Ken Anderson just felt like dancing. And he had reason to.

The Bend resident had just won the International Hot Boat Association World Finals in the 11-second stock eliminator class.

The event was held Nov. 18-21 in Phoenix, Ariz., and after winning, Anderson wasted little time celebrating.

”I danced on the out ramp,” said Anderson, 45, who had concluded just his second year of drag-boat racing. ”It was pretty cool. I was screaming and dancing as they pulled the boat out of the water.”

The IHBA drag-boat event started with a series of head-to-head races in which racers qualified for the elimination round over a two-day period. Anderson reached Monday’s elimination round as the third-seeded driver in the 11-second class – where the first to finish a head-to-head, quarter-mile race wins, as long as they don’t finish faster than 11 seconds. Boats are classified by their capabilities of speed and power, and if they’re too fast for one class they must compete in a faster division.

Anderson defeated a racer from Phoenix and then a competitor from Texas to win the title.

”It was an upset,” Anderson said. ”The little guy from Oregon going down to big Phoenix. I was pretty excited about that.”

He was also excited about the $750 cash and the big bronze trophy he won.

The best drag-boat racers from across the country competed at the world finals, which also served as the finale of the IHBA’s National Points Series. Anderson finished just 100 points shy of the points championship for his class. (Racers get 100 points every time they win a round of a race).

But Anderson was ecstatic to settle for the world final victory.

”This is my biggest victory, and it’s only my second year of racing,” he said.

Earlier this season, Anderson placed second at the Neil Donegan Classic in Lakeside (near Coos Bay) and finished second again at the Northwest Nationals at Dexter Reservoir (near Springfield).

Anderson was accompanied in Phoenix by his wife, Debbie, and their 13-year-old daughter, Chelsea, who helped him get his boat in and out of the water.

Anderson’s boat is a 1978 Kurtis Hydro with a 468-cubic-inch engine and 700 horsepower. It can reach speeds of up to 115 mph, and he says it’s capable of racing in the 10-second class, but he added that he doesn’t plan to move to that division for another two years.

Several boats in faster classes at the Phoenix event completed a quarter-mile in 4.8 seconds.

Anderson got his start in drag-boat racing by towing boats at Columbia Drag Boat Association events around the Northwest. He eventually decided to build his own boat, and he began competing last season.

”It’s an adrenaline rush,” Anderson said. ”You step on it and the noise and the feeling is just raw power. When you leave the line, it’s a real strong pull all the way through, up to 100 miles per hour.”

Anderson – a general manager at Kirby Nagelhout Construction in Bend – said he still considers drag-boat racing just a hobby, adding that he always tries to stay within his budget. He said he plans to race in next season’s IHBA opener on Memorial Day Weekend in Red Bluff, Calif.