Episode 62 - Richie Powers Offshore World Champion Throttleman
Release Date: 12/23/2025
Episode 62 - Richie Powers Offshore World Champion Throttleman
Powerboat Talk
In this episode, we sit down with one of offshore powerboat racing’s most accomplished throttlemen, Richie Powers. Over the course of more than three decades, Powers amassed an extraordinary record, more than sixty victories across Superboat and competition, nearly 12,000 miles of race-winning performance, seven World Offshore Titles, and eleven national and international championships. His many successes occurred on some of the world’s most demanding open water courses and conditions. Power’s put his stamp on many of the most important technical advancements in high performance boating...
info_outline
Episode 61- Alan Stoker Boat Racer and Founder of Stoker Boats
Powerboat Talk
Alan Stoker is a world-renowned boat racer and the builder of Stoker Boats. An innovator whose career spans the formative decades of Mod VP outboard racing and tunnel-hull development, Stoker was raised in Southern California. This episode was recorded shortly after his third straight victory at the 2024 Parker Enduro. Stoker grew up immersed in boating through his father, John Stoker, owner of John’s Custom Marine, where he began working weekends at just 11 years old. He started racing when his dad purchased a kneel-down racer from Ron Hill and spent time in the pits while his father crewed...
info_outline
Episode 60- Next-Gen Circle Boat Racers Nick Balayan, Travis Hill, and Nash Thorpe
Powerboat Talk
In this episode of Powerboat Talk, I talk to three new flatbottom circle boat racers—Nash Thorpe, Nick Balayan, and Travis Hill—who share their backgrounds, experiences, and insights from their first race at the season opener in Parker, Arizona, this past April. The conversation covers their paths into racing, the challenges they faced as rookies, the importance of community support, and their aspirations for future races. They reflect on rookie mistakes and how everything changes when you strap on a helmet and go side-by-side with some of the best circle racers in the world—compared to...
info_outline
Episode 59- Fred Inman of IMCO
Powerboat Talk
Fred Inman is the owner and founder of , one of the largest and most respected performance aftermarket marine manufacturers in the world. Like many entrepreneurs, Inman, a metal fabricator by trade, began his career in the marine industry by making parts in his garage for his flatbottoms in the 1960s. After gaining experience at a similar company, Inman partnered with a friend to start his own metal fabrication business. Over the years, he produced a wide range of commercial products, including solar water heater tanks, concrete pump components, and auxiliary gas tanks for diesel cars and...
info_outline
Episode 58- Chris Davidson from Hot Boat and Speedboat Magazines
Powerboat Talk
In this episode, I sit down with Chris Davidson, longtime publisher of Hot Boat Magazine and current publisher of , to reflect on nearly four decades in the performance boating industry. Chris shares his unique journey—from collecting Elvis memorabilia to shaping the voice of high-performance boating media. He discusses the early days of Hot Boat, his family's deep roots in the boating world, and the magazine’s pivotal 1989 sale to , which transformed it into a nationally recognized publication. Chris also opens up about personal challenges, including a shocking betrayal by his brother...
info_outline
Episode 57 - Mike Finnegan Returns!
Powerboat Talk
Reality and YouTube star Mike Finnegan returns on this episode of Powerboat Talk. Finnegan fills us in on his new role as a full-time YouTuber following MotorTrend’s recent shutdown of all its TV shows. He also gives an update on his carbon fiber Cheyenne drag boat, Side Chick, sharing some of the challenges with its injury-plagued 632 cu. in. Chevy engine and the success of a recent dyno session. Finnegan offers advice on what makes a dyno experience successful—and reveals the one mistake you should never make when buying a boat. Where to find Mike Finnegan: Instagram Facebook ...
info_outline
Episode 55 - Freedom One Racing Team
Powerboat Talk
In this episode, we’re talking with the team behind , a new name making waves at this year’s . The Shootout’s loose rules invite wild setups, and Freedom One didn’t disappoint, bringing a brand-new powered by twin 4,000-hp 4.9-inch bore, all-aluminum Hemi Pro Mod drag racing engines. The boat’s engines are a marvel of engineering much of which is familiar to the 1/4 mile crowd, but unconventional to general marine performance guys. Topped by , the engines feature dry blocks (no water jackets) and require no cooling system. They employ engine management systems and route the...
