Suburban Journal, July 31, 2007

By Brian Jerauld

You've heard of a home-field advantage. Tim Seebold would like to introduce you to a home-lake advantage.

This weekend, Seebold, the youngest son of Fenton's ChampBoat racing family, returns home to Creve Coeur Lake for the St. Louis Grand Prix, the third stop on the eight-race Grand Prix tour.

And despite any racing ability Seebold might bring with him - he comes off a win at the last Grand Prix event in Bay City, Mich. - it's the familiar water that might be Seebold's biggest asset this weekend.

The Seebold family has dominated its hometown race, winning the event 14 times since its inception in 1972. Father Bill won the event seven times, brother Mike won it five times and Tim won back-to-back titles in 2004 and 2005.

"That's the 10-million dollar question: What makes you perform better at home?" Tim said. "I guess it's just an extra lift when you feel that advantage, that extra confidence to go out and do the stuff maybe you normally can't do.

"It's always something special when you get to come home and race in front of your friends and fans in St. Louis. It's great because the race has been around for so long, and it's always been so fun to come home and race in front of the hometown crowd."

As special as the hometown race may be, the caliber of the event on a larger scale is prestigious enough. Bill Seebold, who started the race 36 years ago, is the winningest driver in the history of ChampBoat racing. Carrying that title, Bill became the target of competitors who traveled to knock him off in his hometown, and the race quickly developed into what the circuit considers the "Indy 500 of powerboat racing."

"It's always been an emotional race for us, including the prestige of the race and it being in our hometown," Tim said. "In my mind, it legitimized my driving career by being able to win this big race. And then I was fortunate enough to do it two times in a row."

Nevermind the fact that Tim was already an accomplished driver. Up to that point, Tim had won three ChampBoat titles in his career, and he went on to win his fourth title after the St. Louis win in 2004. This year, Tim sits in third place in the standings and only 49 points out of first - a deficit he could easily make up this weekend.

It's been enough to deem Tim's offseason a success, after traveling overseas on a technology hunt. Tim spent December in the United Arab Emirates studying the UIM Formula One boat racing circuit, which carries nearly identical technical specifications of the ChampBoat Series. He came back with big improvements on propellers and other modifications on his boat to help him gain that slight edge.

"We've been working on these boats for 35 years, and they just keep evolving so much," Tim said. "It's not so much being able to go out and find a big difference right off the bat, it's just the slight, small changes that you look for. You get a few of those and they add up - all of a sudden you've got a better lap time."

Time trials and heats for this weekend's races will begin at 9 a.m. on Saturday, and conclude with a Harley-Davidson Water Ski show at 5 p.m. On Sunday, the first of three final races will begin at 11 a.m., with Seebold's 50-lap final beginning at 3 p.m. A driver's autograph session will begin at 1 p.m. Tickets are available at Schnucks or by calling 636-349-2316.