HYDROPLANE RACING : Boats Are Different, but Their Goal Is the Same

They make a strange couple, Smokin’ Joe’s and Miss Budweiser, the two boats battling for the unlimited hydroplane championship in today’s Bayfair ’94 race on Mission Bay.

With two events remaining, here and Oct. 16 in Honolulu, Miss Budweiser leads by 66 points, 8,288-8,222. There are 1,600 points available in today’s three heats and five-lap final.

Miss Budweiser, the defending champion, is bright red with white lettering--except for owner Bernie Little’s name, which appears on the cowling in large gold letters, in keeping with his jewelry. Driver Chip Hanauer’s name appears in small print on the cockpit.

Smokin’ Joe’s, the challenger, is a garish yellow and purple creature with a camel prominently displayed on its deck and sides. Owner Steve Woomer’s name doesn’t even appear on the 30-foot long boat. Driver Mark Tate’s name is politely displayed on the cockpit.

“This is an advertising medium,” Woomer said. “I don’t need any advertising. And I’d sell the spot where Tate’s name is if it would help us go any faster.”

Hanauer, 40, winner of seven driver’s championships but out of this year’s contention after two serious accidents, has been racing unlimited hydroplanes since 1976, when he graduated from Washington State. A 22-year-old powerboat phenom from Port Townsend, Wash., at the time, Hanauer went on to win 53 races, including nine Gold Cups. He has also won four times on Mission Bay, twice in Atlas Van Lines and once each in Miller American and Circus Circus.

Hanauer retired after the 1991 season, but after a year’s absence returned to the cockpit to drive for his longtime rival, Little. This year, when Hanauer was ailing, the Bud boat was driven in two races by Mike Hanson, who won at Lake Lewisville, Tex.

Tate, 34, is in only his fourth year as an unlimited driver after a long career racing inboard hydros. A third-generation racer from Wayne, Mich., Tate has won two Gold Cups, a national championship and four races in his four seasons.

The two-team manager/crew chiefs are the winningest in unlimited history.

Ron Brown, the Miss Bud boss, joined Little in 1986 and directed the boat’s transition from piston power to turbine, using a 2,750-horsepower Lycoming helicopter engine. His boats have won 44 races and seven championships.

Jim Lucero, Brown’s counterpart with Smokin’ Joe’s, has a record 11 Gold Cups, 10 national championships and 61 victories. He joined Woomer’s Competition Specialties team in 1986 after a long career with Bill and Fran Muncey.

Both contending hulls were built in 1987. Smokin’ Joe’s began life as the Miller American and was the Winston Eagle for five years before this season.

The Miss Budweiser on the water this week was pressed into service after the team’s primary boat, built in 1989, crashed last month on Seattle’s Lake Washington. The ’87 boat was hurried into service the same day after being taken from a nearby shopping mall where it was being used in a promotional display.

Although pegged this year as a backup, the ’87 hull has won 24 races, sharing the record with the Atlas Van Lines Blue Blaster, driven by the late Muncey from 1977 to 1981.

Neither Smokin’ Joe’s nor Miss Budweiser qualified as well as anticipated Saturday when choppy water held down speeds.

Von’s American Dream, with 1992 winner Dave Villwock driving, held on to the top qualifying spot with its Friday speed of 166.027 m.p.h. Miss Budweiser remained second at 165.247, and Smokin’ Joe’s moved from fifth to fourth with a 164.126 lap Saturday.

“We made seven different runs and a total of 16 laps over 160 m.p.h., but we just never got the ‘magic lap’ to set top time,” said Hanauer, who has been No. 1 qualifier in five of this season’s six races.

Racing will begin at 11:30 a.m.