MACH Series

In 1983, steadily declining boat counts at Region 6 Inboard events prompted Tom Swindling and Bill Morrison of the Northern Kentucky boat club to re think the way Inboard racing was being conducted in the region. The other Region 6 club presidents were contacted and the plan to bring back participation in all region inboard races was under way. A meeting with Swindling and Morrison as well as Ray Dong of the Marine Prop Riders, Phil Kunz of the Dayton Motor Boat Association and Pat Powell of the Ohio Valley Motor Boat club was held and the details of the plan were worked out. This was the beginning of what is now known as the Mid American Championship Hydroplane (MACH) series. As a basis for the new series Kunz suggested a series structure and scoring system similar to that being used by the World of Outlaw Sprint Cars. As Ray Dong said "We adapted the spirit of what they (sprint cars) did--and entails, for once, rewarding people for showing up at the races--prior to MACH, there was no incentive to show up at a race." Before the introduction of MACH, most races tried to run all nine recognized inboard hydroplane classes even though this met that the weaker classes like H or N might only provide 3 boat fields. This did not provide a good program for racers, spectators or promoters and was reflected in the dwindling participation. Prize money was another item of concern. Required prize money per class/race was only $300 which was split between the top three finishers in the class. A program like this actually provided incentive for racers that might not be running well to stay home. For an average the participant count was about thirty boats spread over nine classes. As Dong pointed out, the MACH format rewards attendance or participants as well as performance. Each participant receives fifty points for just showing up at the race. This is half of the total possible points that a racer can accumulate in an event. The competition point system that has been adopted provides a maximum of 50 points for first place, 45 for second place and on down to 0 points. This system allows for the bad days every race encounters now and then by keeping the total series points close. The MACH points are accumulated toward a series championship and point fund award at the end of the season. Not only is there an overall point fund for the series winners, but the per race prize money was increased from $300 to $1,000 per class/race.

The last major item to be introduced in the new series format was the consolidation of a few classes to provide full fields in every class. The 1L Stocks/Mods, the 4L Mods/5 Litre and 7 Litre Stocks/Mods were combined to bring the total number of competing classes from nine to six. The new series format seemed to work as the 1984 MACH series executive director affirmed that there was a 25 percent increase in the boat count from 1983 to 1984. In 1984, almost every race site in Region 6 signed up for the MACH series which provided eleven races with nineteen days of racing and one thousand dollars per day per class or almost one hundred thousand dollars in total prize money for the year. Incentive was provided by the large number of events and prize money for many of the hot dogs high point hunters from outside the region to come race here as well. This also helped to increase the caliber of racing in the region. Many well known champion racers from all over the country have participated in the series such as Dick Delsener, Bo Shide, Dave Sutton, Mark Tate, Dutch Squires, Chris Oliver and John DeVos to name a few.

1989 saw an unprecedented decline in race sites as well as participants across the country, and the MACH series was not immune. Still a six race series with eleven days of competition, the series offered fifty thousand dollars in prize money. The schedule included Ypsilanti Mich., Steubenville, Ohio, Dayton, Ohio, Wyandotte, Mich., New Richmond, Ohio and Hillsboro, Ohio. From Mother's Nature standpoint, the season was off on a good note until it reached Wyandotte, Michigan on August 13. There the weather conditions were so bad that the event had to be canceled. All participants were awarded 75 points for having come to the event. Throughout the remainder of the series the races went well and there were many different race winners on the given race weekends. As it was stated more than once before, participation is rewarded as well as performance and when the season points were added there were several surprises as many of the race winners were not in the hunt for the series championship. Racers like Terry Collins, Dick Harris, Gary Kruger, Mike Cashin and Mike Weber may not have been first place winners throughout the series races: but their participation in all the events helped to make the series a success and because of their effort they were rewarded in the MACH series as well. Today the MACH series is doing well, with 17 days of MACH inboard racing scheduled, the series is still a very big success says MACH director Phil Kunz. The MACH series has paid out over a million dollars since it's beginning back in 1983 without a major sponsor.