Round 2 of the 2026 IHRA Offshore Powerboat Championship delivered rough water, a dramatic blowover, an engine fire, and a class winner who finished last two weeks earlier — all in a weekend that reshuffled the championship picture heading into Cocoa Beach.
The Harvey Gulf International Marine New Orleans Powerboat Grand Prix, held April 10 to 12 at Bucktown Harbor on Lake Pontchartrain in Jefferson Parish, was the second round of the new IHRA Offshore Powerboat and Pro Watercraft Championship. Where Round 1 at St. Petersburg delivered calm water and tight qualifying margins, New Orleans offered conditions teams described as confused and unpredictable, the kind of rough lake chop that punishes the wrong prop selection and rewards experience. As Michael Howe of Howe2Live Offshore put it before Sunday’s racing: “On a scale from one to ten as far as how much that changed things, today’s conditions changed everything.”
The event schedule followed the same structure as St. Pete, with Friday devoted to closed-course testing and Pro Class 1 and Factory Stock qualifying, Saturday to Super Stock and Super Cat qualifying alongside the bracket class heats and Pro Class 1 Race 1, and Sunday to the headline class races and the awards ceremony. The weekend opened under sunny skies before the lake conditions tightened the field on race day.
Coming in, the paddock was buzzing with news that JJ Turk and Nick Buis had reportedly repaired XINSURANCE North after a violent rollover at St. Pete less than two weeks earlier, the team working through to make the boat race-ready.
Pro Class 1: Coil and Miller make it four from four
If St. Petersburg established Monster Energy/M-CON as the team to beat, New Orleans confirmed it. Driver Myrick Coil and throttleman/owner Tyler Miller won both Pro Class 1 races for the second consecutive round, posting their highest single-round aggregate of the season at 106 points, 50 in Race 1 and 50 in Race 2, plus 6 bonus points. Across two rounds and four races, they have not finished off the top step of the podium.
The championship picture behind them shifted significantly from St. Pete. Outta Pocket Racing (#10) moved up to second overall on 167.5 series points after a consistent 87.5-point New Orleans round, jumping MTI/GC Racing which dropped to third on 165.5. Willie Cabeza, throttling for MTI/GC Racing, had noted before racing that the lake conditions were unlike anything the team typically encounters in ocean-based competition, the wind cutting across the course and making setup and fitness equally critical across 13 to 14 laps. They split their New Orleans days, scoring 31 in Race 1 and 41.5 in Race 2, enough for fourth on the day but a step back from their St. Pete podium.
Turk and Buis in XINSURANCE North (#11), after their reported overnight rebuild following the St. Pete rollover, scored 74 points across both New Orleans races, 36 in each. Combined with 80 points from St. Pete, they sit fifth in the championship on 154, within striking distance of the podium positions. The 13-championship veteran’s goal of a Pro Class 1 title remains a live ambition three rounds out.
DMR Performance (#3) bounced back from their St. Pete collapse, scoring 81.5 points in New Orleans to move to fourth on the day and sixth in the championship overall. The team that won Race 1 in St. Pete and then retired from Race 2 are finding their consistency, but 72 points behind the leader with three rounds remaining, a sustained run of results is now required.
Discrete Offshore Racing (#7) suffered an engine fire on lap 9 of Sunday’s race, ending their New Orleans campaign. The team had DNS’d qualifying at St. Pete, scored just 31 points in Race 2, and now hold seventh in the championship on 96 points across two rounds.
Superstock: Wozencraft wins but Bermuda holds the lead
The Superstock class reversed its St. Pete result in the most emphatic fashion possible. Wozencraft (S-8), who finished third at St. Pete on 96 points, won New Orleans with 115 points, matching the exact score Team Bermuda had posted to win at St. Pete. Team Bermuda (S-25) crossed second in New Orleans on 104, keeping the championship lead, but the gap that had looked comfortable after Round 1 is now just 8 points in a 16-boat class with three rounds remaining.
