Ziggy Boettle: UIM and APBA Official
http://www.f1h2o.com/news/articles.php?idnews=581
Ziggy and I had a few encounters. The first was at Morgan City, Louisiana. I had flown in Friday night, and drove to Morgan City from New Orleans in a rent car that had no brakes. Saturday morning I told the OMC Crew my rent car was going to be "Switched out" and I needed a ride to the pits. OMC's truck was full fo crew, so they said Ziggy would come back and get me.
As we rode to the pits, Ziggy asked me WHY I drove for OMC or why did OMC have me on the "TEAM"? I felt he was asking me to tell him what a great driver I was and how many championships I had won, but instead, I just said, "Ann Strang likes me." Charlie Strang was chairman of the board of OMC and OMC made Johnson and Evinrude motors. Ziggy just looked at me and said, "OH."
That was about 1973.
My next encounter was at Augusta, Georgia, 1998. I was PROP TOUR's F1 Motor Inspector and Ziggy was the 45 motor inspector. So, 25 years had gone by since Morgan City, we'd seen each other at APBA meetings and I think I had him on my Commission when I was OPC Vice President of APBA.
But in Augusta,we are both working as officials. F1 officials got golf carts, 45 officials walked. I told Ziggy, my golf cart is your golf cart. He wasn't secure with this so, he asked me to drive him down to he 45 weigh in area. Well, the golf cart had a GOVERNOR and I had hooked up a throttle wire to over ride the governor...Ziggy and me are riding along at about ten miles and hour and there is this berm to go over a river in let. (I had been over it several times but Ziggy had never seen it.) Just as we get to the berm, I pull the throttle wire wide open and we do a "Wheelie" going up this berm. I seriously thought Ziggy was going to crap his pants as we went over the berm on back two wheels.
About six weeks later we are racing in St Louis, I ask Ziggy to check the fuel for me. First guy to finish, Ziggy says his fuel failed. So, toss his *** out. Next guy, his fuel fails.. So, toss his *** out...Third guy comes n, fuel fails....I go, "ZIGGY have you got the meter right?" He says, "NO."
I enjoyed my times with Ziggy, he loved my friend Jimmy Hauenstein. Any friend of "Gentleman Jim" was always a friend of mine.
Rest in peace, Ziggy. You were a good man.