News from July, 2003! Official entry list for
Seafair! Problems plague the UL17
Ted's Red Apple Markets According to co-owner Shawn Bridgeman, the team "noticed a slight drop in oil pressure. Upon pulling the engine and performing a bearing check we determined that in fact some bearings were starting to spin. We feel this is due in part to over revving the engine due to a broken propeller shaft". The propeller shaft broke in Detroit at the River-Cruise event on July 13th. This means 12 Unlimited Light teams are now entered for the Seafair event in Seattle. Testing will be held Friday afternoon and Saturday morning (Aug. 1 & 2) on the Ted Jones race course with all heats of racing on Saturday, August 2nd. KIRO TV Channel 7, Seattle will air the entire Unlimited Lights Final Heat as part of its day-long Seafair Sunday telecast, on August 3rd. Shawn Bridgeman added that the UL17 team expects
to be ready to resume racing at the Olympia WA Speedfest on Black Lake at
Columbus Park, on August 9th & 10th. Looking for the
Unlimited Lights at Seafair this weekend?
Looking ahead to Seafair
... the action returns this weekend! So far we're seeing similar speeds from supercharged & non supercharged teams in the straight-aways. Some carburetor teams believe that this year's more restricted superchargers still have an advantage in torque off the turns, which may make a difference in Seattle, but possibly less of a difference in San Diego with the longer run to the finish line. The primary gap though, is only one formerly successful carburetor team is currently running a supercharger, and that is the UL15 Mike's Hard Lemonade team of Jerry & Greg Hopp. This very successful Jamie Auld hull won 12 times with Bo Schide driving for Ned Allen in the 90's, before the boat was acquired by Hopp Racing. It won once more as a carburetor team for Hopp Racing before being converted in 2002. The first half of that season was less than scintillating for the UL15 squad in 2002 as they worked out the "bugs" in adapting to the supercharger system. Once they did, with a brand new Ed Trihey motor starting in Seattle last year, the team rolled through the final 3 events with 3 victories. Those wins were with the former supercharger engine specs, which allowed each team to run the supercharger 10% faster then the crankshaft (engine) speed, or "10 over" as they say. In the off-season prior to the 2003 campaign, and with the full cooperation of the UL15 team, the technical specs of the supercharger teams were adjusted. First, while no teams in 2002 elected to run with this model, the 871 supercharger was eliminated from the series. All teams with superchargers in 2002 ran the smaller 671 "blower" at the "10 over" specs. The 871, if chosen, could only be run at "10 under". Second, the "10 over" maximum allowed for the 671 supercharger was reduced to "20 under". Yes, that means that teams in 2002 that were allowed to run the supercharger 10% faster than the engine, can now run the supercharger no more than 20% SLOWER than the engine speed. In addition, 100 pounds were added to the minimum weight of a supercharged UL team, going from 2,600 lbs in 2002 to 2,700 lbs in 2003. That means there can be anywhere from a 200 lb to a 700 lb weight advantage for non supercharged teams, depending on their choice of approved Unlimited Light engine packages. For example, 3 time defending champion of the series, the UL72 Red Rocket of Phil Bononcini runs the 511 cubic inch non supercharged engine. Minimum weight required for that program is 2,500 lbs. But the UL929 of Vince "X-Man" Xaudaro runs the 468 cubic inch naturally aspirated engine with stock heads. His minimum weight requirement is a mere 2,000 lbs. But just so this paragraph can go a bit longer, there is one exception to the supercharger specs. For any team with a hull that weighs in excess of 2,950 lbs, they can apply for an exemption to the rule and be allowed to run their supercharger at 90% of engine speed or "10 under". This takes into account the extra weight these craft carry. All of the boats that have applied for and are running with the extra 10% of supercharger speed are former GP (Grand Prix) hydroplane hulls. In that class, which is struggling to stay active, teams could run supercharged engine packages that developed 1400 horsepower or more. With the limitations of the UL engine specs, a supercharged engine in this series is developing less than 1,000 hp; about a 1/3 reduction from their previous days as GP hulls. Why the limitations and variations? Because the Unlimited Light category began as a outgrowth of the APBA's Grand National Hydroplane class (GNH) which is an all naturally aspirated racing class and all of those boats in the UL series are naturally aspirated. In 2001, the choice was made by the ULHRA Board of Directors to offer a "supercharged engine spec" for teams that wanted that option. Some teams believe they can build a competitive supercharged engine for less money