1995 Season Summary
Statistics
| 1. | April 23 | Gila River Casino Unlimited Cup | Phoenix, Arizona |
| 2. | June 3-4 | Detroit APBA Gold Cup | Detroit, Michigan |
| 3. | June 18 | Texaco Star Mart Kansas City Hydrofair | Kansas City, Missouri |
| 4. | June 25 | Pontiac Thunder on The Ohio | Evansville, Indiana |
| 5. | July 2 | Budweiser Indiana Governor's Cup | Madison, Indiana |
| 6. | July 16 | Texas Hydrofest | Dallas, Texas |
| 7. | July 30 | Budweiser Columbia Cup | Kennewick, Washington |
| 8. | August 6 | Seafair Texaco Cup | Seattle, Washington |
| 9. | September 17 | San Diego Bayfair Bill Muncey Cup | San Diego, California |
| 10. | October 15 | JN Automotive Hydrofest | Honolulu, Hawaii |
| Winner | Crew Chief | Designer | Builder | Engine | Course | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4/23 | Miss Budweiser (20) | Ron Brown | Brown-Jones | Ron Brown | Lycoming | 1½ Miles | 16½ Miles |
| 6/4 | Miss Budweiser (20) | Ron Brown | Brown-Jones | Ron Brown | Lycoming | 2½ Miles | 52½ Miles |
| 6/18 | Miss T-Plus (2) | Jim Harvey | Ron Jones | Jones-Ramsey | Lycoming | 2 Miles | 28 Miles |
| 6/25 | Smokin' Joe's | Jim Lucero | Lucero-Jones | Lucero-Jones | Lycoming | 2 Miles | 28 Miles |
| 7/2 | Smokin' Joe's | Jim Lucero | Lucero-Jones | Lucero-Jones | Lycoming | 2½ Miles | 35 Miles |
| 7/16 | Miss Budweiser (20) | Ron Brown | Brown-Jones | Ron Brown | Lycoming | 2 Miles | 28 Miles |
| 7/30 | Smokin' Joe's | Jim Lucero | Lucero-Jones | Lucero-Jones | Lycoming | 2½ Miles | 35 Miles |
| 8/6 | Miss Budweiser (20) | Ron Brown | Brown-Jones | Ron Brown | Lycoming | 2 Miles | 28 Miles |
| 9/17 | Smokin' Joe's | Jim Lucero | Lucero-Jones | Lucero-Jones | Lycoming | 2½ Miles | 35 Miles |
| 10/15 | Miss Budweiser (20) | Ron Brown | Brown-Jones | Ron Brown | Lycoming | 2½ Miles | 35 Miles |
| Built | Boat High Points | Total | Team Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | (1987) | Smokin' Joe's | 13444 | (2) |
| 2. | (1995) | Miss Budweiser (20) | 12575 | (1-13815) |
| 3. | (1993) | PICO American Dream | 11152 | |
| 4. | (1992) | Miss Columbia Communications | 8906 | |
| 5. | (1993) | Miss T-Plus (2) | 7985 | |
| 6. | (1988) | Dewalt Tools | 4900 | |
| 7. | (1994) | Miss JN Automotive | 4657 | |
| 8. | (1988) | Mill Bay Casino | 4521 | |
| 9. | (1990) | Miss Outrigger | 4003 | |
| 10. | (1984) | Aunt Mary's Tavern | 2988 | |
| 11. | (1988) | Pizza Time / Exide | 2324 | |
| 12. | (1990) | Appian Renegade (2) | 1874 | |
| 13. | (1994) | Miss Budweiser (19) | 1240 | |
| 14. | (1995) | Miss E-Lam Plus (2) | 127 |
| Driver High Points | Total | |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Mark Tate | 13444 |
| 2. | Chip Hanauer | 11475 |
| 3. | Dave Villwock | 11152 |
| 4. | Mark Evans | 9309 |
| 5. | Steve David | 7985 |
| 6. | Mike Hanson | 4900 |
| 7. | Mitch Evans | 4521 |
| 8. | Scott Pierce | 4003 |
| 9. | Jerry Hopp | 3703 |
| 10. | Ken Muscatel | 2988 |
| 11. | Tom Hindley | 2399 |
| 12. | Nate Brown | 2324 |
| 13. | Jimmy King | 1412 |
| 14. | Mike Jones | 954 |
| 15. | Ken Dryden | 127 |
| 16. | Lindsey Emmons | 000 |
| 1. | Miller American (2), Miller High Life (2), Miss Ctrcus Circus (4), Winston Eagle (3) |
| 3. | Miss Rock KISW-FM (6) , Coors Light, Spirit of Hawaii, American Dream |
| . 4. | The Brake Shop (2), Lytle State Rep., Miss UAW, Miss Hanalei Hotel, Dallas Motor Coach, ARC Construction (5), Tide's American Spirit, American Spirit (2), Miss Wellness Plan (2), Buehler's Buy Low, Kroeger's, Appian Renegade, Miss Rock KISW-FM (5), Miss Vons |
| 6. | Holset Miss Madison (2), Holset Miss Mazda, Holset Miss U.S. Star, Gaylord's At Kilohana, Valvoline Miss Madison, Kellogg's Tony The Tiger, Kellogg's Frosted Flakes, Miss Madison (5), Miss Jasper Engines |
| 7. | International News, Phoenix Spirit, Miss APBA, Miss K.C., Miss Busler, Miss Kasey, Miss Cascade Homes, Miss Bayfair |
| 3. | Risley's, Seaco Aviation Fuels (2), Holset Miss Madison (3), Miss D.O.C. (2), Miss Chiro Choice, Miss Meta Lax, Oberto Wild Waves, Oh Boy! Oberto Beef, Oh Boy! Oberto Pork (2), Oh Boy! Oberto {7), Poly Dyn, Miss D.O.C.-Ray Ban, Alvey's American Eagle, A-2 Communications, Cooper Express, Spirit of Lake Chelan, Kendall Motor Oil, Master Tire/Holset Turbo, Holset Turbos |
