The 2025 Gary Bergeron Memorial Summer Clash had the potential to be the largest race in CDBA history. Being a shared point event with both the ADBA and the NJBA alone should help bring up registration numbers to that of times past.
Story and Photos by Steve Montgomery
The addition of substantial prize money donated in Gary’s name by Len and Linda Bergeron should have been another draw.
Gary passed away in November 2023 and this memorial should have happened long before this race but events in 2024 shunted this idea off to the side. Len Bergeron approached me with the basics in 2024 but he had some health issues going on at the time and it was set off to the side for a while.
Most of us in the drag boat racing community have heard Gary announce whether it was the FVDBA, CDBA, IHBA, LODBRS, ADBA and NJBA. Gary was the most dedicated drag boat announcer I’ve ever come across; he did his homework at whatever event he was covering. And he announced with pride everywhere across North America. I was lucky enough to hang out with him at some of those events and that was my introduction into the pits of the top teams in drag boat racing. There were a lot of late nights in the pits of Firebird Raceway back in the strongest days of the sport.
My trips to Gary’s place in Palm Springs back in the day were legendary - very often I would get picked up at the airport and we would head directly to a golf tournament. There’d be a week of “recreation” in Palm Springs, then off to Phoenix or San Diego or Chowchilla or wherever for boat racing. I have fond memories of those times that will never be matched. Gary, at one point, ran two bars in Palm Springs and he always maintained that working in the bar industry was a lifestyle, not just an occupation, and that would be an issue later on for both him and Candy. We talked about all of the good times during his last week on this planet and said our farewells. I told him I’d write the hell out of his obituary, and he enjoyed that. Happy trails Gary, there will be 300-yard drives, and you’ll make every putt on the other side. He was the best damn cooler pirate on the planet too!
With NJBA racers on site, just a couple of classes were added to the CDBA menu, that being Pro Comp Flat and Pro Comp Hydro. There would have been more classes added if pre-registration called for them. So, we had two entries in Pro Comp Hydro with Kurt Powers and Joe Mierkey signing up. Pro Comp Flat had only five entries with NJBA racers Scot Tillinghast and Ben Wurster joining Rob Temple, Kyle Harder and Bob Close in that class. I think with some more promotion both those classes could have been better attended.
Top Alcohol Flat
Ashley Winslett on a hard start in "War Party".
We had four teams in Top Alcohol Flat and their presence was part of the “World Series of Top Alcohol Flat”, which has five races on the schedule and Dexter was part of that schedule. We also had a couple of Top Alcohol Hydros on site with Jeff Berr in “Stealth 2.0” and James Collett in “Wicked Ways”, who was still to license in the class.
Couple of TAF's being towed to the start line.
Tony Dunlap working on getting the "Flat American" down the track.
Super E
The largest group of racers was once again Super E and twenty teams signed up for the buy-in class. Registration listed fifty-one race teams with twenty in Super E, but a few racers compete in multiple classes, so there were actually forty-six individual boat teams on site. Friday’s test and tune shaved a couple off of that number, with Mike Schiller and Joey MacKillican bowing out from competition. The paperwork shows one hundred ten runs were made on Friday right up until 5:33 that afternoon.
The 2025 Gary Bergeron Memorial Summer Clash had the potential to be the largest race in CDBA history.
PWC
PWC had four entries, and the top qualifier was Brian Marble at just .032 off his index, no surprise there.
A rare red light by Brian Marble had Matthew Duffey taking the PWC win.
Marble enjoyed a legal single first round when Tim Tregoning damaged his ride Saturday.
Brian Marble was top qualifier in PWC, just .032 off his declared index.
A better reaction time had Matthew Duffey (far lane) going to the PWC final over Lynnae Oleson.
Matthew Duffey’s advantage at the start line turned into a trip to the final for him over Lynnae Oleson.
PWC Winner Matthew Duffey
PWC runner up Brian Marble
The PWC final was decided at the start line when Marble went .078 foul and the victory, along with $550, went to Duffey, and $250 for Marble.
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River Racer
There were just three boats in River Racer, and Kevin Weldon in the finally named “The Old Double 0 4” took the top qualifying spot, just .03 off his declared index.
Kevin Weldon was top qualifier in RR just .03 off his index.
