1958 Detroit Memorial
Miss Thriftway Wins Much-Delayed Race
Miss Thriftway flashed to victory Saturday in the Detroit Memorial Cup hydroplane race that was marred at the start by an injury to veteran driver Bill Cantrell.
Detroit — (UPI) — Miss Thriftway flashed to victory Saturday in the Detroit Memorial Cup hydroplane race that was marred at the start by an injury to veteran driver Bill Cantrell.
Cantrell suffered a fractured arm and jaw when he was pitched from Gale V as he streaked towards the starting line for the first of four elimination heats.
It took further misfortune, this time to sister craft Gale VI, to enable the Seattle-owned Miss Thriftway to claim the championship.
Gale VI, driven by Lee Schoenith, crossed the finish line first in the 30-mile final race. But the judges ruled he jumped the starting gun.
Gale VI was awarded second place after Schoenith drove the boat an extra lap to make up to jumping the starter’s gun. Miss Supertest was third and Wildroot Charlie fourth. Those were the only finishers.
Usual Boat Troubles
Miss Thriftway was anything but the fastest boat on the Detroit River during the long afternoon.
But when the big championship heat came along. Bill Muncey made his move and enabled the West Coast to continue its dominance over Detroit boats in hydroplane racing.
Miss U.S., which had to pull out after its exhaust stack came loose and driver Freddie Alter nearly lost consciousness from inhalation, sped around one three-mile lap at 108.216 miles an hour and averages 106.550 for a full 30 miles in the second elimination heat.
Those were the fastest lap and heat times of the day.
The final race had to be restarted once. The boats had gone four laps when front-running Short Circuit, driven by Chuck Thompson, lost its right sponson.
A coast guard auxiliary man thought Short Circuit was in trouble and halted the race.
That was a good break for Gale VI since the boat's engine was sputtering. A half-hour delay enabled Gale VI’s pit crew to get the engine back in tune.
But Gale VI's good fortune was soon nullified by the judges who ruled Schoenith jumped the starting gun.
— June 15, 1958
* * *
Thriftway Tops Field
Detroit, June 14 (AP) — Miss Thriftway, a late entry from Seattle, won the Detroit Memorial regatta for unlimited powerboats today as Gale VI was disqualified for jumping the starting gun.
Miss Thriftway showed up late after officials of the unlimited hydroplane race had given up on her taking part in the event.
Gale VI had engine trouble on the fourth heat of the long afternoon and that boat was not expected to be able to make the 30 mile final run over the three-mile Detroit river course.
Race officials said Gale VI — which finished comfortably ahead of the others at the end of 10 regulation laps—was just one second ahead of the starting gun. That forced Gale VI to make an extra turn around the course.
Miss Thriftway was driven by Bill Muncey, a former Detroiter.
Despite the handicap of an extra lap, Gale VI finished second, Miss Supertest of London, Ont., was third and Wildroot Charlie of Buffalo was fourth. Miss U.S. 1, winner of two preliminary heats, had engine difficulties early and finally conked out on the eighth lap.
— June 15, 1958
* * *
Miss Thriftway Wins at Detroit; Gale Jumps Gun
Detroit (AP) — Miss Thriftway, a late entry from Seattle won the Detroit Memorial Regatta for unlimited power boats Saturday on the choppy Detroit River.
Gale VI crossed the finish line well ahead of Miss Thriftway but was forced to make an additional run around the 3-mile course because she jumped the starting gun by one second. Despite the extra lap handicap, Gale VI placed second.
Miss Thriftway showed up late after officials of the unlimited hydroplane race had given up on her taking part in the event.
The Gale VI, driven by Lee Schoenith, had engine trouble in the fourth heat of the long afternoon and she was not expected to make the 30-mile final run. Mechanics repaired her in time, however.
Miss Thriftway was driven by Bill Muncey, a former Detroiter.
Miss Supertest of London, Ont., was third and Wildroot Charlie of Buffalo was fourth. Miss U.S. 1, winner of two preliminary heats had engine trouble early in the final and conked out in the eighth lap.
The final heat was interrupted after five laps when Short Circuit damaged its right sponson and pulled off the course. A Coast Guard boat fired a warning flare stopping the race. The 10-lap final then was rerun from the start.
— June 15, 1958