than a competitive non supercharged engine. Just as important, after 2 1/2 seasons of competition, the supercharged engine option has proven very popular with racing fans. So the rules were "tweaked" in the winter of 2002-2003 in an attempt to maintain a relative level playing field for all engine packages approved for Unlimited Light Hydroplane competition. Based on the results for the first three races of the season, and the number of different heat winner, the rules may be having their desired result. In race number one at Issaquah, Hopp Racing's UL15 Mike's Hard Lemonade continued it's string of successes, winning it's 4th straight race dating back to Seafair 2002. But that was the end of the line of their winning streak, as in Valleyfield, Quebec, Canada, Patrick Haworth in the UL10 Frazee Paint from Wiggins Racing in Alabama captured the victory. The following week in Detroit, now part-time racers Haas Racing with the UL110 Windows Server 2003 and Randy Haas driving, captured the Microsoft Windows Automotive Division Silver Cup, presented by the Detroit Yacht Club. The points chase is very interesting as well. Even though there are no race victories for the UL72 Red Rocket of Phil Bononcini, he leads the driver's points race, while the UL15 leads the team standings. Second in driver's points is the consistent Steve Hook from the UL19 Windows SharePoint Services, who scored two heat victories at Issaquah and one at Detroit. Third in driver's points is Jerry Hopp in the UL15. Since Hopp shared driving duties with son Greg in the season opener at Issaquah (won by Greg) the senior Hopp doesn't hold the driver's points lead, but the team does in the overall standings. However, with Greg Hopp's season ending injuries from an Unlimited hydroplane accident in Madison IN, Jerry will drive all the heats remaining this season. With only 525 points separating 1st to third in the driver's title chase, it should be a very interesting competition through Port Angeles in early October. 4th in the driver's chase is the pleasantly surprising Kevin Aylesworth in the UL5 San Diego Thunderboat. This team has resurrected a concept that most had abandoned; the tandem wing design of Ron Jones Sr. With several updates suggested by Jones in the off-season, and the conversion to supercharged power with the Glen Davis-George Woods supercharged engine, this team has come alive. While having some difficulties turning on the short & tight courses so far this season, this team may find favor with the bigger courses in Seattle, and at their home race in San Diego. They've certainly shown they have straightaway speed to match any team in the UL series. Over on the team standings, the UL15 holds the lead over the UL72 by only 315 points. Third place is the UL19, but 4th place is the venerable UL14, also from Hopp Racing. "Steady as she goes" ought to be the nickname of this 1971 Ron Jones hull. With 3 different drivers this season, it's secured 2 fourth place finishes. Sponsorship will determine how high this boat finishes in the final standings. If sponsorship is secured for the UL14 to race the final 4 events, who knows what the "old girl" can do. The biggest threat to making a move on the leaders would appear to be boat racing's own "Alabama Gang". From Gadsden, AL, Milton & Charley Wiggins UL10 has shown it can run with anyone, whether being driven to victory by Patrick Haworth in Canada, or to a runner-up finish in Detroit with Cal Phipps in the cockpit. If you're looking for consistency and competitiveness in driving, as the old auto dealership commercial used to say "Go See Cal. Phipps has raced 3 times in the UL series. Each time was in the UL10, and each time he scored a 2nd place finish. With an even better percentage is the Canadian, Haworth. He's raced in only two Final Heats in UL competition; 2002 at Tri Cities in the UL72, and 2003 in the UL10 at Valleyfield. Both times, he won. Maybe Milton & Charley ought to start a second team and have both Phipps and Haworth in their drivers' stable. That's probably something the rest of the UL fleet would hope doesn't occur. The Wiggins UL10 team is making the trek west for Seafair and Olympia and San Diego. Despite being 1170 points behind the leader as a result of not racing at Issaquah, this team could be a championship contender by Port Angeles in October. Of the rest, the two teams to watch closely are the UL38 and UL17. Dave Bender, owner-driver of the UL38 Golden Nugget Casino/Security Race Products team is always a contender. Last season, despite several engine failures during the season, he was one heat victory away from the driver's title. This year the team is running a reduced schedule. At Issaquah they finished a solid 2nd place behind Greg Hopp. Last year at Seattle, Bender, along with Jerry Hopp & Phil Bononcini put on a classic duel for in the Final Heat, won by Hopp, with Bononcini edging Bender for 2nd. Bender is a 4 time winner on the Unlimited Lights