The inaugural Mercury Racing Midwest Challenge in Sheboygan, WI, wrapped up with the final day of racing Sunday, which continued competition in Class 1, Super Stock and 450R Factory Stock classes on the five-mile course.

The first race of the day featured eleven Super Stock competitors facing off, with Jackhammer poised to repeat its win on Saturday. Although Jackhammer driver Reese Langheim and throttleman Julian Maldonado traded off on the lead with Cole Leibel and Gary Ballough in Big East Construction a couple of times, Jackhammer prevailed, taking the checkered flag. Big East took second, Team Allen Lawn Care took third and Coco's Monkey finished in fourth place.

"Conditions were a bit different today, but we tried to stick to the same consistent setup," Maldonado told Speedboat. "We just moved some weight around a little bit, changed the props, and it worked. It definitely could have been better—we ended up stuffing the boat about four times because the weights we added were shifting around. At one point, the boat got kitey, and Big East was able to make a move on us, and we did change positions a couple of times during the race. We ended up finishing only a couple of boat lengths ahead of them. We knew we didn't have to win...but what's better than winning both days?"

Next up was the 450R Factory Stock class, with yesterday's winners—Logan Adan and Ricky Maldonado in Waves and Wheels/Doug Wright—battling T/S Motorsports, Mead Family Racing, GC Racing, Hank's Saloon Racing, 151 Express and Gladiator Canados. Mead Family Racing, driven by 16-year-old Caleb Mead and throttled by veteran racer Shaun Torrente—was victorious; they were followed by T/S Motorsports (with Taylor Scism and Johnny Tomlinson) in second and GC Racing (with Willy Cabeza and Gary Ballough) in third, making all three on the podium MTIs.

So how did a 16-year-old rookie perform so successfully against so many seasoned drivers? "Well, Shaun Torrente helped a lot," Mead chuckles. "It was flatter yesterday, and today we had some waves. Shaun was like, 'You better hold on!' It was a great race, and I'm glad all three boats on the podium were MTIs. I can't wait to do it again in St. Petersburg!"

Finally, it was time for the big boats to come out to play. Yesterday's winners, driver Darren Nicholson and throttleman Giovanni Carpitella in 222 Offshore/Australian Navy, were back to once again duke it out with Huski Ice Spritz, Monster Energy/MCON, XINSURANCE/Good Boy Vodka, dfYOUNG, Pothole Heroes and Team Defalco. ‍

dfYOUNG, a 51' Mystic with driver Hugh Fuller and throttleman Rich Wyatt, took the win for the day (and their first win this season). In second place was 222 Offshore. Huski Ice Spritz (with Brit Lilly and Steve Curtis) had been enjoying a strong third place, but suffered a mechanical issue toward the end of the race, allowing Monster Energy/MCON (Myrick Coil and Tyler Miller) to pass them for a third-place finish, giving them a podium position in Sheboygan for the second day of the row. XINSURANCE/Good Boy Vodka and Pothole Heroes also went out with mechanical issues.

A first-place win yesterday followed by second place today gave Nicholson and Carpitella sufficient points to win the Sheboygan event overall.

The next race is in two weeks, when offshore racers head to St. Petersburg, FL, for the P1 Offshore St. Pete Grand Prix, Sept. 1-3.

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