TEAM STIHL

Driver   --   Bob "JR" Noble

Bob “JR” Noble is originally from Grand Rapids Michigan and moved to Orlando Florida in 1989. He is married with one son who served in the U.S. Marine Corp and is now attending Community College, two step daughters one attending Rollins College Graduate program and the other a freshman at the University of Alabama and two Labs named Bailey and Brandy. His wife Kathy is originally from Clermont Florida and is employed  as Director of the Total Rewards Service Center for Darden Restaurants whose corporate headquarters is located in Orlando.
 
J.R. is employed at Stihl Southeast Inc. a wholesale distributor representing  STIHL® outdoor power equipment serving Florida, Alabama, Georgia and many of  the island territories. He started with the company in 1989 when it opened  acting as Sales Manager and was promoted to President in 1999. 

J.R. and Kathy invested in the STIHL Offshore Racing Team in 2007 when they  commissioned Doug Wright to build a 32’ catamaran.  Grants custom rigging completed the boat with the inaugural race being in  Panama City, October 2007.  In 2009 Jr and Grant drove the STIHL boat to a National and World Championship.  Mid year 2010 Jr sold the Doug Wright and purchased a 388 Skater from Douglas Marine.  The boat is powered by a pair of 525 HP Mercury engines with Number six drives and was rigged by Grants Custom Rigging.  Although a limited schedule in 2010 the new Skater ran exceptionally well out of the box crossing the finish line 1st in half its races and 2nd in the remainder.
 

“Win or lose offshore racing is great fun and many of the individuals involved  in the sport are genuinely nice people and fun to be associated with…”

Throttle   --   Grant Bruggemann

Grant Bruggemann started in the marine industry at the young age of 16 at his home in Australia.  He currently owns and operates Grant’s Custom Rigging in Ft. Lauderdale, FL drawing on 25 years of performance boat experience.  Over the past 10 years, Grant has raced with over 12 Offshore Powerboat teams across the US, Canada, the Caribbean, and the Middle East, including SuperCat, Cat Light, SuperBoat 750, SuperBoat Unlimited, SuperStock, Cat Outboard, and X-Cat teams.  He resides in Cooper City, Florida with his wife Sherry and daughter Kenlee.  When he’s not in a boat, Grant spends his time racing mountain and road bikes throughout the Southeast and Bahamas.

Crew   --   Dave Hutchinson

Dave Hutchinson has been a focal point of the STIHL Racing crew since the team’s inception.  His responsibilities include transporting the boat and trailer to all races and corporate events, setting up and maintaining the pit area and assisting in preparing the boat on race day.  He is also the primary spotter for the team. 

Dave, otherwise known as “Hutch”, is STIHL Southeast’s Merchandising Specialist. He has been with the company for over 10 years and is responsible for the layout of STIHL products on any recently installed new STIHL dealerships and remodels. 

Crew   --   Jake Noble

Jake Noble serves as a crew member to the STIHL race boat team.  He assists in driving the race boat’s support trailer and helps with set up of the boat and pit area.  Jake was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1987 and after graduating high school in 2005 he joined the Marines and eventually was deployed to Iraq in 2007 as a tank driver/mechanic.  He ended his tour two years later and is currently a student at Valencia Community college with plans to transfer to the University of Central Florida in 2012..  Jake is pursuing a degree in Business Marketing. 

Crew   --   Sherry Bruggemann