circuit. His career as Vice President of Operations for Aerojet, Inc of Sacramento keeps him from racing fulltime. In fact, Bender was on hand at Cape Canaveral on July 17th for the launch of the Atlas 5 rocket that carried two "strap on" booster rockets built by Aerojet. The launch of a communications satellite was a success. The UL17 Miss Ted's Red Apple Markets team seems to be gaining on the field, although their overall success so far has been limited. This is the first time the Rick & Shawn Bridgeman team has competed on the entire UL circuit. Their Gary Pugh P.E.D. supercharged engine program with their 1991 Jon Staudacher ex-GP hull is demonstrating more competitiveness each time out. It could be that the bigger Seattle course is just what this team needs. Oh, before I forget, the heat winners so far this year include........ For the Unlimited Lights, there will testing on Friday, August 1st at Seattle, and racing on Saturday. Coverage of the Lights racing will be included on KIRO TV Channel 7 (Seattle) Seafair Sunday telecast. We will also have video highlights on this site, following the competition. It's great for our teams to have a couple of weeks to prepare for Seattle. Come race day, August 2nd in Seattle, it promises to be a tremendous event. See you there! John Lynch Unlimited Light
Hydroplane Racing Loses a Top Competitor ... Dave and Gene Bender Retire from
Racing
The Benders have also announced that their entire race team package is for sale. In fact, Bender will be transporting everything to the Seattle event, just in case someone wants to make a deal right away and drive home with their own top drawer Unlimited Light hydroplane team.....just in time for the Olympia Speedfest on August 9 & 10. Not counting the upcoming Seattle race, Bender leaves the series with 4 Unlimited Light race victories and a slew of heat wins. Bender departs almost on top, as the 2002 UL series was his best ever; taking second place in the driver's championship points battle, barely falling short of his first series title. "For 26 years boat racing has been a huge part of our lives" said Dave, " my Dad and I have been blessed with great friendships and outstanding competition" "I have to thank many people for their support over the years to include the Jones family, Al and Judy LaPointe, Bud Gilbert, Gordon Grimm, Clay Trueman and most importantly my family; Sandi, Elizabeth, Erik (Rudder), Elaine and my Dad" Bender cited business and family considerations for departing the series; not to mention his lengthy 26 years of racing. Dave is the Vice President of Operations for Aerojet, Inc. of Sacramento CA. That company participated in the successful launch of the Atlas 5 rocket on July 17th at Cape Canaveral, putting a new communications satellite into orbit. Aerojet developed a pair of "strap-on" booster rockets that provide additional thrust for the Atlas 5 in the first 90 seconds of launch. John Lynch Some of the specifics and asking prices: Bender adds that he'll make a special deal for the entire package. Like Father, like son, and
now again, like Father Jerry Hopp, Greg's father and the one responsible for getting Greg into hydroplane racing, returns to Unlimited racing. Jerry, of course is the other co-driver and owner of the UL15 Mike's Hard Lemonade team which currently leads the ULHRA points standings heading into Seafair in Seattle on August 1st & 2nd. Jerry began racing Unlimited Hydroplanes back in 1981 and is an original in the Unlimited Lights series dating back to its inception in 1995. Jerry Hopp's last foray into Unlimited Hydroplane Racing was a two event "substitute" in the U20 Jeronimo for former team owner Terry Martin of Hermiston OR. Hopp qualified but the team was not allowed to race at Tri Cities in 2001. The following weekend in Seattle, Hopp qualified 12th in the U20 (now the U-4 American Maid four-seater of Mark Evans) but since the team hadn't raced the first 3 events back east, the U20 was forced to run as the trailer boat in preliminary heats in the 13 boat field. That was the last year that 13 Unlimiteds were at Tri Cities or Seattle. Hopp will be pulling double-duty when the
Unlimiteds and the Unlimited Lights meet in Seattle, racing the UL15 Mike's Hard
