Roostertail Talk

Episode 124: Ricky McQueen

July 30, 2024 • David Newton • Season 6 • Episode 12

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Ricky McQueen, SuperFan of Unlimited Hydroplanes joins the podcast in Episode 124.  Ricky shares his passion of the sport along with his journey to create Hydro2D a free hydroplane video game which is available on the H1 Unlimited website. He talks more about the sport he loves, boxing, sonics and everything in between. Ricky also makes predictions for the Columbia Cup and Seafair.  Does he get them correct? Tune in to find out, enjoy!

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Speaker 1:

Rooster Tail Talk, the podcast dedicated to everything about the sport that we all love. Hi, dr Blaine Rees, I am your host, david Newton, and it's time once again. So sit back, relax and welcome to Roostertail Talk. Hello, race fans, and welcome back to another episode of Roostertail Talk. We're on to episode 124, and this week we're talking with Ricky McQueen.

Speaker 1:

Now, ricky, he's a super fan of the sport. He has a burning passion for hydroplane racing all sizes and I just love talking to super fans of the sport like myself. And I've known Ricky for quite some time and I've been wanting to get him on the show, but things just worked so we could talk right before the Columbia Cup. I don't need to say how much of a fan he is. You can hear it in his voice and how he talks about the sport. And fortunately we were able to go down to the Hydroplanet and Raceboat Museum down in Kent, washington, and we sat in the library of the museum there, thanks to David Williams and other volunteers for letting us do that. So you might hear some wrenches in the background, but that makes some good background noises for this interview and I have to say, if you haven't gone down to Kent to the Hydroplane and Race Club Museum. You need to do so because there's some great pieces and nostalgia and they're keeping the history alive for this great sport of unlimited hydroplane racing.

Speaker 1:

Now when I talk with Ricky, he talks a lot about his passion for the sport, but he also talks about his influences to create one of the new video games for the sport, hydro 2D, which is on the H1 Unlimited website. There's a link on there. You can play it on your PC. It's a simple game and there's a lot of fun there because you can go through and choose different skins for your hydroplanes and pick your favorite ones to race against and race with. As we go through our talks, through hydroplane racing, he'll make his picks for Tri-Cities and Seafair, so you can see if he was right on his picks for the Columbia Cup, which just concluded yesterday.

Speaker 1:

I hope you had a great Columbia Cup. It was a lot of fun for me and I'm so glad it was much cooler than previous years. It was a cool 90 degrees compared to previous years where it was triple digits almost every day. So let's get into it. Let's hear my interview with super fan Ricky McQueen. Well, I'm sitting here in the David Herensberger Library at the Heidschleiner Raceway Museum down in Kent, washington, and sitting across from me is Ricky McQueen. Ricky, how?

Speaker 2:

you doing.

Speaker 1:

I'm good man. How are you?

Speaker 2:

I'm doing well. I'm doing well.

Speaker 1:

I'm glad we had a chance to meet outside of the race. We've known each other for a few years now.

Speaker 2:

Yes, we've seen you at Seafair.

Speaker 1:

Yes, We've talked about having you on here for a while, but we're okay, we're still here and again.

Speaker 2:

I'm proud of you, man, for everything that you're doing with this and thank you for having this space for the legends and everybody to come out here and share their stories and how we need to keep this thing going.

Speaker 1:

Oh yeah yeah, I'm having fun doing this and there's so many great stories out there I want to preserve and get out to fans, and I'm glad to have you on here because you have such a passion for the sport, and I've talked to a lot of people just around different corners of the sport from drivers, owners, crew members, event planners, sponsorships, but also fans, as I feel like everyone has their part in the sport, so I'm glad to talk with you today.

Speaker 2:

Man, this sport's been with me since I was three. You know, my first race was three and uh, um, you know, learning how to, how to build cardboard hydroplanes through my uncle, um, and, and creating a cardboard mess all over the place. Uh, you know, year round for my friends in the neighborhood, yeah, um, to take it from there to where I am now. I don't know what anybody calls this, but I'm literally just carrying this passion that my parents have for this sport. You know they're not with us now, but I definitely feel like I'm just a vessel of their passion and love for this sport.

Speaker 2:

My dad was a big Budweiser fan and my mom was a big Chip Hanauer fan, and so there was a lot Chip Hanauer fan, and so there was a lot of feuding going on in my household, um, and I was never allowed to root for the bud um openly. But now that, um, my mama is is flying in the sky and I feel like I'm safe. Budweiser, go Budweiser. I love you mama. But, um, yeah, man, it's always been in the core of my soul Book reports For some reason. They could be talking about mountains or whatever, and for some reason, a hydroplane or a blue angel would show up in my story and it's just with me all the time. Yeah, and so you know again. Just you know, it's just with me.

Speaker 1:

Well, I think we share that Both of my parents are gone as well, but uh, my parents introduced me to the sport and it sounds like they're they're a long time fans and introduced you to the sport just at a young age.

Speaker 2:

Is that right? Yeah, yeah, um, my family took over the south, the south end, the south corner, okay, um, that was my mom's favorite spot. She could see everything. She could see the bridge, she could see uh, what is it? Mount baker?

Speaker 2:

yes, yeah, she could see all those and and um, the way the blue angels flew, it was just that was just her spot, um, for for many years, many years, um, that was where the family, you know, hung out and we all, we all met right there. I mean, it could be our cousins coming from everywhere. They just, everybody knew where to go and that that was our special spot. So every Seafair, I don't I always take a walk all the way down to that tree and I just go and talk to my family, go talk to my mom, and then you know if, if, if I don't do that, then my Seafair is not good, and that's something that people don't know. That walk every morning, um, all three days, if I have to, you know, just to make sure that my family is in tune with me and there with me, um, because they're the reason why I'm even there and doing all this, so for sure yeah it's.

