The Pro 700 hydro Nationals were scheduled for August 9 & 10 at Dayton, Ohio at Eastwood Lake. We had been working solid for several months with Tom Bates of Lincoln Storage, Gene Whipp, Bill and Jo Ann Ellis, and Jack Waite. In this group were some of the top people in the U.S. involved in Inboard, OPC, and Modified Outboard racing, and Gene Whip was also dabbling in Offshore racing at this time. My Dad always found cream of the crop boat racers to work with us regardless of their primary racing interests.
Since Master Oil Racing Team also promoted the products wherever we raced, I had to keep track of expenses for IRS purposes. I had recorded some of these entries in my journal. We would be going directly from Dayton after the 700 hydro nationals to LaCrosse, Wisconsin the following weekend for the remaining Pro Nationals (except 1100 hydro and runabout which was held in California) where we would compete in the OD North American Championships.
I left out by myself on August 5 and had lunch with Joe at Al's Famous BBQ in Stafford. Debbie would fly in as well as my Dad. Jack Chance didn't go with me. I may have picked up pit man Johnny BZZZZ there, but I can't remember. Made it into West Memphis and spent the night. Had lunch at a Kentucky Fried Chicken in Louisville, Kentucky and Pizza in Dayton, Ohio the night of August 6. I was making some good time and passed a highway patrol hiding behind a bridge in Ohio, but didn't get a ticket because I had a radar absorbing device my Dad made. In those days the speed limit was 55 and I was doing close to 70.
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