Episode 52 - Shane Westerfield Drag Boat Racer, Engine Builder and Tuner
Release Date: 09/17/2024
Episode 52 - Shane Westerfield Drag Boat Racer, Engine Builder and Tuner
Powerboat Talk
Shane Westerfield is a versatile and accomplished racer with a rich history in both drag boat and car racing. Along with his father, Steve, he owns , a shop specializing in supercharged engines, components, and high-performance flat bottom boats. Westerfield’s 15-year drag racing career began by helping his father with his Top Alcohol flatbottom and reached a peak in 2017 when he won the Top Alcohol Funny Car World Championship. Westerfield has amassed 14 NHRA national event wins and continues to drive alcohol cars. He spent the last five seasons with and recently began driving AA...
info_outline
Episode 51 - Ron Gordon Founder of American Turbine and Dominator Jet Pumps
Powerboat Talk
Ron Gordon, General Manager and Vice President, founded with his boyhood friend, Bruce Simmons, in 1989, bringing decades of experience in the jet drive industry. Ron’s first encounter with a jet pump dates back to 1968, when he began working on his family’s Glastron V174 jet boat. Gordon’s career in the industry officially began in 1976 when he and Simmons founded Dominator Jet in Lubbock, Texas. After running the business for 12 years, they sold Dominator. Gordon stayed on as manager for a few years before he and Simmons left to start American Turbine. Gordon developed American...
info_outline
Episode 50 - Tres Martin Owner of Tres Martin Performance Boat School
Powerboat Talk
Tres Martin is the owner of and , where he offers advanced, hands-on, skill-based training for performance boat owners. Martin grew up working with his father, Ralph Martin, at Everglades Marina in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Ralph Martin is credited with organizing the first poker run for boats in 1985. In 1986, Martin began racing offshore powerboats, achieving great success in the class, where he throttled various and race boats. He concluded his career with an impressive 66 wins, including four National Championships and four World Championships. In 1993, Martin founded Tres Martin...
info_outline
Episode 49 - Gordy Jennings Circle Boat Racer and Engine Builder
Powerboat Talk
Gordy Jennings is one of the most decorated circle boat racers in history, particularly noted for his excellence in driving blown boats in the . While his boat racing career is remarkable, Jennings is perhaps best known for his expertise in performance engine building, a skill he honed while working for his stepfather, Paul Pfaff, at . During his time at Pfaff, the company excelled at creating power plants for boats and found success in various forms of motorsports, including sprint cars and off-road racing. Today, Jennings works as a dyno operator for and continues to build engines for Tom...
info_outline
Episode 48 - Chuck Stearns and Mike Avila Water Ski Racing Legends
Powerboat Talk
Chuck Stearns and Mike Avila are two of Water Ski Racing's most successul competitors. Stearns, who is often regarded as the greatest water skier in history having won National and World Championships in tournament skiing, won his first Catalina Ski Race in 1955 at the age of 16. Stearns went on to dominate the international race winning an unprecendented (at the time) 11th title in 1982 at the age of 44. Stearns also set a multiple world speed records culminating with is run of 122.11 m.p.h. in 1969 at Long Beach Marine Stadium. Avila one the first ski race he entered in 1968 at the age of...
info_outline
Episode 47 - Keith Eickert Offshore Race Engine Builder
Powerboat Talk
Keith Eickert is one of the most recognized and successful high-performance engine builders in offshore racing history. With a career that began at Mercury Racing in 1972, Eickert went on to create power for 37 World, International, and National Champions. Eickert was recruited to Mercury by his childhood friend Gary Garbrecht, who was the head of Mercury Racing. Eickert graduated from working on cylinder heads at Mercury to becoming one of their best engine builders. In 1976, Eickert was lured away from Mercury to build engines exclusively for racers Rocky Aoki (Benihana) and Preston...
info_outline
Episode 46 - Jerry Gilbreath Boat Builder and Offshore Powerboat Racer
Powerboat Talk
Jerry Gilbreath has made a career out of designing, building, and racing some of the most exotic and well-known boats in the world. His journey began in the 1960s, driving flat-bottom endurance boats in races like the Salton Sea 500 and the . Gilbreath’s father, Jake, founded Gil Marine, which started as a gas tank manufacturer and grew into one of the largest aftermarket performance marine companies in the world, producing iconic Gil Exhaust Manifolds and the first outboard set-back bracket, the Gil Bracket. Gilbreath became one of the most respected and talented custom boat builders...