Speaker 1:

It's wild to think about. That's a great story that you shared there. But I feel a connection with hydroplanes in my family too, because my dad's been gone can't do the math right now, but about 14 years or so, but just being around hydroplanes, that was his life, so I just always feel like he's he's with me there right, so it sounds like you have that same connection for you.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, definitely, definitely. Um, you know, um, my, my dad would get so excited, so excited. Um, when I started this whole video game venture, my dad thought that I was crazy. You know, he really did. He thought that I was crazy and but I knew that if I stuck to it, then I was going to show him something that he'd never seen before from his son. And so, um, I was.

Speaker 2:

I was gifted 12 all-access passes to Tri-Cities Columbia Cup and I called my mom and dad and told them to come to Tri-Cities Parking. Everything was taken care of, and when they got there, they couldn't believe what had happened. I'm like, dad, this is, you know, the crazy thing that you told me that I was doing and I was crazy and all that stuff. You're here now. You know they were able to walk across the little bridge and, boom, the boats are right there, right in their face. You know, my dad was just looking at me. He's like, son, you did this, like you really did this. You got 13 of your family members over here with you, all access, all free. Yeah, and I called you crazy.

Speaker 1:

He said well, keep being crazy, you know so so here we are now pops.

Speaker 1:

I hope you're happy well, yeah, I know he's happy for you. You got some some cool things going on right now with, uh, the hydro 2D. Yes, sir, yeah, so that's a long bridge to make that happen. I can't remember the year when I met you, but you were talking about that back then about Hydro 2D video games, and I know you were talking to many people before that about it. But there's a couple games out now, right, there's Hydro Sim, there's Hydro 2D Talk more about. How did that hydro 2d come about?

Speaker 2:

first of all, actually, I want to say, uh, you know, shout out to um, to, to the hydro sim family, um, over there they're doing great things with the simulator. Um, like, I tell everybody, we have two great um platforms for the sport and to to raise and sport and bring awareness to the sport. So, uh, shout out to them and all the work that they're doing over there. Yeah, definitely a part of that. You know that family, and when Hydro 2D came, they were able to put me right with the game. You know, they wanted me to be. They saw my passion, my ideas, and they brought me in.

Speaker 2:

It's just three of us, it's me, bruce Carson and Kevin Glenn and we have formed a team, a love and uh, a trust for one another and and and uh, bruce listens to me for for input, the game, and it's just amazing that that we've gone back and forth on things and built the game the way it is now. He started with only 10 versions and now we're up to 42 and getting ready to have 43, you know. So, um, he, he, now he realizes how crazy I am too. So, you know, and kevin too, you know, you're irritating rick, god damn you, just you, just you keep going and yeah, yeah, yeah. So that's what we want to do.

Speaker 2:

We want to um, bring this opportunity for the kids to enjoy this, for everybody to enjoy this. I've heard stories of seven-year-old kids playing their 10-year-old sisters, boys and girls playing this game, grandparents and sons playing each other. It's an awesome experience. Free, h1 Unlimited website. You can go to the Fan Zone, scroll down. Both platforms are there. Go download them. You'll get help on both sides. Yeah, just a really cool experience with all the old school boats, nostalgia that's in it, yeah, and I try and be creative with it.

Speaker 1:

So, um, yeah, yeah, yeah, that's like there's tons of skins you can pick from. There's like you said, there's old boats, some old round noses, some 80s vibes going uh current stuff, but also some like se Seattle icons as well, absolutely, we got Kraken, sonic Smugglers.

Speaker 2:

Absolutely, we actually threw the Team Benavidez boats in there too, my boxing family. I'm trying to get them involved in the sport. Shout out to my boxing team my boxing family, Team Benavidez. Shout out to my boxing team, my boxing family, team Benavidez. They're a cool family man and a really good bunch of people. I want them to come into the sport. I have some things in the works that I want to try and do with them, and people ask me when I say that they think I'm crazy about the whole boxing thing.

Speaker 2:

Boxing and hydroplanes go together, if you think. Think about it. Um, boxing, yeah, a fighter has to cut weight sometimes, in some cases, and a driver for a hydroplane has to cut weight. A boxer trains for, uh, 12 rounds for 36 minutes and hydroplane driver trains for 12 rounds in five minutes, you know so. So I believe they go together. It's, you know, it's something that should happen, and I believe they'll be really excited to be involved. And, like I said, man, you know I got some things to tell you. But, yeah, we're definitely going to bring them in. I want to bring them in, for sure, and I believe everybody will be excited. It will benefit everybody. Yeah and yeah, yeah, it's time to change the game. It's time to change the game and just open things up.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, that would be great Synergy. You see that around all different sports. Now I think more synergy is needed in hydroplane racing, so I could see a lot of things going hand-in-hand with boxing and hydroplane racing. Absolutely, so I'd like to hear that. Yeah, yeah.

Speaker 2:

Nobody's heard it really broke down like that, but I nobody's heard it really broke down like that. But yeah, I really feel like you know that's, that's the way it is you know they train for you know 12 rounds for 36 minutes.

Speaker 2:

A driver trains to go 12 rounds for five minutes. Yeah, and they really do. I mean, if you, if you listen to some of the old races um, I listen to you know they're they stick the mic right into the guy's face. You know in the 80s and they got you and you're and I'm like I'm like just give him a second. You guys just give him a second. You guys Just give him a second. And he's like I want to sit right in the cockpit with him. And here he goes. I'm like, my goodness, you guys, you just drove 300 miles an hour, but you know it's yeah, yeah.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, they take a beating in the cockpit, that's for sure they do they do, they do, definitely it's.

Speaker 2:

Well getting back to the game though can you play it on your phone?

Speaker 1:

Is there a way to download it on your phone?

