HERD BOATS FINISH 4TH AND 6TH IN SEASON OPENER AT KNOXVILLE

   KNOXVILLE, TENN. - Herd Racing's two-boat Formula 2 team battled season-opening blues in Knoxville June 1 and 2, logging disappointing finishes of 4th and 6th during Sunday's final on the Tennessee River.

   Jerry Guinn missed Saturday's qualifying races due to setup issues, but was able to hang on for a 4th place run on Sunday in his #31 Seebold.  Dana Tomes, who hit a piece of debris and spun out in his damaged #66 Lamb hull on Saturday, was able to get the boat repaired to start Sunday's final from the end of the dock and finish 6th.

   "Our crew worked until 10:30 Saturday night and was back out Sunday morning at 7:30 in the rain working on the boat," Tomes said.  "We should have loaded up Saturday night, but the crew patched the tunnel wall good enough to get our boat on the water.  We just ran out of time to repair the motor and get it where it needed to be, resulting in a disappointing run in the final.  The crew wanted to finish the race so we stuck it out and did the best we could."

   Tomes said the boat will be repaired prior to the team's second league event July 3-4 in Pittsburgh, PA where nearly 20 teams will be competing for the North American Championships.