The Unlimiteds - 2004 in Review

By Fred Farley - Unlimited Hydroplane Historian

The 2004 Unlimited hydroplane season shaped up as a farewell tour for the legendary MISS BUDWEISER (U-1) racing team, which was ending its involvement with the Unlimiteds after 42 years of participation.

At season's end, the Anheuser-Busch-sponsored "Beer Wagon" had five victories in seven races and yet another National High Point Championship.

MISS BUDWEISER owner Joe Little (son of team founder Bernie Little) and driver Dave Villwock finished first at Evansville (Indiana), Madison (Indiana), the Tri-Cities (Washington), Seattle (Washington), and San Diego (California).

This brought the MISS BUDWEISER team's total to 141 race wins since 1966 and 24 National Championships since 1969.

The other winners in 2004 were Kim Gregory's MISS DYC (U-10) at Detroit (Michigan) and Erick Ellstrom's MISS E-LAM PLUS (U-16) at St. Clair (Michigan).

MISS DYC and driver Nate Brown captured the prestigious APBA Gold Cup on the Detroit River, after MISS BUDWEISER's Villwock was disqualified for a driving infraction.

Brown was a last-minute addition to the U-10 team after regular driver Mike Weber was injured two weeks earlier at Madison.

MISS E-LAM PLUS and driver Terry Troxell survived a very rough St. Clair River to claim the St. Clair International Trophy, despite the battering wakes of ocean-going tankers in the vicinity.

Two teams from southern Indiana made their presence felt in 2004--the OH BOY! OBERTO/MISS MADISON (U-6), driven by Steve David, and the MASTER TIRE/VACATIONVILLE.COM (U-3), piloted by Mitch Evans.

The community-owned U-6 finished second at Detroit and the Tri-Cities and third at Seattle and San Diego.

The Ed Cooper-owned U-3 took second-place in its hometown Evansville "Thunder On The Ohio" and second in the San Diego Bill Muncey Cup.

The U-6 is the only race boat to be owned by an entire city and is the host boat at the annual Madison Regatta. The MISS MADISON is the oldest continuously active team in Unlimited history with 44 consecutive years of participation (since 1961).

The Allison-powered U-3 is the only Unlimited hydroplane to use a piston engine in a category dominated by Lycoming jet turbines. This may change, however, in 2005. (A couple of automotive-powered boats--the U-7 and the U-28--are reportedly in preparation.)

J.W. Myers, driver of LLUMAR WINDOW FILM (U-8), kept owner Bill Wurster's team in the hunt throughout 2004. Myers guided the U-8--a former MISS BUDWEISER hull--to third-place in the season-opener at Evansville and second-place in the hometown Chevrolet Cup at Seattle.

One of the pleasantest surprises of the year was the presence of four top-notch rookie drivers, all of whom qualified and scored points at the Columbia Cup: J. Michael Kelly (U-2), Steve Hook (U-99), Vince Xaudaro (U-00), and Dick Lynch (U-20). Not since the 1956 Seattle Seafair Regatta have that many rookies qualified at a single Unlimited event.

Kelly, an outboard veteran, achieved the highest marks of the class of 2004.

Driving for the Jim Harvey Motorsports team, J. Michael finished third at the Tri-Cities and second at St. Clair.

Owner Fred Leland's Kirkland, Washington-based team contributed greatly to the boat count on the 2004 Unlimited tour. Fred sent as many as three entries to some events: the U-00, the U-99, and the U-100.

Leland's best finish was a second-place at the Madison Regatta with driver Greg Hopp and the U-100, sponsored by MARIANN TRAVEL INN.

The good news of 2004 was the competition. Although MISS BUDWEISER won the majority of the races, she had to work for them. In 28 heats entered, driver Villwock finished first in 21 of them.

MISS BUDWEISER and MASTER TIRE battled head to head all weekend long at Evansville. The BUD took first-place in Heat One by barely a boat length--138.320 miles per hour to 138.116.

MASTER TIRE rebounded to win Heats Two and Three, while BUDWEISER experienced mechanical difficulty. The "Beer Wagon" nevertheless had its act together in the Final Heat and outdistanced MASTER TIRE by three roostertail lengths. LLUMAR WINDOW FILM wasn't far behind in third.

