Stanecki

Stanecki - JS-8

Owner: Gary Stanecki

Year Built: 1978

Hull Design: Verga

Power: Chevy 350

Resides In: Neptune City, N.J.

I would like to post this skiff on the Boats By Names. The boat I believe was built in 1978. It is the Verga of all Vergas. From what I was told this boat was built for and by Mike Larson after he left Bud Benders team. I am still researching the history of this boat so any help to the correct past about this boat will be helpful. Now everyone that owned the boat before Me is still alive so I'll get back to you with the real history of the boat. It was Mike Larsons who was the first owner out of Toms River, N.J. Then a fella named Mike Knight . The whole time the JS-8 was called the J Factor . Somewhere along the line Charlie Cron ended up with it and repainted it and renamed it JS-8 The Wrath of Cron. I raced for him in 1997 and won in the ECRBC. after my dad died. I bought it off of Charlie and Painted it and renamed it JS-8 "Stanecki" This is my dads boat I will never sell it ,I bought it for him. Thanks for your time and this boat will make it to a Vintage rallye.

Gary

The following was supplied by Charlie Cron:

The JS-8 is every bit the equal of the "INDIAN SUMMER" historically, only a lot faster. The 8 has been a winner, a dominator since she hit the water. Mike Laurse and Rob G always struck me as very similar people when it came to racing. Both boats have beautiful mahogany decks, both really get around the turns, and both spend very little time out of the water preferring to go straight and fast down the straights. If the two raced together, well the 8 never ran a 283,and the 11 never had a 331 in her. I do know that both in racing trim as raced would leave the Summer far behind. Mike Laursen and Frank Verga built the js-8 after Mike left bud bender. The original name of the boat was " MAY BE LUCKY TOO". Mike built most of the hardware at his family business, Laursen sheet metal in Toms River. The engines were 327" nothing real fancy chevys built by Louie Kupper. Mike came out and ruled the field with the 8 but he was also often heard on the Toms River testing/tuning and getting it right. I can't remember the 8 getting beat by a skiff and only once or twice by anything else (ski boat or garvey). Mike sold the boat to Ron Knight of point pleasant. Ron named the boat "J FACTOR" The engine Ron used was a 327 from the McBetts engine shop. Ron was a good rookie driver but in his first years he took on a rider who every body disliked. Poor Ron was cut off, washed down, and generally was given a hard time by the other skiff racers because of "BOO BOO" Tony Moscia his rider. At a race in Bayville Ron and Berrnie Plungis wound up tangling in turn 4 and the deck was hurt and Bernie actually flipped the "SKICK ITT". Ron sold the boat to Ken Doust who had in the past raced a Kevlar bender (INDAGO) with the pinies. Ken was pulling the boat up the parkway when his tire fell off by Charlie crons exit. The 8 wound up sitting in the driveway untill mom Cron said enough of this! I wound up buying the 8 thru mac tools (ken was a dealer), the real deal was a dino which wound up at Don Campanella's drag shop. I had Hans Pederson master shipwright put on a new mahogany deck, My good friend Phil Alepa (ps101 Freedom) painted her the most beautiful combination of Black/pink/gold/blues I'd ever seen, I powder coated the hardware and redid most everything. I renamed her "WRATH OF CRON" as a spoof of the movie and a spoof of the pinie club. The engine was a 331" sprint car block by Charlie Hill, 461 heads by swanko heads, crower rods, Ross 13.8:1 pistons ,baker pro series carb all assembled and set up by A&A engine dynamics. The propellers were by SKED, of course. During the 1997 season there were some fast 350ci skiffs racing at the jersey shore and Gary only failed to win once when he lost a photo finish of a heat he had a hard time getting her started. Championship day during his heat in the first 5 lap race he went so far ahead he actually shut the boat off and waited before winning in a drag race to the line. In the actual championship he pulled out a 3/4 lap lead and coasted to his first championship. All this with a 7400 chip in the msd box. Following the death of my Mom I sold the boat to Gary and he has her just waiting for one of these "fast" boats to come down to play. See till somebody can beat the "General" he doesn't see the need to run her. I have been told by some who are "true" racing historians the the 8 is the fastest skiff they have ever seen, and I agree.