August 19, 2025 • 40 mins
The voice behind the rooster tails opens up about life in the broadcast booth. In this candid conversation, veteran hydroplane racing broadcaster Brad Luce reveals many things that keep him going to announce the races for H1 Unlimited. Brad has an immense commitment to keep viewers informed, engaged, and part of the racing family that spans generations. Whether you're a devoted hydroplane enthusiast or curious newcomer, Brad's stories capture the passion that powers this spectacular sport. This is part 2 of a 3 part interview.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:25):
Ruchetel Talk, the podcast dedicated to everything
about the sport that we all love.
Hi, it's your plane, reece.
I am your host, david Newton,and it's time once again.
So sit back, relax and welcome.
Rooster Tail Talk L-TALK.
(00:51):
Welcome back, race fans.
It's August 19th 2025, and thisis episode 158, part two of my
discussion with Brad Luce.
Hopefully, you had a chance tolisten to part one last week of
my conversation with Brad, as wewent more about the fan aspect
of the sport and his backgroundin boat racing and what it's
(01:11):
meant to him to be a fan of thesport.
And today we're going to well,I guess we're still talking
about hydroplane racing and he'sgoing to talk more about his
time as a broadcaster and somethings behind-the-scenes, things
that you may or may not know ofhim, with broadcasting as well
as working alongside of H1Unlimited.
(01:32):
So, with that said, let's getback in to part two of my
interview of Brad Luce.
Well, one thing that stands outfor me I mean, you're
broadcasting day after day atthe races.
It's multiple-day races, andwhen it's 100 degrees out by the
end of the day, I'm justexhausted, right, like, how do
you keep up the energy?
What's your routine?
(01:52):
Because, at the end of the day,you still have life in your
voice.
How is that possible?
Speaker 2 (02:05):
I think it's just pure adrenaline, because here we
are the day after the threedays here on the Columbia River
and I'm exhausted.
I hit the bed last night lateand I was out.
I was tired after Friday, realtired after Saturday and so
forth, but when I went to bed Iwas tired and I try and get my
sleep.
I've got to get more sleep nowthan I used to, but each of
those two mornings I woke uplong before the alarm and I was
(02:28):
just sitting there.
I'm ready, let's go, come on.
I can't leave early because Igot to pick up somebody at their
house and take them with me.
So then on Saturday morning Igot up.
Literally I was just standingin the kitchen having a couple
cups of coffee just waiting so Icould go.
So the adrenaline's reallykicking in Now.
(02:52):
Last night I just oof it's overthere, and then we kick it
right back up again.
I'm going over Wednesday andwe'll start setting up down on
Thursday and we do it again.
These are always hectic weeks.
Speaker 1 (02:59):
Yeah, yeah, it's fun to have them back to back like
that, but it is hectic, that'sfor sure.
Speaker 2 (03:04):
And that's kind of what I was speaking to earlier.
As long as I can still do itphysically, obviously I'm not a
young buck anymore, but I feelgood, I'm still mobile and can
get around and I'm having fun.
I'm having fun.
The best part about this wholething, david, is we've been
having this conversation on theair like four times this year.
(03:27):
We had it again yesterday.
It's all about the people.
The best part about this wholeride has been the people we have
met.
Whether we're going to Madison,guntersville and I say we
because my wife goes with meWe've got friends in all these
towns that we've made over theyears, and not just the race
teams but people within thecommunity, and you share
(03:48):
Christmas cards with them andyou share information about your
families and you've gotten toknow their kids and vice versa.
Far and away, that is the bestpart of this whole thing.
Oh, yeah, for sure.
Speaker 1 (03:59):
Well, everyone I talk to about the sport, they always
mention friendship and family.
That's it.
That's what it's about, right,and I had so much fun over the
weekend just talking to peoplein the pits, talking to people
on the shorelines and meetingpeople through this podcast.
That's so much fun to me aswell.
Speaker 2 (04:15):
It is.
That's the highlight of it.
And I can tell a fun story Ithink I've told you this before
about your father.
Oh yeah, and when I got marriedhe and I were working together
on various projects.
Well, he was really working onthem.
I was getting in the waybecause I'm not that good with
my hands, but he and I wereinvolved in a restoration
(04:41):
project and that's how I got toknow him and that was the 67
Budweiser project, and got toknow him real well and I had met
my future wife and we'reeventually gonna get married.
And so he said what could I dofor you?
I want to do a little something.
And he made a tiny littleHawaii Kai, oh, a little Hawaii
Kai model, just a little thing.
And in our wedding picturesthat is right on the top of the
(05:02):
wedding cake and I still havethat.
Good, and in my house I peopleknow I have something in my
house called the gold cup lounge.
Um, not quite like it was in myold house, but I have a.
The whole downstairs of myhouse is dedicated to boat
racing, with framed photos allover the wall and all the gold
cup winners and memorabilia andall that.
(05:24):
That little, that little hawaiiguy always sits there.
That's special to my wife andme from your dad, so that that's
kind of cool.
And literally here's my wifeand I, arm and arm, ready to cut
the cake.
Speaker 1 (05:35):
Don't cut the hawaii kai, because it's right there on
the top.
I love to hear that.
I love it it's pretty cool.
Speaker 2 (05:42):
He was, uh, your dad, something special.
I don't have to tell you that.
Well, thank you, and hydroplaneracing owes still to this day,
a lot to that man.
Yeah, and he was a great guy.
Yeah, man, he was good with hishands.
Speaker 1 (05:56):
He was, so are you.
Speaker 2 (05:57):
I mean your radio-controlled stuff.
That stuff's amazing, yeah,amazing, yeah, thank you, yeah,
yeah, I'm keeping that going.
I'm racing this year with myson now and he's he's starting
to get into it.
Speaker 1 (06:12):
He's 10 and yeah, my dad, family and friends here we
go.
Speaker 2 (06:14):
Second and third generation.
Speaker 1 (06:15):
Keep it going.
Here we go.
Yeah, very good, I just wish hewas still around to enjoy it
with us.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, he had.
He had a passion he did, orobsession, I don't know which
one you want to say.
Yeah, speaking about yourwedding, I remember there was a
story about my dad.
One of the times that Ken gotmarried, ken Muscatel, he had a.
One of the times he had a Ican't remember what model it was
(06:41):
, but he brought a model, rcmodel to the wedding and they
put it it inside this, likethere was like this shrimp
cocktail area with ice and stuffand it was like the centerpiece
for it.
And after the wedding, my dadtook the boat home and got ready
for the race.
He opened it up and there waslike all these shrimp tails
(07:01):
stuck in the boat that he had toget out.
Memories of the wedding, yes,very good.
All right, let's get back tothe H1 circuit.
Yeah, because you've gotten totravel to many places over the
years.
H1's traveled to some greatplaces and they still do.
But do you have to have afavorite race site and a
(07:22):
challenging race site, thinkingback both ends of the sword?
But what's your favorite racesite and a challenging race site
, thinking about both ends ofthe sword?
But what's your favorite racesite to broadcast at and what's
the most challenging one tobroadcast?
Speaker 2 (07:31):
Oh gosh, I guess maybe my favorite site.
That's a good question.
It's also a difficult question.
I'm leaning toward theTri-Cities.
Are you going to be biased?
Speaker 1 (07:46):
Are you going to obsess over people?
Terribly biased.
Speaker 2 (07:48):
Terribly biased.
But I'm leaning toward theTri-Cities because that's where
it all started.
Yeah, I still look across theriver at the exit to Turn 1
because that's where it started.
That's where I did my first twoever radio broadcasts.
Do I want to go back over there?
No, but I look over there and Igo.
I know there's somebody overthere with KONA and I know
(08:09):
exactly what they're doing.
I mean, I was set up with afolding chair in the sun,
nothing over my head and a cardtable and somebody said this mic
is hot if you push that buttonup.
That was pretty much theinstruction, but that kind of
started it all.
And so I guess I have a softspot for the Tri-Cities.
(08:30):
And now I'm on start-finish.
Actually, yesterday was thefirst race I've ever seen on
start-finish in the Tri-Cities.
I've always been standing atopthe pit tower.
I had been on the shorelinemany, many, many, many years
early, but anyway.
So that was kind of fun.
I love Madison, indiana, justbecause of the logistics of it
(08:52):
all.
They've got the new.
I don't know when the last timewas.
You were in Madison, but theyhave the new overlook,
overlooking the river.
So you've got a great view,right on start-finish line, of
the whole river and theMilton-Madison Bridge and all
that.
But the other piece to thatpuzzle is pit areas right there.
