POINT PLEASANT BEACH — Kyle Miller and Jason Wohltman of Speed Marine, the champions of the ProStock V class of the 2021 Point Pleasant Beach Grand Prix, once again have their eyes on this year’s first-place prize.
“We’re planning to win again,” said Mr. Miller. “We thrive on competition; that’s what fuels us.”
The duo are not only racing partners and good friends, but together they operate Speed Marine, LLC at 549 Mantoloking Road in Brick Township.
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Mr. Wohltman began racing when he was 20. His very first race was the 2004 Point Pleasant Beach Grand Prix in the position of throttleman. He was accompanied by driver Chris Carbone on the Papa Duke’s race boat.
Mr. Wohltman describes his first time racing with one word: scary.
“I was scared to go out of the inlet,” he said. “I was shell-shocked to experience something that I thought was a lot easier…I was scared the whole time.”
Despite his initial fears, Mr. Wohltman said that the competition was “very good” and that he and Mr. Carbone took third place in Class 5.
Mr. Wohltman and Mr. Carbone continued to race together aboard the Papa Dukes until 2009.
Mr. Miller joined Mr. Wohltman in 2012 in Class 7 on the Woah Mama race team boat as the driver.
Together they won the Offshore Grand Prix world championships on Solomon’s Island, Maryland two years in a row in 2013 and 2014.
In 2015 they moved up to Class 6, winning the world championships again this time in Englewood, Florida.
Since 2016, Mr. Miller and Mr. Wohltman have been racing a fully restored 1997 ProStock V lime-green Phantom that was rebuilt in 2019. The watercraft can hit speeds up to 95 miles per hour and in race conditions, it does between 75 to 85 miles per hour, according to Mr. Miller.
Together they have traveled up and down the East Coast, racing this boat.
Mr. Miller said that as a kid, he used to watch the boat race each year, back when it was the Benihana Offshore Grand Prix.
“It’s my hometown race. I grew up on that beach,” said Mr. Miller. “Being able to win it means something. It’s a dream come true.”
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