Just stopped to wash the truck and trailer. Scott told the guys not to scratch the paint job on the boat!

RUBBIN’S RACIN’: The onboard camera (above) captured the collision between the U-37 Miss Peters & May (in yellow) and the U-96 Spirit of Qatar in turn two just before the start of Heat 1B Saturday on Detroit. Qatar driver Dave Villwock was given a fine for the hit (below) that some believe may have caused the U-37’s crash two laps later. (Photo courtesy U-37 Shumacher Racing team, above; Staff photo by David Campbell, below)

David Campbell
Courier Sportswriter

J.W. Myers has scheduled surgery on his broken right foot next week in Seattle according to the U-37 Schumacher Racing website.

The team posted a CAT scan of Myers’ foot on their website which shows that the Burien, Wash. native completely broke four of the five toes in the violent collision at Detroit on Saturday.

Myers’ accident aboard the U-37 Miss Peters & May took away most of the attention from the 101st running of the APBA Gold Cup. The skid fin on the boat broke loose as he was entering turn two – the famed Roostertail Turn – causing him to skid out of control and into the seawall at over 100 mph.

Myers, wearing a cast, returned to the pits in time to see the final heat before heading home to Seattle.

“To walk away from that – it was a big impact. Six-thousand pounds of boat at 100 mph. That says it all,” Myers told the Detroit Free Press. “We were hauling (butt). We obviously had an issue. I tried to do a right-hand spin to slow it down. I remember the wall getting really big. You should have heard the impact from where I was sitting.”

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Just crossed from Idaho into Washington! Feels good to be so close to home!

Leaving Spearfish SD. We are having problems with our server crashing and have not been able to update as much as we would like.

We are just leaving Detroit. J-Dub is on his way home with a broken foot. We will be updating from the road!

David Goricki / The Detroit News

Detroit — Unlimited Hydroplane drivers showed their mental toughness by getting back in their racing machines and competing in heats Saturday afternoon, moving closer to earning spots for Sunday’s Jarvis Property Restoration Gold Cup race.

JW Myers, 36, was involved in a scary accident late in the morning when he crashed into the seawall at more than 70 mph in front of the Roostertail restaurant.

Myers’ U-37 Miss Peters & May boat had a broken skid fin, causing him to lose control in the second heat of the day. He came out of the boat on his own power, and was later taken to St. John Hospital. He was kept overnight and suffered broken bones in his left foot. Debris was scattered all over the river, but race officials said no fans were injured.

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J-Dub gets back to the pits for the final heat in Detroit...

JW Myers was released from St. John’s Hospital in Detroit in time to watch the final heat of the 2010 Gold Cup. On crutches and with his left foot in a cast, J-Dub and girlfriend Katie watched the final from the U-37 pits, then was then visited by what seemed like every driver, crew chief and crew member in the pit lane…

The entire team (22 people!) went to visit J-Dub in St. John’s Hospital tonight, where he’s staying overnight in preparation for surgery on his left foot tomorrow.  He’s in good spirits, and considering the damage to the boat, was EXTREMELY lucky to have come out of the accident with such minimal injuries.

The entire Schumacher Racing Team wishes J-Dub a speedy recovery!

We’ve taken the trailer out of the pits to retrieve the U-37.  When it comes back, we’ll assess what the next move will be…

1:15 EDT: Report from the hospital is that JW Myers is waiting for results from X-rays taken of his left ankle. At this time,i t looks like there are no other injuries to report.

We’ll keep you posted as things develop

In the middle of the Roostertail turn, the U-37 unhooked and shed the skidfin, sending J-Dub into the seawall,at 100+ mph. J-Dub climbed from the cockpit on his own power and is on the way to the hospital right now with injuries to his lower legs.

The boat is missing the left sponson, and is being towed back to the pits.

More info as it develops…

Heat 1A:
U-13
U-25
U-21
U-100

Heat 1B:
U-17
U-37
U-96
U-7

Heat 1C:
U-1
U-22
U-5

Heat racing starts at 11:35 EDT

U-96: 162.309
U-1: 158.350
U-100: 157.773
U-37: 156.600
U-7: 155.782
U-5: 155.251
U-17: 155.235
U-13: 152.001
U-21: 150.784
U-25: 150.710
U-22: 139.383

J-Dub breathes by the buoy in the Rostertail turn

J-Dub couldn’t have slipped a playing card between the left sponson and the buoy in the middle of the Roostertail Turn in Detroit tonight on his way to a 4 mph bump in speed, coming back to the dock with a 156.600 mph average, putting us comfortably in the top half of the field for the 101st running of the APBA Gold Cup.

According to J-Dub, “I didn’t hit it, I just scared the s%#t out of it…”

Lap 1: 156.021
Lap 2: 156.044
Lap 3: 157.156

Ran a 152.753 in the second qualifying session and we’ll be heading out again at 5:00 pm EDT

1st test at Detroit went well, but we were slightly down on power.  Will be leaving the dock again in about 10 minutes…

We get on the water at 1pm est today. The crew is busy getting the boat ready for qualifying.

Walt's making camera brackets...	Dave, Sam, Emile & Bill work on the gearbox...
Jean, Randy & Chris study the prop	U-37 ready for testing!