It's right at your feet.
So if you need to go down andgrab a driver, if you need to go
down and get an interview, ifyou really want to know what
(09:14):
happened to that boat, nobodyasked the question about why did
they break the propeller or howmuch damage is on you know, run
down there and take a look.
Yeah-cities kind of need a golfcart.
Seattle same problem.
I'm partial to Seattle justbecause that was it.
That's where it all started forme and I will never forget the
(09:36):
first time when I was firstbroadcasting in Seattle, I was
in the pit area.
I was doing I think I mentionedfor Steve Montgomery and John
Lynch and I were doing that.
But the first time I called arace on the start finish line in
Seattle, I remember walking outthere and going.
I'm really going to do this.
Yes, it's a different startfinish line tower.
It's not the old barge that Iwas fortunate enough as a very
(09:59):
young child to be able to go outon because of a family friend
who was able to get uscredentials.
I had no idea how lucky I was,but I got to go out on that.
So Seattle's very specialbecause that's where it all
started and I just remember Iwas kind of overcome with it at
all at first and I walked outand just looked over and went,
(10:20):
wow, wow, I'm really here andthey're going to give me a mic
and I'm going to call this race,and that's.
That's really special to me.
And I'm really not answeringyour question because I'm
telling you what I like abouteach one.
But, and then Detroit, detroitis amazing.
I really, really, really hopewe get back to Detroit.
(10:44):
I really, really, really hopewe get back to Detroit.
I was in sales my whole career,yeah, and so I'm an eternal
optimist.
I am sure we will.
I only hope that I can stickaround and keep broadcasting
when we go back to Detroit,because I want to go back one
more time At least.
I want to go back.
Speaker 1 (11:03):
Well, I've never been there.
Speaker 2 (11:04):
Oh, my goodness, you have got to go back one more
time At least I want to go back.
Well, I've never been there.
Oh my goodness.
Speaker 1 (11:07):
You have got to get back there.
So whenever it's on theschedule like it was a couple
years ago, maybe it was going tohappen it didn't end up
happening, but I was saving up.
I was going to be there.
So, whenever the next race isthere, I'm going to be there.
Speaker 2 (11:18):
You definitely need to be there.
And if I'm there, then you needto come look me up and I will
be on top of the pit tower.
And I'm just telling you, youhaven't lived until you've stood
atop that pit tower and hadthem go three wide through the
rooster tail.
It's just put your heart inyour throat.
You've watched hundreds of boatraces but you haven't seen
(11:41):
anything yet until you see it inperson.
But you haven't seen anythingyet until you see it in person.
And when you get that firstthree wide through the rooster
tail at speed and they all comeout clean, and you say I just
saw it, but I don't know howthey did that.
It's unbelievable.
And the fans back there aregreat.
And it's fun being from Seattleand going back there, because
(12:02):
I'd always stir the pot a littlebit, I'd bring up the 55 gold
cup that they stole from us.
They cheated and all that.
Oh, and these Detroit fans arecoming up to me.
Oh, what are you talking about?
And they are outstanding fans.
They know their boat racing sovery well and they're really fun
to banter with.
And then you got the biggrandstand and golly, we would
(12:26):
go there.
When I first went there, joeTate, andrew's grandpa.
He came up to me and he had aconvertible and the plan was
that I was to call the race onthe pit tower.
Jeff Aylor was at start finish.
When the heat was over, I'd rundown the stairs, go out in
front of the tower, which you'reright in the pit area, go down
(12:49):
to the dock, grab the winningdriver.
We'd walk over, we'd put him inthe back seat of Joe Tate's
convertible and I would sit onthe back of the car with him and
I'd do the interview as theyparaded him in front of the
grandstand.
It was awesome, it wasabsolutely awesome.
And so one time I got caughtdown there in the grandstand and
(13:14):
the boats were already comingout for the next tee.
So I just I I don't know justwho I am, I guess I just I saw a
hole in the seating up thegrandstand, so I just took the
hot mic and I just walked upthere and there was a bunch of
guys up there and I just went inand sat with them and I just
told him.
I said be cool, you know, weare live here, this is a family
(13:37):
event and they said yeah yeah,yeah.
And so as the boats were comingout and warming up and the
milling, I'm interviewing theseguys how long have you guys been
coming here and what's yourtradition?
And I called the race right infront of them.
It was so much fun.
That's great and I do believethat's a big part of what.
(13:58):
At least it's what I do.
I'm going to have fun with itand I think talking to fans like
that's fun.
It is, it's fun, and wehonestly, we don't do enough of
it.
We got stuck in Madison thisyear.
We couldn't even put boats inthe pit area on Friday, let
(14:18):
alone run in the river, becauseit was up and the river level
was fine to run on.
There wasn't enough room in thepit area because it all slopes
up, so when the water getshigher, every time the water
comes up a foot, you're losingfive feet of pit area and there
just wasn't enough room.
But it was dropping anddropping rapidly and so at the
last we were talking honestlyabout if we could have had a
(14:41):
good enough signal.
Brent Hall and I were going totake two hot microphones and two
cameras and we were just goingto go walk down Vaughn Drive and
we had already walked downVaughn.
All the teams were there, theboats were there, but it wasn't
just them, it was vendors, itwas fans.
And I found a guy and his wife.
They were sitting on this swingfrom a tree that was right on
(15:03):
the edge of the cliff,overlooking the river.
They had a perfect view of theriver.
I'm going how did you get thisspot?
And I said these are the peoplewe need to come talk to,
exactly, and we were going to doit, but we couldn't get enough.
We couldn't get a strong enoughsignal.
So that's when.
I don't know if you saw it, buton Friday we just started a
parade of interviews andactually it was well-received.
(15:27):
Our new PR person, janique, ourFrench-Canadian friend from HRL,
she said if we can bring peopleup here, will you do the
interviews?
And I said, sure, I'll doanything.
Let's get something out therefor the fans.
They want to know what's goingon here.
And honestly, david, I had saidI'm willing to go down and
(15:47):
stand in the river.
I don't care, put a close-up onme and I'll just start talking
and then just pull the cameraback and I'll be standing at my
knees and going this is our pitarea.
I think we can do a better jobcommunicating.
And I said, if that's what ittakes, I don't care, I'll go
stand on the river and we'lljust show them.
This is why we're not runningboats today.
(16:09):
But Janique was funny she.
I said who are we going to talkto?
Who are you going to have meinterview?
She goes I don't know, itdepends on who I can find and I
would talk.
It was like coming out frombehind the curtain.
I don't know who she wasbringing next.
Oh, I know you.
Okay, come on over, sit down.
We had a lot of fun.
(16:29):
When I went home, drove up tothe hotel that night, I was
exhausted.
We were on for three straighthours just short of that.
And when I went up the hill Iwas exhausted.
I went man, I don't know thatI've worked that hard in a long
time, certainly at a boat race.
And then I thought but that wassome of the most fun I'd ever
had.
We were just gabbing.
Speaker 1 (16:51):
Yeah, there were some great interviews that day.
It was fun.
Speaker 2 (16:54):
And we had race officials.
I got the mayor, but I got himlater on on the weekend Mark
Tate came on.
And it was great.
Janique would just all of asudden she'd come around the
corner of the curtain and she'dkind of just like presenting
here it is and out comes MarkTate, I go, all right, this will
be fun.
And you just start thinkingwhat are we going to talk about?
(17:16):
It was a good time.
Speaker 1 (17:17):
Maybe this should be a new bit for you when there's
downtime, not like whose line itis anyway is anyway, but like
who is the guest today?
Yeah, drop a curtain, drop acurtain.
Speaker 2 (17:28):
here it is yeah, yeah , and you know to your point.
You said there were some goodinterviews that day.
We got really good reviews,yeah, and it came up at a board
meeting afterwards and people wewere discussing it on the board
and there were some people onthe live stream side that said
that was really good.
We need to maybe think aboutdoing that at every event.
(17:51):
And I said whoa, whoa, whoa,whoa, hold on a minute.
First of all, you got toremember that was plan B.
That was Friday.
Plan A was to run the boats andI don't think we want to change
that.
We still want to run the boatsand I don't think we want to
change that.
We still want to run the boats.
So that was plan B.
Based on that, I said but theother piece is that worked
really well with the drivers andwhoever they found the crew
(18:12):
chiefs and Kyle Bipes andeverybody that we were grabbing
I said it worked really welldoing that.
I don't think we want to go tothat well, again, we did that
one.
If we end up having to dosomething like that, we need
different people.
Maybe we get fans, maybe whatwe are talking about, the
surprise gasp or something.