info_outline
Episode 45 - Bob Brown Performance Boating Writer
Powerboat Talk
Bob Brown is widely regarded as one of the leading authorities on performance boating, having reported on and participated in every facet of the industry over the last 50 years. Growing up as an avid boat racer, Brown became the editor of in 1973 through his affiliation with fellow racer . After leaving Powerboat in 1979 to start his own public relations agency, Media Direction, Brown continued to write for the magazine as well as for every major performance boat publication, including Hot Boat, Performance Boats, Sportboat, , , and . Brown has raced endurance inboards in the Salton Sea 500...
info_outline
Episode 44 - Nathan Eller owner of East Coast Squirt Boats and LS Swap authority
Powerboat Talk
Nathan Eller, owner of East Coast Squirt Boats, discusses his passion for jet boats and LS Chevy engine swaps. He shares how he got into jet boating and the progression of his business, which now specializes in LS swaps. Nathan talks about the challenges and rewards of starting his own company and the freedom it gives him. He also explains the appeal and benefits of LS engines and discusses the various options and accessories that need to be considered when choosing and installing an LS engine in a jet boat. This episode is brought to you by SoCal Jet Boats the #1 online performance boating...
info_outline
Episode 1 - Welcome to Powerboat Talk!
Powerboat Talk
Welcome to my new podcast where we talk everything, performance boats! I have been boating my entire life and have spent over 30 years in the performance marine aftermarket. But, I still have a lot to learn and many people in the fast boat world that I want to get to know. I created this podcast so that I can share my experiences and knowledge with others who enjoy performance powerboats. Visit our website at View the video for this episode: Follow us on Instagram and Facebook Contact me: [email protected]
info_outlineShane Westerfield is a versatile and accomplished racer with a rich history in both drag boat and car racing. Along with his father, Steve, he owns Westerfield Motorsports, a shop specializing in supercharged engines, components, and high-performance flat bottom boats.
Westerfield’s 15-year drag racing career began by helping his father with his Top Alcohol flatbottom and reached a peak in 2017 when he won the NHRA Top Alcohol Funny Car World Championship. Westerfield has amassed 14 NHRA national event wins and continues to drive alcohol cars. He spent the last five seasons with Rick Jackson Motorsports and recently began driving Bucky Austin’s AA Nostalgia Funny Car where he won their first two events.
Despite his success in car racing, Westerfield is most passionate about competing with his Blown Gas flat bottom in the National Jet Boat Association (NJBA) and Columbia Drag Boat Association (CDBA) and working to keep the class healthy and competitive as one of the few remaining "heads-up" drag boat racing classes. He has streamlined class rules and secured sponsors to increase prize money, ensuring its continued growth.
In this episode, Westerfield shares the challenges of closing the family’s trade show exhibit company due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, he explains how the setback led him and his father to pivot to their side project—working on boats and engines. They eventually transitioned to the business full-time, building a reputation for one-off custom work that has made them a go-to destination in the fast-boat community.
This episode is brought to you by: SoCal Jet Boats the #1 online performance boating community forum, manufacturers of the coolest River Attire, hosts of the the Summer Tour with 6+ events along the Colorado River, and owners of The SoCal Jet Boat SpeedShop.
Visit SoCal Jet Boats at www.socaljetboats.com on Instagram at @SoCalJetBoats and Facebook @SoCal Jet Boats Contact SoCal Jet Boats (702) 970-7252 [email protected]
You can follow Shane Westerfield on Instagram @shanewesterfieldracing and on Facebook @Shane Westerfield and @Westerfield Motorsports
Visit Westerfield Motorsports' website www.westerfieldmotorsports.com
Learn more about Blown Gas Flatbottoms on Facebook @Blown Gas Flats
Visit our website at www.powerboattalk.com
View the video for this episode: www.youtube.com/@powerboat_talk
Follow us on Instagram @powerboattalk and Facebook @Powerboat Talk
Contact me: [email protected]