As Lon Erickson reported in the January issue of  the Unlimited NewsJournal, Strong had been looking to increase his
presence in the sport since early fall and finally decided to purchase the U-9 and primary equipment as his best step toward becoming a top contender for 2021 and beyond.

     That boat, the oldest on the circuit, was built in 1992 and first saw action as Coor’s Dry . It won the second race that it
entered, which also turned out to be the first race victory for Dave Villwock, who would go on to win more races than any
other driver in the sport’s history. As for the boat, it has won a total of 12 races during its career, including five during the
2018 season, when Andrew Tate drove it to the national title.

     “Vanessa and I are committed to making this new team a benchmark in the sport and we’re really excited and gratified for this opportunity,” Strong said.

     Then came the surprise announcement in early February that the buying spree wasn’t done, that he had also purchased
all of the assets of Erick Ellstrom’s race team, which includes the U-16 hull, engines, gearboxes, hauler, and accessory
equipment.                                                                                                                                                       Continued, click here...

MY $0.02 WORTH
Editorial Comment by Andy Muntz

The newest race team on the H1 Unlimited Racing Series has already made a big impression on the sport by purchasing two of the top boats on the circuit and by enlisting the services of two talented drivers.

     In December, Vanessa and Darrell Strong of Pasco, Washington, announced their entry into the sport as owners with their purchase of the U-9 boat from Lori and Mike Jones. They also announced that they had hired Corey Peabody to handle the driving of that boat.

     In February, the Strongs made another giant step with their purchase of another top boat, the U-16 that was owned by Erick Ellstrom. They also announced the addition of a second driver to their team: J. Michael Kelly.

     Strong started his H1 Unlimited involvement in 2013 by sponsoring the Webster family’s U-22, which raced in the Tri-Cities that year and the following two years as PayneWest Insurance. He then moved to the Go Fast,
Turn Left racing team, sponsoring the U-21 as PayneWest Insurance for the
Tri-Cities races in 2016 and 2017. He sponsored it at four races during the 2018 campaign.

     The race team built a new boat for the 2019 season, which raced as Darrell Strong presents PayneWest Insurance at that year’s event in the Tri-Cities.

BY CRAIG FJARLIE


Designers/Builders:

The Ventnor Boat Works was founded in 1902 by Adolph Apel. His son, Arno, became a vital part of the company. One of Ventnor’s most famous boats was Juno, built in 1937.

     Following World War II, Norman Lauterbach worked for Ventnor as the company’s construction manager. He drove Lahala in the 1948 Gold Cup and built Hot Metal and Aluminum First for Henry Kaiser in 1949. Norm’s brother, Henry, became a respected boat builder in his own right. Among his Unlimited creations was Miss Chrysler Crew for Bill Sterett. Henry never drove an Unlimited, but his son Larry took the wheel of boats such as Appian Jeronimo and Cellular One, in addition to his boat building duties.

     Ted Jones was a successful designer and builder of limited-class hydroplanes when Stan Sayres contracted with him to create Slo-mo-shun IV. Jones drove the craft to victory in the 1950 Gold Cup and drove it again in 1951. He went on to create a number of successful Unlimiteds: Miss Thriftway and Miss Bardahl among them.

the streak of finished heats was putting growing pressure on the crew. “Each race gets tougher. The boat has to quit sometime. We only hope it does because Bill turns off the key.”

     Then, the crankshaft broke.                                                                                                                   Continued, click here...

In part one of this series, we looked at owners who started in unlimited hydroplane racing and then encouraged family members to join the fun. In part two, the focus was on drivers who brought family members into the roostertail rivalry. In part three we will examine individuals who entered unlimited racing in other roles, such as boat designers and builders, crew members, sponsors, and in a variety of administrative positions. The list can be quite lengthy, so rather than trying to document everyone’s complete story, we’ll hit the highlights and acknowledge the contributions of as many families as possible.

The family tradition of designing Unlimited hydroplanes. From the left, Ted Jones, Ron Jones, and Ron Jones, Jr.


Last year, we introduced something new, the publication of an annual Record Book to serve as a free reference for those who enjoy

keeping track of all things Unlimited hydro racing. Now, it’s back!

Vanessa and Darrell Strong

The latest news, updates, and developments from H1 Unlimited, click here...