Lemonade on Saturday August 2nd, and the U100 on Sunday, August 3rd. Detroit wrap (as written from Detroit to Houston to Seattle) Referee Peter Thompson declared the Toledo OH based UL110 Windows Server 2003 with Randy Haas driving, the winner of the Microsoft Windows Automotive Silver Cup. The O.J. Mulford Silver Cup, provided by the Detroit Yacht Club, was contested on the Detroit River for the first time since 1981. It dates back to 1946 and was a regular event in powerboat racing till 1961, then was brought back once in 1981. It has been on display ever since in the DYC. Haas was declared the victor even though no final heat was contested. Event organizers and water patrols were unsuccessful in keeping pleasure craft and tour boats away from the race course. So in the interest of safety, Referee Thompson called a halt after Heat 2B; a heat that two top teams, UL10 and UL15, both nearly crashed in separate close-calls caused by the un-raceable conditions. In another instance, this time in Heat 2A, five boats were exiting the Roostertail turn toward the starting line when an errant pleasure craft motored directly across their path,creating a very hazardous wake condition, and causing a red flag & red flare stoppage. The final results put Randy Haas and the UL110 first, followed by Cal Phipps in the UL10, Frazee Paint in second. Watch the Heat 2B video from Detroit (when posted) and you'll see Phipps and the UL10 nearly crash heavily at the finish line. In third was Steve Hook in the UL19 Windows SharePoint Services, followed by Phil Bononcini in the UL72 Red Rocket, Kevin Aylesworth in the UL5 San Diego Thunderboat finished fifth and 6th went to Rick Bridgeman in the UL17 Miss Ted's Red Apple Market. It was Bridgeman's first ever race on the famous and treacherous Detroit River. It was also his team's best performance since acquiring this Jon Staudacher built former Grand Prix Hull in 2002. Like the UL5 team from San Diego, the UL17 team is rapidly improving and could be a real challenger on the big course in Seattle, August 1st & 2nd. Despite the disappointing early end of the race, there was substantial good news in Detroit. The Lights and particularly Hopp Racing were again welcomed by local residents Bill & Happy Rands. They befriended Jerry Hopp back in his Unlimited Hydroplane racing days of the 80's. Since Jerry, and son Greg joined the UL circuit, the Rands have sponsored their appearance in Detroit. So, for this event, the UL15 was Happy Go Lucky Presents Mike's Hard Lemonade. The long awaited debut of Detroit's own Jerry Bell finally occurred. Bell had attempted to race with the Lights the past two years with his own team, but mechanical woes prevented him from making a start. This year Bell sold his program, and he contracted with Jerry Hopp to drive the UL14. So, the ULHRA's newest driver was at the wheel of the series' oldest boat. But don't discount the UL14, built in 1971 by Ron Jones. It currently stands 4th in the ULHRA points. Bell brought local sponsors to the UL14, billed as the Miss Better Made Special Potato Chips Presents McDonalds of Greater Detroit, supported by Northland Center and KISS 102.7 featuring Mason in the Morning. By the time I finished announcing that title on the P.A. system, the boats were already on lap #2! Bell acquitted himself well in the UL14, under the watchful coaching eye of radioman, Jerry Hopp, as Bell drove to a pair of successful heat finishes. It's hoped that Bell may be able to make more races as the season progresses, with an eye toward full season participation in 2004. Sponsorship will determine how many and when. Bell learned that his talent and marketing savvy, combined with the racing acumen of Hopp Racing, can be a potent combination. Other good news included the return of Thunder Valley Racing's UL40. As you've been able to view on the Valleyfield "B" Main video, the Front Page 2003 was significantly damaged when its rudder dislodged, driver Kelly Stocklin then had no steering capability, and the boat ran up on the rocks and jammed the right sponson into a jersey barrier. The sponson lost that "joust". However with talented Detroit help, the team was able to rebuild the front 5 feet of the right sponson, craft a new rudder bracket, build a new nose cone onto the cockpit, and make other repairs. The tasks were finally completed Saturday afternoon so the team only missed one heat,and raced on Sunday. More good news: The X-Man started and finished his first heat of the year. It's been nothing but ill fortune for the Microsoft Project team so far. Their original UL929 hull, built over a decade ago by Ed Karelson, had problems with the belly pan at the season opener. Though owner-driver Vince Xaudaro made complete repairs after the Issaquah race, an opportunity was presented and he purchased last season's UL37 from John Hogan Racing, the boat that's campaigned selectively on the ULHRA circuit, and also won the GNH World Championship at Hampton VA last summer. Xaudaro had electrical woes at Valleyfield with the new ride and failed to finish a heat. In his first heat at Detroit Vince thought there was a problem and he shut down as a precaution. In the pits he determined there was no problem, and in Heat 2B Xaudaro nearly beat Cal Phipps in the UL10. Much improvement is expected from this team beginning in Seattle, where this hull has run competitively in previous years. The bad news from Detroit, was for a couple of teams. First, Pingree Conflitti in the UL58 SharePoint Portal Services lost the engine in their Saturday heat. Repairs couldn't be made, so the team has a couple weeks to rebuild what's been a very reliable motor, before heading out to Seattle. The