Those Guys Racing

My desire to race boats came in the summer of 2008. My dad, Gary and I were at the Drag Boat Races in Lake Elsinore, California. This was the first boat race I had been to as an adult. The last time I was at a drag boat race was in 1988 at Puddingstone with my dad. That race was the first time I watched a top fuel drag boat make a pass. My dad put me on his shoulder and said ‘Watch this.’ After the pass was through I leaned down, looked at my dad, and said, ‘There is a man in there!’ It just so happened to be Ron Braaksma the driver and owner of Madness. Now an adult, as I watched boats get towed to the starting line and the national anthem began to play; it hit me. As the hair on my body stood on end I realized…that’s what I wanted to do. Shortly thereafter, I started looking at ads on Performance Boats. It wasn’t long until my dad and I found the right one.

It was in the summer of 2010, I purchased a 19ft Eliminator Daytona. Me, my dad, and my uncle Mitch were sitting around in the garage at the river. My dad tossed out the idea of what we were going to call the racing team. After a debate of names, it was decided that we just needed to be “Those Guys” that bring it hard every time. “Those Guys Racing!” we all said at the same time. We were in agreement and wrote the name on the dry erase board. It’s still there today.