1956 APBA Gold Cup Race
Statistics
| 01-Sep | 3 Mile Course |
| Detroit River | 30 Mile Heats |
| Detroit, Michigan | 90 Mile Race |
| No. | Entry | Owner | Qual. | Comp. Lap | Race | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | U-2 | Miss U.S. I (1) | George Simon | 97.97 | 93.023 | — |
| 2 | U-20 | Miss U.S. II | George Simon | 100.9 | 86.4 | — |
| 3 | U-8 | Hawaii Kai III | Edgar Kaiser | 96.03 | 100.934 | 83.126 |
| 4 | U-12 | Maverick (1) | Bill Waggoner | 105.69 | 96.428 | 84.23 |
| 5 | U-29 | Shanty I | Bill Waggoner | 108.138 | 100.746 | — |
| 6 | U-14 | Dora My Sweetie | Horace Dodge | 93.514 | — | — |
| 7 | U-27 | Slo-mo-shun IV | Stan Sayres | — | — | — |
| 8 | U-30 | Muvalong | Phil Murphy | 97.38 | 76.977 | — |
| 9 | U-37 | Miss Seattle (1) | Jim Ausland | 105.06 | 92.624 | — |
| 10 | U-50 | Miss Wayne (2) | Bud Saile | 102.15 | 86.677 | — |
| 11 | U-54 | Gale IV | Joe Schoenith | 99.83 | 99.356 | — |
| 12 | U-55 | Gale V (2) | Joe Schoenith | 107.784 | 81.632 | — |
| 13 | U-56 | Gale VI (1) | Joe Schoenith | 99.94 | 89.85 | — |
| 14 | U-60 | Miss Thriftway (1) | Willard Rhodes | 106.73 | 104.956 | 96.188 |
| 15 | U-81 | Crusty | Leo Mucutza | — | — | — |
| 16 | U-88 | Miss B&I (1) | Bob Gilliam | — | — | — |
| 17 | U-99 | Miss Pepsi (2) | Roy Dossin | 98.97 | 102.079 | 96.588 |
| 18 | U-100 | What-A-Pickle | Gordon Deneau | — | — | — |
| 19 | G-22 | Such Crust III (2) | Jack Schafer | 108.16 | — | — |
| 20 | CA-1 | Miss Supertest II | Gordon Thompson | — | — | — |
| Heat One A | Driver | Points | Speed | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Miss Pepsi | Chuck Thompson | 300 | 91.525 |
| 2 | Miss Thriftway | Bill Muncey | 169 | 88.633 |
| 3 | Maverick | Bill Stead | 127 | 84.758 |
| 4 | Gale VI | Lee Schoenith | 95 | 83.774 |
| 5 | Miss Wayne | Bud Saile | 40 | 71.094 |
| Heat One B (first running) | Driver | — | Speed | |
| 1 | Shanty I | Russ Schleeh | — | 94.386 |
| 2 | Gale IV | Roy Duby | — | 90.83 |
| 3 | Miss U.S. I | Fred Alter | — | 87.687 |
| 4 | Miss U.S. II | Don Wilson | — | 81.849 |
| 5 | Miss Seattle | Norm Evans | — | 61.965 |
| 6 | Muvalong | Jay Murphy | DNF | — |
| Heat One B (re-run) | Driver | Points | Speed | |
| 1 | Shanty I | Russ Schleeh | 400 | 92.022 |
| 2 | Gale IV | Roy Duby | 225 | 90.064 |
| 3 | Miss Seattle | Norm Evans | 71 | 77.352 |
| 4 | Hawaii Kai III | Jack Regas | 53 | 76.705 |
| 5 | Miss U.S. II | Don Wilson | DSQ* | — |
*Disqualification for starting inside the 1000 foot marker. Heat 1-B was ordered rerun since according to the rules the fastest race and fastest heat bonus points were determined on elapsed time rather than average lap speed. Therefore if the original running of heat 1-B was allowed to stand the boats in this section would have had an unconscionable advantage. The officials declared the rules unworkable as a rationale for rerunning the heat.