other bad news almost sent the UL51 Microsoft Windows Automotive entry to the bottom of the Detroit River. Racing side by side with Cal Phipps, George Woods was exiting the Roostertail turn when something splashed in the water to Woods left, and the boat went dead in the water. What splashed was a portion of the supercharged engine's flywheel. The flywheel actually shattered into at least 3 pieces. The splash was one piece of flywheel after it exited the boat, ripping the left side deck and several hoses and lines in the process. A second piece lodged in the right side of the engine well. The worst offender was the third piece which went through the bottom of the boat. Only quick action by the rescue team got the UL51 to the crane instead of the boat going to the bottom of the river. Substantial repairs await the team, led by Crew Chief John Flaherty, at their shop in Issaquah, WA. Since the event couldn't be conducted as a proper UL race, officials determined that each team would receive 225 third place points for each heat finished. As it turned out, a maximum of 450 points was available, since the Final Heat could not be conducted. But after three races, the ULHRA has a dandy points race and lots to look forward to over the final 4 races of the season. The totals below show that Phil Bononcini leads the driver's standings, while Jerry Hopp's UL15 leads the team standings. That's because in race #1, Jerry and son Greg alternated driving. But since Greg's season ending accident in Madison IN on July 5th, Jerry will pull solo duty in the UL15 the rest of the way. With only 525 points separating the 3rd place Hopp from the 1st place Bononcini, it should be a dandy driver's race for the points title all season long. Who's in second? None other than Steve Hook in the UL19. Consistent high finishes by the Windows SharePoint Services team will keep Hook right in the middle of the driver's title chase. With improving teams like the UL5, UL17, and UL929, plus the highly competitive UL10 of Wiggins Racing, which will run in the northwest as Parker Paint, the series championships for team and driver should go down to the wire in Port Angeles in early October. Another top team, Dave Bender in the UL38 Golden Nugget Casino also returns to the series in Seattle, providing what should be that city's most competitive Unlimited Lights race, yet. And that's saying a lot when you remember that Bender, Hopp, and Bononcini put on the Final Heat of the year in 2002 at Seattle, with all 3 racing into the final turn with a shot at victory that went to Hopp, followed by Bononcini and then Bender. Each team had led in that thrilling final heat. A rerun on August 2nd would be no surprise. Plus, with the first 1 2/3's mile race course of the year awaiting the teams in Seattle, it will be interesting to see how the 2003 supercharger restrictions fare on Seafair's Ted Jones race course. Series Team totals follow, with Driver totals below. DRIVER HIGH POINT Total John Lynch
When:
August 9TH-10TH THE
BOYS ARE BACK IN TOWN!!!!! ADMISSION
$5.00 SPECTACULAR SPECTATOR VIEWING AREA FOOD VENDORS AND OTHERS LIVE ENTERTAINMENT DRIVER AUTOGRAPHS PIT TOURS STEAK
DINNERS AND OR SPAGHETTI FEED TICKETS WILL BE SOLD FOR SATURDAY EVENING SO DON'T MISS THE ACTION PACKED WEEKEND!!!!!! DIRECTIONS:
FROM NORTH TAKE I-5 SOUTH TO OLYMPIA TO HOGHWAY 101/ OCEAN BEACH EXIT TAKE WEST Bender eagerly watches at Cape
Canaveral Why this launch? And what's this Atlas 5? Dave explained that the Atlas 5 is the latest derivative of the original Atlas booster rocket that propelled John Glenn and the other Mercury astronauts into earth orbit in the early 60's. Now called the Atlas 5, its more powerful rockets include a pair of "strap-on" boosters supplied by Aerojet Inc. of Sacramento, California. Bender is the Vice President of Operations for Aerojet and has been greatly involved in the "strap-on" booster project. From an Aerojet company news release "This third Atlas 5 mission will mark the debut of the rocket's 500-series configuration. The vehicle is distinguished by a much larger five-meter (16.4-foot) diameter nose cone. The Swiss fairing was built by Contraves Space for Lockheed Martin. In addition, two strap-on solid rocket motors will be used to give the Atlas 5 additional thrust during the first 90 seconds of flight. The Aerojet-made boosters can be flown on both the Atlas 5 400-series and 500-series." Lockheed Martin has set the launch of the Atlas V with Aerojet's boosters for 7:20 p.m. on Thursday, July 17. Aerojet produced the solid rocket boosters under a contract awarded by Lockheed Martin in 1999. The two boosters that will be used in the July 17 launch were delivered to Cape Canaveral on May 22. Yes, the members of this series are going places, just like the Unlimited Lights. We proudly wish Dave Bender and Aerojet a successful launch, and look forward to Dave rejoining the series in Seattle. John Lynch Looking back on the 2003
Valleyfield race!
