Racing under the name EXTRACTOR in three different Superboats over the past 18 years, Jim Laznovsky understands the meaning of the word perseverance. One of the oldest and most successful racing teams on the circuit, the EXTRACTOR has endured every fathomable scenario from never having had a sponsor to sucking in a crab trap float in Key West which cost them a world championship.

In 1979 Jim Laznovsky drove his first race boat, a 24-foot Superboat, to victory with another young novice boat racer, Artie Swanson. In 1980 Laznovsky's thirst for power was again quenched with a 30-foot Superboat rigged with triple 200 Mercury outboards, and over the course of the next four years, he acquired numerous titles all over the country including the three time NPBA championship, second and third place national championships in the APBA and second at the world's for three years. Now a seasoned racer, Laznovsky stepped up again into the Modified class in 1984 with a Zul powered, MRD rigged 32-foot Superboat cat.

After again winning the NPBA championship for another four years after moving up to the Modified class, the EXTRACTOR became known as "King of the East." Laznovsky enjoyed many triumphs over the next ten years, but the world championship was always just out of reach. But Murphy's Laws stood true to the test of time - that is, until 1993. This proverbial underdog had the dubious honor of placing second at the world's six or eight times due to everything from midnight boat repairs in the pouring rain, mechanical problems, blown engines, and yes, that infamous crab trap float.

Laznovsky recalled, "One year we even beat JESSE JAMES, the national champion, two out of three races and came in second to a European boat." But this dog finally had his day when the championships were moved to Fort Lauderdale in 1993, and they took home the checkered flag, and John Coen, owner of Superboats and lifelong friend of Laznovsky, drove the boat.

After a one-year hiatus from racing, Laznovsky and the EXTRACTOR racing team plans a return to the national circuit, and Laznovsky is optimistic contending "The boat's been overhauled: New engines, new paint job, and a new crew, the only thing that hasn't changed is the hull- thirteen years and not a stress crack for wear." - OFFSHORE RACING MAGAZINE, Spring 1997