The broader championship standings tell an interesting story. Celsius/Valvoline (S-43) finished third at New Orleans after placing fifth at St. Pete, and with 162 series points sits fifth overall, but only 31 points behind leader Bermuda. The class is tightly bunched: the gap from first to sixth in the national standings covers just 59 points.
Before racing even began on Saturday, Club Car Wash (S-45) started taking on water dockside, ending their participation for the round. The team had scored 26 points at St. Pete and now carry just those points into the championship. It was a second difficult weekend in succession for the programme.
Among the field, Cameron Turk and throttleman Owen Buess in the XINSURANCE (S-74) Superstock boat brought a new dynamic to the class. The self-described youngest team on the grid, Cameron is the son of XINSURANCE North’s Pro Class 1 driver JJ Turk, and the New Orleans round marked the team’s debut racing the new Mercury Racing 300 ROS engines with their updated 15-inch midsection. Sabrina Kowalik, new driver for Team Allen Lawn Care and Landscaping (S-17) alongside throttleman/owner Billy Allen, contested her second race of the season at New Orleans, continuing to build experience in one of offshore racing’s largest and most competitive grids.
Leanna Shadlow and Chad Havens of Team Demon Bikini (S-33) improved from 14th at St. Pete to 9th at New Orleans, accumulating 97 series points. Gregg Reichman and David Whelan of XINSURANCE Moxie Racing (S-88) followed closely on 127 total, improving their round finish from seventh to tenth as the season builds.
Factory 500: Last to first for 151 Express, and a scary moment for Lake Wylie
The Factory 500 class produced the sharpest single-round turnaround of the series so far. 151 Express (#F-66), who had finished last at St. Pete with 67 points, won New Orleans outright with 105 points, the same score Jackhammer had posted to win Round 1. The 38-point swing is the largest of any team across either event. In the championship standings, Jackhammer (#42) still leads on 191 points, but the gap back to third-placed 151 Express is now just 19 points, with Say Less MF (#F-21) second on 180.
Jay Rudisill and throttleman Rusty Williams of Say Less MF had a difficult build-up to Sunday’s race. A rear escape hatch opened mid-qualifying lap and ripped off, taking on water before they could return to the ramp. The team patched the boat overnight and finished second in the race, a result that means more given the circumstances. Rudisill and Williams are the reigning Factory Stock World Champions from Key West 2025, and they are proving they belong at the front of the class again in 2026.
The most dramatic moment of the Factory 500 class came from LWR Lake Wiley Racing (#F-44). Driver Joe Spoloric and throttleman Garrett Coonrod went up and over during the race, both walking away safe. The team had impressed at St. Pete, recovering from a one-minute weight penalty in qualifying to finish second. In New Orleans, Spoloric said the boat was running on rails and competing for the lead when a headwind on the exit of a turn lifted the bow and left them with nothing to grab onto. “That was a first-place boat for sure,” he said. The team were confirmed for Round 3 at Cocoa Beach before they had even dried off.
Caleb Mead and throttleman Johnny Tomlinson of the MTI-built MFR/Mead Family Racing (#F-5) scored 79 points at New Orleans, exactly matching their St. Pete result, and sit fifth in the championship on 158. Goodboy Vodka (#F-25) finished sixth for the second round running, consistent if not spectacular.
Super Cat: CR Racing redeems St. Pete pole
The Super Cat class delivered on the promise of the St. Petersburg qualifying result that never converted. CR Racing (#8) qualified on pole at St. Pete and finished fifth. In New Orleans they won the class outright with 104 points, one of the standout individual round performances across the full field.
Despite not winning either round, C.J. Grant Racing/Graydel (#54) leads the Super Cat championship on 187 points, having finished second at both events and built a base of consistency that neither of the round winners has matched. Dirty Money Racing (#3) and CR Racing (#8) are both locked on 177 points in second and third, separated only by their round result countback. Wicked (#6), the St. Pete podium finisher, did not compete at New Orleans and sits sixth in the championship on their 86-point St. Pete total.