Villwock and MISS BUDWEISER had a perfect day the following week at the UIM World Championship race in Madison. They dominated the racing action by winning all four heats.

The start of the Final Heat at Madison saw four boats on the front line, closely bunched. OH BOY! OBERTO struck a buoy in the first turn and was penalized a lap. BUDWEISER, LLUMAR, and OBERTO ran one-two-three down the first backstretch as the crowd roared its approval. By the end of lap-one, MISS BUDWEISER had a clear lead, which she maintained to the checkered flag.

MARIANN TRAVEL INN was a distant second with MISS E-LAM PLUS taking third.

With back-to-back wins at the two Ohio River races, MISS BUDWEISER seemed a shoo-in to capture the APBA Gold Cup at the following race in Detroit. But things didn't work out that way.

The 2004 Gold Cup 100th anniversary race will long be remembered--both for its competitiveness and for its controversy. Apparent winner MISS BUDWEISER was disqualified on account of a lane change violation. This elevated Nate Brown and MISS DYC (also known as MISS EMCOR) from second to first position in the winner-take-all Final Heat.

Steve David and OH BOY! OBERTO were officially second in the corrected order of finish. Then came Terry Troxell in MISS E-LAM PLUS and Greg Hopp (subbing for Mark Tate) in MISS CHRYSLER-JEEP (U-2), while J.W. Myers and LLUMAR WINDOW FILM failed to finish.

Nine heats of racing were run at Detroit and six different teams won them: MISS BUDWEISER (1-A and 2-A), OH BOY! OBERTO (1-B and 4-B), Hopp and AL DEEBY DODGE (2-B), MISS E-LAM PLUS (3-A), LLUMAR WINDOW FILM (3-B and 4-A), and MISS DYC (Final).

MISS BUDWEISER physically led from the first turn onward in the Gold Cup Final Heat. MISS E-LAM PLUS ran second until passed by both MISS DYC and OH BOY! OBERTO on lap-two. OBERTO stayed ahead of E-LAM and MISS CHRYSLER-JEEP despite damage to the OBERTO's wing assembly.

Race officials then determined that pilot Villwock had washed down MISS E-LAM PLUS during the warm-up period and assessed the MISS BUDWEISER a lane encroachment penalty.

Only four times in Gold Cup history has an apparent winner gone home empty-handed for one reason or another as MISS BUDWEISER did in 2004. These include the disputed 1924 contest, also at Detroit, when RAINBOW IV was disqualified a month after the race for using an illegal hull design.

The venerable Detroit Yacht Club, sponsor of the MISS DYC, has long been associated with Gold Cup racing. As far back as 1917, Gar Wood was the winner with his DYC-registered MISS DETROIT II.

Not to be undone by one major setback, MISS BUDWEISER rebounded with a vengeance at the Tri-Cities with an impressive four-heat grandslam. The BUD also posted the fastest qualification lap of the Columbia Cup at 162.162 on the 2.5-mile course.

The finish of the "Dash For Cash" exhibition heat on Friday afternoon at the Tri-Cities was a heart-stopper. LLUMAR WINDOW FILM nosed out OH BOY! OBERTO, 141.520 miles per hour to 141.339. VACATIONVILLE.COM was close behind at 140.786.

All six boats were closely bunched at the start of the Columbia Cup Final Heat with LLUMAR WINDOW FILM first across. There was a lot of heavy duty pushing and shoving in the first turn. LLUMAR spun out and went dead in the water with a severely damaged right sponson--the second in as many weeks for the unfortunate U-8. VACATIONVILLE.COM had a minute added to its time for cutting off the LLUMAR.

MISS BUDWEISER led out of the first turn, pulled away to a decisive lead, and went on to score a clear-cut victory at 135.939 for the 12.5 mile distance. VACATIONVILLE.COM was physically "second" until passed on lap-five by OH BOY! OBERTO, which averaged 133.250.

It was fitting indeed that MISS BUDWEISER should win one of its final races on the same race course as its first victory. This was the 1966 Tri-Cities Atomic Cup with the late Bill Brow as driver.