Let's mix it up.
Yeah, the fans, they just wantto see what's going on and and
(18:38):
and people listening to this.
If I'm wrong, tell me, but Ithink they just want to know.
We've had a couple instancesthis year where we have said we
were going to go on at a certaintime with the live stream and
we haven't gone on at that timefor a variety of reasons and
there's been a big push now towhat?
(19:00):
And I said this when we went toMadison.
I said I don't care.
But if we say we're going to goon at nine o'clock, there are
people our good fans are goingto be out there and they're
going to have a, they're goingto go.
Okay, they're on East coasttime.
That's six o'clock out here inthe West coast and they're
sitting at their computer with acup of coffee and they're ready
to see what's going on inmadison.
(19:21):
They want to see testing,showing the boats.
And I they said, well, we can'treally commit.
And I go, yes, we can't.
And I said, honest to god, if,if we have the monsoons coming
in, give me a cameraman and alive mic, I'll go sit in the
front seat of my rental car andwe could just show them how hard
it's raining.
They just want to know what'sgoing on.
(19:44):
Tell them.
My son said just liken it tobeing on an airplane and you go
out the tarmac and you sit outthere for 45 minutes and they
never come over the pa and tellyou what's going on and why
you're hung out and everybodygets frustrated.
Speaker 1 (19:58):
That's your fan yeah, those are the times where I've
been waiting to watch andthere's like a thousand people
waiting or whatever.
Yeah, it's like okay, let's geton.
Speaker 2 (20:06):
Here we go and nick will come down to me.
Nick kish, he will come down,he'll go.
Brad, we got a thousand peoplesitting online.
I said let's go.
Let's go.
What do you want to talk to?
I don't care.
I don't care.
I'll just walk around the towerand say this is our scores and
timers.
Say hi to Mary and Sharky.
Speaker 1 (20:24):
Right right.
Speaker 2 (20:25):
Anything?
Yeah, we just.
And Jared Meyer, one of ourcameramen, he has a great line,
and so I guess maybe what I'mtrying to say with this and
we're off on this tangent, but Ithink what I'm trying to say is
fans, we hear you, we hear you,and I tell everybody I am just
a fan.
That's the only reason I dothis, and if anybody hasn't
(20:47):
figured that out yet, I do itbecause I'm a fan.
I get a pit pass and I get topark really close.
Yeah, we work, but I'm a fan.
And Jared Meyer, he had a greatcomment.
He said there's 365 days in ayear.
We have five races, three daysat each race.
We have our boats on the water15 days a year.
(21:10):
We got to cover every momentthose boats are running.
How do you argue with that?
You're a boat race fan, so am I, and I've heard people say
should we really cover testing?
Yes, yes, we should.
And if people don't want towatch testing, don't watch it,
but there's people out therethat do.
And if they just want to tunein and if we just give them some
(21:32):
lap speeds and tell them that JMichael Kelly's won four times
in a row in Seattle, with fourdifferent boat numbers with four
different boat numbers I'vethought about, could we have a
question and answer period?
Could we have people text inquestions and maybe get John
(21:54):
Walters up with me.
If you've got a technicalquestion and if a little bit of
downtime, how could we fill it?
That's what we were talkingabout and I said could we do a
segment like that and theproducer could just come on and
say David from Seattle wants toknow blah, blah, blah about the
propeller and how do you figureout which propeller goes with
(22:16):
which gearbox or whatever?
John, I'm going to let you takethat one.
I'd like John Walters.
I thought we could do somethinglike that and we may get there.
I don't know if you've noticed,we have a pick the prop segment
.
This year.
That's Nick Kish's baby.
I think after yesterday I mightbe leading.
Speaker 1 (22:37):
I might be leading.
Speaker 2 (22:39):
I had bell walk.
I had bell walk for this race.
I picked up a four.
I think I was second place tothe fans.
I think I was trailing the fansby 300 points or something, but
I don't know who the fans had.
I don't remember.
But it's just a little segment,it's something to talk about.
So, fans, we're trying, we hearyou, we're trying, we hear you,
(23:00):
we're trying.
Speaker 1 (23:02):
Well, I mean you definitely each one has stepped
up this offseason.
They've purchased a trailerwith some great gear and went
out and got Tanner Faust, soit's been a lot of work on the
offseason to do this.
So have you seen a rise in thequality with that?
Speaker 2 (23:22):
In some areas.
We've had some challenges.
We've had some big challengesand our fans certainly are aware
of that.
I think we took some bigstrides this past weekend.
We did some things much, muchbetter.
We still struggle with a fewaspects of it.
Bandwidth is a big issue for us, but I think we're starting to
(23:45):
get a handle on that and I knoweverybody's complaints it
freezes and the lips and soforth aren't synced up with the
sound.
We've had some issues there.
But, to your point, there'sbeen a huge investment, monetary
investment, in this.
We went out and I shouldn't saywe, an individual went out, an
(24:06):
individual from Strong Racingwent out and did some work and
they found a production trailer.
It was in Kansas City and itwas at a Kansas City public
television station and therestill are some monikers on the
inside of it that say KCPT onthe inside of it and they had
outgrown it and they hadpurchased a new trailer and so
(24:30):
they wanted to sell this one andthey had gutted it.
They took everything out of it.
There was some sound equipment,some audio equipment in it, but
it was dated.
But the important part was thecabinetry that was in it, but it
was dated, but the importantpart was the cabinetry that was
in it, the way it was laid out,with three separate rooms, and
the racks that were in it.
The cabinetry and the racksthat were in it were.
(24:52):
They were priceless.
You had to pay tens ofthousands of dollars to have to
put those racks in there.
And because it was used for atelevision station, it was laid
out with that in mind and theywanted it for a song and
literally they wanted it for asong.
They'd given it to a broker andthey just wanted to dump the
(25:15):
thing.
So they wanted it for a songand we went in and offered half
a song and they jumped at it.
So Corey Peabody and StrongRacing meddler just jumped on an
airplane in the middle ofwinter, january or whatever,
went out to Kansas City and themeddler just got underneath it
and was looking at all theframing underneath it, make sure
it's structurally sound.
(25:35):
And they flew him back home andthey had it all set up.
Corey peabody hitched it up anddrove it back and drove it out
here to, uh, daryl strong'splace out in richland, out at
the airport, and put it outthere.
And we first saw it.
This thing was a monster.
I mean, it's in this bigwarehouse over here at the
airport and it's a monster.
(25:56):
Looks much smaller when we getit at the race site, but it's a
big deal.
It's a.
It's a big, big trailer.
And then we started decking itout with equipment and that was
a lot of brand new equipment.
It was a lot of equipment thatwas newly purchased last year by
the former live stream team,the little group of eight of us
(26:18):
who did this a year ago andthat's a whole nother story for
another day, but there was a lotof equipment that was purchased
there and we incorporated a lotof that into the trailer this
year.
But, yeah, it's been a biginvestment in a lot of people.
We've tripled the number ofpeople that work on the live
(26:39):
stream.
Yeah, and we still have a waysto go.
We're not where we should be.
Again, I guess I'm just goingto ask fans we hear you, we do
hear you, trust me.
I sit in my own Gold Cup loungeand pull up YouTube videos and
I watch them too.
I watch them.
It's just after the fact Idon't see them live, and so we
(27:03):
see the issues and we're awareof them and we'll get there.
There's a lot of people workingreally, really hard to make
this sport better.
Yeah, and it's not going tohappen overnight.
It took us, we've fallen offover the years and but I
honestly again the optimisticsales guy here I think we're in
a good place right now.
I think we are, and stick withus, hang with us.
(27:27):
Our fans are golden.
We know that.
Speaker 1 (27:30):
Yeah, well, that's one thing.
The average fan doesn't quitesee all the work that's done
behind the scenes throughout theoffseason.
Right, right, I always love tohear what's going on, what's
happening, and I'm hoping thatat least with that, you know
that the purchasing of the newequipment and all that you can
build on for next year andcontinue to grow and expand and
(27:51):
make it a better product.
Right.
Speaker 2 (27:53):
Absolutely, and I'll tell you what happened at the
end of last year and what theplan is.
I'm sure what happened at theend of last year and what the
plan is.
I'm sure, even though I'm notdirectly involved in that type
of decision-making.
But a year ago I was, Nick Kishand I were kind of running the
live stream last year, and wedecided that we got back from
San Diego.
We were all going to take a fewweeks off the seven or eight of
(28:15):
us that did this and then wehad a meeting that did this, and
then we had a meeting.
We all got together on aDiscord call and, all right, I
said look, we've just had anamazing summer.