John Lynch In Detroit we race for
the Silver Cup! BRIEF HISTORY OF THE SILVER CUP (1946-1981) The Silver Cup was one of the first major trophies to be offered for Unlimited hydroplane competition in the years following World War II. It was sponsored annually between 1946 and 1961 by the Detroit Yacht Club and on a one-time-only basis in 1981 by the Spirit Of Detroit Association. Officially inscribed as the "O.J. Mulford Silver Cup," the award was donated by the family of a deceased DYC regatta official. For the first fifteen years after the war, two Unlimited races were traditionally run annually on the Detroit River. The Detroit Yacht Club hosted the Silver Cup, which was usually run in late-August or early-September. The Detroit River Racing Association, which later became the Windmill Pointe Yacht Club, presented the Detroit Memorial Regatta in either late-June or early-July. The first Silver Cup contest was offered as a consolation prize at the 1946 APBA Gold Cup Regatta in Detroit. Those boats that were eliminated after the first round of preliminary heats for the Gold Cup ran in a 15-mile race for the Silver Cup. Lou Fageol was the winning owner/driver of history's first Silver Cup race at the wheel of SO-LONG, JR. (G-1), a Gold Cup Class rig that was the prototype for the as yet unorganized 7-Litre Class. Powered by a Fageol bus engine, SO-LONG, JR. was a non-prop-riding three-point Ventnor hydroplane. Lou posted an average speed of 63.399 miles per hour on a 3-mile course. The Silver Cup was elevated from secondary status to the top of the shelf in 1947. NOTRE DAME was the winner that year with designer/builder Dan Arena at the wheel. NOTRE DAME, owned by Herb Mendelson, was a 1940 vintage step hydroplane, powered by a 24-cylinder Duesenberg engine. The boat was still in competition as late as 1959 as Chuck Doran's MISS RICOCHET. Step hydroplanes continued to dominate Silver Cup competition for the next couple of years. Harold Wilson took the trophy home in 1948 with MISS CANADA III as did Bill Cantrell in 1949 with MY SWEETIE. MISS PEPSI--another fast-stepper--nearly won the 1950 Silver Cup. But the driver, Chuck Thompson, in a sporting gesture, admitted that he had cut a buoy. The victory thus went by default to Danny Foster in SUCH CRUST I, an Allison-powered three-pointer, owned by Jack Schafer, Sr. Fan favorite Thompson was rewarded for his good sportsmanship of the year before with a decisive victory in 1951 with the twin-Allison-powered MISS PEPSI (nicknamed "The Mahogany Cigar"). "Champion Chuck" won all five 12-mile heats that day. Detroit electrical contractor Joe Schoenith grabbed the next two Silver Cups with his Arena-designed three-pointer, GALE II. "The Old Pro" Danny Foster won it for him in 1952, while the boat's regular driver (Lee Schoenith, Joe's son) was away in military service in Korea. Lee returned for the 1953 Silver Cup but needed help from his friend Foster, who stepped in as relief driver and won the second heat with GALE II. The 1954 race proved to be the "Last Hurrah"--a glorious one--for the old-style step hydroplanes, which had by this time been overshadowed by the speedier three-point hydros. A variety of mechanical difficulties knocked the sponson boats out of the running in the 1954 Silver Cup, which went to Horace Dodge, Jr.'s DORA MY SWEETIE and driver Jack Bartlow. Dodge, who had never liked the three-point design, had the thrill of watching three of his boats (DORA MY SWEETIE, MY SWEETIE, and JOHN FRANCIS MY SWEETIE) run one-two-three in the Final Heat. The 1955 Silver Cup had the added distinction of being designated the "National Championship Race" for Unlimiteds by the APBA Inboard Racing Commission. Danny Foster, driving Guy Lombardo's TEMPO VII, emerged victorious after a battle royal with Bill Cantrell in GALE V. The 1956 Silver Cup was a somewhat lackluster affair, because a lot of teams were preparing for the Gold Cup, scheduled two weeks later. Don Wilson won the