1996 San Diego Bayfair Bill Muncey Cup
Controversy
Controversy started right from the first turn of racing in San Diego. In Heat 1A, Mark Tate jumped out front at the drop of the green flag in the Smokin' Joe's, but Dave Villwock took the lead in the PICO American Dream at the entrance buoy. Coming out of the turn, the PICO took a bad hop and beared out into lane number two. The officials decided it was a significant infraction and penalized the PICO one lap. So, despite a near-record heat with an average in the high 150 mph range, the top qualifier ended up fourth. Mark Tate, who stayed within a roostertail for a lap and appeared to be making up ground when Villwock had to lap (officially, pass) the U-19 Kona Kai Presents Appian Jeronimo and Mitch Evans, won the heat despite being physically outdistanced by the PICO. Mike Hanson in DeWALT Tools was a steady second, Steve David a steady third in the Harvey Motorsports. Mitch Evans struggled, gave up his pace boat position, started late, and ended up fifth in the Appian Jeronimo. Upon returning to the dock, Villwock stated, "I think the officials are trying to change the outcome of the race. Normally, that might have been a $100 fine. But, we'll live with it." Tate did not feel he had been encroached upon, giving his standard, "That's boat racing."
| Heat 1A (11:10): | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ln | Boat # | Name | Driver | Pos/Pts/Tot | Speed |
| 2 | U-10 | Smokin' Joe's | Mark Tate | 1/400/400 | 151.122 |
| 3 | U-6 | DeWALT Tools | Mike Hanson | 2/300/300 | 138.946 |
| 4 | U-2 | Jim Harvey Motorsports | Steve David | 3/225/225 | 131.741 |
| 1 | U-100 | PICO American Dream | Dave Villwock | 4/169/169 % | (N/A) |
| 5 | U-19 | Kona Kai/Appian Jeronimo | Mitch Evans | 5/127/127 | 83.503 |
| # Fast Lap: (1st) | U-100 | 159.422 | |||
| % | Physically won; penalized one lap for bearing out in the first turn | ||||
* * *
The race in Heat 1B took place prior to the start, as Ken Muscatel stalled in his U-14 Allied Telesyn Presents Computers and Applications. After struggling to get on a plane again beside the pace boat (the U-3 Chelan's Mill Bay Casino and Todd Yarling), he died again for the heat. Then, with Yarling out of position, the officials told him to cut the course, and he lost power while avoiding cutting in front of the field. That left a parade led by Mark Evans in the Miss Budweiser first, Scott Pierce in Miss Von's second, and Mike Jones in Miss Exide third. The driver's meeting was more interesting than usual. Nate Brown chose lanes for Ken Muscatel since he was busy fixing his boat and took lane 4 to leave the inside lanes open for the "big three." With Todd Yarling and the Coopers busy fixing their boat, Mitch Evans consulted with Ed Cooper Jr. and took lane five for them. He then picked lane 1 for his own boat, prompting Bo Darling to ask, "Do you have a preference for the U-2?"
| Heat 1B (11:30: | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ln | Boat | # Name | Driver | Pos/Pts/Tot | Speed |
| 1 | U-1 | Miss Budweiser | Mark Evans | 1/400/400 | 149.450 # |
| 2 | U-9 9 | Miss Von's | Scott Pierce | 2/300/300 | 140.903 |
| 4 | U-9 | Miss Exide | Mike Jones | 3/225/225 | 121.378 |
| 3 | U-14 | Computers & Applications | Ken Muscatel | DNS/0/0 | |
| 5 | U-3 | Chelan's Mill Bay Casino | Todd Yarling | DNS/0/0 | |
| # Fast Lap: (1st) | U-1 | 150.587 | |||
* * *
The draw for Heat 2:
| Heat 2A (12:10): | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Ln | Boat # | Name | Driver |
| 1 | U-100 | PICO American Dream | Dave Villwock |
| 2 | U-1 | Miss Budweiser | Mark Evans |
| 3 | U-10 | Smokin' Joe's | Mark Tate |
| 4 | U-14 | Computers & Application | Ken Muscatel |
| 5 | U-9 | Miss Exide | Mike Jones |
| Heat 2B (12:30) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Ln | Boat # | Name | Driver |
| 1 | U-19 | Kona Kai/Appian Jeronimo | Mitch Evans |
| 2 | U-2 | Harvey Motorsports | Steve David |
| 3 | U-99 | Miss Von's | Scott Pierce |
| 4 | U-6 | DeWALT Tools | Mike Hanson |
| 5 | U-3 | Chelan's Mill Bay Casino | Todd Yarling |
The race started in the pits with both the U-14 Allied Telesyn Presents Computers & Applications and the U-100 PICO American Dream late to start. PICO literally had about ten seconds to get on a plane before the officials planned to raise the white flag. When everything was lined up, Mark Tate in the Smokin' Joe's got a great jump on the start and led into the first turn. However, Dave Villwock used his inside advantage in the PICO American Dream and moved side-by-side in the turn and took the lead down the backstretch. Tate refused to give up, flying his boat around the course and taking advantage of a bad hop by the PICO to move nearly side-by-side on the backstretch of lap number two. It seemed like the Smokin' Joe's had top end speed on the PICO, but not enough to overcome the advantage of the inside lane. After swinging wide on the final turn, the PICO ran away to victory. Tate settled for second. Mark Evans faded early in the Miss Budweiser, eventually cutting inside but never making up very much ground on the leaders. Muscatel was a steady fourth in the U-14 Allied Telesyn Presents Computers and Applications, while Mike Jones trailed in the Miss Exide.
