FOND DU LAC, Wis. — Dan Jackson, owner of 42-foot-long Skater Xtreme Carlos and Charlie's, throttled the boat to his first Super Cat victory at the seventh annual Hooters Offshore Grand Prix held May 19 in Fort Myers, Fla. Jackson, of Plano, Texas, teamed up with driver Jack Carmody of Leander, Texas, to take first place in an event that featured mostly smooth water. Powered by twin Sterling racing engines with Mercury Racing Number Six drives, the boat finished the 93.8-mile race in 50 minutes, 41 seconds.

"I can barely speak, I'm so excited," said Jackson after the race. "We were just too fast for them in the corners, bottom line. We had the right props, we picked the right setup, and we were able to hold on down the stretch."

The Fort Myers victory was the second race and first win for Carmody since he retired from racing in 1997. "The competition today seems more competitive," Carmody said. "With 10 boats in the class, you have a lot more strategy."

Znetix/Lake Cumberland, a 39-foot-long Fountain V-bottom hull powered by twin 750-horsepower Mercury Racing Super Cat race engines, won the Super V class race. Throttleman Jeff Harris of Greenville, N.C., and driver Wyatt Fountain
of Grimesland, N.C. averaged 98.45 mph in the 57-minute race.

Factory 1 was the largest and most competitive class on Saturday — 14 teams competed for the checkered flag. Purple Haze Racing, a 32-foot-long
Warlock V-bottom hull piloted by driver Ron Latawic of Flowery Branch, Ga., with Jason Muller of Ho Ho Kus, N.J., throttling, took the lead after
the second lap and never lost it.

Sixteen boats competed in Factory 2-class. "The conditions were perfect and it wasn't bumpy at all," said Matt Rice of New Oxford, Pa. , throttleman for Factory II race winner UTZ Quality Foods/Pier 57. Rice and driver Lute Dickey of Cordova, Tenn., completed the 11-lap race in 47 minutes, 57 seconds.