| 9. | Miss Circus Circus (6), Miss Tri-Cities (5), Burien Pit Stop, Sea Doo, Ron Jones Racing, Miss D.O.C. Acuvue (2), Chaplin's Bellevue Volkswagen, Miss Cascade West |
| 10. | Miss Tosti Asti (2), Miss 7-Eleven, Cellular One (2), Competition Specialties, Vantage Ultra, Winston Eagle (1), Superior Racing, Miss D.O.C. Acuvue, Gerst Amber, Pete's Wicked Ale, Kauai Aloha, Aloha Bail Bonds, Miss Belle Tire, Miss Hydroblaster, Target Stores, Miss Lewisville, Computers & Applications |
| 11. | Mr. Pringles (2), Executone (4) , Ellis; Park / Super Range Golf, Ultra Bold Dash, Tide. |
| 12. | ARC Construction Special, Easter Seals, Jackpot Food Mart (2) , Miss KPOI, Miss KPOI Gaylord's Kauai, Miss Pog, Taco Time, Miss Sprint |
1995
In an initiative to help the less competitive teams in Unlimited racing, the URC altered the lane selection rules to the extent that the relative losers in heat one would be able to chose lanes over the relative winners for heat two. In other words there would be inverse lane selection.
Defending World High Point Champion Budweiser again put their 1987 hull out to pasture making a renewed effort to develop the double wing into a reliable back up. In addition they took one sponson from their unruly 1989 hull and built a new boat around it. Turbine III [T-3] had gone over three times in three years and the feeling was a redesigned center section would provide the answer. Driver Chip Hanauer had gone on record that Turbine Ill was a rough hull.
American Dream would not have to go from race to race seeking sponsors for they found one for the whole season in PICO of Detroit.
A good share of the deal involved the donation of PICO's expertise to the Leland team.
Steve Woomer maintained Smokin' Joe's into 1995, but Bill Wurster lost Tide. On another positive note Bob Hughes' Miss Madison team would have Jasper Engines and De Walt Tools to fund their racing activities after being unsponsored in 1994 and only running their home town regatta .
The first race of the season was scheduled for April 23 at Phoenix, Arizona.on Firebird Lake. Firebird Lake featured about a 1½ mile course with turn diameters around 200 feet. The hydros had raced there once in 1975 and had not returned until 20 years later.
The close quarters mandated an eight boat field with four two entry matches followed by two two boat confrontations leading up to the championship heat featuring the two survivors. Miss Budweiser 95, Smokin' Joe's, PICO American Dream and Miss T-Plus were the winners in the first heat. Miss Budweiser and Smokin' Joe's prevailed in heat two. All the boats on the outside won.
The top qualifier got lane choice throughout the matchups.
Thus the top qualifier was a virtual shoo-in to win the regatta barring mechanical failure. Miss Budweiser was the top qualifier, always chose the outside lane and beat Smokin' Joe's in the final heat.
PICO American Dream and Smokin' Joe's had won races in 1994 and thus were favorites for the Gold Cup at Detroit. Unlike 1994 American Dream had PICO money behind her in 1995. The virtually new Miss Budweiser had not really been tested. Miss T-Plus was handicapped by her design due to the fuel flow restrictions, however she was competitive in the last part of the 1994 season although not having won a regatta.
The "new" Miss Budweiser captured all her elimination heats heading into the final heat of the Gold Cup having beaten Smokin' Joe's, PICO American Dream and Miss T-Plus each twice. In the championship heat the Anheuser-Busch entry prevailed over PICO American Dream by eight seconds. Budweiser driver Chip Hanauer was now the all-time Gold Cup driver with nine unassisted triumphs. Miss Jasper from Madison executed a classic blowover in heat 3-A.
In the process Chip Hanauer had aggravated some old rib injuries and was not 100% for Kansas City. He was defeated by Smokin’ Joe's in heat 1-B and even Miss Wellness Plan in heat 2-A albeit aided to some degree by a favorable lane choice before placing third in final heat.
The victor in the Kansas City Hydrofair was the double wing Miss T-Plus, who got the better of absolutely nobody of importance in the preliminaries, before coming alive in the determinative heat.