Speaker 2:

No, I know that's something that we wanted to do is get to that point. But right now it's just PC, right there off the platform. You can also use your game console controllers. They should read and be able to control it right there. It's real easy. Everything is just real easy and not difficult. You can go right on in there and play.

Speaker 1:

All right, well, fun. Yeah, I played a little bit last night, get into it a little bit, so it's it's fun. I wanted to bring a setup.

Speaker 2:

I wanted to bring a setup man, but you know, I just you know, I don't want to get beat yet. I don't want to get beat in this game that I'm supposed to be representing. I don't want to get beat yet get beat yet.

Speaker 1:

Well, we'll have to have a challenge one day.

Speaker 2:

You know, I'm planning on taking a setup to Tri-Cities with me this year. Oh cool, I don't know where we're going to set it up at, but I know wherever we do, we're going to create a ruckus, and that's my plan. Is? I want to create trouble with this thing. I want people to actually leave work and say, oh my God, he's playing it. Yeah, I'm playing, yeah, so I want to cause some trouble with Hydro 2D. And Bruce Carson's going to be with me, cool, yeah, she's going to go for her first time in my life and, yeah, it's going to be cool.

Speaker 1:

Nice Well, I'll look for you over there. I'll look for the big crowd around a laptop or a screen or something over there. Yes, sir.

Speaker 2:

Yes, sir, just find some shade. Yes, sir, I want to challenge Corey Peabody, I want to challenge everybody. So, if you're listening, yeah, that's what I want to do. Nice Well, make sure you film some of that, oh yeah.

Speaker 1:

It'll be fun to watch. Oh yeah, for sure, For sure. Nice Well, do you have the for this year's boats on there yet we?

Speaker 2:

just released them, yeah, just released them. And shout out to again, shout out to Kevin Glenn. He's been, you know, going through some little health issues, but you know he's been doing a lot of great work on those boats and he's drawing them all on computer, you know. Oh, okay, yeah, I actually seen these things a few years ago. We met at Starbucks and he started showing me all these boats. He's like, yeah, these are my little do-it-yourself boats. Pull on the string and stuff like that. People can make the models, and that's literally what this game is. He's taking those and put them in a software to where we can race them. Yeah, it's awesome, man, it's awesome. Yeah, share a discord server with bruce. And whenever bruce his, whenever his, uh, his profile goes active and starts bubbling, I'm like, oh, what is this? And he usually says five minute gun for the next version of the game to come out. And so, oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. So he always puts me on pins and needles.

Speaker 1:

He knows that he always messes with me yeah, he knows, I'm waiting for the next version well, it like like when you were talking about that, though, like when he's building the skins like the old school cutout versions, which reminds me when my father was a kid and their version was towing the boats behind the bikes. So this is kind of this is the updated video game version.

Speaker 2:

That's exactly what it is. I mean, I didn't understand it, you know, I it, you know. I was like, is he drawing these things? Okay? And then I seen his, his program, and when he showed me the diy, do it yourself. And I'm like, okay, that's okay, that's what he did. He just took his models from that and implemented them into the software and here we have hydro 2d man. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So, um, yeah, he's amazing. He's amazing with what he's done. And, uh, shout out to kevin glenn love you, brother, love him. Well, it's a fun game. Glad to see it out there. Another, another. Yeah, he's amazing.

Speaker 1:

He's amazing with what he's done, and shout out to Kevin Glenn, love you, brother, love him. Well, it's a fun game. Glad to see it out there. Another option for a Hydroplane game and, like you said, it's easy to download. Just go to h1unlimitedcom. Yes, sir, and you find it on the fans page or the fans tab and it's on there. But you also stream some of your games, right? Yes, sir, so you do that on Facebook. Do you do it on any other platforms or just Facebook?

Speaker 2:

I want to just stick with Facebook. It's growing over there. Yeah, I mean, we've gone from, you know, 10 plays to you know, 200, 300, you know, per video now, and it's just being creative with a little 2D game, that's all it is. And I believe that when people see my streams, it throws them back to that time. You know they're thinking about that time, not necessarily looking at the game. The game is cool, but they're actually back at that time, you know, and so I hope that I'm providing, you know, entertainment and just nostalgia and you know, memories for these people when I'm playing this game.

Speaker 2:

That's what I want, just everybody to come together. You know, and I see so many people coming in the chat. You know Steve Reynolds comes in there, kit Brown comes in there. You know it's amazing seeing these guys come in and watch the game. Yeah, and to have them. You know, tell me, you know, thank you for what you do and stuff like that. You know these are I'm looking to up to you guys. You know this is just a 2d game and a kid with passion yeah, that's all I am.

Speaker 1:

And, um, you know, if it's if, if if I can show it through this game, let's, let's do it, let's do it. I'm gonna keep um the bio for this episode so for viewers that want to watch your stream services, we can get you on there for sure. Awesome, well, I always like to ask this question. I'm always curious what your favorite boat and driver is. I think he kind of teased it earlier.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, a little bit. The, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the Bud Griffin and favorite driver is Steve Reynolds. Two separate stories, real quick. When I started this whole video game thing, I had a chance to meet Bernie Little at the shop, at the Budweiser shop. He was at the, I want to say he was at the beginning stages of his Parkinson's and he looked at me and I told him everything that I was trying to do and he told me he said, kid, keep going. He said, keep going, don't stop, don't let nobody stop you. And I promise you I've taken those words and I've carried those words everywhere.

Speaker 2:

I moved to Vegas talking about hydroplanes. I moved to Wichita, kansas, oklahoma, talking about hydroplanes. I'm everywhere talking about hydroplanes. I accidentally stumbled upon San Diego going to SeaWorld. I didn't even know nothing about that place. And all this from him telling me to keep going. And then, when I used to build the boats for my friends in the neighborhood, my neighbors saw it and I had to have been about eight, nine years old, 10 years old, and I didn't realize that he worked with Steve Reynolds.

