Newton doubles up; Forister enjoys perfection at ERCU Gold Cup

With all the waiting we had to do to actually get some semblance of a season in, the Gold Cup turned out to be a great way to get rolling.

With 27 boats in the pits and a number of VIP stature drivers who dropped by to just watch some racing and enjoy the company of friends, it was one of ERCU’s best days in several years.

Physical distancing and masking occurred as if it was the normal way of racing. The sportsmanship was outstanding, and the quality of racing was even better.

New guys came out to give ERCU a try as participants in the race, so we got to make new friends and see new smiles – and even a few boats we hadn’t seen before.

It was truly a great day.

David Newton, one of the founding members of ERCU, returned to our pits for the Gold Cup, driving Harry Gatjens’ 1988 Bubble Bud to the Gold Cup victory in the modern class. Newton then doubled up on Gold Cups for the day when he took home the inaugural Classic Class Gold Cup.

While Newton had a pretty great day of his own, the only driver on the day to record a perfect day was Ron Forister, who made his return to ERCU after a couple of years off. He picked up where he left off, scoring a perfect day with the 1971 Miss Madison. Not only did he win the Vintage Gold Cup, but he also won every heat and was the fastest qualifier in Vintage.

A pretty impressive day, Mr. Forister.

Another who impressed, was Joey Caines – a long time nitro racer who came to check out the “little boats”. Caines was hooked right away, after testing Jim Bakke’s 2013 Graham Trucking, which Nelson Holmberg prepares, maintains and brings to races. As a rookie in ERCU, Caines had to start as a trailer – five seconds behind – but he sure made the most of it. Caines took two seconds and a third (along with a did not finish) in his four heats, made the final and ended up second from the trailer position.

He spent the day checking around for boats for sale.

David Heilbrunn, too, joined ERCU for the first time ever and had a great time. His 1984 Executone was powerful and competitive all day.

With the Gold Cup being the equivalent of our Indy 500, we also had time trials to determine the fastest qualifiers in each class. They are:

• Vintage: Ron Forister, 1971 Miss Madison, 15.84 seconds
• Classic: David Newton, 1986 The Squire Shop, 13.87 seconds
• Modern: Nelson Holmberg, 2018 Oberto, 14.76 seconds

With the Gold Cup now behind us, the Roger Newton Memorial is up next on Saturday, Nov. 7 back at Woodland Creek Community Park in Lacey. The season will conclude on Saturday, Nov. 14 at Lake Sacajawea in Longview, when we run the Seafair Cup. Keep an eye on our Facebook and our website for more information about those races as they draw closer.