Photo Gallery: Corey Peabody—And Pete Boden—Strike Gold At The Gold Cup
Though Unlimited hydroplane racing is outside the normal scope of competition coverage on speedonthewater.com—offshore powerboat racing keeps us busy enough and our resources are not (pun intended) unlimited—we appreciate and respect it. The sport is undeniably spectacular and beautiful. Yet our audience interest for ongoing, detailed coverage simply isn’t there.
Driver Corey Peabody earned his first Gold Cup title last weekend. Photos by Pete Boden copyright Shoot 2 Thrill Pix.
Still, sometimes cool things fall into our laps as is the case with these images. Allow us to explain.
Last weekend, speedonthewater.com chief photographer Pete Boden headed to Guntersville, Ala., to shoot the Guntersville Lake Hydrofest, the current home of the American Power Boat Association Gold Cup. The oldest trophy in motorsports, the Gold Cup celebrated is 112th anniversary on the Alabama waterway. And after two full days of multi-heat action, driver Jimmy Shane, a two-time H1 Unlimited hydroplane world champion, of the Miss HomeStreet team appeared to claim his sixth Gold Cup.
But it was not to be. Shane fell off plane at the start of the race and was disqualified, opening the door for Lynx Healthcare driver Corey Peabody to claim his first Gold Cup Victory.
A Michigan guy who calls Southwest Florida home for most of the year, Boden has a connection to the Gold Cup, which for most of its 112 years—we just can’t say that enough—ran in Detroit on the river of the same name. That was enough to entice him to brave the Alabama heat for the weekend. Boden returned home impressed with the event and, of course, a slew of images.
Enjoy more images from last weekend’s Guntersville Hydrofest/APBA Gold Cup event.
“It’s a very organized event,” Boden said. “The town fenced off the park area for gated admission. They had 10 food trucks there with great food and a public address system that stretched two-and-a-half miles and was clear.
“The town and the staff could not have been more helpful—they even had someone to drive me around,” he added. “The organization of the event was the best I’ve ever seen. Things went off on time and the racing was good.”
Piston power is still alive in the Unlimited hydroplane world.
Editor’s Note: An earlier version of this story named Jimmy Shane the winner of the 2022 Gold Cup, but Shane was disqualified for falling off plane at the start. The story has been changed for accuracy. We regret any confusion the error may have caused.
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