanced Dan to the final, and Dale Pinckney was off the line first in his matchup against Ken Petrovich, but he broke out at the top end of the racecourse, advancing Ken to the final automatically with a stout 6.037-second ET. In the final between Ken and Dan Jensen, Ken was off the line first with a stout .026 reaction time, and although Dan ran the slightly quicker elapsed time of 6.031 seconds, Ken was able to fend off Dan with a 6.068-second ET and take the win by a .061 margin of victory!
Pro Eliminator
Alan Asbe continues to strive to keep the 8.00-second class alive as he posted a stout 8.096-second elapsed time during qualifying on Saturday and returned on Sunday to post an equally impressive 8.066-second elapsed time on his trophy run.
Alan Asbe logged an 8.066-second elapsed time against the 8:00-second Pro Eliminator index on his run for the trophy on Sunday.
Approximately seventy boats traveled to Bakersfield, and the competition was certainly no less fierce than normal.
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Top Eliminator
In the 9:00-second Top Eliminator class, James Williams drove to the top qualifying spot after logging a near perfect 9.004-second run, while Scott Simmons, Scot Tillinghast and MattRogers each posted elapsed times in the 9.0-second range
James Williams posted a stellar 9.004-second elapsed time against the 9.000-second TE index to secure the number one qualifying position in the class.
to take the number two, three and four positions, respectfully, and Jeramiah Allen, Steve Newton and Bill Erkelens posted ET’s in the 9.1-second range to take the fifth, sixth and seventh spots. Anthony Olgiati posted a 9.423-second elapsed time to round out the field in the number eight position and had the misfortune of going up against 
Top Eliminator round one had Scot Tillinghast vs Steve Newton (far lane) with Steve taking the win.
Matt Rogers posted a near perfect 9.009-second elapsed time in the opening round (near lane), Jeramiah Allen (far lane).James Williams in the opening round of eliminations. Anthony and his “Colorblind” team brought out the big guns in their opening round matchup, but he got a late start off the line and broke out with an 8.569-second elapsed time, and James broke out as well, but advanced anyway with lesser breakout of 8.978 seconds.In the round one matchup between Scott Simmons and Bill McGuinn, Bill was off the line first with a .176 reaction time, but Scott posted a near perfect 9.020-second run to drive around for the win while Steve 
Anthony Olgiati had a rough weekend, as he struggled during the Top Eliminator qualifying session on Saturday and then exited in the opening round of eliminations on Sunday on a double breakout. 
In the semifinal matchup between Scott Simmons and Steve Newton (far lane), Scott posted a near perfect 9.006-second elapsed time to take the win and head to the TE final.
Newton and Jeramiah Allen took hole shot wins over their better-qualified opponents as, in the matchup between Steve and Scot Tillinghast, Steve’s 9.083-second run beat the quicker 9.029-second effort by Scot, and Jeramiah defeated Matt Rogers with a 9.060 despite Matt’s near-perfect 9.009-second run. In the semifinals, Jeramiah picked up a -.132 red light that negated James Williams’s breakout, and Scott Simmons posted a stellar 9.006-second elapsed time to defeat Steve Newton.In the final between Steve and James Williams, both men posted closely matched reaction times and nearly identical elapsed times for a great race to the finish.
In the TE final round matchup between James Williams and Scott Simmons (far lane), both men had exceptional reaction times and elapsed times, and in a very close race to the finish, James secured the class win by a slim .016 margin of victory.
James was off the line first with a .045 reaction time compared to the .063 RT by Scott, and Scott was quicker at the top end of the track with a 9.012-second elapsed time against James’s 9.014, but James was able to fend off Scott and take the win by a very slim .016 margin of victory. What a great effort by two very tough teams in this highly competitive class!
James Williams and team celebrated a hard-earned victory in the Top Eliminator class.
Scott Simmons celebrated a hard-earned runner-up finish in Top Eliminator.
Modified Eliminators
In the three-boat field of Modified Eliminators, Jared Vance took the top qualifying with his 10.067-second run while Noah White took the number two spot with a 10.100-second qualifying run and Ricky Sneed was third with a 10.123-second effort. 
In the ME semifinal matchup between Ricky Sneed (far lane) and Noah White, both men redlit, and Noah advanced with the lesser -.084 foul.The race between Noah and Ricky in the opening round of eliminations on Sunday was determined by default, as both men redlit and Noah advanced with the lesser infraction and Jared Vance also posted a red light on his round one bye.
In the ME final round matchup between Noah White (far lane) and Jared Vance, both men ran nearly identical elapsed times, but Jared was slightly quicker at both ends of the track, taking the win with a .134 RT and 10.035-second elapsed time over the equally impressive 10.083-second effort by Noah.
In the final between Jared and Noah, both men ran nearly identical elapsed times, but Jared was slightly quicker at both ends of the track and took the ME victory with a 10.030-second ET, and Noah posted a 10.083-second elapsed time for the runner up honors.
Jared Vance celebrated his ME victory in the Winners Circle with his family and teammates.
Noah White enjoyed a stellar weekend, with Runner Up honors in both ME and Super Eliminator.
Stock Eliminator
Justin Gorr and Christopher Wasinger battled it out for the Stock Eliminator victory, where Christopher was off the line first with a slightly quicker .238 reaction time but Justin combined a .242 RT with the quicker 11.063-second elapsed time to take the SE win.
Justin Gorr drove Donny Lebon’s “Little Sister” machine to the Stock Eliminator victory over Christopher Wasinger (far lane).
Showing off Christopher Wasinger's Runner Up honors in Stock Eliminator.
Justin Gorr celebrated the Stock Eliminator victory with team owner, Donnie Lebon.
Super Eliminator
In round one of Super Eliminator competition on Sunday, Jared Vance got the round one bye while Noah White faced Matt Rogers, Scott Simmons went up against Scot Tillinghast, and Ken Petrovich was paired with Steve Newton. In the matchup between Noah White and Matt Rogers, Noah advanced to round two despite running a too-quick 9.922-second elapsed time against his 9.950 dial-in as Matt picked up a -.113 red light.
Jared Vance’s 10.035-second run against his 10.040 dial-in sent Scott Tillinghast (far lane) to the final automatically.
Next, Scott Simmons and Scot Tillinghast logged nearly identical and near-perfect reaction times in the .00 range, but Scott Simmons posted a too-quick 8.948-second elapsed time against his 8.970-second dial-in to advance Scot automatically, and likewise, Ken Petrovich broke out in his round one race against Steve Newton.
The Super E semifinal matchup between Noah White and Steve Newton saw a double infraction, where Noah advanced on a breakout, as Steve (pictured in far lane) picked up a -.069 red light.
Steve went on to face Noah White in the semifinals, and Noah broke out but advanced anyway, as Steve picked up a -.069 red light, and Scot Tillinghast advanced automatically when Jared Vance broke out with a 10.035-second elapsed time against his 10.040 dial-in. In the final between Scot and Noah White, Noah was off the line first with a stout .061 reaction time, but Scott was quicker on his 8.990 dial-in to take the win with a 9.199-second elapsed time.
Scot Tillinghast celebrated the Super Eliminator victory in the NJBA Winner’s Circle with his “Aggravated Assault” team.Noah White enjoyed a stellar weekend, with the Runner Up honors in both ME and Super Eliminator.
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