Speaker 2:

Steve Reynolds comes to my neighborhood in West Seattle, my grandma's house, knocks on the door, introduces himself and from that point on he was my favorite driver and it was Miss 7-Eleven Tossie. I see, that's that's. It was Steve Reynolds. Because he came to my neighborhood, took the time to be with my friends and saw us watch and watched us, you know, run our cardboard hydros on our bikes up and down the street for a while. So I have been inspired by that man my whole life. Like I mean I want him to know that, like Steve, I mean you have inspired me to do everything that you guys see me do is because Steve and then Bernie Little telling me to, you know, keep going. When I got older. So those two men, all this, and plus my parents, it's for them for sure they have driven me to do what I do and what you guys see Seattle they have. You know, that's what it is. It's Bernie Little and Steve Reynolds.

Speaker 1:

Wow, well, great connections there and great inspiration for you.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, for the sport.

Speaker 1:

Love to hear that side of the sport, and so that's the thing we don't always hear about. Right? It's how drivers and people in the sport can touch the fans and other people in the sport.

Speaker 2:

Right, I mean, then, later on in life I've had the opportunity to meet Harold Mills, you know, and Harold loves what I'm doing and everything and I appreciate that man also. Yeah, but it was just like it was Steve Reynolds, bernie Little, and then, you know, harold Mills came down the line and I just hope that I'm representing those gentlemen well and respecting what they've done with this sport and I hope that I'm carrying it the way they would like to see us young men carrying it for them.

Speaker 1:

Oh, yeah, I think you are. We do what we can right. Absolutely yes, sir. Yeah, so you've gotten closer and closer in the sport, definitely more recent years with the game and talking with those legends in the sports. But there's been some changes that have been done recently. What are your reactions to what they've changed so far? They've changed some things around the starting procedure and there's a new regime in there trying to push us forward.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, yeah, what do you see? The starting procedure. I like it. You know they can do their park and start. Now all that stuff, I've always liked that park and start.

Speaker 1:

Yeah.

Speaker 2:

I've always liked that. You know, just even for photo purposes. You know I've always been one to try and get photos of the boats and I never was able to.

Speaker 2:

So thank you for the parking start so I can zoom in my little camera, you know, um, you know, for my little selfish reasons. Thank you for the parking start. Um and uh, yeah, apollo and all the stuff that I've been hearing about coming in. Any way that we can grow the sport is fine with me. I want people to understand and know that we need to make sure that we keep the Unlimiteds going for these kids, underneath everybody else. We need to make sure that we make prominent the J-Stock series.

Speaker 2:

We need to make sure that these kids are getting the attention that they're supposed to be getting. They have all these influences that they're looking up to, but are they going to have those boats to drive when they get older? Are we going to keep this sport going for them? That's what I'm talking about, sponsorship-wise, and doing all these different things for the sport is just for them, because they are fighting and going through all these tournaments and traveling all these places. But for what? You know, if we don't keep the unlimited going and keep their dreams and aspirations going, then what are we doing? Right, it's on us, the older people, to keep this going for them. Yeah, you know, and and uh, just don't call me older people. Well, I'm right there with you, brother, I just Well, I'm right there with you, brother. I just turned 46, so I'm right there with you. I'm right there with you, it's okay, my back is hurting right now.

Speaker 2:

But you know it's important that we do that. You know I've formed relationships with some of these kids and their families and it's important for me, as a big kid, to push for them. You know I don't hear enough voices pushing for them. I don't and that's not me trying to be mean or anything like that but I want to push for the J stocks. You know hashtag J stocks rock. You know I want to start that hashtag. They. They mean so much to our sport and for for us to not do what we need to do you do, accepting every effort, looking at every effort, putting all things out on the table for us to be able to save the Unlimited for them and all the other bigger class boats. We're failing them. We have to keep this going for them. We have to keep their goals and aspirations up front. So shout out to the JSTOC kids.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, I can't remember how many years now it hasn't been too many, but recently at Seafair, I think pretty much every day they have a little JSTOC course out there on the south side of the pits and that's been fun to watch them out there, even though they're going through rollers and they're not hitting the speeds that they would normally hit. But it's fun to watch the kids out there and just sitting with the fans on the shoreline. It's been fun to hear some of the kids' reactions Like they don't believe, like hey, that's a 10-year-old out there racing.

Speaker 1:

Right yeah so it's cool to see that they have that for those kids and it would be fun to see more of that synergy.

Speaker 2:

Yes, yes, more of that synergy, yes, yes, that needs to happen. It needs to happen. We need to again create these opportunities where we can have more venues for these kids. I want to have more venues than the Unlimited for the kids. I want them to be out front. You know, the Unlimiteds have been out front for a very long time.

Speaker 2:

It is time for the kids to get this attention that they need. They're going through a lot going through school, you know, having to keep their grades up and all this stuff to be able to race. And again, traveling here, traveling there, driving here, driving there, you know, who knows what they're going through on the road to get to these places that they got to go race, you know. And then to something, you know, something to break down on them. And when they get there and then they can't race, you know. So we have to make sure that we're doing anything and everything possible for these kids to have the unlimiteds and all these bigger class boats when they get older and ready to go. Yeah, because they're coming and they're growing. They're not slowing down in their growth. I promise you that. So we we have to make sure that we are on our toes, doing this for them yeah, and there's some great drivers coming up to that program.

Speaker 1:

But it makes me think of because I'm a teacher in the classroom and I teach middle school. That's cool and they're 11 to 13 years old, so it's right in that range. But there's a lot of times kids will be gone from school because they're missing it for tournaments for basketball or tournaments for baseball or whatever. So it's fun to see that there's an option for boat racing for kids and to see more people that can take advantage of that and the museum here, because we're at the Hydro-Pen Raceway Museum here in Kent, Washington. They have a program every winter where their families can come together and build a JSTOC hydro for their kid Some experienced drivers or people who build the boats to stand over your shoulder and help you, guide you along the way.