We did a tremendous job withour live stream and right now
we've got a lot of credibilitywith HydroTown and with H1
(28:35):
Unlimited.
I said so.
The purpose of the call was tohow do we make it better?
And how do we make it better?
We need to say, well, we needthis and we have to define
exactly what that's going to doand how much is it going to cost
.
Now, understand, we're notgoing to get everything we asked
for, but right now we got a lotof credibility.
(28:56):
Let's strike while the iron'shot, and this was last October.
So we did that and we came upwith this list of maybe 10
things how we can make thebroadcast better, how we could
help our bandwidth at the racesite, yada, yada.
And then I said, okay, nowwe're not done yet.
Nick and I talked to everybodyand we prioritized the list.
And then Nick and I got on acall with Daryl Strong and Mike
(29:19):
Dunslow and Nick and myself, andwe made this presentation and
we told them why and this is howmuch it's going to cost and
this is what it's going to getyou.
And things changed after that.
But a lot of that thinking wasstill incorporated into the next
moves.
And, next thing, we know we gotthis production trailer and
(29:39):
we're decking the thing out andwe're we're trying to make
things better.
Have we taken a step back totake a step forward?
I think so, and I think werecognize that certainly our
fans do.
Um, but we're going to getthere, yeah, and there's just
been so much work and you talkabout hearing what's going on
during the off season.
These are some of the thingsthat went on behind the scenes.
(30:01):
There's a lot of conversationthat goes on.
We don't just leave San Diegoand say see you later and go to
the first race the next season.
Oh, maybe we should have donethat.
No, there's a lot of peopledoing a lot of work.
Speaker 1 (30:17):
Yeah, I know there is and I love to hear it, but the
average fan, like I said,probably doesn't know all that
right.
So it's great to hear about allthat work, but, uh, one thing
that's been impressive this yearis tanner's presence on air,
his knowledge of othermotorsports and and what he
brings to the table as anannouncer.
How did this come about to getTanner Faust on board?
Speaker 2 (30:38):
Well, we hired a new producer to come in and take
over the show.
So we did that.
His name is Corey Tibblis, acompany called Two Plank
Productions, and he came in andtook over the show and this was
something he wanted to do.
To do and we've kind of alludedto this part before.
(31:06):
Yours truly is not young, andthat seems to happen with our
announcing staff.
We seem to have these oldannouncers Well, and everybody
knows we need to bring in newfans and we need to bring in new
, younger fans.
I can tell you for a fact thatyou and I are not the target
audience of the people we wantto bring in.
Of course They've already hookedyou and they hooked me, so
(31:27):
we're done.
Speaker 1 (31:28):
Yeah, we need to bring it yeah.
Speaker 2 (31:31):
We need to bring in this younger generation.
And I, you know, john Waltersis outstanding and I can talk to
John Walters all day long and Ilearn so much and when he's
color commentating with me thelast few years in Seattle and
San Diego, I learn so much.
We sat down and talked about itand somebody said Brad, you,
(31:57):
brad, are technical enough,you're talking over the head of
the casual fan.
Now you bring in John and Brad.
You're saying you're learningstuff from John Walters.
The average fan is learningfrom you and if you're talking
over their head, john's talkingway over there.
(32:19):
Well, I never really looked atit that way and I've talked to
John about this.
I was with John last night.
We had dinner after the event,finally, and I've talked to him
about it.
And we joke about the youthbooth of which John and I are
not a part, and it's nothingagainst me, it's nothing against
(32:39):
John, but there was a thought.
We got to get somebody whoappeals to this younger audience
and the first comment to makeback to that is he doesn't know
a hydroplane from a semi truckTrue statement.
But he understands motorsports.
What you said he appeals to ayounger audience and even if
he's not talking very technical,the casual fan who comes in.
(33:04):
He can talk to them almost onthe same level, because they
aren't terribly enamored orunderstanding of all the
idiosyncrasies of the sport.
I'm open to suggestions at anytime and so I had concern about
it, but I said, no, let's do it.
He has a very large socialmedia following.
(33:26):
I don't, and so we've broughtTanner in and, first of all, he
is a great guy.
Yeah, he is a wonderful.
You need to meet him.
You need to meet Tanner Faust.
He's very personable.
He's a wonderful.
You need to meet him.
You need to meet Tanner Faust.
He's very personable.
He's very approachable.
I've noticed that when we goplaces, there are people that
(33:48):
know this guy.
There are people that go.
Is that Tanner Faust?
And he gets approached by fansa lot Not fans of boat racing,
fans of Tanner Faust.
So I think it's there.
He's learning boat racing.
I can tell you the last threedays he had a blast.
I told him he finally saw aboat race.
(34:09):
I said this this is our sportTwo boats side by side, three on
a couple of occasions.
This is what this sport is.
He loved it.
He got a ride in a vintage misswahoo.
Yeah, and he was, he was.
There was a little trepidationthere because, admittedly, in
tanner if you're hearing this,you said it, I didn't.
(34:29):
He's a control freak and, oh,he's got to be the one holding
the wheel.
He told the story of being in agolf cart in the parade at
Madison and he was nervous atthree and a half miles an hour,
and so he's a really good guy.
He's very personable.
He and I are.
Especially this weekend I thinkwe really developed a banter and
(34:50):
that was my big concern.
I didn't know what I couldthrow to him during a call of a
heat.
He's my co-host, but he's kindof my color commentator too and
I didn't know what I could throwat him.
I'm getting me personally morecomfortable with that, and I
think he is too, and he'slearning.
And that's the one thing Ireally like about Tanner he's
(35:12):
not coming in with this.
I'm Tanner Faust.
I don't need to learn aboutyour sport because I know
everything there is aboutmotorsports.
That is not who this guy is.
He's studying.
I get emails from him.
He has one of my books and he'scalled me and sent me an email,
I'll bet, with six or sevenquestions.
It says in your book this.
(35:33):
I don't understand that.
What is that?
And I explain it to him.
So that tells me he wants tolearn, yeah, and so he's
studying, he's taking it seriousand so, yeah, I like the guy,
yeah, I like it.
Speaker 1 (35:46):
Yeah, I saw there was a quick interview he had after
his Wahoo ride, which was greatbecause he was talking about the
difference in technologies.
Yeah, you know, it's like howdid people race these back then
With that pop shaft runningright between your legs, right,
yeah.
But it's a good point thoughyou made earlier, because I
absolutely loved when you andjohn walters were talking and
(36:06):
all the technical aspects of themotors and the gearbox and all
these little corners of theboats, right, and to me as a
diehard fan, I can't get enoughof that.
See, we can talk hours on endon that.
But that casual fan, it's aforeign language.
Right, it is a foreign language,and I'm a middle school teacher
and I have posters of boats inmy rooms and I try to promote it
(36:27):
to the, to the youth where Ican, and the.
The number of kids that knowwhat a hydroplane is so small in
my classroom, which is.
It's so sad to know that now,but that's, I think it's what
the sport needs, needs, needs away to bridge that now.
But that's, I think, what thesport needs.
It needs a way to bridge thatgap.
Speaker 2 (36:43):
It does.
And when you and I were young,every kid knew what a hydroplane
was, especially in mygeneration, because there wasn't
anything else.
There wasn't a Russell Wilsonor a Ken Griffey Jr or something
like that or a Jack Sickman,all that stuff.
We didn't have that.
But we had Ron Musson and RexManchester and those bad guys
(37:05):
out of Detroit like Cantrell andShaneth.
And I've told my kids eventoday.
When Russell Wilson was in hisheyday a number of years ago for
the Seahawks I said you don'tunderstand that.
Ron Musson and Bill Muncy, theywere every bit as big as
Russell Wilson and DK Metcalfand all these big Gary Payton,
(37:26):
any name you want to throw outin Seattle history, ken Griffey
Jr there weren't any bigger thanthe hydro drivers.
Go back and look at the SeattleSportsman of the Year Award.
I think Muncy won that threetimes.
Speaker 1 (37:46):
It was that big but it was the only circus in town
Just a while to think about.
Well, unfortunately, that's allthe time we have for this week,
no-go-heads.
Come back next week for partthree and the conclusion of my
interview with Brad Luce.
Next week he'll talk more abouthis work and involvement with
(38:09):
H1 Unlimited and give us somemore insight of some
behind-the-scenes activitiesthat are going on right now with
H1 Unlimited.
Until then, check us out online.
We're on Facebook and Instagram.
Instagram, and don't forget ourwebsite, ruchetailtalkcom.
