1978 Indiana Governor's Cup
Muncey Holds Forth At Madison
At Madison, Indiana's Governor's Gup Race July 9, the performances were different, but the actors and the final curtain were the same. The ten boats which appeared at Owensboro and Detroit rolled into town to find a debrisclogged Ohio River. By Friday evening, only Miss Budweiserand Brian Keogh's U-70 had appeared on the race course. Saturday's qualifying yielded only six contenders able to make the 95 mph. Referee Art Hafner declared all boats as qualified, due to the absence of the required and allotted time needed to let all entries make fair runs. Atlas led the half dozen legals at 117.493 mph, a new Madison record.
At the start of Heat 1-A, which was delayed nearly two hours while Kentucky officials searched in vain for the body of a man who dove into the river from the bridge, Miss Budweiser, Oh Boy! Oberto, U-7 and U-66 poured over the line together. Chuck King's boat was drowned out in the first turn. Referee Hafner penalized Bob Maschmedt in Oberto one lap extra for switching lanes. Brian Keogh, making his first start as an Unlimited driver, trailed the field in his U-70. U-7 led down the first backstretch but blew a turbo on the next turn.The penalized Oberto led U-66 after one lap.
U-70 stalled on the first lap backstretch. On turn #3 of lap 2, Oberto missed a buoy and relinquished the lead to U-66 as Maschmedt swung around to round the passed marker. Meanwhile, U-96 restarted and was running more than 2 laps behind. U-66, running as See Saw Band, won the heat at 72.768 mph. Oberto was second and Oh Boy! Oberto third. U-7 and U-70 did not finish.
On the approach to the start for heat 1-B, Ron Snyder made himself late by taking the Miss Budweiser for an extra loop on the backstretch. Atlas and Squire Shop went over the line together. Probe and Miss Madison trailed. Bud was way back. Atlas led out of the first corner and proceeded to pull away. Budweiser passed Probe on lap 3 and got by Madison when the U-6 spun in the 3"4 corner of lap 4. Atlas won easily, followed by Squire, Budweiser, Madison and Probe.
In the best heat of racing so far this season, Atlas and Budweiser started heat 2-A together and roared side by side for breathtaking laps. The crowd of 30,000 on shore went crazy as Muncey, whose boat was running minus the wing set-up, and Snyder poured on the coals. Atlas would sweep into the lead on the turns, but Bud would gain in the chutes on the inside track. On the first turn of lap 5, Atlas blew her engine, leaving Snyder alone to win his first heat of the year. Probe finished second, while Atlas and Miss Madison DNF'd.
Needing only a third place finish to gain entrance into the final heat and bump Atlas Van Lines, Chuck King's Hawaiian Tropic glided to a halt after half a lap in heat 2-B. U-7 did not start and The Squire Shop was late for the start, so Tom Martin's slow See Saw led the first two laps until Hanauer caught up. King never attempted to restart his boat. Hanauer won by 2 miles. U-66 was second.
The final heat went as expected, with Atlas outturning Squire in the first corner and pulling away for the win. Budweiser got caught in the roostertails at the start and held third. Probe was a steady fourth and See Saw a slow fifth.
| 1978 Indiana Governor’s Cup ( 27th) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | U-00 | Atlas Van Lines | Bill Muncey | 800 |
| 2. | U-64 | The Squire Shop | Chip Hanauer | 1000 |
| 3. | U-1 | Miss Budweiser | Ron Snyder | 850 |
| 4. | U-50 | Probe | Bob Miller | 596 |
| 5. | U-66 | See Saw Band | Tom Martin | 827 |
| 6. | U-8 | Oh Boy! Oberto | Bob Maschmedt | 300 |
| 7- | U-96 | Hawaiian Tropic | Chuck King | 225 |
| 8. | U-6 | Miss Madison | Jon Peddie | 169 |
| X | U-7 | — | Steve Jones | DNF |
| X | U-70 | — | Brian Keogh | DNF |
— Unlimiteds Detroit