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WALLY JOHNSTON Wally has always been involved in boating, adding "I used to have hotrod ski boats." His father, Rip Johnston started racing in the late 30's in Montana, Idaho and Wyoming driving mainly stock outboards. Wally's father stopped racing when Wally was about ten but that didn't stop an interest in fast boats for Wally. He will tell you "I was always interested in fast boats. My wife actually said 'You spend all this money on boats why don't you start racing, and she has regretted saying that ever since. Buying a conventional boat called the Coffee Break, Wally and a friend fixed it up to race. They ran the boat in Montana on a limited basis, but the boat wasn't real competitive. The boat is being restored as a vintage boat in Moses Lake, Washington. In 1979 Wally and his friend bought the Mariner from Seattle owned by Larry Mauer. It was a red and white boat with a tail. They started as drivers on the world record holder in the 280 class. Wally has been racing for over twenty-five years. Wally says "I have driven the 2.5 Stock for other people, 280 or 5 Litre for myself, and the UL's. I drove 6 Litre, which is the National Modified now. That is pretty much it, I have raced a few heats in the Tunnel boat SST 120, and some stock outboards. I think the Tunnel boats are cool, I don't know why, I think it looks like a bullet going across the water. They are totally different than a Hydroplane. I certainly prefer the Hydroplanes, but to each his own. Those guys who drive the Tunnel boats run the marathon races, running for 1/2 hour at a time, and it can get pretty brutal for them. When they race with us, they will run four laps like the Hydroplanes, so its not as bad. The Champ Boat Series or the Big Tunnel boats will go 130 m.p.h. As a driver Wally is consistent, a good starter and a clean driver. He has been disqualified very few times in the last twenty-five years, and he adds "I would like to think that we have top notch equipment. We like to treat people like we would like to be treated. We enjoy all the people in racing, so we try to be friendly with everybody." Coming from Helena, Montana Wally and his crew do a lot of driving to get to the races. With all the traveling to races wally's wife and daughter can attend only a few races, but his biggest supporter is his son Travis who is a driver too. Some wonder if its crazy to race boats at the high speeds achieved, but Wally disagrees even after driving in the Unlimited Light class, in the 150 m.p.h range. He said "I don't think it is, if you compare racing to other sports, especially some of the extreme sports. We're in such a controlled environment where they are not. The safety in racing has increased a hundred fold since I started racing. Four or five people would die a year, on a yearly basis when I first started racing. And now, we haven't killed an inboard driver in a capsuled boat. There has been some drives killed but not recently in a capsuled boat. It is a relatively safe sport although it can still be dangerous, we can still get hurt."
Racing with Wally Johnston
INSIDE LOOK AT WHAT HAPPENING WITH WALLY JOHNSTON
Racing with Wally
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