An Amazing Story

[jrome]

Wayne,You forgot to tell the story about that week in Winnona. One of most fun places and great races . But all we had to eat was hot dogs. IT TOOK 10 YEARS FOR ME TO NEED TO EAT A HOT DOG AGAIN. Iwould love to go back to a race in Winnona,but I am takings some food this time.

[Master Oil Racing Team]

....now what would posses me to take a camera to the hot dog stand? Maybe I thought there might be some action there ...Huh? If you look at the photo, our other pit man Jim Roerig is between me and you. He sure is watching your hands! I'm just thinkin', maybe you said something like "I'll crack your head with this crescent wrench if you let me head up to that hot dog stand again". Jim may have been pullin' guard duty. I didn't need another crack in the head.

[Doug Hall Y51]

Wayne, I have heard the story of Danny running my dads boat. I would love to see the pictures. I need to get dad to post some stories. Obviously I was too young to remember alot of the stories but I love to hear them.

[Master Oil Racing Team]

I have already posted one of Dan in Rex's boat, but I have a few more from the same race. I wish I could find my notes, because I can't remember all the details of what happened. I looked at the story I wrote for Powerboat, but it doesn't list all the winners. Some are mentioned only in the captions. I don't know why I left some of the names out. I can only say it's because I'm not a real journalist. I just was passionate about boat racing and figured I knew more about that than a writer would so I figured if I came up with some human interest angles and photos, then I could make the stories work. Unfortunately, some of the racing facts were not complete. In the story of the Grain Belt Pro Nationals there was a human interest angle involving Larry Latta. Due to the recent news of his health problems and Larry being on a lot of people's minds, I think maybe I'll post that story.

[Master Oil Racing Team]

She is Tim Butts' sister Suzy. Tim said she used to come to watch him race, but the 1975 Pro Nationals at Winona was the one and only time I saw her. I keep getting off track, but I come across these pictures while I looking for one's associated with Marshall's D.

I finally found the results of the 725 hydro race. Fred Hauenstein made two perfect flying starts and went pole to pole both heats for the win. Charlie Bailey chased him both heats, and Howard Anderson finished third. Tim doesn't remember much about the 725 hydro qualifying heats other than some rough water. At that time, Tim was still getting up to speed in the larger classes. He had spent a little time testing, but no actual sponson to sponson clashes yet.

[racnbns]

250 H 250 R
Tim Butts Lee Sutter
350 H 350 R
Lee Sutter Ralph Donald
500 H 500 R
Bob Rhoades Charley Bailey
725 H 725 R
Fred Hauenstien Bruce Nicholson
1100 H 1100 R
Charley Bailey Bruce Nicholson
C-1 H C-1 R
Ralph Taylor Craig Selvidge
CSR
Todd Brinkman Jr.

I found these results in the 1976 program. It also has some good pictures. I'll bring it to the reunion.

Bruce C. Summers
V-71

[Master Oil Racing Team]

I was trying to figure out where Marshall's D figured in to the story when I was trying to find the results. I came across a pic of you and a deckrider approaching the start of 1100 runabout somewhere during the process.

Speaking of the reunion, I was talking to Joe today and we figured we had better start funneling names, phone numbers, addresses, etc. to John. I have noticed many BRF members show locations different than in the past.

[Master Oil Racing Team]

I had posted the November 1975 issue of Powerboat some time back, so I will just post that part regarding Larry Latta.

[Master Oil Racing Team]

It had been five months since I was in a hydro. My neck wasn't hurting any longer, but it was frozen up from going so long without being able to turn it. I could look a little bit to the left, but not much to the right. We had the final race of the year scheduled at my Dad's house on October 18 and 19. A couple of days earlier I had called the doctor who treated me when I was at the hospital in Baytown and told him of my situation. He made an appointment for the following day and I headed out to Baytown bright and early the next morning. The doc said my neck was just locked up from non use and it needed lubrication. He asked me how brave I was and I just shrugged my shoulder's and asked "What do you mean"? He said he thought cortisone (sp?) might do the job, but it make take more than one treatment and on some people the injection felt like liquid fire. I told him nothing else had worked so lets do it. He stuck the needle in my neck at the base of my head and moved it around a little while squirting the lube in. It didn't hurt at all, just a little warmth. It felt a little weird with him moving that needle around though. On the five hour drive home I started rotating my neck. By the time I got home late that afternoon, I had almost full rotation back. I told my Dad and Jack, "Get the boats out. We're going to race tommorrow".

I was a little rusty, but boy did it feel good back in the cockpit. In the 725 hydro I jumped the gun the first heat and finished second behind Jim McKean in the second.

The first photo is on the way to the first turn. Charlie Bailey is on the inside followed by Artie Lund, and probably Steve Jones or maybe Jim Richardson barely in the pic.

[ferv888ipba]

I remember that race at Winnona, Butch Levendusky came back in from the heat and "drove" that C Service Hydro 15 feet up on the beach with a hole you could drive a truck through on the bottom. That was also the race where Craig Selvige in C Service kept hitting the bouy, although he did not dislodge or destroy any of them and they threw him out. He protested and was able to show the rule book says destroy or dislodge which he never did. Pretty good bruhaha.

Funny to think, Larry had enough weight to upset the balance of a boat and turn it over, but he did.

It looks like Winnona is coming back to boat racing as Bruce Johnson has been working real hard on getting the Title Series up there next year and that will be exciting to go back and be able to announce at one of the premier race courses in the country.

Ray