Specifications1974-1976 Miss U.S.
Competition Summary:
1976 Gold Cup Champion (Detroit)
1975 Gar Wood Trophy (Detroit)
Miss U.S. Technical Information
This significant hydroplane marked the transition between the conventional and the modern hydroplanes. As the first cab-over design to win a Gold Cup, she was the bellwether of hydroplanes to come. A few years earlier, the round-nose bow had given way to the pickle-fork design. By combining pickle-fork sponsons with the cab-over configuration, designer Ron Jones created the template for the "modern" hydroplane configuration.
When the Miss U.S. was constructed for the 1974 season, the cab-over configuration was not only radical, but also faced strong resistance from the hydroplane establishment. Several years earlier, Ron Jones had designed a radical cab-over for the Bardahl team -- a boat nicknamed the Green Dragon. With excellent speed and handling from the start, she was very promising. At her first race, the President's Cup on the Potomac River, driver Ron Musson dominated the field with the new boat, winning the first heat by over 30 seconds. But in the second heat disaster struck on this terrible day in hydroplane racing -- while battling Miss Notre Dame for the lead, the Green Dragon's propeller apparently sheared off causing the boat became airborne then plunge nose first into the water, breaking in two just behind the drivers cockpit and disintegrating in the resulting hydraulic explosion. Ron Musson suffered fatal injuries. While two more drivers were to die on this tragic day on the Potomac in conventional hydroplanes, many believed the cab-over boat design played a large part in Musson's death. They believed the cab-over was less stable and the configuration prevented the driver from jumping clear in a crash. Above all, drivers did not like the idea of arriving at an accident ahead of the boat.
Jones continued to advocate the cab-over -- realizing that the placement of the engine behind the driver would enable better weight distribution, improved visibility, and a less violent ride for the driver. (It really did help the driver hold on to the steering wheel and keep his foot on the gas pedal!). Better systems packaging could also be realized. And despite the myth that the cab-over was inherently dangerous, Jones was convinced the design was in fact safer. And visionary owners like Detroit's George Simon were willing to invest in the new hulls to obtain a competitive advantage.
The Miss U.S. team was owned by George Simon. Simon began racing Unlimiteds in 1953 as both an owner and driver -- he retired from driving in 1956 and proceeded to campaign a total of 10 hulls under U.S. Machinery sponsorship. He was one of the key hydroplane owners who regularly ordered new boats instead of buying used equipment, but unlike many he also didn't sell much of his old equipment. Accumulating 12 wins over a 23 year period of campaigning his boats, Simon was one of the pillars of the sport. To this day, the world speed record (200.42mph) for piston-powered propeller-driven boats is held by the Miss U.S. I. This record was set at Guntersville, Alabama in 1962 by Roy Duby.
For the 1974 season, the U.S. team had Jones build the famous Allison-powered hydroplane now owned by Unlimited Excitement. Driven by Tom D'Eath, the boat scored modest finishes in the first four of five events (the team did not enter the Kentucky Governor's Cup race). The sixth race of the season at Seattle turned out to be a disaster for both the Miss U.S. and Seattle's Seafair. The race was moved from its traditional location Stan Sayres course on Lake Washington north to Sand Point so the organizers could collect an admission charge. With a crowd of only 30,000 present (compared to the normal 500,000), the facilities proved inadequate and numerous delay's had competitors, fans, and officials exasperated. While competing, the Miss U.S. had a failure which resulted in a fire. As D'Eath beckoned a nearby patrol boat for a fire extinguisher, the fire began to grow. A rescue boat approached, but insisted D'Eath leave the burning boat for both his safety and the safety of their boat. Much to D'Eaths amazement and distress, the patrol boat fled the scene after he boarded, leaving the U.S. burning. Several more minutes passed before another patrol boat reached the Miss U.S. and extinguished the fire -- the Miss U.S. having been burned to the water line. Despite considering retirement, George Simon decided to have the boat repaired and attempt once again to capture the legendary Gold Cup.
D'Eath earned the first win for the 10th Miss U.S. in the fourth race of the 1975 season in Detroit. The victory at the Gar Wood Trophy continued the success the team experienced on the Detroit river. This was the first win for the Miss U.S. team and George George Simon since their successful 1969 season. A few weeks later the team landed a second place finish at Dayton, then moved on to the Tri-Cities for the Gold Cup. They would again be the brides-maid -- this time with a bitter-sweet experience. Despite the thrill of winning the final heat the Gold Cup, the race was determined by accumulated points, and the Pay'n Pak capture the cup on the basis of better preliminary heat results. Problems with reliability resulted in a number of DNF's throughout the rest of the season, and the team could only manage a 6th place High Points finish.
For 1976 Simon announced his intention to retire at the end of the season. His budget was small compared to the well financed Atlas and Budweiser teams, but his team strived to make the most of his Allison powered boat. Tom D'Eath recruited his good friend Ron Brown to serve as Crew Chief for this final season. The team got off to a great start with a second place finish at the season opener in Miami. The team skipped the President's cup on the Potomac (a decision which would hurt their overall championship standing at the end of the season) to prepare for the upcoming Gold Cup in Detroit. During this time the team built a special "hot" engine for the final heat of the Gold Cup.
The Detroit river was very rough on race day. This took a heavy toll on many of the boats, but some of the best survived. Among the best was the Atlas Van Lines, formerly the Pay'n Pak, owned and driven by Bill Muncey. During a preliminary heat, Ron Brown decided to put the hot engine into the boat instead of waiting for the final heat -- a key decision which affected the outcome of the race. The "hot" engine was anything but ... it was sluggish and was not developing the power needed to run competitively against the Pak. So another engine change was conducted for the final heat, this time a backup engine replacing the "hot" engine.
In the winner-take-all
(unlike the previous year) final heat, the Miss U.S. and the Atlas Van Lines had a great
battle. At the start, D'Eath driving the Miss U.S. captured the inside lane and lead
by a boat length over the Atlas at the end of the first lap. Muncey caught D'Eath on
the second lap and lead by a boat length for the next two laps. D'Eath stayed with
him, pushing his boat to over 165 mph on the rough Detroit river, preventing Muncey from
taking the inside lane and forcing Muncey to run a longer distance. D'Eath caught
and passed Muncey, later telling the press he "prayed and went a little deeper"
to get by Bill. Muncey pushed as hard as he could to regain the lead, but the
D'Eath's perfect tactics and courage resulted in the long sought Gold Cup win for the Miss
U.S. team.
Once the Miss U.S. broke the ice, only cab-over hydroplanes would win Gold Cups. In addition to being the first cab-over, she was also the only turbocharged Allison to ever win a Gold cup. She was also the last Detroit based boat and the last with Allison power to ever win a Gold Cup. The Allison engine had served the boat racing community well since the end of WWII, during which Allisons had powered a number of Allied fighter models. However Rolls-Royce engines, in particular the Merlin, were proving to be more competitive. This was caused in part by different intended applications of the engine -- while both went into airplanes, most Merlins were intended for "Altitude rated" or high altitude (above 20,000 ft) applications, while Allisons were mostly used in low-altitude applications. Most Merlin models featured two stage superchargers design to work at high altitude, which at sea level could make more boost pressure than the single stage superchargers fitted to the Allison. By 1976, the balance was decidedly favoring the Rolls-Royce and the Packard licensed Merlins. The Merlin would soon be eclipsed by the bigger and more powerful Rolls-Royce Griffon which would appear in the dominate Budweiser of the early '80s, only to be eclipsed again in the mid-80's by the Lycoming T55 turbine engines.