The 2004 Seattle Seafair Regatta marked another triumph for MISS BUDWEISER owner Joe Little, pilot Dave Villwock, and crew chief Mark Smith in the Chevrolet Cup.

Villwock and MISS BUDWEISER were physically second in the Final Heat on Lake Washington. Officials ruled, however, that front-running Terry Troxell and MISS E-LAM PLUS had jumped the gun and had to run an extra lap. This elevated Villwock and the "Beer Wagon" from second to first to victory, ahead of J.W. Myers in LLUMAR WINDOW FILM, Steve David in OH BOY! OBERTO, Troxell in MISS E-LAM PLUS, and J. Michael Kelly in GRAHAM TRUCKING in the corrected order of finish.

The one major mishap of the weekend was the accident to MISS EMCOR, which flipped during Heat 2-A. Pilot Nate Brown fortunately escaped serious injury.

MISS BUDWEISER and MISS E-LAM PLUS stalked each other before the start and were way early. Both slowed down to a crawl. E-LAM jumped the gun by about a boat length. BUDWEISER was barely a boat length from the line at the moment of clock zero.

E-LAM "led" out of the first turn and pulled away. BUD ran a steady "second" and did not attempt to pass the penalized E-LAM. LLUMAR WINDOW FILM stayed within striking distance of the legally leading MISS BUDWEISER for one lap before BUD pulled away.

BUDWEISER averaged 132.318 for the 10-mile distance, compared to 129.366 for LLUMAR and 125.373 for OBERTO.

If one race is to be singled out as being the hard luck event of 2004, that event is certainly the Bluewater International Hydrofest at St. Clair, Michigan. The weather was warm but the water conditions were terrible.

The Unlimiteds returned to St. Clair after a 44-year absence only to find the St. Clair River churned to a nearly unraceable froth. After three sets of preliminary heats, the U.S. Coast Guard had to cancel the Final Championship Heat. The contest then had to be decided on the basis of total accumulated points.

Troxell and MISS E-LAM PLUS were given the victory nod on the strength of having 100 points, based upon one first and two second-place heat finishes.

Kelly and GRAHAM TRUCKING/SINDBAD'S/ROOSTERTAIL had 90 points for three second-places.

MISS BUDWEISER posted a rare DNF (Did Not Finish) at St. Clair. After winning Heats 1-A and 2-B, the BUD took a bad bounce, lost its horizontal stabilizer, and sustained hull damage in Heat 3-B.

But this was not the end of the Thunderboat trail for the storied U-1. One final curtain call still awaited MISS BUDWEISER in San Diego.

On the last day of her career, September 19, 2004, the mighty "Beer Wagon" went out a winner. Pilot Villwock steered the BUD to victory one last time in all four heats of the Bill Muncey Cup.

The thousands of spectators lining Mission Bay had the rare privilege of witnessing a competitive powerhouse in perfect running attitude. Even members of rival teams applauded this final performance of an American sports legend.

In the Final Heat, J.W. Myers in LLUMAR WINDOW FILM crossed the starting line first and led through the first turn but was passed by MISS BUDWEISER at the exit buoy. By the end of lap-one, the BUD had a two-roostertail length lead. At the finish line, it was U-1 the winner at 145.839, followed by Mitch Evans in VACATIONVILLE.COM at 141.150, Steve David in OH BOY!

OBERTO at 134.264, and Nate Brown in MISS EMCOR at 132.388.

It was a memorable conclusion to a memorable campaign. The Unlimited hydroplanes reaffirmed their status as "Water Racing's Greatest Show."

With the new American Boat Racing Association administrative team now in place, the future of the sport appears bright indeed. A total of eight regattas are scheduled for 2005. This includes a first-ever Unlimited race in Nashville (Tennessee) and an exhibition north of the border in Valleyfield (Quebec).

The annual ABRA Awards Banquet on February 26, 2005, was a glittering success, which honored the accomplishments of 2004. These included Driver of the Year Dave Villwock, Rookie of the Year J. Michael Kelly, Crew Chief of the Year Erick Ellstrom, Owner of the Year Kim Gregory, Race Site of the Year Detroit, and Sponsor of the Year LLUMAR WINDOW FILM.