1955 Silver Cup
Out For Vengeance
Miss Thriftway Silver Cup Choice
The boat which "won" the Gold Cup on Seattle's Lake Washington and then "lost" it on a timer's tape has a dual mission Saturday when the annual Silver Cup regatta is held on the Detroit River.
The winner which turned out to be a loser is the Seattle-owned Miss Thriftway, the only outsider in the field, which may reach 14.
Five heats of 15 miles each will be run in the Silver Cup. The first heat is at 12:30 p.m.
Miss Thriftway, owned by a Seattle executive who heads a chain of supermarkets in the Northwest, won two of the three heats in the Gold Cup.
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Its owner and crew, along with Seattle racing fans, were celebrating the triumph when a check of the timer's tape jolted them. The Detroit boat, Gale V, owned by Joe Schoenith, received a bonus of 400 points for the fastest elapsed time.
Those "gift" points enabled it to finish ahead of Miss Thriftway. Gale V had finished second in two heats and third in the other.
Bill Muncey, a Royal Oak youngster who drove Miss Thriftway on the Coast, will pilot her again.
"Gang strategy" whereby other Detroit boats, notably Walter Kade in Jack Schafer's Such Crust III, carried Miss Thriftway wide on the turns accounted for the slim four-second margin by which Gale V eventually earned the bonus points.
Muncey has indicated strongly he will not be trapped by such tactics again.
Miss Thriftway, on the basis of her Seattle showing, will be favored in the Silver Cup. Gale V is expected to furnish the major contention.
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In addition to Gale V, Schoenith may be represented by the Gale IV.
Horace Dodge's Dora My Sweetie won the Silver Cup a year ago and will be back in the field Saturday, if it qualifies at 85 miles per hour for one lap.
The rest of the field will be Guy Lombardo's Tempo VII, Miss Cadillac, Miss U.S., Wha Hoppen Too and the Canadian entry of Miss Supertest.
Miss Pepsi, Dodge's John Francis, Bud Saile's new twin-engined Miss Wayne and Bill Stroh's Miss Detroit have to qualify.
After the multiple collision that marked the Memorial Regatta earlier in the second, Silver Cup officials have ruled that no more than six boats will be permitted to start in any heat.
The first two heats will be elimination trials, with the six fastest survivors then running the final three heats.
--- Detroit Free Press, August 27, 1955