Speaker 2:

I believe that's a great program. I'm actually waiting. I messaged Carson Kelly and I asked him if they could build me a midget seat on the side of one of their J-stocks. I'm tired of them leaving me on the shore, and you know. So I'm waiting for them to. You know, since they're down here building boats at the Kent Museum, you know you guys thinking about me, you know I need to go for a ride too, so, but no, it's a great program, it's a good program and I have to get down here a little bit more. I've been, you know, I've worked now and everything, so I've been doing that. But I'm proud of the kids. I'm proud of the kids and that's why I always push for them and them, and I thank the museum for having this program for them down here and for all the families to get together.

Speaker 2:

I've actually met a guy and he's actually knee deep into this stuff now and he looks at me and he goes Rick, man, I would have never drove this boat or anything if it wasn't for you. Like, you really did this for me and I was like man, thank you, he goes. No, I'm dead serious, rick. He said my wife does, my wife hates you because, so shout out to him. I'm dead serious, rick. He said my wife hates you, so shout out to him. I'm not going to put his name out there, but you know who you are, man, and I'm glad that you're having fun. He's been coming down here to the museum and volunteering, yeah. So those types of things, yeah yeah, yeah.

Speaker 2:

Even just with the J stocks. That's really cool man.

Speaker 1:

It's really cool. That's that's fun. That's fun. My dad would always tell me people he got into the sport. They would either thank him or blame him.

Speaker 2:

So there you go. Sounds like you got the same going on. Yeah, I sure do, but it's all love in the end the J Sox are fun.

Speaker 1:

Hopefully it'd be great more synergy with the sport. But check it out, there at Seafair they're gonna this year, which is great to see that's good. I always like to see it when they put the wraps on it, so it looks like the Unlimited's with it too. Yeah, they're the stars, they're the stars.

Speaker 2:

I just want everybody to know. You know, jay Mike, corey Peabody, you guys need to take a seat. You know, take a seat now. It's the Jay Stocks time and that's it. You know we need to, just Because they're putting in work and representing the sport in a good way. I see them and I'm proud of them.

Speaker 2:

You know the way they conduct themselves and people talking to them and fans talking to them and stuff like that, and I'm like man, look at that, that's cool. So you know, with my voice I'm saying, you know, shout out to the J-Stock kids Hashtag J-Stock's rock Well, carson Kelly.

Speaker 1:

he's definitely one of the big stars in J-Stock right now. Do you know how old he is?

Speaker 2:

No, I think Carson's 14, 15.

Speaker 1:

I don't know.

Speaker 2:

If it's going on 35, he's an awesome kid. He's an awesome kid.

Speaker 1:

It'll be fun to see, who knows what will happen in the future, but it'll be awesome to see him in a seat of an Unlimited and his dad in a seat in Unlimited. See him in a seat of an unlimited and his dad in the seat and unlimited kind of like the brawny and the brent lebron james yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Speaker 2:

Well, um, I believe he's gonna be a lot better than his father. I told you I was gonna start some mess today. I believe he's way better than his father, you know. Shout out to j mike I love you, brother. I can't wait to give you a big hug when I see you. Um, but, um, no, I've, I've become close with that family. Shout out to the Kelly family Me and Mike ended up in the Detroit Unlimited article in the third page of the magazine, and we're forever connected, brother. But Carson's still going to be better than you, and so is Asher, so that's just it. Love you guys.

Speaker 1:

Well, some good trash out there, but time will tell yeah.

Speaker 2:

God, I'm going to eat this one.

Speaker 1:

Well, some other drivers throw names out there. Brent Hall. He's made a splash in the sport.

Speaker 2:

I've known.

Speaker 1:

Brent for a few years and actually he was on a recent episode, but it's great to see his enthusiasm in the sport, absolutely, and uh, just, I'm hoping he can get a ride next year or later this year, but I thought we're gonna see history made last year.

Speaker 1:

I don't know if you remember that moment, yeah I was on a finger pier and you were a couple down and yeah, we thought he had one lap left to go, but right, there didn't, just didn't happen. It'd be great to see him be qualified to be the first black driver in h1 limited. Absolutely, you've gotten to know him a little bit, I think yeah, over the years yeah but what does it mean to you? How impactful is this? To have brent uh be?

Speaker 2:

involved with the sport, very, very impactful. I mean, uh, again you go with the line of people that I've been influenced by and now you put him right behind Harold Mills. He's right there. I've been on this journey with him. I'm not in a seat, but I'm screaming and giving my voice, supporting every step of the way. It's very, very impactful to what I do. It's very influential for the sport as a whole.

Speaker 2:

I believe Brent even would tell you himself he just wants to be a driver. We all understand the history and what it means and I believe that he's at a point now. I don't want to speak for him, but I believe that he just wants to be a driver, just be a person in the seat, getting this opportunity to live his dream, just like everybody else. He's going to get it done. Hashtag one lap to go. We got a lot of hashtags today. Shout out to Brent and his journey. I appreciate him for allowing me to be close to it. We're not done yet. We're not done yet. We still have it to go. We're going to get you in there. We're going to get it done because, overall, it's good for the sport. It's good for the sport, it's good for um, it is good for the african-american community to see that.

Speaker 2:

Well, you know everybody that I share him with they get so excited and and they can be from alabama, you know, they could be from california, whatever but when I tell them, hey know, I consider this person my brother and he's doing this they're like, wow, you know, and they look at his story and then I have people come back and tell me man, I've actually been looking at stuff like that's crazy. Yeah, so you know, like he would say, we still have work to do and we're going to push forward, we're going to get it done. We're going to push forward, we're going to get it done, we're going to get him qualified, we're going to get him in there. He's going to live his dream and then you know, he's going to be able to share that huge smile that he has right along the log boom with everybody over there, because you know it's just that big.

