The 2024 RWO World Championships in Key West wrapped up racing on Sunday. It was a day of exciting triumphs, heartbreaking losses and more than the usual number of boats breaking down on the course. Here’s how it went down:
PRO CLASS 1—The 14-lap race’s first red flag came immediately after a faulty start, when at least one boat appeared to jump the gun. The six competitors in this class regrouped to try again. 222 Offshore/MobileX, the winner of Friday’s race, was enjoying a comfortable lead—but then, with eight laps remaining (followed by Defalco and M•CON), dfYOUNG/Good Boy Vodka (with Richard Wyatt and Alex Pratt) barrel-rolled, and a second red flag appeared. dfYOUNG landed upright and the pilots appeared to be OK, but the hull suffered considerable damage and was taking on water. After another restart, Defalco Racing (with Mike Falco and Billy Moore) was able to pull ahead of 222 when the 40' Victory seemed to suffer a temporary Guardian issue that put them about 11 seconds behind Defalco. Defalco finished first to get the win and the World Championship; 222 finished second, Monster Energy/M•CON finished third and XINSURANCE finished fourth. Morpheus8 (with Carlos De Quesada and John Tomlinson) lost power early in the race.
SUPER CAT—Eight competitors, including reigning National and World Champions M•CON/Monster Energy, ran 14 laps on Sunday to decide the 2024 World Championship. Only five of them finished. In the first lap, M•CON’s Tyler Mller and Myrick Coil overtook Austin Homes (with Vinnie Diorio and Matt Jamnicky) for the lead. Then Dirty Money (with Bill Pyburn and Brit Lilly) got past Austin Homes as well to take second. Dirty Money (the winner of Friday’s race) managed to pass M•CON after the halfway point. C.J. Grant Racing/Graydel (with Chris Grant and Billy Moore) then battled M•CON for second place, but then the boat suffered a mechanical issue. Dirty Money won both days of racing and the World Championship. M•CON/Monster Energy finished second and was second on the World Championship podium. Austin Homes, which had finished fifth on Friday, scored a third-place finish on Sunday and was third on the World Championship podium.
FACTORY STOCK 450R—After Friday’s win, the Gladiator-Canados team of Michel Karsenti and Ervin Grant were hoping for a World Championship on Sunday. But Friday’s second-place finisher, Montlick Injury Attorneys appeared to take the win and—theoretically, at any rate—a World Championship for Logan Adan and Giovanni Capritella. GC Racing (with Willy Cabeza and Grant Bruggemann) finished second, Gladiator-Canados was third, Marine Technology (with Taylor Scism and Johnny Tomlinson) was fourth and Hank’s Saloon (with Coby Harrison and Edwin Scheer) was fifth. The class’s sixth competitor, 151 Express, appeared to lose an engine and went out.
However, following the race, RWO officials revealed that all of the competitors, with the exception of Gladiator-Canados, had crowded the pace boat, which they’re required to maintain 100 yards from its transom until the green flag is waved, signaling the start of the race. This cost them a one-minute penalty that was enforced after the conclusion of the race. After everything was calculated, the final results resulted in Gladiator-Canados securing first place and the World Championship, knocking Montlick down to second place and GC Racing taking third.
EXTREME—George Stancombe and son Micheal Stancombe, in Yardarm Marine Products/Peppers, ran unopposed on both days of racing, but the boat went out with a mechanical issue on Sunday.
SUPER STOCK—Friday’s winner, Team Allen Lawn Care (with Billy Allen and Randy Keys), needed at least a fourth-place finish on Sunday with double points to score a World Championship. And for most of the race, it appeared they were destined to finish third. They chased leader Raymarine (with Cole Leibel and Gary Ballough) and Jackhammer (with Reese Langheim and Ricky Maldonado) in the second-place position. But then Coco's Monkey (with A.J. Bogino and Pete Bogino) pulled ahead to take the second-place position, knocking Jackhammer back to third and Team Allen back to fourth. And those positions were maintained until the final, which handed Team Allen the World Championship. They were followed by Team Bermuda, Allied Construction Services, Two Conchs/Tit for Tat, Mom Ain’t Happy and Performance Boat Center. Chris Hopgood and Jay Muller were back in Team Celsius after the 32’ Doug Wright boat flipped over on Friday, working feverishly to get the boat shipshape.
