Returning to Sheboygan, Wis., this weekend, the Midwest Challenge is just three years old. That makes it one of offshore racing’s newer events. And yet in its relatively short lifetime, the Sheboygan affair already has produced two unforgettable moments.
With racing action beginning tomorrow morning, a quick look back at those two beauties is in order.
The first indelible moment arrived in the event’s inaugural year, which in part celebrated the 50th anniversary of title-backer Mercury Racing. Then a mere 16 years old, driver Zane Mead of Mead Family Racing earned his first checkered flag in the super-competitive 450R Factory Stock alongside throttleman Shaun Torrente.
A photo captured by Scrapyard Media founder Brad DiMaggio of Mead and Torrente on the deck of their 39-foot MTI catamaran nailed the raw emotion following their victory. Far and away, it was my favorite image of the of 2023.
The next year saw Austin Homes/Rollin Transport team owner Vinnie Diorio make the save of the decade at the start of the Super Cat contest in Sheboygan. Diorio and then-driver Matt Jamniczky literally wheelied down the course for a few hundred yards before Diorio managed to the resettled his kiting 39-foot Outerlimits catamaran.
A sequence of images by Jeff Helmkamp of Helmkamp Photos captured Diorio’s unreal recovery. Equally far away, it was my favorite photo-sequence of 2024.
Both Mead and Diorio are back to compete in Sheboygan again this weekend. Mead is with new throttleman John Tomlinson, Diorio is with new driver Sean Conner.
Regardless, I can’t wait to see what they do next.