And while you're on our website, don't forget to check out
ruchetail talk, plus a premiumsubscription service for members
(38:32):
that get access to a monthlyraffle drawing, premium content
on our website, early access toall new episodes and much more.
But that's all I have for thisweek, so until next time.
I hope to see you at the races.
Ruchetel Talk, the podcast dedicated to everything
about the sport that we all love.
Hi, it's your plane, reece.
I am your host, david Newton,and it's time once again.
So sit back, relax and welcome.
Rooster Tail Talk L-TALK.
(00:51):
Welcome back, race fans.
It's August 19th 2025, and thisis episode 158, part two of my
discussion with Brad Luce.
Hopefully, you had a chance tolisten to part one last week of
my conversation with Brad, as wewent more about the fan aspect
of the sport and his backgroundin boat racing and what it's
(01:11):
meant to him to be a fan of thesport.
And today we're going to well,I guess we're still talking
about hydroplane racing and he'sgoing to talk more about his
time as a broadcaster and somethings behind-the-scenes, things
that you may or may not know ofhim, with broadcasting as well
as working alongside of H1Unlimited.
(01:32):
So, with that said, let's getback in to part two of my
interview of Brad Luce.
Well, one thing that stands outfor me I mean, you're
broadcasting day after day atthe races.
It's multiple-day races, andwhen it's 100 degrees out by the
end of the day, I'm justexhausted, right, like, how do
you keep up the energy?
What's your routine?
(01:52):
Because, at the end of the day,you still have life in your
voice.
How is that possible?
Speaker 2 (02:05):
I think it's just pure adrenaline, because here we
are the day after the threedays here on the Columbia River
and I'm exhausted.
I hit the bed last night lateand I was out.
I was tired after Friday, realtired after Saturday and so
forth, but when I went to bed Iwas tired and I try and get my
sleep.
I've got to get more sleep nowthan I used to, but each of
those two mornings I woke uplong before the alarm and I was
(02:28):
just sitting there.
I'm ready, let's go, come on.
I can't leave early because Igot to pick up somebody at their
house and take them with me.
So then on Saturday morning Igot up.
Literally I was just standingin the kitchen having a couple
cups of coffee just waiting so Icould go.
So the adrenaline's reallykicking in Now.
(02:52):
Last night I just oof it's overthere, and then we kick it
right back up again.
I'm going over Wednesday andwe'll start setting up down on
Thursday and we do it again.
These are always hectic weeks.
Speaker 1 (02:59):
Yeah, yeah, it's fun to have them back to back like
that, but it is hectic, that'sfor sure.
Speaker 2 (03:04):
And that's kind of what I was speaking to earlier.
As long as I can still do itphysically, obviously I'm not a
young buck anymore, but I feelgood, I'm still mobile and can
get around and I'm having fun.
I'm having fun.
The best part about this wholething, david, is we've been
having this conversation on theair like four times this year.
(03:27):
We had it again yesterday.
It's all about the people.
The best part about this wholeride has been the people we have
met.
Whether we're going to Madison,guntersville and I say we
because my wife goes with meWe've got friends in all these
towns that we've made over theyears, and not just the race
teams but people within thecommunity, and you share
(03:48):
Christmas cards with them andyou share information about your
families and you've gotten toknow their kids and vice versa.
Far and away, that is the bestpart of this whole thing.
Oh, yeah, for sure.
Speaker 1 (03:59):
Well, everyone I talk to about the sport, they always
mention friendship and family.
That's it.
That's what it's about, right,and I had so much fun over the
weekend just talking to peoplein the pits, talking to people
on the shorelines and meetingpeople through this podcast.
That's so much fun to me aswell.
Speaker 2 (04:15):
It is.
That's the highlight of it.
And I can tell a fun story Ithink I've told you this before
about your father.
Oh yeah, and when I got marriedhe and I were working together
on various projects.
Well, he was really working onthem.
I was getting in the waybecause I'm not that good with
my hands, but he and I wereinvolved in a restoration
(04:41):
project and that's how I got toknow him and that was the 67
Budweiser project, and got toknow him real well and I had met
my future wife and we'reeventually gonna get married.
And so he said what could I dofor you?
I want to do a little something.
And he made a tiny littleHawaii Kai, oh, a little Hawaii
Kai model, just a little thing.
And in our wedding picturesthat is right on the top of the
(05:02):
wedding cake and I still havethat.
Good, and in my house I peopleknow I have something in my
house called the gold cup lounge.
Um, not quite like it was in myold house, but I have a.
The whole downstairs of myhouse is dedicated to boat
racing, with framed photos allover the wall and all the gold
cup winners and memorabilia andall that.
(05:24):
That little, that little hawaiiguy always sits there.
That's special to my wife andme from your dad, so that that's
kind of cool.
And literally here's my wifeand I, arm and arm, ready to cut
the cake.
Speaker 1 (05:35):
Don't cut the hawaii kai, because it's right there on
the top.
I love to hear that.
I love it it's pretty cool.
Speaker 2 (05:42):
He was, uh, your dad, something special.
I don't have to tell you that.
Well, thank you, and hydroplaneracing owes still to this day,
a lot to that man.
Yeah, and he was a great guy.
Yeah, man, he was good with hishands.
Speaker 1 (05:56):
He was, so are you.
Speaker 2 (05:57):
I mean your radio-controlled stuff.
That stuff's amazing, yeah,amazing, yeah, thank you, yeah,
yeah, I'm keeping that going.
I'm racing this year with myson now and he's he's starting
to get into it.
Speaker 1 (06:12):
He's 10 and yeah, my dad, family and friends here we
go.
Speaker 2 (06:14):
Second and third generation.
Speaker 1 (06:15):
Keep it going.
Here we go.
Yeah, very good, I just wish hewas still around to enjoy it
with us.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, he had.
He had a passion he did, orobsession, I don't know which
one you want to say.
Yeah, speaking about yourwedding, I remember there was a
story about my dad.
One of the times that Ken gotmarried, ken Muscatel, he had a.
One of the times he had a Ican't remember what model it was
(06:41):
, but he brought a model, rcmodel to the wedding and they
put it it inside this, likethere was like this shrimp
cocktail area with ice and stuffand it was like the centerpiece
for it.
And after the wedding, my dadtook the boat home and got ready
for the race.
He opened it up and there waslike all these shrimp tails
(07:01):
stuck in the boat that he had toget out.
Memories of the wedding, yes,very good.
All right, let's get back tothe H1 circuit.
Yeah, because you've gotten totravel to many places over the
years.
H1's traveled to some greatplaces and they still do.
But do you have to have afavorite race site and a
(07:22):
challenging race site, thinkingback both ends of the sword?
But what's your favorite racesite and a challenging race site
, thinking about both ends ofthe sword?
But what's your favorite racesite to broadcast at and what's
the most challenging one tobroadcast?
Speaker 2 (07:31):
Oh gosh, I guess maybe my favorite site.
That's a good question.
It's also a difficult question.
I'm leaning toward theTri-Cities.
Are you going to be biased?
Speaker 1 (07:46):
Are you going to obsess over people?
Terribly biased.
Speaker 2 (07:48):
Terribly biased.
But I'm leaning toward theTri-Cities because that's where
it all started.
Yeah, I still look across theriver at the exit to Turn 1
because that's where it started.
That's where I did my first twoever radio broadcasts.
Do I want to go back over there?
No, but I look over there and Igo.
I know there's somebody overthere with KONA and I know
(08:09):
exactly what they're doing.
I mean, I was set up with afolding chair in the sun,
nothing over my head and a cardtable and somebody said this mic
is hot if you push that buttonup.
That was pretty much theinstruction, but that kind of
started it all.
And so I guess I have a softspot for the Tri-Cities.
(08:30):
And now I'm on start-finish.
Actually, yesterday was thefirst race I've ever seen on
start-finish in the Tri-Cities.
I've always been standing atopthe pit tower.
I had been on the shorelinemany, many, many, many years
early, but anyway.
So that was kind of fun.
I love Madison, indiana, justbecause of the logistics of it
(08:52):
all.
They've got the new.
I don't know when the last timewas.
You were in Madison, but theyhave the new overlook,
overlooking the river.
So you've got a great view,right on start-finish line, of
the whole river and theMilton-Madison Bridge and all
that.
But the other piece to thatpuzzle is pit areas right there.
It's right at your feet.
So if you need to go down andgrab a driver, if you need to go
down and get an interview, ifyou really want to know what
(09:14):
happened to that boat, nobodyasked the question about why did
they break the propeller or howmuch damage is on you know, run
down there and take a look.