Speaker 1:

You know, his smile is just that big.

Speaker 2:

I mean, he just can't stop smiling. So you know he's to share that one day, um, during a race at seafair. And I, I, I, full-fledged trusting that that he will do that and he'll get it done. And we're uh, we're all pulling for you, brent, because it's important for it to happen for the sport yeah, it is.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, it is. Yeah, unfortunately didn't happen last year. Really hope would happen this year, but he's on a journey.

Speaker 2:

He's gonna make it happen yeah, um, we're all there with him, yeah for sure we're screaming. We're still screaming, we still have a voice, so we're still screaming from the finger pier, you know, uh, you know yeah yeah, we're out there at tri-city, still gonna be out there sweating, brother you know. But uh, yeah, we're gonna get it done, we're gonna get it done. And uh, yeah, the journey, the journey continues well, yeah, and I think about.

Speaker 1:

I mean, he's a great person, a great just speaker and um spokesman for the sport absolutely, but but again, I bring a lot of things back to the classroom and allergies there and when I talk about hydroplanes or anything in the classroom and if kids can't really see themselves in that connection there, they don't really have an interest. Right, right, and just having him be the first black driver, I think, just knowing that someone like you can be do this as well, I just I can see this opening up so many more, much more for more other demographics and yeah, yeah, it's such a positive thing for the sport when that and that's why you know I speak of, you know, like again, the boxing team team, that's a whole different culture coming.

Speaker 2:

You know, um, they see, they see brent do this and and well, hey, we can be involved too. Let's get behind them, let's do this. It's a good thing for the sport, like I said all the way around, it's a good thing for the sport and he's doing great things and he's got a great story. But I believe, ultimately, he just wants to be considered one of the qualified drivers, yeah, and, you know, one of the few that are in the seat. That's it. You know, we all understand the history and what it is, and I believe he just wants to be at a comfort level to where it's just about him getting into this seat and getting this done, yeah, so yeah, all right.

Speaker 1:

Well, hashtag one more lap.

Speaker 2:

Hashtag. One more lap there you go For sure. One lap to go For sure and we're going to get it done.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, all right. Well, I know you've been a longtime fan of the sport and I always like to talk to other fans what other places they've gone to see hydroclin races. You talked about going to Tri-Cities.

Speaker 2:

No mistakenly San Diego, but I never really didn't really get the experience of it. I don't really remember it. I would love to get to Madison or Guntersville, but I think Madison would be the one that I want to see. I want to see the Milton Madison Bridge and I want to see Jeff Aylor, you know, full fledged into his race calls and everything, and I might be standing right behind him doing it with him, because I get so excited when I listen to Jeff Aylor and you know I crank him up and all that stuff. You know I want to experience Madison.

Speaker 1:

Yeah.

Speaker 2:

I want to, you know, I want to experience Madison, for sure, for sure.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, I haven't been there either, but seeing all the videos it's pretty wild. They go under the bridge like it'd be fun to be up there and see him go underneath you, but they come pretty close to the shoreline too to be on the docks when they're running that'd be pretty wild yeah, this is the one time where I will actually have to sneak my way into madison.

Speaker 2:

I'm gonna probably just ride in cory peabody's cot in the boat on the side of the highway the whole time and wave at people, promote the boat. You know, jay Mike, somebody's boat, carson Kelly, some riding somebody's boat because, yeah, I got to get to Madison. I got to get to Madison one of these years and we got to go to Madison, sweetheart. We got to go to Madison and go experience that. But yeah, for sure, madison.

Speaker 1:

Well, something that we have on the on the schedule this year. It didn't happen. I've never been there, but that's, I think, a historical place to go yes, I'd love to see that.

Speaker 2:

Yes, the Richard.

Speaker 1:

Tell, turn, and that's.

Speaker 2:

I didn't say that because I figured it was. I didn't want to be wrong in saying that. But yeah, I would love to see Detroit, absolutely I would.

Speaker 1:

And and this year I think it's the 60th anniversary of San Diego they have a gold cup down there. Are you going to try to make it down there this year for that?

Speaker 2:

No, not on the docket. No, not on the docket. Was it next year that Jimmy Johnson is supposed to be doing that?

Speaker 1:

I think, yeah, they're pushing hard for next year.

Speaker 2:

For next year. I would definitely try to get down there for next year. That would be great. I want to see that happen Because, again, it's one of those stories. He's a kid sitting on a boat here. He is getting a chance to drive, you know. So, yeah, I want to go for that. You know that type of story, that type of fanfare. I want to see the NASCAR fans come over to our sport and experience that, and then we start taking all their fans.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, His story is crazy Young kid meeting the Muncie family sitting on the Atlas and hopefully he'll get a chance to drive it next year. Yeah, If he laps around Mission Bay, that's awesome. When's the last time you've been to Tri-Cities?

Speaker 2:

Last year.

Speaker 1:

Oh, you went last year yeah.

Speaker 2:

I have friends and family over there, okay, so we're trying to make it a thing every year. Now You've got to have to go over there, you've got to bring the sunscreen and all the umbrellas that you can to cover up. It's hot. But I've become a member this year. I don't know if that will allow me to go down the dock or close to it, but that was always been a bucket list of mine to be able to walk the Blue Gates down to the dock at Tri-Cities. And yeah, I believe that might happen this year. And yeah, tri-cities is my all-time favorite place. I wish that the Blue Angels could come to Tri-Cities, but then there won't be Seattle.

Speaker 1:

Right right.

Speaker 2:

You know sorry Seattle, but yeah, hydro Town USA, let's go.

Speaker 1:

Yeah Well, I think this episode's going to air the weekend between the Columbia Cup and Seafair, so we'll see if your predictions are right. What predictions do you have for Tri-Cities? And then let's make some predictions for Seafair.

