Powerboat Talk

Harlan Orrin is a true legend in the West Coast performance boating world, with more than 60 years of hands-on experience designing and building molds, hulls, and custom wood decks. His roots in boat building trace back to World War II, when his father and uncle built wooden boats for the US military, an early influence that shaped Orrin's lifelong path. From an early interest in drafting and shee...

In this episode of Powerboat Talk, we sit down with drag boat racing pioneer Mary Rife, the first woman ever licensed to drive a Blown Fuel Hydro and the only woman in history to surpass 200 mph in a boat. Long before women became common in motorsports, Rife was competing head-to-head against the sport's best drivers in one of the most dangerous classes in racing. Often described as drag boat raci...

In this episode of Powerboat Talk , we sit down with offshore racing legend John Connor to explore a career that helped define the sport's golden era. As throttleman and crew chief for Paul and Betty Cook, Connor played a key role in Betty's rise to prominence as one of the most important figures in offshore racing history.  In 1977, Betty Cook became the first woman to win a world championship in...

In this episode of Powerboat Talk , we sit down with Cade Wilson, the new owner of Sterling Engines , a name deeply rooted in offshore racing history. After a successful corporate career and a leadership foundation built through service in the U.S. Army, the U.S. Naval Academy, and as a Naval officer, Wilson set out to acquire and grow a business, ultimately landing in the one place he initially t...

In this episode of Powerboat Talk, we sit down with veteran flatbottom K-boat driver Ty Newton of Phoenix, Arizona, a multi-time national champion and member of the American Power Boat Association Hall of Champions (2009). With more than three decades behind the wheel and 15 years in K-boats, Newton brings a deep well of experience and perspective to the conversation. Newton shares the story of hi...

In this episode, recorded before the 2025 racing season, we sit down with Dave Villwock, the most successful driver in Unlimited Hydroplane racing history. At the time, Villwock had amassed 67 career wins, 10 national championships, 10 APBA Gold Cups, and multiple world speed records. During the 2025 season, he added to that legacy with his 68th career win and 11th Gold Cup at age 71. Villwock's s...

As the founder of Customer Marine, Inc. (CMI) , Joe Zelinski stands as a central figure and true innovator in the high-performance marine world. For decades, CMI headers have set the benchmark for performance marine exhaust systems. Raised by a father who was a plumbing contractor, Zelinski developed a strong work ethic early on, along with a natural curiosity for anything mechanical. While spendi...

In this episode, the 2nd of two parts, we talk with racer Tyler Speer following the 2025 drag boat racing season as he breaks down the continued progress of his A Fuel Nitro Hydro, Georgia Outlaw , through the 2025 season and his plans heading into 2026. Speer, who works in the family boat business Proboat in Woodstock, GA with his father Tim, talks about an early-season change to a different clut...

Tyler Speer is one of the most versatile racers in modern drag boat competition and a rising force in nitro-powered hydro racing. Today he campaigns an Injected Nitro Hydro in the Top Alcohol Hydro class, pushing the limits of performance while developing one of the most demanding boats in the sport. Speer began racing motocross at age five, later moving through go-karts, the Allison Legacy Series...

This episode of Powerboat Talk is a recording of a livestream that we did at Eddie Marine in Rancho Cucamonga for Eddie's SoCal Performance Expo opening night party. We had the privilege of interviewing 23 marine and automotive industry leaders and personalities. Eddie's SoCal Performance Expo brought together almost 300 cars and 90 performance boats for a great day in sunny Southern California. T...

This week's episode features an inside look at the Boat Alcohol Displacement (BAD) Boat Challenge in Australia with Stock Racing team members Gordy Jennings ( Jennings Motorsports ) and Paul Fitzgerald ( Southern Thunder Marine ). As the crew chiefs responsible for tuning and maintaining Mike Stock's El Cid K-boat , piloted by Duff Daily , Jennings and Fitzgerald found themselves representing the...

On this episode of Powerboat Talk, we welcome Tate Ramsey, an Australian circuit boat racer, three-time winner, and reigning National Drivers Champion. Ramsey is also the current BAD Boat Challenge champion, and he puts that crown on the line in the upcoming 2026 USA & New Zealand vs. Australia BAD Boat Challenge . There, he'll face a deep and competitive field of more than 25 Australian racers, a...

In this episode, we sit down with one of offshore powerboat racing's most accomplished throttlemen, Richie Powers. Over the course of more than three decades, Powers amassed an extraordinary record, more than sixty victories across Superboat and UIM Open Class competition, nearly 12,000 miles of race-winning performance, seven World Offshore Titles, and eleven national and international championsh...