Yeah-cities kind of need a golfcart.
Seattle same problem.
I'm partial to Seattle justbecause that was it.
That's where it all started forme and I will never forget the
(09:36):
first time when I was firstbroadcasting in Seattle, I was
in the pit area.
I was doing I think I mentionedfor Steve Montgomery and John
Lynch and I were doing that.
But the first time I called arace on the start finish line in
Seattle, I remember walking outthere and going.
I'm really going to do this.
Yes, it's a different startfinish line tower.
It's not the old barge that Iwas fortunate enough as a very
(09:59):
young child to be able to go outon because of a family friend
who was able to get uscredentials.
I had no idea how lucky I was,but I got to go out on that.
So Seattle's very specialbecause that's where it all
started and I just remember Iwas kind of overcome with it at
all at first and I walked outand just looked over and went,
(10:20):
wow, wow, I'm really here andthey're going to give me a mic
and I'm going to call this race,and that's.
That's really special to me.
And I'm really not answeringyour question because I'm
telling you what I like abouteach one.
But, and then Detroit, detroitis amazing.
I really, really, really hopewe get back to Detroit.
(10:44):
I really, really, really hopewe get back to Detroit.
I was in sales my whole career,yeah, and so I'm an eternal
optimist.
I am sure we will.
I only hope that I can stickaround and keep broadcasting
when we go back to Detroit,because I want to go back one
more time At least.
I want to go back.
Speaker 1 (11:03):
Well, I've never been there.
Speaker 2 (11:04):
Oh, my goodness, you have got to go back one more
time At least I want to go back.
Well, I've never been there.
Oh my goodness.
Speaker 1 (11:07):
You have got to get back there.
So whenever it's on theschedule like it was a couple
years ago, maybe it was going tohappen it didn't end up
happening, but I was saving up.
I was going to be there.
So, whenever the next race isthere, I'm going to be there.
Speaker 2 (11:18):
You definitely need to be there.
And if I'm there, then you needto come look me up and I will
be on top of the pit tower.
And I'm just telling you, youhaven't lived until you've stood
atop that pit tower and hadthem go three wide through the
rooster tail.
It's just put your heart inyour throat.
You've watched hundreds of boatraces but you haven't seen
(11:41):
anything yet until you see it inperson.
But you haven't seen anythingyet until you see it in person.
And when you get that firstthree wide through the rooster
tail at speed and they all comeout clean, and you say I just
saw it, but I don't know howthey did that.
It's unbelievable.
And the fans back there aregreat.
And it's fun being from Seattleand going back there, because
(12:02):
I'd always stir the pot a littlebit, I'd bring up the 55 gold
cup that they stole from us.
They cheated and all that.
Oh, and these Detroit fans arecoming up to me.
Oh, what are you talking about?
And they are outstanding fans.
They know their boat racing sovery well and they're really fun
to banter with.
And then you got the biggrandstand and golly, we would
(12:26):
go there.
When I first went there, joeTate, andrew's grandpa.
He came up to me and he had aconvertible and the plan was
that I was to call the race onthe pit tower.
Jeff Aylor was at start finish.
When the heat was over, I'd rundown the stairs, go out in
front of the tower, which you'reright in the pit area, go down
(12:49):
to the dock, grab the winningdriver.
We'd walk over, we'd put him inthe back seat of Joe Tate's
convertible and I would sit onthe back of the car with him and
I'd do the interview as theyparaded him in front of the
grandstand.
It was awesome, it wasabsolutely awesome.
And so one time I got caughtdown there in the grandstand and
(13:14):
the boats were already comingout for the next tee.
So I just I I don't know justwho I am, I guess I just I saw a
hole in the seating up thegrandstand, so I just took the
hot mic and I just walked upthere and there was a bunch of
guys up there and I just went inand sat with them and I just
told him.
I said be cool, you know, weare live here, this is a family
(13:37):
event and they said yeah yeah,yeah.
And so as the boats were comingout and warming up and the
milling, I'm interviewing theseguys how long have you guys been
coming here and what's yourtradition?
And I called the race right infront of them.
It was so much fun.
That's great and I do believethat's a big part of what.
(13:58):
At least it's what I do.
I'm going to have fun with itand I think talking to fans like
that's fun.
It is, it's fun, and wehonestly, we don't do enough of
it.
We got stuck in Madison thisyear.
We couldn't even put boats inthe pit area on Friday, let
(14:18):
alone run in the river, becauseit was up and the river level
was fine to run on.
There wasn't enough room in thepit area because it all slopes
up, so when the water getshigher, every time the water
comes up a foot, you're losingfive feet of pit area and there
just wasn't enough room.
But it was dropping anddropping rapidly and so at the
last we were talking honestlyabout if we could have had a
(14:41):
good enough signal.
Brent Hall and I were going totake two hot microphones and two
cameras and we were just goingto go walk down Vaughn Drive and
we had already walked downVaughn.
All the teams were there, theboats were there, but it wasn't
just them, it was vendors, itwas fans.
And I found a guy and his wife.
They were sitting on this swingfrom a tree that was right on
(15:03):
the edge of the cliff,overlooking the river.
They had a perfect view of theriver.
I'm going how did you get thisspot?
And I said these are the peoplewe need to come talk to,
exactly, and we were going to doit, but we couldn't get enough.
We couldn't get a strong enoughsignal.
So that's when.
I don't know if you saw it, buton Friday we just started a
parade of interviews andactually it was well-received.
(15:27):
Our new PR person, janique, ourFrench-Canadian friend from HRL,
she said if we can bring peopleup here, will you do the
interviews?
And I said, sure, I'll doanything.
Let's get something out therefor the fans.
They want to know what's goingon here.
And honestly, david, I had saidI'm willing to go down and
(15:47):
stand in the river.
I don't care, put a close-up onme and I'll just start talking
and then just pull the cameraback and I'll be standing at my
knees and going this is our pitarea.
I think we can do a better jobcommunicating.
And I said, if that's what ittakes, I don't care, I'll go
stand on the river and we'lljust show them.
This is why we're not runningboats today.
(16:09):
But Janique was funny she.
I said who are we going to talkto?
Who are you going to have meinterview?
She goes I don't know, itdepends on who I can find and I
would talk.
It was like coming out frombehind the curtain.
I don't know who she wasbringing next.
Oh, I know you.
Okay, come on over, sit down.
We had a lot of fun.
(16:29):
When I went home, drove up tothe hotel that night, I was
exhausted.
We were on for three straighthours just short of that.
And when I went up the hill Iwas exhausted.
I went man, I don't know thatI've worked that hard in a long
time, certainly at a boat race.
And then I thought but that wassome of the most fun I'd ever
had.
We were just gabbing.
Speaker 1 (16:51):
Yeah, there were some great interviews that day.
It was fun.
Speaker 2 (16:54):
And we had race officials.
I got the mayor, but I got himlater on on the weekend Mark
Tate came on.
And it was great.
Janique would just all of asudden she'd come around the
corner of the curtain and she'dkind of just like presenting
here it is and out comes MarkTate, I go, all right, this will
be fun.
And you just start thinkingwhat are we going to talk about?
(17:16):
It was a good time.
Speaker 1 (17:17):
Maybe this should be a new bit for you when there's
downtime, not like whose line itis anyway is anyway, but like
who is the guest today?
Yeah, drop a curtain, drop acurtain.
Speaker 2 (17:28):
here it is yeah, yeah , and you know to your point.
You said there were some goodinterviews that day.
We got really good reviews,yeah, and it came up at a board
meeting afterwards and people wewere discussing it on the board
and there were some people onthe live stream side that said
that was really good.
We need to maybe think aboutdoing that at every event.
(17:51):
And I said whoa, whoa, whoa,whoa, hold on a minute.
First of all, you got toremember that was plan B.
That was Friday.
Plan A was to run the boats andI don't think we want to change
that.
We still want to run the boatsand I don't think we want to
change that.
We still want to run the boats.
So that was plan B.
Based on that, I said but theother piece is that worked
really well with the drivers andwhoever they found the crew
(18:12):
chiefs and Kyle Bipes andeverybody that we were grabbing
I said it worked really welldoing that.
I don't think we want to go tothat well, again, we did that
one.
If we end up having to dosomething like that, we need
different people.
Maybe we get fans, maybe whatwe are talking about, the
surprise gasp or something.
Let's mix it up.
Yeah, the fans, they just wantto see what's going on and and
(18:38):
and people listening to this.
If I'm wrong, tell me, but Ithink they just want to know.
