1962 APBA Gold Cup

Muncey Wins His 4th Trophy; Detroit’s Notre Dame Is 3rd

Boats Burn, Disintegrate in Gold Cup

By Harry Leduc, Detroit News Sports Writer

SEATTLE, Aug. 6. — Bill Muncey, who dreamed of the Gold Cup as a boy in Detroit, has one more Gold Cup race to go.

Muncey, now 38, won his fourth Gold Cup here yesterday. Before the race he had said, "My ambition is to win five."

The trouble-filled race was delayed repeatedly because of accidents, none fatal. One boat disintegrated and two others burned.

Muncey and Willard Rhodes’ Century 21, a most dependable craft, finished first in all three of his 30-mile heats to score his second grand slam of the season, 1,200 points. The other came at Coeur D’ Alene, Ida., when he won the Diamond Cup.

Second to Muncey was Ron Musson in Miss Bardahl with 925 points.

A surprising 825-point third was Detroit’s best boat of a six-boat entry, Shirley Mendelson McDonald’s Notre Dame, driven by Col. Warner Gardner, of the Wurtsmith Air Force Base at Oscoda, Mich.

Detroit put two other racers in the final heat, George Simon’s Miss U.S., which finished fourth (752 points) with Don Wilson at the wheel, and Jack Schafer’s six-ton Such Crust (694 points), Fred Alter driving.

Another Detroit boat, Gale VII, with Bob Schroeder the pilot, did not make the last 30-mile heat but scored 296 points in sectional heats.

Gale V (Bill Cantrell), Fascination (Bob Gilliam) and Tahoe Miss (Col. Russ Schleeh) did not score.

Accidents Slow Race

It probably was the longest Gold Cup race in modern times. The first heat start was postponed twice after the 12:40 p.m. scheduled start. The last heat ended more than six hours later, so late there was a vote to decide whether the last 30 miles would be run. The "ayes" won.

By 3 p.m. there were two heat starts and still nothing decided because of accidents. Each time flares went up all over the three-mile Lake Washington course. The race was stopped, and re-starts ordered.

Driver Breaks Leg

The worst accident occurred in heat 1-A when Dallas Sartz, of Seattle, in Miss Seattle Too, shot into the air at the first turn on the first lap. Miss Seattle Too nose dived and went to bits as her pilot landed free in the water.

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tails and douse the fire. So did other racers. But Tempest burned for 20 minutes without sinking and later was towed to the pit area.

In the re-start of heat 1-A, Fascination caught fire on the eighth lap and again there were flares and the race was stopped. But this heat was allowed and first place given to Miss Bardahl though Cantrell in Gale V had held a "safe" lead through seven laps. Gale

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(Reprinted from the Detroit News, August 7, 1962)