Evening star., 1951-09-24


last year was 95.038. Pepsi also
made its fastst heat speed in this
Iheat-81.372. It's best heat last
year was 88.725.
Five Start Big Race.
Five boats answered the start
ing gun from the Coast Guard
cutter Marion for the first heat
Pepsi; Horace Dodge's Hornet,
driven by Bill Cantrell; young Lee
Schoenith's Gale II: My Sweetie,
driven by Walter Kade and Ro-
land Flanagan's outclassed Chesa-
peake, driven by Bob Dawson.
All but Chesapeake Cat finished
the first heat. Gale was second,
Hornet third and My Sweetie
fourth. In this one, Thompson
came very close to tapping Gale
and Hornet and actually Tapped
My Sweetie on the upper turn.
'Thompson took it even easier the
next heat and even faltered just
before the finish to give the crowd
a show. Hornet was right behind,
followed by Gale and My Sweetie.
Guy Lombardo. who had trouble
with his Tempo vi and never
came out in that boat, drove My
SWeetje in the final heat. But
he might as well have stayed at
the pits because he dropped out
with rudder trouble on the fifth
lap. And a lap earlier, Cantrell
in Hornet fell by the wayside.
With 800 bonus points for the
I fastesr heat and fastest average
for three heats. Miss Pepsi ended
with a top-heavy 1000 points.
Gale II mad 825, Hornet, 525, and
My Sweetie. 338.
Mascari's Boat Capsizes.
The regatta wasn't under way
more than minutes when the
first boat capsized. Joe Mascara
of New Hyde Park, N. Y, driving
Sam DuPont's Hydrogen, was
thrown out when half way to the
first mark in the DE racing run
ABOUT event. In a sporting ges-
ture. Elwood Pliescott Of Cam
bridge, Md, stopped his boat to
check on Mascari's condition. He
waved Pliescott on and the latter
Icontinued to finish fourth in the
icombined field and first In his own
class (class D..
Hydrogen, meanwhile. quickly
filled with water and went to the
bottom of the river before the
Coast Guard could secure the
Iswamped racer. Mascara was
'ItaKen to the outboard pits and
treated for a burned arm and
bruised stomach.
| AS they have done many times
before, the 225-cubic-inch hydros
produced some of the best racing
of the day. Carl Ryberg Of De-
Itroit and Bob Rowland of Norfolk,
Va. each won q heat and each
got a second to tie in points.
Rowland, a former outboard ace,
won top prize by making faster
time for the combined heats
4 seconds faster in fact.
Aubrey Thacker Scores.
One Of the largest fields of 1885,
cubic-inch hydroplanes seen in
this area in years answered the
starting gun and put on thrill
ing show. Nine of the sporty
little hydros hit the starting line
and were led both times by 18-
year-old Bill Rittner of Merton,
Pa. Clarence Collins. popular
Idriver from Norfolk. took two
seconds. In the first heat, his
boat started leaking at the finish,
Ibut he managed to get back to
the pits and make repairs.
j Washington's Aubrey Thacker
won the John Charles Thomas
Trophy the easy way. His Zeze-
bel TX was the only Division II
225- hydro Of three entries to come
out.
Dick Cooper, the Front Royal
(Va) auto dealer, set fast pace
in his Dynafiow, winning both
heats of the D service runabouts.
Frank Kocsis of Silver Spring
turned in the best job of any
Washington area inboard driver,
winning the Pacific one-design
race with second and a first.
Tommy Russell, also of Silver
Spring, was thrown out of his
Black Magic on the upper turn
and didn't finish. This was old
stuff for Black Magic, which has
a reputation of throwing its
drivers at the slightest provoca-
ton. Russell was quickly rescued.
In the windup race staged as
darkness was coming on. Paul
Price of Arlington won both heats
of the sporty 48-cubic- Inch hydro
plane class.