We've had a couple instancesthis year where we have said we
were going to go on at a certaintime with the live stream and
we haven't gone on at that timefor a variety of reasons and
there's been a big push now towhat?
(19:00):
And I said this when we went toMadison.
I said I don't care.
But if we say we're going to goon at nine o'clock, there are
people our good fans are goingto be out there and they're
going to have a, they're goingto go.
Okay, they're on East coasttime.
That's six o'clock out here inthe West coast and they're
sitting at their computer with acup of coffee and they're ready
to see what's going on inmadison.
(19:21):
They want to see testing,showing the boats.
And I they said, well, we can'treally commit.
And I go, yes, we can't.
And I said, honest to god, if,if we have the monsoons coming
in, give me a cameraman and alive mic, I'll go sit in the
front seat of my rental car andwe could just show them how hard
it's raining.
They just want to know what'sgoing on.
(19:44):
Tell them.
My son said just liken it tobeing on an airplane and you go
out the tarmac and you sit outthere for 45 minutes and they
never come over the pa and tellyou what's going on and why
you're hung out and everybodygets frustrated.
Speaker 1 (19:58):
That's your fan yeah, those are the times where I've
been waiting to watch andthere's like a thousand people
waiting or whatever.
Yeah, it's like okay, let's geton.
Speaker 2 (20:06):
Here we go and nick will come down to me.
Nick kish, he will come down,he'll go.
Brad, we got a thousand peoplesitting online.
I said let's go.
Let's go.
What do you want to talk to?
I don't care.
I don't care.
I'll just walk around the towerand say this is our scores and
timers.
Say hi to Mary and Sharky.
Speaker 1 (20:24):
Right right.
Speaker 2 (20:25):
Anything?
Yeah, we just.
And Jared Meyer, one of ourcameramen, he has a great line,
and so I guess maybe what I'mtrying to say with this and
we're off on this tangent, but Ithink what I'm trying to say is
fans, we hear you, we hear you,and I tell everybody I am just
a fan.
That's the only reason I dothis, and if anybody hasn't
(20:47):
figured that out yet, I do itbecause I'm a fan.
I get a pit pass and I get topark really close.
Yeah, we work, but I'm a fan.
And Jared Meyer, he had a greatcomment.
He said there's 365 days in ayear.
We have five races, three daysat each race.
We have our boats on the water15 days a year.
(21:10):
We got to cover every momentthose boats are running.
How do you argue with that?
You're a boat race fan, so am I, and I've heard people say
should we really cover testing?
Yes, yes, we should.
And if people don't want towatch testing, don't watch it,
but there's people out therethat do.
And if they just want to tunein and if we just give them some
(21:32):
lap speeds and tell them that JMichael Kelly's won four times
in a row in Seattle, with fourdifferent boat numbers with four
different boat numbers I'vethought about, could we have a
question and answer period?
Could we have people text inquestions and maybe get John
(21:54):
Walters up with me.
If you've got a technicalquestion and if a little bit of
downtime, how could we fill it?
That's what we were talkingabout and I said could we do a
segment like that and theproducer could just come on and
say David from Seattle wants toknow blah, blah, blah about the
propeller and how do you figureout which propeller goes with
(22:16):
which gearbox or whatever?
John, I'm going to let you takethat one.
I'd like John Walters.
I thought we could do somethinglike that and we may get there.
I don't know if you've noticed,we have a pick the prop segment
.
This year.
That's Nick Kish's baby.
I think after yesterday I mightbe leading.
Speaker 1 (22:37):
I might be leading.
Speaker 2 (22:39):
I had bell walk.
I had bell walk for this race.
I picked up a four.
I think I was second place tothe fans.
I think I was trailing the fansby 300 points or something, but
I don't know who the fans had.
I don't remember.
But it's just a little segment,it's something to talk about.
So, fans, we're trying, we hearyou, we're trying, we hear you,
(23:00):
we're trying.
Speaker 1 (23:02):
Well, I mean you definitely each one has stepped
up this offseason.
They've purchased a trailerwith some great gear and went
out and got Tanner Faust, soit's been a lot of work on the
offseason to do this.
So have you seen a rise in thequality with that?
Speaker 2 (23:22):
In some areas.
We've had some challenges.
We've had some big challengesand our fans certainly are aware
of that.
I think we took some bigstrides this past weekend.
We did some things much, muchbetter.
We still struggle with a fewaspects of it.
Bandwidth is a big issue for us, but I think we're starting to
(23:45):
get a handle on that and I knoweverybody's complaints it
freezes and the lips and soforth aren't synced up with the
sound.
We've had some issues there.
But, to your point, there'sbeen a huge investment, monetary
investment, in this.
We went out and I shouldn't saywe, an individual went out, an
(24:06):
individual from Strong Racingwent out and did some work and
they found a production trailer.
It was in Kansas City and itwas at a Kansas City public
television station and therestill are some monikers on the
inside of it that say KCPT onthe inside of it and they had
outgrown it and they hadpurchased a new trailer and so
(24:30):
they wanted to sell this one andthey had gutted it.
They took everything out of it.
There was some sound equipment,some audio equipment in it, but
it was dated.
But the important part was thecabinetry that was in it, but it
was dated, but the importantpart was the cabinetry that was
in it, the way it was laid out,with three separate rooms, and
the racks that were in it.
The cabinetry and the racksthat were in it were.
(24:52):
They were priceless.
You had to pay tens ofthousands of dollars to have to
put those racks in there.
And because it was used for atelevision station, it was laid
out with that in mind and theywanted it for a song and
literally they wanted it for asong.
They'd given it to a broker andthey just wanted to dump the
(25:15):
thing.
So they wanted it for a songand we went in and offered half
a song and they jumped at it.
So Corey Peabody and StrongRacing meddler just jumped on an
airplane in the middle ofwinter, january or whatever,
went out to Kansas City and themeddler just got underneath it
and was looking at all theframing underneath it, make sure
it's structurally sound.
(25:35):
And they flew him back home andthey had it all set up.
Corey peabody hitched it up anddrove it back and drove it out
here to, uh, daryl strong'splace out in richland, out at
the airport, and put it outthere.
And we first saw it.
This thing was a monster.
I mean, it's in this bigwarehouse over here at the
airport and it's a monster.
(25:56):
Looks much smaller when we getit at the race site, but it's a
big deal.
It's a.
It's a big, big trailer.
And then we started decking itout with equipment and that was
a lot of brand new equipment.
It was a lot of equipment thatwas newly purchased last year by
the former live stream team,the little group of eight of us
(26:18):
who did this a year ago andthat's a whole nother story for
another day, but there was a lotof equipment that was purchased
there and we incorporated a lotof that into the trailer this
year.
But, yeah, it's been a biginvestment in a lot of people.
We've tripled the number ofpeople that work on the live
(26:39):
stream.
Yeah, and we still have a waysto go.
We're not where we should be.
Again, I guess I'm just goingto ask fans we hear you, we do
hear you, trust me.
I sit in my own Gold Cup loungeand pull up YouTube videos and
I watch them too.
I watch them.
It's just after the fact Idon't see them live, and so we
(27:03):
see the issues and we're awareof them and we'll get there.
There's a lot of people workingreally, really hard to make
this sport better.
Yeah, and it's not going tohappen overnight.
It took us, we've fallen offover the years and but I
honestly again the optimisticsales guy here I think we're in
a good place right now.
I think we are, and stick withus, hang with us.
(27:27):
Our fans are golden.
We know that.
Speaker 1 (27:30):
Yeah, well, that's one thing.
The average fan doesn't quitesee all the work that's done
behind the scenes throughout theoffseason.
Right, right, I always love tohear what's going on, what's
happening, and I'm hoping thatat least with that, you know
that the purchasing of the newequipment and all that you can
build on for next year andcontinue to grow and expand and
(27:51):
make it a better product.
Right.
Speaker 2 (27:53):
Absolutely, and I'll tell you what happened at the
end of last year and what theplan is.
I'm sure what happened at theend of last year and what the
plan is.
I'm sure, even though I'm notdirectly involved in that type
of decision-making.
But a year ago I was, Nick Kishand I were kind of running the
live stream last year, and wedecided that we got back from
San Diego.
We were all going to take a fewweeks off the seven or eight of
(28:15):
us that did this and then wehad a meeting that did this, and
then we had a meeting.
We all got together on aDiscord call and, all right, I
said look, we've just had anamazing summer.
We did a tremendous job withour live stream and right now
we've got a lot of credibilitywith HydroTown and with H1
(28:35):
Unlimited.
I said so.
The purpose of the call was tohow do we make it better?
And how do we make it better?
