Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

port-sid e back sea t and take a few notes, imagin ing w hat it might have been like on the open <;!cean. 2:05 p.m. : Eureka! After a seemingly e ndless sea rch, Jenn in g s and Great Americ an Concepts fab ricator Neville Sharp figure out tha t the ignition has a fau lty crank trigg er. A replacement part is rushed over and the team begins a . new race aga inst the clock. 2:20 p.m. : Once they knew wha t they were dealing with, the team wa s able to quickly make the repairs. Just 15 minutes later, Hart is climbing into Sigalos' seat, and we're going to have another go at firing the errant motor. In no time at all it comes to life and sounds really good, giving me a bit of an adrenaline boost - and we're not even on the water yet. Satisfied that all is well, Hart shu ts itdown "I'm glad that this kind. of shit happens now, as opposed to when we're in a race:' Hart says in testament to th e reliability that the team has enjoyed while competing. "Now we know what kind of spare parts to carry. We carry two spare engines, but up until now we haven't carried a bunch of parts." 2:43 p.m. : We're not out of the woods yet. After a quick call to Sunset Aquatics, the team learns that the Travel-Lift operator can lower the Scarab into the water, but he won't be around to lift it back out. The only option is to leave the boat in the water after the test. The team huddles tog ether. Nobody is . wild'about the idea of leav ing a $500,000 r a ce b o a t una ttend ed in the w ater overnight. But this p articular tes t is of ex tre me importance, as it will tell th e team a lot abou t how the boat handles with the extra 100 horsepower per side picked up through engine development over the w int er . The first race of the AP BA series, at Sou t h Padre Island, Texas, is just two weeks away. The d ecisio n is as good as made. We're goi ng for it. - 3: 30 p.m. : We a rrive at Sunset Aquatics. Few words are spoken. It's crunch tim e . The boat is ca refully extracted from its trailer arid gently lowered into the wa ter . Sigalos barks at me to get d ressed. Excuse me? He points to th e se mi , Insid e, I find a blue driving s ui t with th e O cean Spray ' lo g o embossed on the chest, a bright orange Simpson helmet - for easy spotting in a debris fiel d , a ca n o f spare air, a nd a Lifeline life jacket designed to keep me afloa t if the boat should decide not to. Once d res sed , I scramble around the boat to sna p off a few obligatory photos an d th en climb u n d er its F-16 fighter cano py, strapping myself into the starboard-side back seat, directly behi nd Pen ha ll. Ha r t is along for the ride as w ell a nd ta kes up re s id e n ce behin d Sigalos . . With his motorcycle racing career complete, Penhall parlayed his good looks into an acting career, one that he still maintains today among his numerous other roles. As an actor, he is perhaps best known for his role on the long-running CHiPs television show . In add it ion , he has made severa l appearances in full-length movies and commercials, and has been a regular commenta- . tor for motorsports coverage on the A BC, ESPN and Prime networks as well. His enirepeneurial skills are exceptional too. Besides the acting, commentating and boat racing, Penhall owns Eagle Golf Course Sales - a golf course tee box refurbish ing business. And he is currently turning most of his attention toward another new ventu re, Penhall Optical Windshades, a high-performance and fashion sunglass lin e. Penhall has hooked up with top Italian designer Rudy Barbazza to market Barbazza's Rudy Project line as well as newer models that Penhall has designed on his own . "I had been working with Oakley for a long time and had lots of exposu re to the market," Penhall said. "I felt that I knew w hat th e public wan ted. So I called my friend Steve Brereton and told him I had this hair-brained idea about selling sunglasses. He said, 'Let's do it.' We started in January and we're in full production now. It's been an excting six months, and we're jus t now starting to make our mark." . The success that Penhall, now 37, has enjoyed in all of his business endeavors has not been lost in his family life. Penhall and wife Laurie have been married for 11 years and are busy raising three children - Ryan, 7, McKenzie, 4, and Connor, 3. Once Sigalos broke away from the glorious but nomadic speedway lifestyle, he displayed the same drive and determination that earned him success in racing by taking up a management posit ion at his fam ily business Orange County Food Service/S&K Vending. The Sigalos family catering business is among the largest in the cou ntry, and it always keeps him on the go. ''I' m an area manager," Sigalos says . My area includes Riverside, Chino and Corona. We have about 185 trucks now." visible of him is the 'bright orange helmet that he's wearing as he bobs up and down in his sea t. As I look out through the canopy, the ocean immediately surrounding us is nothing but a gray, 100mph blur as we streak past the offshore oil platforms and other boats in the harbor area. And we're not just bobb ing either. The boat ebbs and flows as we head out into th e open sea , leaping throu gh the air as it cres ts some of the larger waves, each impact upon land in g feels li ke someon e is punching me right in the solar p lexis. Thankfully, th e Simpson fi ve-w a y harness is doin g it s job o f keeping me strapped into the seat, its sh ou lder straps digging into m y s u it rather uncomfortably. It's okay, because my adrenaline is flowing like water. I glance over at Sigalos again, watching him as he works the twin throttles on the boat, unwittingly creating a true contrast to my own senses. Siggy has a definite "touch" with the throttles, true communication with the engines - the team wouldn't be World Champions otherwise. As the boat vaults the waves an d then slaps back down into the sea, violent staccato