Miss Madison team has found the right combination to take H1 Unlimited standings lead

The truth is the 2023 season for the Miss Madison race team was a rough one.

At least for Charlie Grooms it was.

Grooms, 69, is the president, team manager and owner’s representative for the small Indiana town of Madison — of which the town’s residents own the boat.

Last season, the team ran two boats to help get the boat count up: the U-1 HomeStreet Bank, and the U-91 Miss Goodman Real Estate.

With legendary driver Jimmy Shane stepping away from the sport at the end of the 2022 H1 Unlimited season, the steering wheel in the HomeStreet boat went into the hands of Dylan Runne.

Meanwhile, past high points champion Andrew Tate was put into the cockpit of the older U-91.

But the 2023 season was rough from the start. Before the season opener.

“HomeStreet Bank told us before the Guntersville race last year that they were done as our sponsor after the 2023 season was over,” said Grooms. “We tried our best last season with both boats.”

But a two-boat team can be a conflicted life.

“I call it, ‘It’s not hard to run two boats, but it’s hard to race two boats,’” said Grooms. “We’ve got a bunch of guys accustomed to winning. But one team couldn’t, and it was like a tug of war.”

It would be J. Michael Kelly in the U-9 Beacon Electric who would take the national high points championship.

So when 2024 came around, Grooms and his team had a plan: they would only run the newer boat. They drydocked the older U-91, moved Tate into the cockpit of the newer boat (built in 2018), and thanked Runne for his services.

Grooms also struck a long-term deal with real estate magnate John Goodman, who in turn put company president Kelli Jo Norris in charge of what Grooms and team needed.

“John wanted to do it. He wanted to do it for Kelli and the employees,” said Grooms.

The Madison carried 27 team members last season with two boats. With just one boat to concentrate on now, that number dropped to 12 team members.

Taking the lead

Sometimes less can be more.

With everyone’s efforts concentrated on one boat, things are going well.

Tate and team have won the first two races of the season, and should be the favorites heading into Sunday’s Apollo Columbia Cup final.

Here are the standings after the first two races, which were in Guntersville, Ala., on June 29-30; and Madison, Ind., on July 5-7:

1, U-91 Miss Goodman Real Estate, Andrew Tate, 2,850 points.

2, U-1 Beacon Electric, J. Michael Kelly, 2,375.

3, U-11 Miss Mercury’s Coffee, Jamie Nilsen, 2,092.

4, U-9 Beacon Plumbing, Corey Peabody, 2,014.

5, U-40 Bucket List Racing/Flav-R-Pac, Dustin Echols, 1,576.

6, U-27 Apollo Racing, Dave Villwock, 744.

“We’ve rebounded,” said Grooms, now in his 47th season with the Madison team. “From hero to zero and back to hero.”

The driver

Tate is a big reason for the success.

“Andrew has got a tremendous knack for flying this boat,” said crew chief Mike Hanson. “Andrew has been great. There is a lot of fun added to this team with him.”

Grooms agrees.

“We think we’ve got the best driver in the fleet,” he said.

What’s more, Goodman asked that Tate be the driver. And what the owner wants, the owner gets.

Andrew Tate is the son of Mark Tate, an accomplished unlimited driver who won his share of races. For the first time in 22 seasons, Mark and his wife Sandy — Andrew’s mother — are in the Tri-Cities, here to watch Andrew race.

“I’m very proud of Andrew’s driving abilities and the person that he’s turned out to be,” said Mark Tate.

There could be nothing better for Andrew to hear.

“I wanted to be like my dad when I was a kid. I had the option of racing cars or boats. My brother and I chose boats,” said Andrew.

Yes, Andrew Tate is a boat racer. He loves it.

When you throw in the other classifications in boat racing, Andrew Tate is gone for 14 weekends.

Then there are the weekends where you set up the cockpit, and then the testing weekends.

“It’s a long time to be gone from home,” he said. “Just ask my ex-girlfriend.”

The boat

But it would be remiss to stop here. Yes, the driver is good. The crew chief is great. And the crew itself is top notch.

But there is something about the boat that defies logic. And it may have something to do with the legendary Miss Budweiser.

In 2018, Mark Mason told Grooms to build a new boat.

Grooms contacted Joe Little, the son of the late Bernie Little, to see what he had.

“All of the parts were in the molds of Budweiser,” said Grooms. “Little wanted to sell the parts and molds, and we got the OK from Mason. So that’s the last Bud boat ever built.”

Dale Van Wieringen started the build, and Mike and Larry Hanson finished it.

“I think the secret to this part of the boat is the weight and the balance is the right magical combination,” said Grooms. “We’ve spent a number of years with the other boat. We’ve been blessed with two fast boats, and two good drivers with Steve David and Jimmy Shane. But this boat has never been touched since the day we finished building it.”

Hanson loves this boat.

“I think this boat has always been this good,” he said. “The boat ride is phenomenal, especially coming out of the turn. It carries momentum better than any boat that has been around.”

Grooms agrees.

“You might outrun us in the straights, but it’s so good in the corners,” said Grooms. “It’s so perfectly balanced.”

Tate couldn’t ask for anything better to take the national high-points lead over the rest of the H1 field.

“The boat is awesome. I have to give kudos to Mike Hanson and Jimmy Shane for what they’ve done to get this boat where we needed it to be,” said Tate.

But he also realizes there’s a long ways to go to get that national title.

“I’d like to think I have room to grow in this boat,” he added. “I’m fairly confident in this team and in my abilities. But there is definitely a fine line between confidence and arrogance.”

Jeff Morrow is former sports editor for the Tri-City Herald.