This Boat Can Really Motor

Mitch Evans has no chance of winning the drivers’ championship, but he’ll continue to try proving his point when the unlimited hydroplanes make their annual visit to Mission Bay in San Diego this weekend for the Washington Mutual San Diego Thunderboat Regatta, the final event of the season.

His point? That boats powered by piston engines can race with -- and beat -- the turbine-powered craft that have so long ruled the rooster-tail brigade.

Evans made his point in the season opener, winning in June at Evansville, Ind., then punctuated it in August on the Detroit River, where he won the American Power Boat Assn.-Hydro-Prop Gold Cup race, the sport’s most prestigious event, beating six-time champion Dave Villwock in powerboat racing’s most famous craft, Miss Budweiser.

Evans’ Gold Cup victory was the first in 20 years for a non-turbine-powered boat.

“This boat can really fly,” he said afterward. “To win the Gold Cup is a career achievement, but to win with a non-turbine is off the charts. Hopefully, we can take this momentum to San Diego and produce another victory. We are ... out of the championship, but at least we can go to the season finale and make it interesting for the top championship contenders.”

Villwock, a two-time winner in this season’s six-event series, has, in fact, wrapped up his seventh title. Mark Evans, Mitch’s brother who came out of retirement this year, has a mathematical chance of beating out Villwock but broke his leg in a spectacular flip at Detroit and won’t be driving this weekend. Nate Brown, runner-up at San Diego last year, will fill in for Mark Evans.

Michael Hanson, winner at San Diego a year ago, is winless this season but is third in the standings and will be back, hoping to retain the Bill Muncey Cup.

Practice and qualifying will begin today, with heats Saturday and the final Sunday.

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The late Bernie Little, longtime owner of Miss Budweiser and a major force in unlimited hydroplane racing, will be memorialized this weekend with the unveiling of a permanent bench in Mission Bay Park. Little died last spring in Lakeland, Fla. He is the only non-San Diegan to be so honored.

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Short-Tracking

Lee Ladd has clinched the season championship in the super-stock division at Irwindale Speedway, but titles still are up for grabs in four other categories going into Saturday night’s racing.

Rod Johnson holds only a two-point advantage over Andrew Phipps in Grand American modifieds, Aaron Staudinger leads Jeff Williams by 20 in pro trucks, Brent Jones is 28 points ahead of Tom Landreth in legends cars, and Pat Mintey leads Ron Petersen by two points and Joe Herold by four in the postseason three-race mini-series for super trucks.

Saturday’s schedule includes a 40-lap race for the super stocks, 35-lappers for the modifieds and legend cars, and 50-lap races for the pro trucks and super trucks.

SCRA sprint cars are the main attraction Saturday night at Perris Auto Speedway, where Damion Gardner and Rip Williams will try to add to their multi-victory seasons. Gardner has won six times at Perris and Williams three times. No other driver has won more than once. Dwarf cars are also on the Perris card.

Ventura Raceway has Ventura Racing Assn. sprints, senior sprints, dwarf cars and IMCA modifieds racing Saturday night, and Bakersfield Speedway has super streets, hobby stocks, American stocks and crew-member races.

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Motorcycles

Brian Deegan, X Games gold medalist in freestyle motocross, will join other motorcycle jumpers in a preliminary to the speedway motorcycle racing Saturday night at Costa Mesa Speedway on the Orange County fairgrounds.

In Bakersfield, Mesa Marin Raceway will have the SuperMoto USA Triple Crown finals Saturday night.

At Willow Springs in Rosamond, the first qualifying round for next month’s Toyota 200, the ninth round of the Toyota Cup Formula One series, will be run this weekend. Qualifying is set for today, practice and preliminaries for Saturday and the 200 for Sunday.

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Shav Glick is on vacation.