Speaker 2:

That's a good question, man. That's a good question. You're going to get me in a lot of trouble with this one man.

Speaker 1:

I think you're already in trouble.

Speaker 2:

I've been looking for a place to probably sit for some cool air, and this is not going to happen. Now Shout out to Mercury's Coffee, let's go. Mercury's Coffee Tri-Cities Ooh, jamie Nielsen. All right, jamie Nielsen is going to have a jolt of Mercury's Coffee and the 11 team is going to have the celebration of a lifetime in Tri-Cities this year.

Speaker 1:

All right, they're going to be caffeinated, they is going to have the celebration of a lifetime in Tri-Cities this year. All right, they're going to be caffeinated, they're going to get their first win.

Speaker 2:

Me too, I may be operating the camera. I'm taking a tip of the crane. Man, you never know. You hopped up on that, mercury, mercury McQueen, yeah, yeah, yeah, mercury McQueen, that weekend.

Speaker 1:

Well, that'll be fun to see. I mean, that's a Just a little tick behind. They got a big sponsor this year.

Speaker 2:

The boat looks awesome. They got second place in Dunnersville.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, the boat has a great look.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, great vibe and they're getting faster.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, I've always loved Scott and the Queen. I've always appreciated them so much. They show me so much love. They call me family. Scott called me family and I didn't even know who Scott was. I didn't even know who Scott was, I didn't know who he was, he just appreciated who. I was walking through Tri-Cities and through the pits, we talked for a second and then he's like hey, that's my boatman, go up on my boatman and get a picture. I appreciate you, scott. Thank you, yeah, team 11, let's go. Team 11, let's go. I love all the teams. I love all the teams. I love all the teams.

Speaker 1:

I got to keep the love.

Speaker 2:

But go 11, let's go.

Speaker 1:

How about Seafair? Who do you got in Seafair? Totally different race course than Seafair, a little bit shorter, rougher water.

Speaker 2:

Here again, I'm going to get in trouble.

Speaker 1:

Andrew Tate. He's going to redeem himself from last year.

Speaker 2:

He's going to come in second place to J Michael Kelly. J Michael Kelly's going to take it again, and me and J Mike are going to take another picture at the end of the race. This year Again, seafair, so repeat of last year. Then yeah, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to shake you guys up right there. That's a Barry Sanders move. Right there I? I'm sorry, I didn't mean to shake you guys up right there.

Speaker 2:

That's a Barry Sanders move right there, I like that yeah yeah, yeah, sorry, andrew too, man Sorry, I know you probably got happy right then it's just, it's not gonna be right. Man, I was cool with everybody last year, all right, all right so you got tate getting second place.

Speaker 1:

Jim jim mcclelland's gonna win seafair. Yes, jimmy nielsen will get his first win in tri-cities.

Speaker 2:

Yes, uh I'm okay with that. Yeah, I'm okay with that yeah, yeah, all right.

Speaker 1:

well, one thing at Seafair, I always try to find the best spot and talk to fans about where they like to watch the races from, and you've gotten some spots there. What's your favorite spot to watch?

Speaker 2:

down at Seafair. I really like the north turn. But the south turn yeah, that's a hike to get up to the north turn. I like being able to see them come down at you and then make that turn. It's such an important turn right there it's almost like the equivalent of Madison. Who's going to get out of that turn safely? And the first turn in Tri-Cities Full board, who's going to get out of it safely? And it's just something seeing them come at you and then you know that power going into that turn and then you get to actually see them go up the log boom and you can see. You know it's just. It's just. I used to drive Hydro Sim like that a lot, like I used to south turn. The south turn definitely Okay.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, that's fun to go down to and see them come down from the start and then get on it into that first turn and it's always packed down there in the south turn, so it's a lot of energy, a lot of energy down there.

Speaker 2:

And not only that, the monster tent is down there with the energy drinks, oh okay.

Speaker 2:

You're going to caffeinate it from Ricker's top. They have become yeah, I don't want to do too much, but they have become my friends. Down there, a couple people remember who I was last year. That was really cool, and so they were like, yeah, hey, the Sonics. Yeah, I was like, yeah, they were like you need a drink. Yeah, cool man, the sonics. Yeah, I was like, yeah, it was like they're like you need a drink. Yeah, cool man, just come on down all weekend we're here. I was like, yeah, I know. So, yeah, south turn, south turn, it's a party nice.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, yeah, it's always fun to jot down there and watch the heat from there and, uh, a lot, a lot of people down there, you know my mom is.

Speaker 2:

You know my mom is over there. So you know, you know I don't want to keep saying that, but you know it's, it's the style turn. Yeah, for sure.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, that's special. That's special, all right. Well, you said Sonics. Yeah, you went a long time without saying Sonics. Yeah, I sure have. Yeah, so before you go, I got to ask you about that.

Speaker 2:

I'm going to say when, not if. At a point now they they're talking about the media deal being done and all this stuff. Um, there's, there's. There's a lot of things that can happen in the league. There's some teams that can move around. You know, I've been telling people that all of a sudden there's going to be a third city talked about and all of a sudden, here comes Mexico, but I don't know anything.

Speaker 2:

I fight with a lot of the fans and with some of the stuff that I say. I fight with a lot of the fans for some of the stuff that I say, but they don't realize what I've heard and what's been told to me, even during COVID. I've heard and what's been told to me even during COVID. You know, and, and, and you know I was told about Alex Rodriguez having ties with the Timberwolves during COVID, and here we are talking about Alex Rodriguez getting the Timberwolves, you know. So I believe that there's a lot going on there and, just just overall, we we as basketball fans and as NBA fans we love a money-hungry league. So it doesn't matter what and how you want this situation to work out for the Sonics. We have no control over this. All we can do is sit back and be fans because we're going to cheer anyway when the team comes back. So we can't be hypocrites in this situation. You've got to allow things to work out and, whatever it is, we have to roll with it because we've been without it for 16 years. So we get a team that's moved from somewhere and you feel like we're still in the team, but ultimately you're going to cheer for the team, right, because they have the jersey on.

