1989 Budweiser Indiana Governor's Cup
Steve David
Marty Klinkenberg, Outdoors Writer
Steve David, unlimited hydroplane racing's rookie of the year in 1988, has completed only one heat in three races this season and enters the next event — July 2 at Madison, Ind. — tied for ninth in the point standings.
David, a former Port Everglades commissioner, skipped the season's third race, in Detroit June 11, while a faulty fuel system was being replaced in his piston-powered craft. Problems within the system eliminated him from the June 4 Budweiser Regatta at Miami Marine Stadium.
But David is confident he hasn't lost his driving touch. That was apparent June 11, when he used his unscheduled day off from the unlimiteds to win hydroplaning's 7-liter Eastern Divisional Championships in Raleigh, N.C.
David's three firsts that weekend qualified him for the 7-liter national championships Aug. 19 in Miami. David, whose unlimited will be sponsored at Madison by Thee Doll Houses of America nude dance bars, faces an uphill battle against his turbine-driving rivals.
"We won't have a turbine until the 1990 season, so I have to race my 7-liter to feel what winning is all about again," David said.
"I don't mind paying my dues, though, because I can see the day when I'm capable of running with and winning over the likes of the Miss Budweiser."
Miss Circus Circus driver Chip Hanauer, who won the June 11 Detroit race and would've won in Miami if he hadn't incurred a one-lap penalty for a starting-line violation, leads the standings with 3,169 points. Jim Kropfeld, who suffered minor injuries when Miss Budweiser flipped in Detroit, is second with 2,575. Miami race-winner Scott Pierce is fifth in Mr. Pringle's with 1,675.
(Reprinted from the South Florida Sun Sentinel, June 26, 1989)