In the Saturday race at the APBA GMC Milwaukee Offshore Gran Prix, the Lucas Oil Scarab #7 with driver Nigel Hook and throttleman Nick Pavlicheck earned a First Place finish with flying colors over the GMC Pro Grade National Points Leaders, Ken Bowen and Scott Conrad of the #18 Team Adrenaline Racing. Both teams completed their ten lap course swapping leads back and forth but Lucas Oil Scarab managed to stay in front the majority of the race.

The #2 RMS Motorsports completed two of the ten laps for 3rd place, and the #11 Pier 57 started and maneuvered around the first pin at a slow pace to receive their points for 4th place.

“This is particularly exciting for us because Nick is from Pidgeon, Michigan and he has a whole lot of friends here,” said “Captain” Hook.

“They’ve all worked very hard on this boat, so much that they pretty much sleep with it, but the hard work paid off today. This was the first time we had a race where we had no problems. Nick did a great job. It’s going to be especially exciting to have another race tomorrow, to see if we can back it up. We’ve spent all season chasing that darn Donzi, I had a real smile on my face to see their boat in my rear view mirrors, this time,” added Hook, who at one point in the race encountered a bad hop from a competitors wake that nearly sent them into the seawall.

“The battle is on for tomorrow. Donzi against Wellcraft Scarab… it’s going to be a showdown on Sunday."

Sunday, August 1

Everyone knew it was only a matter of time, but few expected two in one weekend. Two checkered flags for the #7 Lucas Oil Scarab. Two sweet first place victories in two days of racing at the APBA GMC Milwaukee Offshore Gran Prix.

Thousands of race fans lined the Veterans Park waterfront, some close enough to feel the spray when the raceboats rounded inner turns on the 4.8 mile liquid track at Milwaukee Bay, with Veterans Park on one side and the Lake Michigan breakwater on the other.

Waiting for all eight boats to line up at the start, the pace boat finally let the green flag fly half-way down the long straightaway. This gave the boats little time to sort out a running order before the first turn. The #18 Donzi and the #7 Lucas Oil Scarab were running neck and neck and no more than a few feet apart. By the left hand turns at the top of the course, both boats were still rub-rail to rub-rail with #18 on the inside line.

Heading back towards Veterans Park, #7 Lucas Oil Scarab and #18 Donzi were flying. The winds were blowing over 20 mph, and a change in wind direction had stirred up the waters. Turn Six was a right-hander. "That was the hairiest part of the race," said Nick Pavlichek, throttleman for #7 Lucas Oil Scarab. "There was scarcely enough room to hold our line, but I wasn't backing off either, we had a nose ahead and we all knew whoever established an overlap would win the race."

On the left-hand Turns One and Two, the #7 was a bow length ahead but on the outside. The #18 held a tight line on Turn One and swept wide on Turn Two -- forcing Lucas Oil to dart inside, taking a full blast of rooster tail. "Switching to the inside wasn't our plan at that moment, but it was our only choice to stay on terms," said Nigel Hook, Captain of the #7 Lucas Oil Scarab. "We took advantage of it, though, and used it to turn the tables. By the time were round the top end again we had pulled a lead enough to chose our own line through the corners."

Once firmly established, #7 Lucas Oil Scarab extended the lead, lap by lap, to over 13 seconds at the checkered flag. "There's probably no other team I would feel comfortable with while racing so close at over 100 mph in choppy water, especially flying around left and right hand turns. Ken and Scott are true professionals and race to win every time, " said Hook.

In talking to journalist David Coleman of the Milwaukee Sentinel after receiving the 1st Place award, Hook expressed his concern over the unforgiving boundaries of the race course. Although he said of course this was overshadowed by the glory of beating the number one boat in the country, the #18 Donzi driven by Ken Bowman and throttled by Scott Conrad.

"We've come so close in past races -- in the Port Huron race we missed beating them by 2 seconds at the end of the race," said Hook. "But here on Saturday's first place win we led the race from green flag to checkered flag. Sunday's win was different. That was the real battle. Clearly the Donzi Team was determined to not lose their crown twice in a row."

GMC, the title sponsor of the APBA GMC Pro Grade Series, made this Milwaukee Offshore Grand Prix their premier event, with 500 GMC guests and employees present. APBA enhanced the experience by running the Super Vee class race on both Saturday and Sunday, giving the #7 Lucas Oil Scarab this unusual opportunity to win two checkered flags in one weekend.

The next race for the #7 Lucas Oil Team will be August 8 in Washington, North Carolina.