Motorsports fans now have a new outlet near Albany with the development of "The Field of Dreams" sprint boat track.

The track was designed, built and is owned by Kyle Patrick, who owns and operates one of the several boats that will compete there. The new track was designed to not only test racers' endurance but to also put on a show.

"The boats go about 70 to 80 miles per hour in the straightaway," Patrick said. He is also a boat driver and an organizer for the event that happened on July 19. Another is planned for September 6.

Over the past 10 years sprint boat competitions have put a foothold in the Pacific Northwest. It has developed a strong fanbase and stages events at four tracks around the Northwest.

Currently, there are two tracks in Washington, one in Idaho and the new one near Albany. Organizers said they looked around for a few years before finding the new location.
"We started working on it in February, and in late April or early May we started digging," Patrick said.

The July 19 race made history. Although the boats had been shown in an exhibition in Grants Pass, this was the first official sprint boat race in the state of Oregon.
The sport is an elimination-based event that started in New Zealand during the 1980s. The first tracks were rivers but have moved on to man-made waterways full of straight paths and difficult corners.

After its start in New Zealand it moved to Australia where it became competitive between the two countries. In the early 1990s Americans started to take notice, and tracks were built while boats were made faster.

The boats can go from zero to 80 in under three seconds. They are separated according to engine size into different classes: super modified, A-400 and the open/super boat which can produce 700 to 950 horsepower. Some boats boast over 1000 horsepower.

Unlike that used for powerboats, sprint boat tracks have many tight corners that drivers have to maneuver through. Powerboat races are usually point-to-point races while sprint boats are timed eliminations.

"We have tight technical corners, which is going to make fast technical driving that is conducive to wrecks if drivers aren't on their A-game," sprint boat driver Dan Morrison said.

The boats made 180-degree turns quickly and with ease, spraying water 15 to 20 feet in the air as they did it.

"From a spectator's point of view, they turn on a dime and don't even flinch about it," one onlooker said.

The boats ran through four qualifying rounds before heading into the elimination rounds.

After each boat has raced, the winner is given the checkered flag for a "victory lap" around the track.

The winners of the July 19 race were Dan Morrison in the super boat class, Kyle Patrick in the A-400 class and Dave Pfeiler in the open/super boat.