I Got Disqualified But I Wasn't Really Cheating

[Beale Tilton]

Ron,
I can't remember what I had for breakfast today and never drove for the factory. My memory of events of 40 -50 years ago is pretty good. Factory drivers raced at times in R, S, T, X U, UI, UU. Just saying

[John Schubert T*A*R*T]

Ron,
I can't remember what I had for breakfast today and never drove for the factory. My memory of events of 40 -50 years ago is pretty good. Factory drivers raced at times in R, S, T, X U, UI, UU. Just saying

Beale, we employees were only allowed to race S & T, this was to keep the special engines in the hands of employees away from the other drivers who didn't have access to them.

[Beale Tilton]

John,
Not disputing employees. My statement pertained to drivers on the factory teams.

[Beale Tilton]

Add to my list the Mod classes of OPC also

[Ron Hill]

But I had a hard time remembering lunch....Finally, salad and turkey burger...

My point, I really didn't race my tunnel, unless it was a "Factory" Race or an "Out Law". So, probably, when I signed up to run my Scotti through the kilos, I probably didn't know what class I was. I just came to run over 100 MPH to get in the Evinrude 100 MPH CLUB.

When Jimmy told me to drive his boat, I doubt I signed any entry blank, I just "Jumped in" and went.

All I know was, "I wasn't cheating, but I got disqualified".

[Ron Hill]

Waterford Reservoir water, in Modesto, California, was always very fast water. I had broken the A Racing Runabout record in the fall of 1966 at Parker. 70 plus for an A Runabout was considered pretty fast. I had driven Carl Myers boat and engine. The boat was Carl's BU that I had designed, and my dad and I had build. I raced this boat at the 1965 Nationals. I think this record was the reason Harry called me.

Harry Bartolomei called me and asked if I wanted to drive his boats at the John Ward Trophy Race, 1967, in Valleyfield and at DePue? I said, "Sure"..He said, "Why not come to Modesto and run the kilos and run the record 1 2/3 mile course?"
So, in February, 1967, we headed to Modesto for the Kilos.

I remember see Gerry Wallin and his wife at dinner the night before the kilos. Leonard Keller always called Gerry "The Phantom",. This was my first time I met Gerry. I'm not sure he was the fastest outboard driver in the world then or not. But I was impressed to have met him.

The next day I drove Harry's 500 CC Runabout (C Runabout) and Harry's D Runabout to new Kilo Records of 88 MPH in "C" and 92 in "D"...Not sure the speeds are right, but in that ball park. The next day I drove Harry's F Runabout, a Quincy Cross flow on a Konig gearcase to the F Runabout competition record....I had help Bill Rucker broke down and so did Rich Fuchlin.

Three World Records on a weekend was pretty cool, considering the speeds were faster than I had ever driven on the road...

Fast forward two months. Both C and D Runabout records were NOT approved by APBA, they were approved as UIM Records, but APBA didn't approve the new Konig in time for a record. The F Runabout record was approved.

I wasn't cheating, but lost two APBA records.