Speaker 2:

So why argue? We have no control over the situation? We love a money hungry league and it's going to play out how it plays out and we just got to sit back and be fans and just be ready to go and cheer for whoever comes and plays. But I can tell you this all of our local players are really wanting to come and play for, for, for the town and, um that we do this right, I believe that we have a chance to get Kevin Durant to come back and retire as a Sonic.

Speaker 2:

I really do. I really do. You know I don't want to put everything out there like that, but I really feel that he would come and just do that for the city. And yeah, we just got to sit back and be fans, because we have no control over this Money talks. No control over this Money talks, however it goes and wherever direction it's coming from. So the Sonics are going to come back how they come back, and we just got to cheer the team when they do, and it's soon, it's very soon, it's soon. Within the next year or two they'll be playing, but again, that'd be awesome.

Speaker 1:

Yeah.

Speaker 2:

But again, there's so many situations that are happening. You can rule out chris hansen in the soto project down in soto, uh, you can't rule out the fact that now we have the light rail going from north to south, yeah, and, and the sonics have played in the tacoma dome, you know. So you know, with team team relocates here, they can go play in the tacoma dome and it's been renovated too. So there's a lot of things on the table for the sonics and people just have to keep an open mind about this and realize that you have no say in it. We are fans, yeah, that's it. We can't fight each other because ultimately we're gonna. You're gonna sit there and see me and say, oh, that's the dude I was arguing with. Are you gonna not talk to me now, because we're both cheering for the team, because they're playing. We just gotta be fans and just cheer for the team. We have no control over this.

Speaker 1:

Well, it seems like every year there's a rumor coming. Oh, it's coming back, coming back.

Speaker 2:

Rumor, rumor rumors rumors, rumors.

Speaker 1:

It's always going. I'm just tired of all my kids wearing Lakers jerseys in my class.

Speaker 2:

I want to see some of the Sonics come. Man, that is not the way to end this interview. Man, that is not the way. Please, you guys, follow me on social media. Make sure that I'm alive. Just check in with me. Because she's a diehard Laker fan, my lady is. And what he just said? He gets to go home safely. You guys, rooster Tail Talk gets to live. We'll see how Rick has to ride home with the Laker fan, but no, yeah, no. Shout out to the Lakers Bring the Sonics back.

Speaker 2:

I love the Lakers. I like Magic Johnson and all of them. You know it's a great team. I don't like LeBron on the team. I don't like Bronny on the team, you know. But you know, yeah, bring the Sonics back for sure. However, we come back. Bring them back so we can get Dave's kids out of the Lakers jerseys. Yes, that's right, that's it. I'm going to take that one for the team. I'm going to take that one for the team. If I don't stream, you guys know why she took my computer from me. Yeah, yeah, yeah, sorry, babe, I love you but, um, yeah yeah, bring the signs back at all costs.

Speaker 1:

Well, ricky, I love your love, your passion. Uh, keep your passion. Don't, don't, don't, lose your passion. I'm excited to see you over in tri-cities and seafair.

Speaker 2:

Yes, sir, we'll talk more boats there I'm honored for for this opportunity, man, like I said, I have been watching your show and running your boat on Hydro Sim and stuff like that. Thank you, and I support you, brother, and, like I said, the way we met, just watching, just being spectators yeah, you sharing your ideas on having the radio show and me having my ideas with the video game. And here we are, full sitting inside the hydroplane museum, kent, washington. You have your radio show and my name is on video game. It's a it's an honor to, it's an honor to be doing this with you. Appreciate you, oh yeah, appreciate you. Thank you so much.

Speaker 1:

Well, that concludes my interview with super fan Ricky McQueen. I want to thank Ricky for his time. It was great talking with him, really enjoyed just hearing that passion come out again. And once again I want to thank David Williams for letting me go down there with Ricky and utilize their library and the Hydroplane and Race Belt Museum so many fabulous pieces of memorabilia, nostalgia and just love the history that they keep alive down there. And again, if you haven't gone down and checked out the hydroplane and race boat museum, please do so and contribute, because they do their part to preserve the history of the sport.

Speaker 1:

Now ricky shared his insights and predictions for the columbia cup and seafair and I thought for a second there he was going to be right in the columbia cup because jamie nielsen and mercury coffee they were caffeinated in lane one they. I thought they had something special going there but unfortunately it didn't happen. For him I will say I did pick cory peabody, the nine beacon plumbing for my deck-to-deck fantasy pick. So, uh, once again he triumphed in tri-cities. And just just something about him. He knows that course. He knows the river. He just had a great day and really bested. He was the underdog but he bested the best that was there. So congratulations, corey Beebody, congratulations Strong Racing and congratulations Bill Cahill and Beacon Plumbing for their great victory in the Columbia Cup.

Speaker 1:

Well, we're on a seafare this week. Ricky said. Jay Michael Kelly, he's going to be the winner. I don't know. They've got a busy week ahead of them. They're going to be thrashing on that boat, getting everything put back together from their flip and barrel on Saturday of the Columbia Cup. So I'm hoping that they can be on the water as we need the boat count, we need the boats on the water, and I want to see the response to the duel last year because Jay McElkelly he bested Andrew Tate and Goodman Real Estate at the Gold Cup in Seattle and it was a classic last year and I think we're going to have another classic this year. So a lot of exciting things this week. Seafair is upon us. I hope I'll see you down there in the pits. Please say hi. Always love chatting about hydros, you know me. So Ricky and I will be down there showing our love for the sport and hope to see you do the same. So until then, I hope to see you at the races.