American Racing News Vol 1, Issue 2 Issue 5 | Page 38

Story & Photos | Rinker Racing
BAY CITY, Mich. (June 26, 2016) – The always-challenging waters of the Saginaw River, where the Bay
City River Roar is held, make it an especially difficult
race to finish, and also a very rewarding race to win.
After qualifying second and fourth, AMSOIL drivers
Terry and Rob Rinker prepared for the upcoming
qualifying heats. Rob Rinker Bay CityThe rough waters had damaged a battery in the #10 boat, prompting the stellar AMSOIL crew to go to work replacing
the battery in time for Rinker to start from the
launch area behind the fleet of competitors. Rinker
wasted no time carving through the pack to earn
valuable third-place points in the qualifying process.
Rob Rinker also experienced electrical issues during
the race, finishing seventh.

Reversing the order of the heat-one finish lineup for
the second heat always creates an exciting race. On
the start of lap four AMSOIL driver Rob Rinker suc-

cumbed to the treacherous waters of Bay City, barrel-rolling in turn one.
The boat landed right-side-up with minor damage;
Rinker escaped unharmed. The race was restarted
and completed with the #10 AMSOIL boat finishing in
the third position.
Podium Bay City 2016Once again the AMSOIL crew
went to work on necessary repairs to get the #30
AMSOIL boat back in the competition.

The Team AMSOIL boats lined up in the second and
eighth positions on the start dock and, as the flags
dropped, the #10 boat of Terry Rinker jumped to the
lead. Rinker held a comfortable lead to the halfway
point of the race when, on lap 15, AMSOIL teammate
Rob Rinker was attempting a pass for the fourth position and fell victim to the Saginaw River, barrel-rolling off a wave in turn one. Uninjured and still
right-side-up Rob Rinker and his boat were brought
to the ramp and retired for the day.
With a comfortable 10-boat lead reduced to only
feet between the boats for the restart, a slight hesitation on the motor firing was all it took for the #53
boat of Greg Foster to gain the lead. Covered by
spray in the first turn of the restart Terry Rinker was
also overtaken by the Series point’s leader, Tim Seebold. Rinker remained close to Seebold until lap 25
when the #16 boat experienced power-trim problems, enabling the AMSOIL machine to retake the
second position for the finish of the race.