Mod Vee: Clouatre Cartel takes the win, championship race tightens
Clouatre Cartel Racing (#74) reversed their St. Pete result, moving from third to first with a 102-point New Orleans win. NMB RV Resort (#33), who won Round 1, finished second, and Boatfloater.com/Scott Free Racing (#2) completed the podium for the second consecutive round in third place.
In the championship, NMB RV Resort leads on 193 points with Clouatre Cartel Racing just 8 back on 185. Stephen Kildahl and his father Steve are third in the Mod Vee championship on 174, consistent across both rounds and within reach of both leading teams.
Bracket classes: familiar winners and a new name in Class 600
The bracket class heats ran on Saturday afternoon at Bucktown Harbor, with the higher-numbered classes leading the programme.
Class 700 again went to Pist’n Broke (#744), winning at New Orleans for the second consecutive round to extend their championship lead to 208 total points. Dirt Legal Velocity Factory Racing (#789) improved from third to second, while Team Progression REDRUM (#730) dropped from second to third. The two teams are locked together on 178 championship points, equal on total but separated by round result.
Class 600 produced the biggest change from St. Pete. Hammerheads (#628) moved from third at St. Pete to first at New Orleans, the most significant bracket-class improvement of the round. New entrant Islandscapes (#605) came in from nowhere to finish second in their first IHRA round appearance, pushing Ride Legal (#611) to third. In the championship standings, Hammerheads lead on 189 with Ride Legal second on 179.
Class 500 saw Back inAction (#576) and Damon Marotta’s Fuel 1 Team (#588) trade positions from St. Pete. Back inAction, who won Round 1, crossed first again, consolidating a championship lead of 209 points. Fuel 1 Team, who bring relentless energy to the class according to the team’s own description of their programme, moved from second to third in New Orleans, with YabbaDabbaDoo (#577) jumping from fifth to second.
Class 400 produced a position reversal at the front. Shocker Offshore (#421), third at St. Pete, won New Orleans. Team 407 Offshore, competing as Team UK (#407) in New Orleans, dropped from first to second, but leads the championship by 8 points over Shocker Offshore on 193 to 185. Kyle Dietzen and throttleman Chris McElwee of Burning Man Offshore Racing did not appear in the New Orleans results.
Class 200 retained its Round 1 winner, with OC Racing (#221) claiming back-to-back victories and the championship lead on 205 points. New entrant Victory USA (#269) finished second in their first New Orleans appearance. Justice League (#208) dropped from second to third after their St. Pete runner-up result.
Class 300 did not feature at New Orleans. WeHaulBoats.com and Team Woody Racing carry their St. Pete points totals of 101 and 90 into the remainder of the season.
Championship standings: two rounds down, three to go
Monster Energy/M-CON’s dominance of Pro Class 1 is the clearest championship picture in any class, leading by 39 points from Outta Pocket Racing on 206.5 to 167.5. And with MTI/GC Racing just two points behind, they have to watch their back.
In Superstock, the gap from first to sixth is just 59 points across a 16-boat field, making it the most open title fight on the programme. Supercat’s three-way lead group, with just 10 points covering second through third, is similarly unresolved.
The teams that have been consistent across both rounds are building foundations: Back inAction leads Class 500 on 209 points with two wins from two, Pist’n Broke heads Class 700 on 208 with the same record, and OC Racing leads Class 200 on 205 points with back-to-back victories. Those positions will be tested when the series arrives at Cocoa Beach.
Next stop: Thunder on Cocoa Beach
Round 3 of the 2026 IHRA Offshore Powerboat Championship moves to the Space Coast of east central Florida for the Thunder on Cocoa Beach, scheduled for May 14 to 17. The venue is known for traditionally rough Atlantic water conditions, the kind of seas that send race boats skyward. After New Orleans tested the teams in choppy lake chop, Cocoa Beach will offer a different challenge entirely. LWR Lake Wiley Racing have already confirmed they will be there.
Full results: ihraoffshore.livemotorsports.com
Sources: IHRA Offshore Series official results; New Orleans Powerboat Grand Prix Daily Schedule of Events; IHRA National Series Points Standings; IHRA Offshore Series official post-race statements.