One of the top 12 qualifiers Such Crust III had to withdraw before heat 1-B due to mechanical trouble. #13 qualifier Muvalong took her place. Then she too dropped out and #14 Hawaii Kai III moved up to the starting field. Miss U.S. I also suffered damage that eliminated her for the day in the first running of heat 1-B so there was arguably a spot for # 15 qualifier Dora My Sweetie.
| Heat Two A | Driver | Points | Speed | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Miss Thriftway | Bill Muncey | 400 | 100.04 |
| 2 | Miss Pepsi | Chuck Thompson | 300 | 98.935 |
| 3 | Maverick | Bill Stead | 169 | 88.584 |
| 4 | Gale VI | Lee Schoenith | 95 | 84.987 |
| 5 | Miss Wayne | Jack Bartlow | 71 | 82.736 |
| 6 | Gale V | Bill Cantrell | DNF | — |
| Heat Two B | Driver | Points | Speed | |
| 1 | Shanty I | Russ Schleeh | 225 | 96.901 |
| 2 | Miss Seattle | Norm Evans | DSQ* | 88.048 |
| 3 | Hawaii Kai III | Jack Regas | 127 | 85.209 |
| 4 | Gale IV | Bill Cantrell | DNF | — |
| *Disqualification for cutting a buoy. | ||||
| Heat Three | Driver | Points | Speed | |
| 1 | Miss Thriftway | Bill Muncey | 400 | 100.906 |
| 2 | Miss Pepsi | Chuck Thompson | 300 | 99.343 |
| 3 | Hawaii Kai III | Jack Regas | 225 | 88.364 |
| 4 | Gale VI | Lee Schoenith | 169 | 85.528 |
| 5 | Maverick | Bill Stead | 127 | 79.813 |
| 6 | Shanty I | Russ Schleeh | DNF | — |
| Recapitulation | Heat 1 | Heat 2 | Cum | Heat 3 | Bonus | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Miss Thriftway | 169 | 400 | 569 | 400 | 400 | 1369 |
| 2 | Miss Pepsi | 300 | 300 | 600 | 300 | 400 | 1300 |
| 3 | Shanty I | 400 | 225 | 625 | DNF | 0 | 625 |
| 4 | Maverick | 127 | 169 | 296 | 127 | 0 | 423 |
| 5 | Hawaii Kai III | 53 | 127 | 180 | 225 | 0 | 405 |
| 6 | Gale VI | 95 | 95 | 190 | 169 | 0 | 359 |
| 7 | Gale IV | 225 | DNF | 225 | DNS | 0 | 225 |
| 8 | Miss Wayne | 40 | 71 | 111 | DNS | 0 | 111 |
| 9 | Miss Seattle | 71 | DSQ | 71 | DNS | 0 | 71 |
| 10 | Miss U.S. I | DNF | DNS | 0 | DNS | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | Miss U.S. II | DSQ | DNS | 0 | DNS | 0 | 0 |
| 12 | Gale V | DNS | DNF | 0 | DNS | 0 | 0 |
| 13 | Muvalong | DNF | DNS | 0 | DNS | 0 | 0 |
The Gold Cup was first awarded to Miss Thriftway on the basis of the point scores compiled above. Miss Thriftway was next disqualified in the final heat for hitting a buoy thus making Miss Pepsi the winner. Next various protests were filed the upshot of which the awarding of the trophy was suspended awaiting further action.
In due course this action was taken it being determined through the viewing of KING-TV films of the final heat that Miss Thriftway had not hit the buoy and therefore should not be disqualified. Thus the original results were reinstated.
Horace Dodge owner of Dora My Sweetie sought to have the race declared no contest since his boat was bumped by "illegal qualifications" run the morning of the race. The rules specified that no qualifications would be run the morning of the race. This rule had been disregarded before, but never had resulted in an entry being bumped from the field. Fortunately Dodge's suit was dropped when the rules were revised allowing all qualifiers to start the race.
As a result of the action of the Inboard Racing Commission in awarding the race to Miss Thriftway, it was decided that the Unlimited owners should be able to run their own affairs and thus the Unlimited Racing Commission was formed. The Inboard Racing Commission was generally composed of individuals with little "personal" interest in the affairs of the Unlimiteds.
[Statistics and comments from Greene, V.1]