Silver Cup with George Simon's erratic-riding MISS U.S. II. For the first eleven years of the Silver Cup's existence, all of the winners were Easterners. That changed in 1957 when Seattle boats finished first, second, and third. Jack Regas took first-place with HAWAII KAI III, followed by Bill Muncey in MISS THRIFTWAY and Mira Slovak in MISS WAHOO. Regas tore up the Detroit River at a record-breaking average of 105.833 for the 45 miles. This erased the previous high of 93.120, set two years earlier by TEMPO VII. The 1958 Silver Cup has to rank as an all-time high for Unlimited racing. The Final Heat confrontation between Bill Stead in MAVERICK (U-12) and Bill Cantrell in GALE V was an absolute classic. For ten dynamic laps around the 3-mile course, Stead and Cantrell battled deck-to-deck with neither driver holding an advantage. MAVERICK finally won but only after a titanic struggle. Stead repeated as Silver Cup victor in 1959 with a new MAVERICK (U-00), owned by Texas oil tycoon Bill Waggoner. Stead won the first two heats and then settled for a leisurely second-place in the finale behind Don Wilson and MISS U.S. I to insure the overall victory on total points. One of Unlimited racing's biggest upsets occurred at the 1960 Silver Cup. That was when Ron Musson and the Allison-powered NITROGEN TOO defeated the National Championship team of Bill Muncey and MISS THRIFTWAY, which used the more-powerful Rolls-Royce Merlin. Musson flat out-drove Muncey in the Final Heat, 103.707 miles per hour to 102.525. Eleven years later, NITROGEN TOO achieved immortality of another sort when it won the 1971 Gold Cup on the Ohio River in Madison, Indiana, as MISS MADISON with Jim McCormick driving. The original series of Silver Cup races ended tragically in 1961. Driver Bob Hayward barrel-rolled MISS SUPERTEST II in the Belle Isle Bridge turn on the first lap of Heat 2-A with fatal consequences. The remainder of the race was canceled and victory was awarded to Musson and MISS BARDAHL, which posted the fastest speed in Heat One at 108.089 miles per hour. With the advent of mandatory cash prizes, the Detroit Yacht Club and the Windmill Pointe Yacht Club were both denied sanctions for 1962 by Unlimited Commissioner J. Lee Schoenith. The Unlimited owners, at the time, were under intense pressure from the IRS and had to professionalize themselves. The DYC, the WPYC, and other adherents to the sport's amateur tradition rode off into the sunset, never to return. The Silver Cup did return as an Unlimited hydroplane trophy many years later. The Spirit Of Detroit dusted it off one time in 1981 for a new generation of race fans, under the sponsorship of Stroh's Beer. Dean Chenoweth and the Rolls-Royce Griffon-powered MISS BUDWEISER won all three heats, decisively beating Scott Pierce in MISS NORTH TOOL and Milner Irvin in MISS MADISON. Checking in with the UL-57
Cheetah racing team
Click here for updates from June, 2003
Questions, comments? E-mail the
site's webmaster. |
One of the founding members of the Unlimited Light Hydroplane Racing
Series is calling it a career. Dave Bender of El Dorado CA and his father Gene
have announced that the Seattle Seafair Unlimited Lights event will be their last as owners -driver of the UL38 Golden Nugget Casino / Security
Race Products entry.
While the
Unlimited Lights won't be in action this weekend at Tri Cities WA, one of the
leading drivers in our series will be racing there. Greg Hopp, co-driver
of the UL15 Mike's Hard Lemonade is out for the season due to injuries sustained
at Madison IN while driving in the U100 Unlimited for owner Fred Leland.
Leland's choice for a replacement is to remain all in the family.
Three races, and three different
winners, and not one of them Phil Bononcini. It's quite a competitive start for the Unlimited Lights in 2003.
With the cancellation Saturday of preliminary heats 3A & 3B, five Unlimited Light teams were seeded into Sunday's Final. In numerical order they included......... 
