Thunder on the Green Commemorates Joe Barnes

By Matt Weafer
Messenger-Inquirer (and McLean County)

Wind blew in sporadic gusts of about five to ten miles per hour, creating a slightly choppy race track on the Green River in Livermore, Saturday morning, the first day of 10th annual Thunder on the Green, as racers and their crew tinkered with their boats before the qualifying races began and spectators speckled the river’s edge in lawn chairs and bleachers. A blanket of clouds threatened rain, but all attendants were hopeful for a pleasant afternoon.

Rain wasn’t Kentucky Drag Boat Association President Roger Austin’s main concern, however; wind was. After last year’s fatal tragedy when racer Joe Barnes’ boat flipped, all participants were wary of wind conditions. With two wind socks slapping in the air, Austin and his crew were able to gauge the force and direction of the wind.

At 11:00 a.m., as 12- second and 13-second boats prepared to start the day with the first qualifying races, the wind lightly blew in the opposite direction of the track, forcing racers to lower the nose of their boats.

“The weather could be a real hindering,” Mike Nadoll from Nashville, Tennessee said. Nadoll, races an 8-second boat, Here Comes Trouble. “The rain turned some people around before they got here. I wasn’t gonna drive down here if it was raining,” he said as he uncovered his boat. “Some people drive 14 hours to race here.”

“For most of us, this is our hobby,” “Jet Boat” Bob Hardison from Island, KY said. Hardison races the Kwik ‘n Easy, a 9-second boat, for B.F. Evans. “This is our golf game. We’ve all been racing each other for 20 years,” he said. “We’re like a big family, and we want safety first.”

Before any boats splashed into the water, racers met with Austin as he discussed the rules and safety regulations.

“We feel like all the security measures were in place prior to last year’s tragedy,” Austin said. “We just reiterated all the rules so everybody’s on the same page.”

“We lost some boat racers because of last year,” Austin said. “We went thirty years without a tragedy like that.”

Last year’s winnings were donated to Barnes’ family, and this year’s race was dubbed the Joe Barnes Memorial Race.

“Joe Barnes was the racer,” Paul Kane said. Kane, who races in the National Jet Boat Association, drove from California to work on Hardison’s crew. “If they want to do a one year memorial, that’s great, but Joe would’ve just wanted us to go out there and have fun.”

Despite the concerns of rain and wind for Saturday, racers and spectators alike agreed that Sunday would be a good day.

“Tomorrow’s gonna be great if the wind doesn’t pick up,” Austin said.

Lem Evans, owner of the Kwik ‘n Easy said that Livermore is a good venue for the drag boat races. Spectators can line up on the water and watch the whole thing.

“The venue is great for spectatorship,” Kane said. “The water conditions are as good as I’ve ever seen. It’s beautiful. That’s why I come out here.”

“There’s a lot less pressure here,” said Nadoll, who used to race in California and other venues in the Pacific area.

Concern for the wind waned as the 9-second boats surged through the green-tinted water.

“I hope the race’ll be better this year’” Glenn Nicoll of Livermore said, leaning against a set of metal bleachers. “The wind’s dyin’ down a little bit,” he said. Nicoll has watched the boats every year since Thunder on the Green.

Bill and Diane Delve decided to spend their 25th wedding anniversary driving from Indianapolis to watch drag boat races for the first time in over twenty years.

“We’re putting together a drag boat,” Bill Delve said. “We picked up some helpful hints.”

The Lion’s Club Thunder on the Green is the closest drag boat race to the Delves’ home in Indianapolis. Once they complete their boat, Bill Delve plans to race in Thunder on the Green.