| Heat 2A (12:15): | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ln | Boat # | Name | Driver | Pos/Pts/Tot | Speed |
| 1 | U-100 | PICO American Dream | Dave Villwock | 1/400/569 | 152.470 # |
| 3 | U-10 | Smokin' Joe's | Mark Tate | 2/300/700 | 150.890 |
| 2 | U-1 | Miss Budweiser | Mark Evans | 3/225/625 | 147.429 |
| 4 | U-14 | Computers & Application | Ken Muscatel | 4/169/169 | 125.967 |
| 5 | U-9 | Miss Exide | Mike Jones | 5/127/352 | 118.628 |
| # Fast Lap: | U-100 (3rd) | 155.604 | |||
* * *
A second competitive heat in a row looked like it wasn't going to happen when Mike Hanson got a good jump on the start as the pace boat in the U-6 DeWALT Tools. Hanson led by a half-roostertail into the first turn. With an inside lane, Steve David was not about to give up and gave chase in the U-2 Harvey Motorsports. In the first turn of lap number two, he pulled even, and had about a tenth of a second on Hanson in the Guaranteed Tough boat completing lap number two. Two more solid turns gave the unsponsored boat the victory, a significant morale boost for the Jim Harvey camp after a week of systems trouble. Owner Harvey practically skipped from his trailer down to the dock to greet his victorious driver. In a joint interview with Thunderboats on the Air reporter Bob Flajole, Mike Hanson and Steve David both expressed a lot of respect for the other's camp, and said they couldn't wait for the next chance to race. "We're just evenly matched," said Hanson. Scott Pierce fell behind early but managed a solid third in the U-99 Miss Vons, while Mitch Evans showed somewhat better speed in placing fourth in the U-19 Kona Kai Presents the Appian Jeronimo. The Chelan's Mill Bay Casino stayed on the beach changing engines.
| Heat 2B (12:35): | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ln | Boat # | Name | Driver | Pos/Pts/Tot | Speed |
| 2 | U-2 | Harvey Motorsports | Steve David | 1/400/625 | 149.386 # |
| 4 | U-6 | DeWALT Tools | Mike Hanson | 2/300/600 | 147.153 |
| 3 | U-99 | Miss Von's | Scott Pierce | 3/225/525 | 136.568 |
| 1 | U-19 | Kona Kai/Appian Jeronimo | Mitch Evans | 4/169/296 | 122.583 |
| 5 | U-3 | Chelan's Mill Bay Casino | Todd Yarling | DNS/0/0 | |
| # Fast Lap: | U-2 (2nd) | 153.633 | |||
* * *
They'll get a chance to race each other again in Heat 3. The draw:
| Heat 3A (1:30): | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Ln | Boat # | Name | Driver |
| 1 | U-10 | Smokin' Joe's | Mark Tate |
| 2 | U-1 | Miss Budweiser | Mark Evans |
| 3 | U-99 | Miss Vons | Scott Pierce |
| 4 | U-19 | Kona Kai/Appian Jeronimo | Mitch Evans |
| 5 | U-9 | Miss Exide | Mike Jones |
| Heat 3B (2:00): | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Ln | Boat | # Name | Driver |
| 1 | U-2 | Harvey Motorsports | Steve David |
| 2 | U-6 | DeWALT Tools | Mike Hanson |
| 3 | U-100 | PICO American Dream | Dave Villwock |
| 4 | U-14 | Computers & Applications | Ken Muscatel |
| 5 | U-3 | Chelan's Mill Bay Casino | Todd Yarling |
Earlier, Mark Tate established himself as a strong contender in the U-10 Smokin' Joe's with a wire-to-wire victory in Heat 3A. Mark Evans challenged briefly but suffered from a less-than-perfect boat ride and decided to settle for second. Ken Muscatel was a steady third in the U-14 Allied Telesyn Presents Computers and Applications, while a good battle developed for fourth. Mike Jones stayed wide in the U-9 Miss Exide, allowing Mitch Evans to stay close in the U-19 Kona Kai Presents Appian Jeronimo. However, Evans could not find the speed to actually pass Jones and settled for fifth.
| Heat 3A (1:30): | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ln | Boat # | Name | Driver | Pos/Pts/Tot | Speed | |
| 1 | U-10 | Smokin' Joe's | Mark Tate | 1/400/1100 | 157.367 # | |
| 2 | U-1 | Miss Budweiser | Mark Evans | 2/300/925 | 150.730 | |
| 3 | U-99 | Miss Vons | Scott Pierce | 3/225/750 | 138.230 | |
| 5 | U-9 | Miss Exide | Mike Jones | 4/169/521 | 124.164 | |
| 4 | U-19 | Kona Kai/Appian Jeronimo | Mitch Evans | 5/127/423 | 121.985 | |
| # Fast Lap: (2nd) | U-10 | 158.792 | ||||
* * *
During the warmup for Heat 3B of the 1996 Bill Muncey Cup at San Diego's Bayfair, the U-6 DeWALT Tools, driven by Mike Hanson, went out of control and rolled over. It was not clear what caused the incident, in which the U-6 spun around to its left, scratching the U-2 Harvey Motorsports boat, then flipped over and landed upside down. Driver Mike Hanson suffered only a contusion and a minor concussion from the accident, and will be taken to the hospital for observation only. The remaining four boats will re-run Heat 3B about 2:45.