Alan Stoker is a world-renowned boat racer and the builder of Stoker Boats. An innovator whose career spans the formative decades of Mod VP outboard racing and tunnel-hull development, Stoker was raised in Southern California. This episode was recorded shortly after his third straight victory at the 2024 Parker Enduro. Stoker grew up immersed in boating through his father, John Stoker, owner of Jo...

In this episode of Powerboat Talk, I talk to three new flatbottom circle boat racers—Nash Thorpe, Nick Balayan, and Travis Hill—who share their backgrounds, experiences, and insights from their first race at the Southern California Speedboat Club's season opener in Parker, Arizona, this past April. The conversation covers their paths into racing, the challenges they faced as rookies, the importanc...

Fred Inman is the owner and founder of Inman Marine Corporation (IMCO) , one of the largest and most respected performance aftermarket marine manufacturers in the world. Like many entrepreneurs, Inman, a metal fabricator by trade, began his career in the marine industry by making parts in his garage for his flatbottoms in the 1960s. After gaining experience at a similar company, Inman partnered wi...

In this episode, I sit down with Chris Davidson, longtime publisher of Hot Boat Magazine and current publisher of Speedboat Magazine , to reflect on nearly four decades in the performance boating industry. Chris shares his unique journey—from collecting Elvis memorabilia to shaping the voice of high-performance boating media. He discusses the early days of Hot Boat , his family's deep roots in the...

Reality and YouTube star Mike Finnegan returns on this episode of Powerboat Talk . Finnegan fills us in on his new role as a full-time YouTuber following MotorTrend's recent shutdown of all its TV shows. He also gives an update on his carbon fiber Cheyenne drag boat, Side Chick , sharing some of the challenges with its injury-plagued 632 cu. in. Chevy engine and the success of a recent dyno sessio...

In this episode, we're talking with the team behind Freedom One Racing , a new name making waves at this year's Lake of the Ozarks Shootout . The Shootout's loose rules invite wild setups, and Freedom One didn't disappoint, bringing a brand-new 388 Skater powered by twin 4,000-hp 4.9-inch bore, all-aluminum Noonan Hemi Pro Mod drag racing engines.  The boat's engines are a marvel of engineering mu...

Slug Hefner's Dirty Duck Racing team made history at the 2024 Lake of the Ozarks Shootout (LOTO) , breaking the 200 mph barrier for the first time. After falling just short of the milestone in 2023, Hefner's 438 Skater —powered by twin-turbocharged 557-cubic-inch engines—received a performance boost from a custom nitrous system designed by engine builder Carson Brummett . This upgrade propelled th...

Billy Moore stands as one of the most successful offshore powerboat racers competing today. Following in the footsteps of his father, Bobby Moore —widely considered the first throttle man in offshore racing—Billy "works the sticks" in both Class 1 and Super Cat. I spoke with Moore recently, just as his Defalco Racing Class 1 team celebrated back-to-back wins at Mercury Racing's Midwest Challenge i...

Warren Kosikov is the Vice President of Sales for the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) , an organization that represents the automotive and marine aftermarket industries while advocating for the interests of both manufacturers and consumers. Before joining SEMA, Kosikov held executive sales management roles at Source Interlink Media, Buckaroo Communications, Petersen Publishing, and N...

Shane Westerfield is a versatile and accomplished racer with a rich history in both drag boat and car racing. Along with his father, Steve, he owns Westerfield Motorsports , a shop specializing in supercharged engines, components, and high-performance flat bottom boats. Westerfield's 15-year drag racing career began by helping his father with his Top Alcohol flatbottom and reached a peak in 2017 w...

Ron Gordon, General Manager and Vice President, founded American Turbine with his boyhood friend, Bruce Simmons, in 1989, bringing decades of experience in the jet drive industry. Ron's first encounter with a jet pump dates back to 1968, when he began working on his family's Glastron V174 jet boat. Gordon's career in the industry officially began in 1976 when he and Simmons founded Dominator Jet i...

Tres Martin is the owner of Tres Martin Performance and Tres Martin Performance Boat School , where he offers advanced, hands-on, skill-based training for performance boat owners. Martin grew up working with his father, Ralph Martin, at Everglades Marina in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Ralph Martin is credited with organizing the first poker run for boats in 1985. In 1986, Martin began racing offshor...