1986 Budweiser APBA Gold Cup
Double trouble
Two Miss Budweisers, one a turbine, posed to challenge Miller American
By Gary Schultz, Staff Writer
When he couldn’t beat ’em, Bernie Little decided to join ’em.
And one race into the unlimited hydroplane season, Little’s Miss Budweiser is back in the winner's circle.
Boats powered by turbine engines won six of the nine races on the 1985 circuit, with the swift-and-sleek Miller American, driven by Chip Hanauer, capturing five victories and the national championship.
It was a frustrating summer for Little, who has seen his line of Miss Budweisers win 54 races — more than any owner in the sport's history — during his 24 years of campaigning.
Only two of those successes came last year, though, when Miss Budweiser was powered by a World War II fighter piston engine — in this case, a Rolls-Royce Griffon.
"We don't race for second place. The 1986 championship will be Budweiser all the way," said Little.
So he went to Miami for the season opener two weeks ago armed with a jet boat of his own. And the new Miss Budweiser, with Jim Kropfeld at the controls, won big.
Making the victory all the more impressive was the fact that a turbine-powered hydro never had won on a saltwater course. Little’s crew somehow came up with a system that kept the saltwater from reaching the turbine blades and making the engine overheat.
The two other turbines, Miller American and Miss 7-Eleven, had major problems with the water.
The Miller boat was withdrawn following the first elimination heat — after blowing its second $75,000 engine in two days. And while Miss 7-Eleven driver Steve Reynolds earned a spot in the final heat, he couldn’t get the engine started.
All of which sets the scene for today’s second of 11 races on the 1986 circuit, the Gold Cup on the Detroit River, the event that is considered the sport’s crown jewel.
Hanauer, whose 18 victories make him the winningest active driver and third on the all-time list, hopes to have a big afternoon.
With four consecutive Gold Cups, he can tie Gar Wood’s record of five, the last coming in 1921, when only three boats competed.
"I hope I can do it, but I’m not going to be bitter if I don't," the 31-year-old driver said In a recent interview. "I came into this sport hoping to win one. I feel very privileged to have won It four times, but one way or another. I’m determined to enjoy myself."
Evidence that Hanauer is glad to be back on freshwater came yesterday when the Miller American blasted around the 2½-mile course with a top qualifying average of 135.156 miles per hour. On the first of two laps, he came within a second of his course record, turning In a speed of 138.249.
Meanwhile, Miss Budweiser has been having problems.
Kropfeld, who often has let it be known that he doesn't care about trying for records during qualifying, started out with a 117.770 average, then got up to 121.225 two days later. The faster speed came following an all-night effort to correct the boat’s handling problems on the al-ways-rough Detroit River.
Just in case things don’t smooth out for the turbine boat, Little has a second shot at the Gold Cup. At selected sites, he’s also campaigning a piston-engine Miss Budweiser. This one Is driven by Scott Pierce, who was second to Hanauer in national points last year aboard the Executone. Pierce qualified the boat at 126.872, third-fastest in the surprisingly small field of seven.
Another entrant today Is the venerable Miss Madison, now the only unlimited in which the driver sits behind the engine. The driver, in this case, is Ron Snyder, back in the cockpit after a year of shopping for a ride with a big-money team.
Snyder was runner-up at Miami, averaging 98.438 mph to the turbine Miss Budweiser’s 102.495 and the piston Miss Budweiser's 95.551.
* * *
Following the Gold Cup, the boats make their annual two-race stopover on the Ohio River. First up is the 35th annual Indiana Governor’s Cup race at Madison Sunday; then comes Thunder on the Ohio VIII at Evansville, Ind., on July 13.
There will be a major change In the Madison race format: Elimination heats on the 2½-mile layout will consist of only three laps Instead of the conventional five. However, there will be six prelims Instead of the usual four.
"Our crowd was estimated at 95,000 last year," said Madison Regatta spokesman Graham Taylor, "but we believe we can give the fans an even better race.
"The starts are the most thrilling part of the race, and we’re providing more of them. What we’re doing is eliminating two parade laps because generally by the end of the third lap a winner has been determined — unless his equipment breaks."
Race chairman Jack Lemm noted that "there will be more races and fewer delays. There will be less time between beats than in the past."
While the six elimination heats each will cover only 7½ miles, the winner-take-all final, scheduled at 5:10 p.m. EDT, will be the standard five laps and 12½ miles.
Hanauer likes the Madison format.
"Whatever is good for the fans Is good for all of us," he said. "The starts are what really get the people’s juices flowing. I can see the three top boats running together for three laps. I thank It's good."
Qualifying for the $125,000 Madison race Is scheduled from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday and from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.. Saturday. The first heat Sunday begins at 1:10 p.m.
(Reprinted from the Louisville Courier-Journal, June 29, 1986)