BY ANDY MUNTZ


The numbers don’t lie, we’ve often been told. Doing that telling, of course, are those among us who see the world as black
or white, as either it is or it isn’t, and as things that work or don’t. They are those who will admonish us to look at the data
for the answer.

     But there are others among us who see the world differently. They sometimes see gray. They know that there can be nuances in data—exceptions, anomalies, misinterpretations.

     In the effort to assemble hydroplane data, one discovers that these two world views will sometimes collide. Take, for
example, what happens when compiling the statistic for boats that have finished the most consecutive heats. Should be
pretty cut and dry, you might say. The boat either finishes or it doesn’t—right?

     Well, maybe not.

     When the crankshaft on the Miss Century 21 snapped during the first heat of the 1962 Harrah’s Tahoe Trophy in Stateline, Nevada, it ended a streak of 55 consecutive heat finishes by the team. (The achievement was reported as 56
heats at the time, but the record was later corrected to 55.)

     The team’s streak of consecutive finishes spanned almost three complete seasons, having started with the first heat
of the 1960 campaign in Chelan, Washington, and completely
shattered the existing record—a string of 19 straight heat finishes turned in by Bud Saile’s Miss Wayne in 1953 and ’54.

     The achievement of the Miss Century 21 that year also brought some attention to crew chief Jack Ramsey, a quiet man who typically avoided publicity. Ironically, on the evening before the streak ended, the Seattle Times published a feature about Ramsey, not only because of the consecutive heat-finish run but because the boat, driven by Bill Muncey, had also won every heat that it had entered up to that point in the season.

     “Our job, as crew, is to keep on top of the equipment,” he told the reporter. “The rest is strictly driving.” But, he admitted,

 March 2021

Former unlimited hydroplane owner Fran Muncey was among nine legends from the world of motorsports who were named as part of the 33rd class of inductees to the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America (MSHFA). Muncey was one of an unprecedented three women being inducted into the Hall of Fame as part of the class of 2021.

     The Motorsports Hall of Fame of America is located in Daytona Beach, Florida, and is the only hall that honors all American motorsports: cars, motorcycles, airplanes, off road, and powerboats.

     Muncey was married to one of Unlimited racing’s all-time great drivers and owners,
Bill Muncey, who was killed driving the Atlas Van Lines at the World Championship in
Acapulco, Mexico, in October 1981.                                                   Continued, click here...

The Miss Century 21 racing team in 1962, the year they set the mark.

IT’S IN THE FAMILY

THE 2021 HYDRO RECORD BOOK

VARIOUS POSITIONS:

   A record-keeping conundrum:

   Which hydroplane finished the most consecutive heats?

Nothing happened on Unlimited racecourses last year, so you may ask: Why would it be necessary to produce another issue of the Record Book? The records would all be the same, right?

     The answer is, after doing the book last year, we found a few things that needed to be corrected and we wanted to make some tweaks to improve it. But, the basic idea is the same.

     It’s our modern version of the old media guides that Fred Farley and the Unlimited Racing Commission used to put together some 40 years ago. It’s a place where the various achievements within the sport of unlimited hydroplane racing have been recorded.

     Although the Record Book includes the results of Gold Cups and Harmsworth races since their first runnings, it also compiles the results of every official race held since 1922, when the Gold Cup class was established. (As it explains in the book, an “official race” is one where there are at least three starters and at least two heats of racing.)

     One difference this year is that we’ve attempted to separate records from statistics. A record is an achievement that is officially recognized.
In almost all cases, the driver or owner will receive a trophy or certificate indicating that the race was won or a speed record established. A statistic is an unofficial achievement. The statistical rankings in the Record Book were developed through the analysis of heat results and other statistical data.               Continued, click here...

     His son, Ron Jones, also designed and built winning boats, including Pay ‘n Pak, Miss Budweiser, and Miss U.S. Ron Jones, Jr., continued the family legacy with boats such as the multi-wing Coors Dry, which he also owned.

     Detroit-based Les Staudacher built a number of boats in the 1950s and ‘60s, including most of the Gale hulls, Miss U.S. 1, and My Gypsy. His son, Jon Staudacher, built the 1975 Atlas Van Lines and Miss Renault, among others.

                                                                                                                                                                                  Continued, click here...

Strong Racing Team adds another boat and driver.

Fran Muncey elected to Motorsports Hall of Fame.