That meant a round one bye for Weldon, while ADBA racer Vito Austin and Sheldon Chivers paired.
Round 1 of RR saw Vito Austin advanced to the RR final.
Sheldon Chivers purple boat was not able to fire at the start line
Chivers had some kind of problem at the start line while Austin rambled down track for the win. The final was a replay of the 2024 Summer Clash where Weldon was way out on Austin, but broke out for the loss.
Kevin Weldon. near lane. took the RR win over ADBA racer Vito Austin.
Kevin Weldon took his second of the 2025 season.
This year saw a similar situation with Weldon getting off the line by a full second and change against Austin, but it was Austin that broke out this time. Weldon took the River Racer win and $1,050 in loot while Austin collected $450 for his efforts.
Stock Eliminator
There were five teams in Stock Eliminator, a class that has suffered poor attendance in the CDBA recently. Longtime ME racer Gary Henning brought his lake boat and enjoyed a 9.012 for the top qualifying spot and a first-round bye.
Gary Henning was top qualifier in SE driving the lake boat for a change.
A 9.009-second run let the competition know he was serious about this racing stuff. John Maine had a huge lead off the start line by more than two seconds, but he broke out with an 8.992 on that 9.00 index, so the win went to Jason Ford.
Dennis Flint, near lane, broke out against Phil Sheridan in what should have been an easy win in round 1.
Henning used a start line advantage to win over Ford in round 2 and advance to the final.
The other side of the ladder saw the same deal, as Dennis Flint had a healthy lead off the start line but broke out with a 8.997 and ADBA racer Phil Sheridan took that win, which turned into a 2nd round bye and a free trip to the final. Henning and Ford paired to see who would join Sheridan, but Ford had trouble getting off the start line cleanly, which turned into an easy win for Henning,
The SE final saw Henning better off the start line and take the win over ADBA race Sheridan in the big tunnel.
Gary Henning taking the win in SE in his lake boat.
The Stock Eliminator final again came down to who was better at the start line and Henning’s conservative .204 light was a half-second better than Sheridan’s .7780. Henning’s 9.047 locked in that win and $1,260. Sheridan’s
2nd place showing was good for $540.
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Modified Eliminator
Justin Craig was top qualifier in ME with an 8.118 pass Saturday.
Matt Hakki air show
Modified Eliminator had four teams involved and Justin Craig had the field covered with an 8.118 for the top qualifying spot. Round one saw him and Matt Hakki paired - Craig’s .073 tree had him out front against Hakki’s .334 and he held that lead through the track for the win with an 8.085. Dennis Flint had the same kind of start line advantage over Eric Oleson and Flint advanced to the final.
Dennis Flint, far lane, also used a start line advantage over Eric Oleson to advance to the ME final
Craig was better on both ends of the track for the SE win over Flint, .045 better at the tree and just .093 quicker at the finish line.
The final had Craig taking a .045 advantage at the tree, and he was also better on the other end of the track, logging an 8.465 to Flint’s 8.558. Both drivers had been running long in Super E. That’s a lot of passes on Sunday. Craig collected $1,750 for the win, Flint $750 for 2nd place.
Justin Craig dominated both ends of the track Sunday for his 2nd win of the season.
Dennis Flint picking up the ME runner up trophy.
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Top Eliminator
Top Eliminator was listed seven teams, but Rob Miles had yet to license into the class, so Sunday’s ladders had six.
Ron Gray’s Saturday 7.011 was good for top qualifier in Top Eliminator.
Haislett was better off the line than Lane but the jet caught the hydro down track to make the TE final.
The top qualifier was Ron Gray with a Saturday afternoon 7.011 and he would face the number six qualifier, Terry Bilow, on Sunday morning. Gray got off the start line better by a wide margin but cruised to a stop past half-track while Bilow went on to win that lucky-for-him pass.
Things went south for Ron Gray in round 1 and Terry Bilow advanced to round 2.
Terry Bilow moving on to round 2 after a win over Ron Gray.
And being alone on that side of the ladder meant a bye run in round two. Joe Willis was .020 on his light against Bob Haislett but both drivers broke out on that pass, Haslett moving on with the lesser 6.960 to Willis’ 6.942. Brian Reinhart also treed NJBA driver Marc Lane, but his 6.977 break-out ended his TE day.
