1970 Kentucky Governor's Cup
Bud Fastest Boat At Owensboro Race
By John Winnecke, Owensboro, Ky., Messenger-Inquirer
Owensboro, Ky. - The second annual Kentucky Governor's Cup race at Owensboro offered two things for the Budweiser Racing Team . . . the disappointment of the top Bud entry failing to successfully defend its title and the pleasant surprise of the Miss Budweiser II performance.
Dean Chenoweth, in the cockpit of the No. 1 Miss Budweiser, experienced some difficulty with internal problems during pre-race testing and they carried over into race day.
The Xenia, Ohio, hydro jockey had a third, a second and a first place finish for the day to wind up second in the regatta.
Billy Sterett, son of 1969 national driving champion Bill Sterett, took the helm of Bud II and nearly won the whole she-bang.
Driving before a hometown crowd estimated at 65,000, Billy recorded a second, a first and a fifth to total 827 points and give the Bud team a third place to go along with Chenoweth's No. 2 finish.
In the first heat of the day, Chenoweth almost lost the Bud at the cannon, but kept her running to take the checkered third behind Myr Sheet Metal and Parco's O-Ring Miss.
Miss Budweiser led the Heat 2-A convoy across the starting line in a cavalry charge with Myr and Notre Dame churning the murky Ohio River right behind.
The heat developed into one of the top battles of the yet young 1970 campaign as Chenoweth maintained a tapemeasure lead through the first lap while Myr and the "Shamrock Lady" dueled for second.
Miss Budweiser began to pull away in lap two and gradually opened a comfortable lead before a mechanical failure in the fourth lap took its toll.
Running with a shattered gear box, Chenoweth still kept on top until the backstretch of the final circuit. Notre Dame shot by the ailing Bud and Myr closed fast.
However, Notre Dame went dead at the head of the stretch and the steady Myr sailed across for her second heat victory of the day.
Chenoweth limped home second and the Dame restarted to claim third.
The Budweiser Team put it all together for the finale and Chenoweth zoomed home ahead of the field, 13.6 seconds in front of Myr and spoiling a perfect day for the Gale Enterprises entry.
It was not enough, though, as Myr, with veteran Bill Muncey aboard, totaled 1,100 points for the day and won the Bluegrass hardware.
Chenoweth and Miss Budweiser recorded 925 points to earn runner-up honors. In addition the Bud had the fastest lap of the day, a 105.386 mile per hour trip once around the 2½-mile oval.
It appeared for a time that Sterett might pilot the Bud II to an upset victory as he headed the championship field for several laps before losing power and wallowing home last.
Still, the combined efforts of Chenoweth and Sterett were good for 1,752 points and second and third places.
The performance kept Miss Budweiser second in the season standings with 2,650 points after three races. Miss Budweiser II moved into sixth place with 1,052 points for the campaign.
[Chenoweth eventually piloted Miss Budweiser to the national high point championship while Sterett was named a co-rookie of the year.]
(Reprinted from Miss Budweiser Press Information Souvenir Magazine 1971)