Miss T-Plus got lane one at the start and led Smokin' Joe's by a second at the end of lap one. Smokin' Joe's could not use her canards and therefore had to back off when she got light. Miss T-Plus went on to win the heat by 10 seconds. Budweiser's Chip Hanauer re-injured his ribs in accounting for third place.
Chip Hanauer's ribs were taped up for Kansas City and after giving it a try during the testing-qualification period at Evansville deferred to Mark Evans. Jim Kropfeld and Larry Lauterbach were available, but Mark Evans had shown potential for a number of seasons since winning his first event in 1991. However with Evans in the cockpit, Evansville was a wide open race.
Miss Budweiser 1995 beat all three of her main rivals in heat 1-A, however she lost to Miss T-Plus in heat 2-A before taking Smokin' Joe's again in 3-A. PICO American Dream looked good in beating Smokin' Joe's in heat 2-B. Smokin' Joe's failed to win an elimination heat.
Miss Budweiser got out in front in the final heat and led for two laps before its right sponson starting coming apart. Then the second place Smokin' Joe's moved into first place and won easily over PICO American Dream. Miss T-Plus was an equivalent distance back in third place.
With their number one hull needing repair Budweiser had to run their double wing that had never been tested in competition - some said with good reason. Nevertheless Turbine IV [T-4] led all qualifiers by one m.p.h. at Madison.
The fortunes of the Budweiser team grew brighter when Miss T-Plus did a classic blowover heading for the first turn of heat 1-B. This was the first time a double wing hull had gone over. In the second running of heat 1-B, Budweiser took Smokin' Joe's measure and then won her last two preliminaries against meagre opposition. Smokin' Joe's went on to beat PICO American Dream twice in her last two elimination heats.
Miss Budweiser led the field into the first turn of the final heat at Madison, then hooked and went dead in the water. This put Smokin' Joe's in first place and she went on to win the Indiana Governor's Cup by a good distance since PICO American Dream had started from the first trailer position.
Chip Hanauer and the #1 Budweiser were back two weeks later for the Texas Hydrofest at Dallas. Miss Budweiser was defeated by Smokin' Joe's in her first heat, but came back to beat PICO American Dream and Miss T-Plus in her next two preliminaries. Smokin' Joe's won all her elimination contests having topped PICO in heat 2-B. The PICO had been blanked in the preliminary heats for the second consecutive regatta. Smokin' Joe's. appeared to have 5 m,p.h. on the rest of the fleet approaching the championship heat.
Nevertheless Miss Budweiser got off to a good start and won the Hydrofest by over ¼ lap. Smokin Joe's was second followed by PICO American Dream and Miss T-Plus.
Smokin' Joe's again had good speed over the field at the Tri-Cities and this time won all four of her heats to take the Columbia Cup. Most significantly she beat Miss Budweiser in all three of her elimination heats. In the final Budweiser lost a prop on the initial course circuit. Last year's Tide ran as Pizza Time/Exide and was not a factor. The same could be said of Miss T-Plus and PICO American Dream.
Miss Budweiser had rode poorly at the Tri-Cities, but got it straightened out for Seattle's Seafair. She won her first two preliminary heats, however she lost 3-A when a misinformed crew member advised Chip Hanauer to back off at the start thinking the referee would not allow the boats to go since they were not properly lined up.
Smokin' Joe's also won two preliminary heats and then was legally washed down by PICO American Dream in the first lap of the final heat. PICO pushed Budweiser until encountering engine trouble in the second lap. Miss Budweiser thereafter had an easy time of it and won the Seafair Texaco Cup by 18 seconds over Pizza Time/Exide. Miss T-Plus had now gone two regattas without winning a heat.
At San Diego Miss Budweiser got a good start toward another triumph by winning all her elimination heats defeating such contenders as Smokin' Joe's and PICO American Dream. In the final Budweiser was ahead off the first turn and had a good lead over Smokin' Joe's when she hit a hole in the water and came down askew on her right sponson destroying the same before going dead in the water. Smokin' Joe's then had a clear path to win the Bayfair Bill Muncey Cup as PICO had gotten watered down and Miss T-Plus was out of it as the trailer.
Heading into the last event of the season Smokin' Joe's, who had assumed the High Point lead after the Tri-Cities, had 39 points on the Miss Budweiser. Unfortunately for the Steve Woomer team. Miss Budweiser overcame Smokin' Joe's in all four heats to take the World High Point Championship and the Pearl Harbor Hydrofest.
Budweiser had six m.p.h. on the field at Honolulu. PICO American Dream won two elimination heats, but was third in the championship encounter. Miss T-Plus failed to win a heat for the fourth consecutive regatta - almost half a season.
Unlike 1994 only Miss Budweiser and Smokin' Joe's were within two m.p.h. of each other at the conclusion of the racing year. Miss T-Plus won a race, however she was six m.p.h. down to Budweiser as was PICO American Dream who had been shut out in 1995. Former contenders De Walt Tools from Madison and Bill Wurster's Pizza Time / Exide were off the dial for the present.
[Statistics from Greene, V.2]