A break-out by Brian Reinhart, near lane, had Marc Lane taking the win on this pass.
Both Joe Willis, near lane, and Bob Haislett broke out on this pass, Haislett moved on as the lesser offender.
Lane and Haislett paired in round two to see who would go to the final against Bilow. Haislett was a tenth and change better at the lights, but Lane caught him down track for the win. The final saw some luck come Bilow’s way again, as Lane was .062 red at the start line and Bilow’s 1.002 did not hurt him at all.
Terry Bilow collected his 1st win of the season and holds the point lead in TE.
NJBA race Marc Lane had a great showing at this race, both in TE and Super E.
He did post a nice 7.003 in that final and collected $2,100 for the win while Lane scored $900 for 2nd place.
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Pro Eliminator
Pro Eliminator had five serious teams in the fray and Ben Wurster’s 6.515 was good for top qualifier honors and a round one bye.
Ben Wurster’s 6.515 was good for top qualifier honors
Will Runyan in “Rapid Package” took a small advantage at the tree over Steve Ziebert and that resulted in a break-out loss for the “Shell Shock” driver.
Will Runyan, near lane, was better off the line than Steve Ziebert and Ziebert ended up breaking out on this round 1 pass.
Scot Tillinghast, far lane, took out Kyle Harder in round 1, better on both ends of the track.
The other side of the ladder saw Scot Tillinghast eliminate Kyle Harder with a .034 tree and a 6.5582. Round two of Pro Eliminator had Wurster in the flat up against Runyan in the hydro while Tillinghast had the luxury of a bye and a guaranteed trip to the final.
Tillinghast started round 2 with a bye run and a free trip to the final
The all NJBA final saw Tillinghast get a reaction time win over good friend and rival Wurster.
A timing system glitch made a rerun of Wurster and Runyan’s first pass, and the second run had Runyan going red at the tree by .023 and Wurster went to the final. So, we had long-time friends and on-the-water rivals going to the PE final. Tillinghast nailed the lights with a .010 reaction time and his slower 6.648 was good for the PE win over Wurster’s quicker 6.575. First place was good for $1,960 and second place cashed in at $840.
Scot Tillinghast brought the crew up to celebrate a great win.
Ben Wurster, runner up in PE, had nothing but praise for his team and the winning team.
Quick Eliminator
Quick Eliminator started the weekend with five teams, but Mike Schiller broke in qualifying, so the class was pared down to four on Saturday.
Steve Penberthy's 6.067 Saturday run was good for top qualifying honors.
Steve Penberthy’s 6.067 was just a little quicker than Joe Mierkey’s 6.070. Round one saw Brent Brookhart not making his call to face Penberthy, so the jet went directly to the final. Pete Collett fouled on both ends of the track against Mierkey, with a .109 red and a very quick 5.771 break-out through the track.
Joe Mierkey moved on to the QE final when Pen Collett fouled out on both ends of the track.
Penberthy's .033 reaction time along with a 6.069 was good for the class win against Mierkey.
Penberthy put together a premium pass in the QE final with a .033 reaction time and a 6.069 through the track for the win and a $1,960 payout. That didn’t leave any room for Mierkey, but the Second Place showing was good for $840.
Steve Penberthy and crew wrapped up another successful racing weekend at Dexter, great record over the years here.
Joe Mierkey collected the QE runner up trophy, solid weekend all around.
Pro Outlaw
Pro Outlaw was down to four boats after Joey MacKillican’s engine suffered some catastrophic damage on Friday, and they spent Saturday doing a forensic autopsy.
Top qualifier in Pro Outlaw was Danny Stone at 5.214.
Joey MacKillican had some mechanical issues in Friday test and tune and did not compete for the weekend.
They weren’t the only ones thrashing on their boats, as Wes Conn and crew were working late in the night on the “Crazy Train” hydro and Ken MacKillican’s ride was getting some attention as well.
Top qualifier Stone red lit against Ken MacKillican in round 1 
The final saw the start line decide the race again when MacKillican had a fogged up visor and did not get off the line in a prompt manner. Conn took the win and after all the work that team did over the weekend it was well deserved.
