1970 Presidents Cup
Presidents Cup Victory Eludes Miss Budweiser
By Eddie Crane, Washington (D.C.) Star
Washington's Presidents Cup Regatta hasn't been anything but misfortune for Miss Budweiser. Again in 1970, as in 1968, the Bud had engine troubles on the Potomac River.
Bill Muncey piloted the Myr Sheet Metal entry to victory in the 39th running for the coveted $30,000 silver cup and joined the late Chuck Thompson as a four-time winner of the event.
Miss Budweiser, with Dean Chenoweth piloting, finished second to Muncey in the second heat of the first day's competition and blew an engine and did not finish in the first heat on the final day of competition.
The Bud was spitting fire after racing Myr head-to-head for a lap on the first day, then it was learned that debris had clogged the Bud's water intake pipe and all but knocked it out of action.
On the final day, Miss Budweiser blew an $8,000 hole in its engine and was quickly out of action.
In 1968 the Budweiser, after winning its heat on the first day, blew an engine in the third lap of the first heat and was unable to finish. The unlimiteds did not race in Washington, D.C. in 1969.
Muncey and Billy Schumacher provided the nearly 50,000 hydroplane enthusiasts lining the shores of the Potomac with one of the most thrilling heats in Presidents Cup history in the second heat, won by Schumacher and Parco O-Ring Miss.
Muncey got the sleek white Myr off in front and was clocked at 106.509 mph for the first lap. Then, going into the first downriver turn on the second lap, Schumacher stood Parco up on its left sponson and Muncey had to veer off to the right to keep from being cut in half by him. When Parco righted, Schumacher was in front to stay, despite a thrilling battle right to the finish. Myr came back to win the final championship heat to put Muncey in select company as a fourtime winner.
Chenoweth's failure to capture the Presidents Cup was especially disheartening for several reasons. One, he missed a golden opportunity to impress his in-laws, for his wife, Kathi, once a high school student at Eastern High School, was reared in Washington and her parents reside here. He also missed a chance to meet President Nixon for the president traditionally presents the Cup to the victor at special White House ceremonies.
(Reprinted from Miss Budweiser Press Information Souvenir Magazine 1971)