MOD VEE—Friday’s winner, NMBRV Resort (with Kirk Hanna and Mark Rinda) led the entire race on Sunday, but came off plane and stopped in lap 8 of 10, although the boat was able to finish the race. Sunday’s winner, and World Champion winner, was Statement Marine/XINSURANCE, which had finished ninth out of nine boats on Friday. In second place was R&S Racing (with Howard Richardson and Tom Crowley), while third place went to Boatfloater.com (with Steve and Stephen Kildahl). XINSURANCE/Safe Cash, El Bandido and Fastboys all went out with mechanical issues; Laticrete/Relentless was a scratch on Sunday.
SUPER VEE—Elijah Kingery and Anthony Smith of Farnsworth Motorsports/Hancock Claims continued their winning ways, taking a victory in Sunday’s bout against second-place finisher Race Winning Brands (with Ed Wendt and William McComb) and third-place finisher Cortez Cove/Fountain Racing (with Kirk Britto and Rob Lockyer). Congratulations to Kingery and Smith on their World Championship!
3X—Michael Chandler and Austin Blocker ran uncontested in Scratch N Sniff, their 1986 Hustler.
3C—Cameron Turk and Micheal Stancombe ran uncontested in TFR/XINSURANCE, powered by a single Mercury Racing 300R.
BRACKET 200—After winning the class on Friday, Joey Olivieri and Billy Glueck of OC Racing once again took their 39' Phantom from pole to pole, securing them the World Championship. Their three competitors (Two Conchs/Harpoon Harry’s, Herbott Racing and Team Woody Racing) all went out with mechanical issues.
BRACKET 400—After winning the class on Friday, SRQ Racing (with Cory Shantry and Larry Fontecha) once again led for the majority of the race—but then suffered a mechanical problem, allowing Framed Offshore Racing/Hog’s Breath to move up from second to first place. That gave Framed Offshore’s John Jeniec Jr. and Michael Flammia the World Championship after finishing second on Friday. Simmons Racing (with Jim Simmons and Kevin Campbell) came in second, while Trump 2024 (with Mark Fernandes and Damon Marotta Sr.) went out with a mechanical problem.
BRACKET 500—J.J. Turk and Nick Buis—winners in the 29' Phantom TFR/XINSURANCE/Golf N Gator on Friday—were not as lucky on Sunday. Their boat broke down and had to be towed off the course. (Team Yabba Dabba Doo, with Steve Adams and J.D. Ivines, suffered the same fate.) It was TunnelVision (with Michael McColgan and Robert Bryant) who won Sunday’s Bracket 500 bout in the field of seven boats. However, the World Championship went to high-points takers Thomas Crowley and Fran Vellutato of Rum Runners, who achieved a second-place finish on both days. Sweat Equity (with Greg DiRenzo and Ryan Beckley) finished in third place.
BRACKET 600—Velocity Powerboats (with Scott Mccormick and Bob Spitulski) finished in first place on Sunday after its second-place finish on Friday. However, the boat was determined to have broken out of its mandatory 70-mph speed, which pushed it back to third place behind Moderation and American Hustle. Even so, neither Moderation nor American Hustle were eligible for a World Championship, as they did not sufficiently participate during the past season, so Velocity is 2024's National and World Champion. Swap It Fast, with Clyde Petty and Derek Macintyre, broke down and had to be towed in.
BRACKET 700—Bad Decisions/XINSURANCE (with Ricky Harmeyer and 16-year-old Owen Buis) led the entire race on Friday; they repeated their win on Sunday to take the World Championship. Although it finished third on Sunday, Dirt Legal Velocity (with Brad Christopher and A.J. Smith) were ranked second-place officially after Statement/XINSURANCE (with John Iezzatti and Jerry Hartman) “broke out” by surpassing their mandatory 60-mph speed limit. Proven Marine (which also broke out) was the official third-place finisher. Connor Langheim and Mike Haak of Jackhammer repeated their Friday feat of slowing to a stop, resolving their mechanical issue, and roaring back into the race. The team had worked their way from third to second to first place before the gremlin appeared and set them back a lap.