Meanwhile, Vic Esposito and crew were enjoying the good life at the hotel! Danny Stone took the top qualifying spot with a 5.214 on that 5.20 index, Esposito not far behind with a 5.245 pass. I’m not sure what was in the air on Sunday morning, but three of the four passes by the Pro Outlaw group produced red lights. Stone was .059 red at the tree against MacKillican, and despite the Canadian driver’s 5.18 break-out, he advanced.
The "Crazy Train" team worked hard for the win and took the lion's share of the PO prize money.
Ken MacKillican took the runner up spot at this event after scoring a win at the first race of the season.
Both Esposito and Conn red lit, and Esposito was the greater offender at .1930 versus Conn’s .0950. It was definitely cooler with the cloud cover. So that set up the final between MacKillican and Conn.
The final saw the start line decide the race again when MacKillican had a fogged up visor and did not get off the line in a prompt manner. Conn took the win and after all the work that team did over the weekend it was well deserved.
In that final, MacKillican had some trouble with the visor and his 1.396 reaction time wasted a fine 5.244 pass, while Conn’s .289 tree with a 5.523 was good for the win and $2,100 and MacKillican collected $900 for his 2nd Place showing.
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Pro Comp Flat
Pro Comp Flat had just five boats and this is a class that I believe would have benefited by having more promotion about this event.
Bob Close hit his 6.350 index right on the money for the top qualifying spot in Pro Comp Flat.
Kyle Harder
Only two teams from the NJBA were on site in a class that gets well over 20 on a regular basis. And there was a pretty tight grouping in qualifying, as Bob Close and the “Cannon Balls” team nailed a 6.350 on his declared 6.350 index to take the number one qualifying spot.
Ben Wurster and Scot Tillinghast always seemed to get paired wherever they go, this time Wurster got the win and moved on to round 2 of PCF.
Round 2 had Close run 6.354 on his 6.30 index to eliminate Wurster and it was an all CDBA final.
Sunday morning for this group started with a bye run for Close. Once again, Scot Tillinghast and Ben Wurster were paired as the number three and four qualifiers and this time Wurster took the round win by a .048 margin of victory. The other side of the ladder saw Rob Temple taking a legal single when Kyle Harder did not make his call up. Round two saw Temple getting another single, this time a bye run and a free pass to the PCF final.
Rob Temple had a legal single when Kyle Harder didn't make the call and enjoyed a round 2 bye to head to the PCF final.
The PCF final was a very tight heat and Temple took that very "close" win.
Close and Wurster paired to see who would join him there and in another “close” race, Close ran 6.354 on his 6.30 index to take the win. The PCF final had Close taking a slight edge off the start line, but Temple caught him down track for a very close win. This is the kind of racing we’re looking for in a very competitive class.
Rob Temple shared an emotional thank you to the family taking the PCF 1st place trophy.
Cole Billings accepted the runner up trophy for Bob Close, something teams may want to avoid in the future.
Temple’s first race back in a while was also financially a win with $1,960 coming his way, while $840 for Close in 2nd Place probably doesn’t hurt either.
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Pro Comp Hydro
Pro Comp Hydro was added to this race for the NJBA racers and the paperwork is a little confusing.
Kurt Powers in "Killin' Time" was top qualifier in PCH at 6.041.
Kurt Powers and Joe Mierkey are listed in the group. Powers posted the best time in qualifying at 6.041 but was not listed on the qualifying stats.
Joe Mierkey was #2 qualifier in PCH.
Kurt Powers ended up with a solo run in the Pro Comp Hydro trophy dash after Joe Mierkey did not make his call up.
No matter though, as when Sunday rolled around, Powers ended up with a solo pass as Mierkey did not make the call for the run, as something had gone wrong after his QE final run perhaps. $840 for Powers’ solo pass, and $360 for Mierkey.
Kurt Powers and team celebrated the win in PCH.
Joe Mierkey collected the runner up trophy in PCH.
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Top Alcohol Flat
Top Alcohol Flat was a welcome addition to this race and we ended up with three boats in competition with Tony Dunlap not getting licensed in the class.
Donny LeBon in the Top Fuel Jet was top qualifier in TAF with a 5.403. 
Winslett also used a start line advantage in the TAF to collect the win against LeBon.
