Dave Villwock gets to keep his Seafair Chevrolet Cup hydroplane trophy.

The Auburn native, who actually finished second in the championship heat on Lake Washington on Aug. 3, became the winner in his U-1 Miss Ellstrom Elam Plus when the U-37 Miss Beacon Plumbing was assessed a one-minute penalty for what essentially was going too slow prior to the start.

The Beacon, owned by Schumacher racing, immediately filed a protest. That protest was denied on Aug. 12, thereby upholding the penalty call by chief referee Mike Noonan because it was, according to the American Boat Racing Association, a judgment call.

The victory was the first this season for Villwock, and the 56th of his career. He and the Ellstrom team skipped the three eastern U.S. races earlier this season to focus on their plans of bringing hydroplane racing to Europe and the Middle East.