info_outline
Episode 56 - Slug Hefner from Dirty Duck Racing
Powerboat Talk
Slug Hefner’s team made history at the 2024 , breaking the 200 mph barrier for the first time. After falling just short of the milestone in 2023, Hefner’s —powered by twin-turbocharged 557-cubic-inch engines—received a performance boost from a custom nitrous system designed by engine builder . This upgrade propelled the boat to 202 mph, setting a new record as the fastest Skater and twin-engine boat in LOTO history. In this episode, Hefner shares the story behind his iconic Skater and the origins of the Dirty Duck name. He also reflects on his journey through the world of boat racing,...
info_outline
Episode 54 - Billy Moore Class 1 Offshore Racer
Powerboat Talk
Billy Moore stands as one of the most successful offshore powerboat racers competing today. Following in the footsteps of his father, —widely considered the first throttle man in offshore racing—Billy “works the sticks” in both and Super Cat. I spoke with Moore recently, just as his Class 1 team celebrated back-to-back wins at in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. In addition to racing for Defalco, Moore throttles the in the Super Cat class. Not only did Moore gain invaluable racing insight from his legendary father, but he also learned the finer points of boat rigging and race boat setup,...
info_outline
Episode 53 - Warren Kosikov Vice President of Sales at SEMA
Powerboat Talk
Warren Kosikov is the Vice President of Sales for the , an organization that represents the automotive and marine aftermarket industries while advocating for the interests of both manufacturers and consumers. Before joining SEMA, Kosikov held executive sales management roles at Source Interlink Media, Buckaroo Communications, Petersen Publishing, and Nordskog Publishing. His extensive background in the performance boating industry includes work with Powerboat Magazine, Hot Boat Magazine, and Family and Performance Boating Magazine. Kosikov emphasizes SEMA’s critical role in the automotive...
info_outlineIn this episode, we sit down with one of offshore powerboat racing’s most accomplished throttlemen, Richie Powers. Over the course of more than three decades, Powers amassed an extraordinary record, more than sixty victories across Superboat and UIM Open Class competition, nearly 12,000 miles of race-winning performance, seven World Offshore Titles, and eleven national and international championships. His many successes occurred on some of the world’s most demanding open water courses and conditions. Power’s put his stamp on many of the most important technical advancements in high performance boating and offshore racing.
Powers’s journey began as a 19-year-old test driver for Mercury Marine working under Karl Kiekhaefer, where he quickly earned a reputation for fearlessness and precision. His early years at Lake X placed him alongside legends such as Bob Magoon, Gene Lanham, Odel Lewis, and Don Aronow, and by his early twenties he was competing in grueling events like the 548-mile Bahamas 500 and major races throughout the country.
From racing under Carlo Bonomi’s Dry Martini team in Europe to joining powerhouse American programs with Tom Gentry, Al Copeland, Bernie Little, and Rocky Aoki, Powers’s career is a tour through offshore racing history. He won four consecutive UIM world titles in the 1970s, three U.S. Superboat world championships in the early 1990s, and set multiple world Kilo speed records, including a blistering 158-mph average in Gentry’s 40' Skater.
Along the way, Powers raced with and befriended some of the world’s most recognizable names, sharing cockpits and racecourses with actors Don Johnson and Kurt Russell, and encountering icons like Mario Andretti, Steve McQueen, and Jacky Ickx through the sport’s tight-knit, high-adrenaline community.
Powers also helped pioneer the first successful canopied, sit-down V-bottom Apache raceboat, Apache Heritage, which captured back-to-back world titles in Key West.
In this conversation, Powers reflects on the machines, the men, the danger, and the innovation that defined offshore racing’s most influential era. It’s a rare look into a remarkable career that shaped the sport from the inside out.
Follow Richie Powers on Facebook @Richie Powers
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: powerboattalk@gmail.com
You can listen to Powerboat Talk on youtube and most podcast players like Apple Podcasts, Youtube Music, Spotify Podcasts, Pandora, Amazon Podcasts, Audible, iHeart Radio, Podtail, Audacy, Google Podcasts, Tune In Radio