Hydroplane racing is a sport involving racing hydroplanes on lakes and rivers. It is a popular spectator sport in several countries.
A motorboat, speedboat or powerboat is a boat that is exclusively powered by an engine.
The 34th International 500-Mile Sweepstakes was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Tuesday, May 30, 1950. The event was sanctioned by the AAA and served as the premier event on the calendar of the 1950 AAA National Championship Trail.
The 36th International 500-Mile Sweepstakes was a motor race held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Friday, May 30, 1952. It was the opening race of the 1952 AAA National Championship Trail and was also race 2 of 8 in the 1952 World Championship of Drivers.
Walter Faulkner was an American racing driver from Tell, Texas. He moved to Milledgeville, Georgia at the age of two-and-a-half, and to Lake Wales, Florida at the age of eight. He then moved to San Diego, California in 1936. Faulkner competed mainly in the National Championship and in stock car races. In 1950 Faulkner became the first rookie to win pole position at the Indianapolis 500. He died in 1956 after a qualifying crash at a USAC Stock Car event in Vallejo, California.
Melvin Eugene "Tony" Bettenhausen was an American racing driver known primarily for his open-wheel career. He twice won the National Championship, doing so in 1951 and 1958. He also competed in stock cars, winning under AAA and USAC sanction.
Bayliss Levrett was an American racecar driver from Jacksonville, Florida. He died in Reno, Nevada at the age of 88 after a long battle with Alzheimer's disease.
William John "Bill" Vukovich was an American racing driver. He won the 1953 and 1954 Indianapolis 500, plus two more American Automobile Association National Championship races, and died while leading the 1955 Indianapolis 500.
Tudor Owen ("Ted") Jones was a hydroplane designer and builder.
The American Power Boat Association (APBA) is an American membership-owned corporation. In 1903, New York's Columbia Yacht Club had formulated a constitution for what ultimately became the APBA. It is the United States sanctioning authority for the Union Internationale Motonautique, the world governing body for powerboat racing. Headquartered in Eastpointe Michigan, the APBA has over 3,500 active members and sanctions over 150 races nationwide. The APBA sanctions all types of power boat racing from 205+ mph Unlimited Hydroplanes to smaller Junior Class racing starting at age 9.
Lee Edward "Chip" Hanauer is the third most successful Unlimited Hydroplane racer in history. He has won the APBA Gold Cup a record 11 times and was the driver of one of the most famous boats in APBA history, the Miss Budweiser, in the early to mid-1990s. He was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1995 as their youngest inductee. In 2005, he was inducted into the International Motorized Vehicles Hall of Fame. In 1991, he temporarily left the waters for auto racing only to return a season later.
Bernie Little was the most successful owner in Unlimited Hydroplane racing history. His Miss Budweiser team won 134 of the 354 hydroplane races they entered. They won the high points championship 22 years in 40 years of competition, and the Gold Cup 14 times. His first victory came on the Columbia River near Kennewick, Washington in 1966 for the Columbia Cup. The winning driver, Bill Brow, won in the Miss Budweiser with a winning speed greater than 98 mph.
Tom D’Eath is an American hydroplane and racecar driver from Michigan.
William Edward Muncey was an American hydroplane racing legend from Detroit, Michigan. The International Motorsports Hall of Fame and hydroplane historian Dan Cowie described Muncey as "without question, the greatest hydroplane racer in history." Muncey was nicknamed "Mr. Unlimited" and won 62 races, which was the most races in the history of the sport until Dave Villwock broke his record in 2011.
Eddie Hill is an American retired drag racer who won numerous drag racing championships on land and water. Hill had the first run in the four second range (4.990 seconds), which earned him the nickname "Four Father of Drag Racing." His other nicknames include "The Thrill", "Holeshot Hill", and "Fast Eddie". In 1960, he set the NHRA record for the largest improvement in the elapsed time (e.t.) when he drove the quarter mile in 8.84 seconds to break the previous 9.40-second record.
James G. Thompson was a Canadian businessman, philanthropist, and sportsman. He was best known for designing and building the Miss Supertest hydroplanes.
Arthur Challinor Asbury is a Canadian hydroplane boat racer. He was inducted into the Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame in 2001
Dean Alan Chenoweth was an American hydroplane racing pilot. Known for piloting the famous Miss Budweiser boat and the winner of four American Power Boat Association Gold Cups, he was killed at age 44 in a racing accident on the Columbia River.
Phil Remington was an American motorsports engineer.
Ronald J. Musson was a hydroplane driver from Akron, Ohio. He is best known for driving the Unlimited Hydroplane Miss Bardahl to three American Power Boat Association Gold Cup championships in 1963, 1964 and 1965. Musson died on Sunday, June 19, 1966 on what became known as "Black Sunday", when, in Washington, DC, three unlimited drivers were killed during the President's Cup race on the Potomac River. Musson was driving Miss Bardahl. Also killed were Rex Manchester, driving the Notre Dame hydroplane, and Don Wilson, driving the Miss Budweiser. Musson was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 1993.
American