The rerun of Heat 3B turned out to be equally as significant as the first. Dave Villwock won a wire-to-wire victory, but suffered severe damage to the right sponson of his PICO American Dream and had to withdraw. A great battle ensued for second, with Ken Muscatel using his inside advantage in the U-14 Allied Telesyn Presents Computers &Applications to pass Steve David in the U-2 Harvey Motorsports completing lap number one. However, David pulled away from there, and Muscatel hit a buoy in the final turn and incurred a one-lap penalty, allowing Todd Yarling to gain third in the U-3 Chelan's Mill Bay Casino.
| Heat 3B (2:45) RERUN: | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ln | Boat # | Name | Driver | Pos/Pts/Tot | Speed |
| 1 | U-100 | PICO American Dream | Dave Villwock | 1/400/969 | 143.540 # |
| 4C | U-2 | Harvey Motorsports | Steve David | 2/300/925 | 138.800 |
| 3 | U-3 | Chelan's Mill Bay Casino | Todd Yarling | 3/225/225 | 122.775 |
| 2 | U-14 | Computers & Applications | Ken Muscatel | 4/169/338 % | (N/A) |
| - | U-6 | DeWALT Tools | Mike Hanson | WD/0/600 * | |
| # Fast Lap: (1st) | U-100 | 149.046 | |||
| C | Moved from lane 1 to lane 4 by the officials because of left-side damage in first running | ||||
| % | Penalized one lap for destroying a course marker (buoy) | ||||
| * | Rolled over on warmup prior to the start of the original running | ||||
* * *
PROVISIONAL - A two-boat race turned in to a cakewalk when Todd Yarling found the U-3 Chelan's Mill Bay Casino unable to get on a plane. When he parked his boat in the infield, Ken Muscatel needed only to run a single lap to earn the trailer slot in the final.
| Provisional Heat (3:25): | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ln | Boat # | Name | Driver | Pos | Speed |
| 1 | U-14 | Computers & Applications | Ken Muscatel | 1 | Untimed |
| 2 | U-3 | Chelan's Mill Bay Casino | Todd Yarling | DNS | |
* * *
| FINAL LINEUP: | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Final Heat (4:13): | |||
| Ln | Boat # | Name | Driver |
| 1 | U-10 | Smokin' Joe's | Mark Tate |
| 2 | U-1 | Miss Budweiser | Mark Evans |
| 3 | U-2 | Harvey Motorsports | Steve David |
| 4 | U-99 | Miss Vons | Scott Pierce |
| 5 | U-9 | Miss Exide | Mike Jones |
| 6 | U-19 | Appian Jeronimo | Mitch Evans |
| T | U-14 | Computers & Applications | Ken Muscatel |
| Final Heat (4:13): | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ln | Boat # | Name | Driver | Pos/Pts/Tot | Speed | |
| 2 | U-1 | Miss Budweiser | Mark Evans | 1/400/1325 | 151.425 | R# |
| 1 | U-10 | Smokin' Joe's | Mark Tate | 2/300/1400 | 148.099 | |
| 3 | U-2 | Harvey Motorsports | Steve David | 3/225/1150 | 139.658 | |
| 4 | U-99 | Miss Vons | Scott Pierce | 4/169/919 | 136.641 | |
| 6 | U-19 | Appian Jeronimo | Mitch Evans | 5/127/650 | 128.881 | |
| T | U-14 | Computers & Applications | Ken Muscatel | DNF/0/338 | ||
| 5 | U-9 | Miss Exide | Mike Jones | DNF/0/521 | ||
| # | Fast Lap: U-1 (4th) | 155.524 | ||||
| R | Course record. Old 12.5 mile heat record 149.330, set in 1994 by Dave Villwock in the PICO American Dream | |||||
| EVENT POINTS: | ||
|---|---|---|
| Boats: | ||
| U-10 | Smokin' Joe's | 1430 |
| U-1 | Miss Budweiser | 1348 |
| U-2 | Harvey Motorsports | 1150 |
| U-100 | PICO American Dream | 1009 |
| U-99 | Miss Vons | 932 |
| U-6 | DeWALT Tools | 617 |
| U-19 | Appian Jeronimo | 550 |
| U-9 | Miss Exide | 521 |
| U-14 | Computers & Applications | 348 |
| U-3 | Chelan's Mill Bay Casino | 225 |
(UHRA)