And not for lack of trying, that was a hard-working team all weekend and I’m sure they’ll get everything worked out soon. The top qualifier was Donny LeBon in the Top Fuel Jet with a 5.403, while Jeff Steward in “Flat Hammered” was not far behind with a 5.415. LeBon started Sunday race day with a bye run while Stewart and Ashley Winslett in “War Party” paired to see who would go to the final.
A .054 tree by Ashley Winslett in the "War Party" TAF was the difference in her win over Jeff Stewart in "Flat Hammered". 
Winslett also used a start line advantage in the TAF to collect the win against LeBon.
A stout .054 reaction time by Winslett turned into a 5.571 win over Stewart’s 5.553 with a .3920 tree. The TAF final was yet another case of the race being won at the start line. Winslett posted a .095 against LeBon’s .9550 and won the class with a slower but personal best 5.497-second run to LeBon’s 5.484. $1,750 for the winning team, and $750 for 2nd Place.
shley Winslett and the "War Party" team racked up win #3 in the TAF Racing Series here at Dexter.
LeBon and team had a much better race than at this time last year and took the runner up spot this year.
Winslett and team quietly observed a fine CDBA tradition by taking a dunk in cool waters of Dexter Reservoir for that win. Well done!
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Top Alcohol Hydro
Top Alcohol Hydro could have been the race of the century, or maybe of the day, at least, but James Collett did not get licensed in the class for Sunday.
James Collett came up short on license passes for TAH over the weekend.
Jeff Berr in "Stealth 2.0" ran solo for the Top Alcohol Hydro win Sunday afternoon.
He made a best pass of 5.471 in “Wicked Ways” so he will need to lop off a half second or so to get that license. Jeff Berr provided a few exciting passes in Stealth 2.0 and a 4.858 in the final was good for the win and a $750 check.
Jeff Berr and the remaining "Stealth 2.0" team had a productive weekend with valuable seat time and tuning. 
Commodore Cole Billings awarding a participation trophy to James Collett, who used that to issue a challenge to the TAH winner Jeff Berr. The “Stealth 2.0” team had no comment.
Berr and the team had a solid weekend, and that program is really going to be one to watch. The cut out of Gary Bergeron was approved, raising that red solo cup in tribute.
Super E
Super E started with twenty on the paperwork, but the class was pared down to eighteen on Sunday morning from what I can see.
Brent Brookhart has been the master of fender racing lately but his red light had Brian Reinhart moving on to the next round.
Advancing from that first round were Joe Willis in “Head Hunter”, Marc Lane in “No Name”, Gary Henning in “The OG”, Justin Craig in “Psycho Therapy”, Brent Brookhart in “Showdown”, Dennis Flint in “Wild Flower”, Terry Bilow in “No Problem”, Brian Reinhart in “Untamed” Lynnae Oleson in “Instigator” and Brian Marble had the bye run.
Justin Craig in the hydro eliminated Super E vet Brian Marble in this round 2 pairing.
This round 2 pairing between Gary Henning in the outboard and Marc Lane in the jet was a win for Lane.
Round two saw Lynnae Oleson foul out against Flint while Lane eliminated Henning, Bilow red lit against Willis and Brookhart did the same against Reinhart. Craig used a sweet .009 reaction time to eliminate Marble.
Joe Willis in the flat won against Craig in their round 3 pairing.
A red light by Reinhart in the far lane this time had Lane taking this round 3 win.
In round three, Flint had the bye while Craig and Willis were paired and Craig had some trouble at the start line, so Willis moved on. Both Reinhart and Lane red lit in their pass, and Lane moved on as the lesser offender. That had us down to three boats and Lane had the bye run in round four while Willis was sharper than Flint at the start line and moved on to the Super E final against Lane.
NJBA racer Marc Lane's win here in Super E capped off a very successful weekend for the jet boat driver. 
Joe Willis' runner up spot here will pad his lead in Super E points by a good margin.
That final saw Willis go red, and the win would go to Lane in that stout jet boat, which was very consistent all day. $1,000 was added to the pool so an additional $700 went to Lane and $300 went to Willis for the runner up spot.
The CDBA's next race is the Can-Am Challenge, on August 16 & 17 at Dexter Reservoir, Lowell Oregon.
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