bursts of p ower and noise are interrupted every few seconds by near silence when the props leave the wa ter. And then Sigalos is right back on the gas again as soon as we touch down. Despite the fact that the business is a family operation , Sigalos didn 't just climb into one of the top positions because he had the correct last name. "I didn't just start with an office job," Sigalos said. "I learned from the bottom up from srcubbing bacon pans to working in the ga rage to fixing vending machines . I learned it all. My dad wouldn't have it any other way." S igalos, too , took the opport u nity to marry his high school sweetheart Deborah DePhillippi in 1985, and four years later, they became the proud parents of a baby daughter, Avalon . Penhall and Sigalos exchange a few hand signals - the team's intercom is not online tod ay - and we ma ke a slow turn to the left and prepa re to head back toward the breakwater. Once again the whole scenario of d ea fenin g noise and blinding speed is repeated. This time though, the feedback from the boat is quite differe nt. We're head ing "downwind" now , back toward the beach, and rather tha n leaping off the waves with a nose-high attitude, the boat acts as thou gh it wants to "s ho vel in" or submarine. This typ e of w ater crea tes a more dangerous challenge for the crew. They're up to it 4:10 p.m, : My heart starts to pound a little as we tro ll away from the d ock and out past the breakwater . It's time to rock an d roll. Penhall and Sigalos make a few final checks, and then Sigalos thrott les up. The nose of the Scarab claws for the sky, making it impossib le to see directly in front of the craft from where I'm sitting. 4:13 p.m. : We're flying! All hell is breaking loo se behind me as th e twin 597s bellow in stereo. I peer into Sigal os' cockpit and scan the tachometers, w hich a re registering just under 5000 rpm. I can' t see what Penhall is doing; all tha t's Penhall began his offshore racing career in 1993 and was an immedia te success, earning the American Power Boat Assodlition Western Division Class A Champi-. onship, finishIng second du ring the APBA Class "A World Championship in Fort Mey ers, Florida, in November,-1993, and setting a wor ld speed record for Class A craft as well. In 1994, Penhall joined up with Sigalos to form a new team, the Ocean 'Spray Offshore Racing Team. Wit h all of the experience and mon ey that it takes to become a championship offshore team, Penhall and Sigalos were given little chance to run with powerboating's upper echelon when they en tered their first race, the Dana Point Challenge, in Dana Point, California, on June 5, 1994. To make matters more difficult , the team would be shaking down its just-completed 37-foot racing Scarab. But in the end, Penhall and Sigalos left the competition wondering when the duo powered to a convincing Class D victory on their maiden voyage, knocking off the reigning Wor ld Champions in the process. With Penhall driving and Sigalos working the throttles, the team went on to top the APBA Modifi ed Cla ss World Ch am pionships in Key West, Florida, on November 3 and 8 in its first try , proving that it had both speed and consistency duri ng the twoday clash . S igalos and Penhall fu rther reaped the harvests of a stellar rookie season by being awarded the APBA 's David Albert and Chris Sm ith Me morial Rookie of the Year award. 4;33 p.m, : Surpris ingly, we've only been testing for about 10 minutes, but there is so much going on that it seems as though w e 've bee n ou t fo r much longer. Sigalos shu ts the boat down, and w e unharness . Hart fl ip s open the engine cowl and sno ops around fo r signs of trouble. In the meantime, Penhall and Sigal os discuss the session. " It was real s m oo th , fl y i ng real level," Penhall says. 'That wa s about 5100 (rpm) .tha t last time," Sigalos replies. "We should go a little higher if we can ." Sigalos tells me that the team will run the engin es as hig h as 6000 rpm to win a race . Hart reports that we've lost a little power-steeri ng fluid, a n exha ust leak that the team has been chasing is back again, and that the port mo tor is lightly weeping oil. Considering the variables, he pronounces a clean bill of hea lth, and we're ready to go again. While a bit longer and no less spectacular, my time in the second session is spent watching Bonnello shoot us from the chase plane that the team has hired. I a lso pay attention to counting the intervals of air time that we're getting by ho w long the engines remain cut back. Two seconds, three seconds, a nd one al mos t fou r-second interval of off throttle time. That had to be really big air. 5 p.m, : We' re through the breakwater and almost back to the d ocks now. I catch myself ta king deep sighs about every four or five breaths. It's like I' m 'comi ng down from the natural high of the thril l that I just experienced, and I'll do it for the rest of th e evening. As a friendly gestu re, Penhall lets me steer the boat as we head back to the dock. The sun is going down now as we cruise back under the bridge, and while Penhall, Sigalos, Hart and I engage in light con versation, I po nder what the coming year might hol d for the team as it tries . to go two-fo r-two in the upcoming Worl d Championship offshore season. . The pressure of being number one is often a great strain to bear, and Penhall and Sigalos will be the first to admit tha t it will be d ifficult to repeat their unbelievable rookie-season performance, But as they venture into the water for the 1995 offshore po werboat racing season, they have every intention of defending their World Championship. Will they be able to repeat? Only time will tell, But if the difference between first and second place comes down to character, charisma a nd a championship-winning heritage, then a second title will be a sure thing. . Why break wi th traditio n? 13 27

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