1952 Detroit Memorial
Miss Pepsi Breezes to Second Trophy
Victory Easy In Detroit Memorial
By Ted Douglas
Smooth-running Miss Pepsi romped away with another powerboat race yesterday — this time the Detroit Memorial. She was only challenged for six miles of the 45 mile distance.
Second Victory
Driver Chuck Thompson paced Miss Pepsi at an average of 93.197. a new record for the race, to take the second straight win of the Memorial Cup.
Thompson did the same thing a week ago at Windsor Yacht Club, when he took the Maple Leaf Unlimited Trophy for the second time.
Yesterday’s race was run between Belle Isle and the U.S. mainland.
Thompson’s was the fastest lap ef the race yesterday—sliced out at a brisk 97 694 in the last loop of the three-mile course for the day
At the end of the race, the Dossin brothers. Walter and Roy, owners of Pepsi, gathered in another tsophy for their invincible boat.
Ahead Once
Joe Taggart, who wheeled Al Fallon's Miss Great Lakes II got the nod from a meagre crowd. He stayed with the race for two heats, and in the second led Pepsi by the nose for two laps.
The only ether boat in the race was Jack Schafer’s Such Crust IV, which failed to get going in the second heat, but finished th third heat two miles behind Pepsi .
It was the first time that Crust has finished a heat in a race. She was built this spring.
The Canadian boat, Miss Supertest of London and Sarnia, failed to show on the course Her gears were stripped in the Windsor race, but her crew had hopes of repairing the damage for the Detroit event.
The Riverside boat. Little [Miss] Judy, owned by Wilbert Marshall and driven by his brother Bud, appeared oa the course, but failed to run the 65-mile-per-hour qualifying lap.
Danny Foster wheeled Joe Schoenith’s Gale II in the first heat, until the boat threw its shaft and dropped out of the race.
First Heat
The heat had a perfect start.Great Lakes , Such Crust, Pepsi and Gale all roared across the line within 100 feet of one another.
Out of the first turn. Pepsi took the front spot, moved out for a quarter-mils lead, and held that position for the entire five laps.
The race, however, was going on behind the leader. Gale and Great Lakes were duelling for second place, and never went more than 50 feet away from one another.
This went on for the first two laps. Great Lakes finally took the second spot in the third lap and held it. Gale threw the shaft in the fourth lap and was out of the race.
Pepsi finished first, followed by Great Lakes, and Such Crust.
Second Heat
Great Lakes, Pepsi and Crust went over the line together. The crowd cheered its lungs out when Taggart kept Great Lakes pounding in the lead, through the first turn and down the backstretch.
At the end of the first lap, Great Lakes had a fighting quarter-mile lead over Pepsi, and Such Crust was dead in the water off Keane's dock.
At the lower turn. Great Lakes held her lead, with Pepsi fighting hard for it. The two boats, going full bore, were glued together in the backstreteh.
As they roared down the stretch for the end of the second lap. Pepsi had a nose lead, and Great Lakes was missing badly. Pepsi took a long lead in the backstretch of the third.
Pepsi rode the course far ahead of Great Lakes, and they finished in that order.
Great Lakes cut out just before the finish line, but in two minutes fired up again to make a belated run over the finish line.
Third Heat
Pepsi and Such Crust surged over the line together. Great Lakes was dead in the water unable to start.
Pepsi took a long lead over the balky Such Crust and Wild Bill Cantrell. Great Lakes started a half lap behind the other, then went dead in the water just below the starting line.
Pepsi finished the heat two miles ahead of Such Crust Thompson tramped the throttle in his last lap to make the record-breaking lap run.
The finishing order on points put Miss Pepsi in first. Great Lakes in second and Such Crust in third
The thriller of the day came in the 266 Cu. In. class In the start of the second heat, the pack raced over the line, but wind caught Bill Morgan's Sugar II and ripped it into the air.
The boat stood on its prop shaft and fanned back and forth, then took a double broadside roll in the air. and landed right-slde-up on the course.
Morgan of Cleveland. was thrown into the water, and boats following behind him whirred close by. One of the racers turned sharply to miss Morgan's head.
Morgan's boat was damaged, but his injuries were minor.
--- July 5, 1952