With the first race of the 2026 offshore racing season—the St. Petersburg Grand Prix in Southwest Florida—just a few days from now, offshore racing world and national Jeff Harris reached out to offer his “Proverbs For Offshore Racers.” Here’s what Harris, a former member of now defunct World Powerboat Racing Association, had to say:
1. If you run up front, you always have a target on your back.
2. No race driver or throttleman is as good as he or she thinks when winning.
3. No race driver or throttleman is as bad as the fans think they are when they are not winning.
4. Proper nutrition and a good night’s rest is the most effective cheat code.
5. Every racer should be forced to take a Dale Carnegie course.
6. When a racer complains it’s too rough, it’s too hot, too many laps and so on, that racer is already defeated.
7. Tech staff members and dentists have a lot in common.
8. There’s a very fine line between a great racing maneuver and a loss of control.
9. The racer who constantly blames everyone else is not respected.
10. All referees are hated.
11.Tell the medical and safety staff how much you personally appreciate them every day.
12. Just because you carefully read and studied the rulebook and built your race-craft with an advantage over the field, doesn’t necessarily mean you will ever get a fair chance to race it. Just ask Smokey Yunick.
13. You can win the race in turn No. 1.
14. Chances are, your carefully crafted pre-race strategy will never survive lap one.
15. Eyesight is still number No. 1. Get it checked.
16. You are probably somebody’s hero. Behave accordingly at all times.