We need to say, well, we needthis and we have to define
exactly what that's going to doand how much is it going to cost
.
Now, understand, we're notgoing to get everything we asked
for, but right now we got a lotof credibility.
(28:56):
Let's strike while the iron'shot, and this was last October.
So we did that and we came upwith this list of maybe 10
things how we can make thebroadcast better, how we could
help our bandwidth at the racesite, yada, yada.
And then I said, okay, nowwe're not done yet.
Nick and I talked to everybodyand we prioritized the list.
And then Nick and I got on acall with Daryl Strong and Mike
(29:19):
Dunslow and Nick and myself, andwe made this presentation and
we told them why and this is howmuch it's going to cost and
this is what it's going to getyou.
And things changed after that.
But a lot of that thinking wasstill incorporated into the next
moves.
And, next thing, we know we gotthis production trailer and
(29:39):
we're decking the thing out andwe're we're trying to make
things better.
Have we taken a step back totake a step forward?
I think so, and I think werecognize that certainly our
fans do.
Um, but we're going to getthere, yeah, and there's just
been so much work and you talkabout hearing what's going on
during the off season.
These are some of the thingsthat went on behind the scenes.
(30:01):
There's a lot of conversationthat goes on.
We don't just leave San Diegoand say see you later and go to
the first race the next season.
Oh, maybe we should have donethat.
No, there's a lot of peopledoing a lot of work.
Speaker 1 (30:17):
Yeah, I know there is and I love to hear it, but the
average fan, like I said,probably doesn't know all that
right.
So it's great to hear about allthat work, but, uh, one thing
that's been impressive this yearis tanner's presence on air,
his knowledge of othermotorsports and and what he
brings to the table as anannouncer.
How did this come about to getTanner Faust on board?
Speaker 2 (30:38):
Well, we hired a new producer to come in and take
over the show.
So we did that.
His name is Corey Tibblis, acompany called Two Plank
Productions, and he came in andtook over the show and this was
something he wanted to do.
To do and we've kind of alludedto this part before.
(31:06):
Yours truly is not young, andthat seems to happen with our
announcing staff.
We seem to have these oldannouncers Well, and everybody
knows we need to bring in newfans and we need to bring in new
, younger fans.
I can tell you for a fact thatyou and I are not the target
audience of the people we wantto bring in.
Of course They've already hookedyou and they hooked me, so
(31:27):
we're done.
Speaker 1 (31:28):
Yeah, we need to bring it yeah.
Speaker 2 (31:31):
We need to bring in this younger generation.
And I, you know, john Waltersis outstanding and I can talk to
John Walters all day long and Ilearn so much and when he's
color commentating with me thelast few years in Seattle and
San Diego, I learn so much.
We sat down and talked about itand somebody said Brad, you,
(31:57):
brad, are technical enough,you're talking over the head of
the casual fan.
Now you bring in John and Brad.
You're saying you're learningstuff from John Walters.
The average fan is learningfrom you and if you're talking
over their head, john's talkingway over there.
(32:19):
Well, I never really looked atit that way and I've talked to
John about this.
I was with John last night.
We had dinner after the event,finally, and I've talked to him
about it.
And we joke about the youthbooth of which John and I are
not a part, and it's nothingagainst me, it's nothing against
(32:39):
John, but there was a thought.
We got to get somebody whoappeals to this younger audience
and the first comment to makeback to that is he doesn't know
a hydroplane from a semi truckTrue statement.
But he understands motorsports.
What you said he appeals to ayounger audience and even if
he's not talking very technical,the casual fan who comes in.
(33:04):
He can talk to them almost onthe same level, because they
aren't terribly enamored orunderstanding of all the
idiosyncrasies of the sport.
I'm open to suggestions at anytime and so I had concern about
it, but I said, no, let's do it.
He has a very large socialmedia following.
(33:26):
I don't, and so we've broughtTanner in and, first of all, he
is a great guy.
Yeah, he is a wonderful.
You need to meet him.
You need to meet Tanner Faust.
He's very personable.
He's a wonderful.
You need to meet him.
You need to meet Tanner Faust.
He's very personable.
He's very approachable.
I've noticed that when we goplaces, there are people that
(33:48):
know this guy.
There are people that go.
Is that Tanner Faust?
And he gets approached by fansa lot Not fans of boat racing,
fans of Tanner Faust.
So I think it's there.
He's learning boat racing.
I can tell you the last threedays he had a blast.
I told him he finally saw aboat race.
(34:09):
I said this this is our sportTwo boats side by side, three on
a couple of occasions.
This is what this sport is.
He loved it.
He got a ride in a vintage misswahoo.
Yeah, and he was, he was.
There was a little trepidationthere because, admittedly, in
tanner if you're hearing this,you said it, I didn't.
(34:29):
He's a control freak and, oh,he's got to be the one holding
the wheel.
He told the story of being in agolf cart in the parade at
Madison and he was nervous atthree and a half miles an hour,
and so he's a really good guy.
He's very personable.
He and I are.
Especially this weekend I thinkwe really developed a banter and
(34:50):
that was my big concern.
I didn't know what I couldthrow to him during a call of a
heat.
He's my co-host, but he's kindof my color commentator too and
I didn't know what I could throwat him.
I'm getting me personally morecomfortable with that, and I
think he is too, and he'slearning.
And that's the one thing Ireally like about Tanner he's
(35:12):
not coming in with this.
I'm Tanner Faust.
I don't need to learn aboutyour sport because I know
everything there is aboutmotorsports.
That is not who this guy is.
He's studying.
I get emails from him.
He has one of my books and he'scalled me and sent me an email,
I'll bet, with six or sevenquestions.
It says in your book this.
(35:33):
I don't understand that.
What is that?
And I explain it to him.
So that tells me he wants tolearn, yeah, and so he's
studying, he's taking it seriousand so, yeah, I like the guy,
yeah, I like it.
Speaker 1 (35:46):
Yeah, I saw there was a quick interview he had after
his Wahoo ride, which was greatbecause he was talking about the
difference in technologies.
Yeah, you know, it's like howdid people race these back then
With that pop shaft runningright between your legs, right,
yeah.
But it's a good point thoughyou made earlier, because I
absolutely loved when you andjohn walters were talking and
(36:06):
all the technical aspects of themotors and the gearbox and all
these little corners of theboats, right, and to me as a
diehard fan, I can't get enoughof that.
See, we can talk hours on endon that.
But that casual fan, it's aforeign language.
Right, it is a foreign language,and I'm a middle school teacher
and I have posters of boats inmy rooms and I try to promote it
(36:27):
to the, to the youth where Ican, and the.
The number of kids that knowwhat a hydroplane is so small in
my classroom, which is.
It's so sad to know that now,but that's, I think it's what
the sport needs, needs, needs away to bridge that now.
But that's, I think, what thesport needs.
It needs a way to bridge thatgap.
Speaker 2 (36:43):
It does.
And when you and I were young,every kid knew what a hydroplane
was, especially in mygeneration, because there wasn't
anything else.
There wasn't a Russell Wilsonor a Ken Griffey Jr or something
like that or a Jack Sickman,all that stuff.
We didn't have that.
But we had Ron Musson and RexManchester and those bad guys
(37:05):
out of Detroit like Cantrell andShaneth.
And I've told my kids eventoday.
When Russell Wilson was in hisheyday a number of years ago for
the Seahawks I said you don'tunderstand that.
Ron Musson and Bill Muncy, theywere every bit as big as
Russell Wilson and DK Metcalfand all these big Gary Payton,
(37:26):
any name you want to throw outin Seattle history, ken Griffey
Jr there weren't any bigger thanthe hydro drivers.
Go back and look at the SeattleSportsman of the Year Award.
I think Muncy won that threetimes.
Speaker 1 (37:46):
It was that big but it was the only circus in town
Just a while to think about.
Well, unfortunately, that's allthe time we have for this week,
no-go-heads.
Come back next week for partthree and the conclusion of my
interview with Brad Luce.
Next week he'll talk more abouthis work and involvement with
(38:09):
H1 Unlimited and give us somemore insight of some
behind-the-scenes activitiesthat are going on right now with
H1 Unlimited.
Until then, check us out online.
We're on Facebook and Instagram.
Instagram, and don't forget ourwebsite, ruchetailtalkcom.
And while you're on our website, don't forget to check out
ruchetail talk, plus a premiumsubscription service for members
(38:32):
that get access to a monthlyraffle drawing, premium content
on our website, early access toall new episodes and much more.
But that's all I have for thisweek, so until next time.
I hope to see you at the races.
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