Buckle up, hydroplane racing enthusiasts! We're taking you on an exhilarating trip down memory lane, back to the golden era of Thriftway Racing, the team that dominated the sport in the 1950s and 60s. With the help of a vintage 1994 audio cassette from Thunder on the Water, we'll explore the legacy of Thriftway Racing through the eyes of the legendary Don Poier. You'll get to relive the triumphs of the Miss Thriftway team and understand why this brand still resonates with hydroplane fans today.
But that's not all, folks! We've got some thrilling news about the return of Thriftway to the scene, thanks to a newfound partnership with the U-21 Go Fast Turn Left Racing team. We'll share the emotional story of Greg O'Farrell, the determined owner of Go Fast Turn Left, and his lifelong connection to Thriftway. With a mix of nostalgia and newfound excitement, you're in for a real treat with this episode!
Photo from Roger Newton Collection
Buckle up, hydroplane racing enthusiasts! We're taking you on an exhilarating trip down memory lane, back to the golden era of Thriftway Racing, the team that dominated the sport in the 1950s and 60s. With the help of a vintage 1994 audio cassette from Thunder on the Water, we'll explore the legacy of Thriftway Racing through the eyes of the legendary Don Poier. You'll get to relive the triumphs of the Miss Thriftway team and understand why this brand still resonates with hydroplane fans today.
But that's not all, folks! We've got some thrilling news about the return of Thriftway to the scene, thanks to a newfound partnership with the U-21 Go Fast Turn Left Racing team. We'll share the emotional story of Greg O'Farrell, the determined owner of Go Fast Turn Left, and his lifelong connection to Thriftway. With a mix of nostalgia and newfound excitement, you're in for a real treat with this episode!
Photo from Roger Newton Collection
Roostertail Talk, a podcast dedicated to everything related to the sport we all love. I'm your host, david Newton, and it's time once again to sit back, relax and welcome to Roostertail Talk. It is July 11th 2023 and this is Episode 105. Well, race fans, last week we heard the announcements from the U21 Go Fast Turn Left Racing team and their new sponsorship for the Gold Cup, which will be held in a few weeks. They're partnering with the Beast Unleashed Adult Beverage and Thriftway Groceries. This isn't the first time Thriftway Groceries has been associated with Hydroplane Racing, as a lot of Hydroplane fans that grew up in the 1950s and 60s in Seattle has a soft spot for Thriftway Racing. To better understand the nostalgia of this partnership, i wanted to give a brief history of this, and I was digging through the archives here at Roochattel Talk and I found an audio cassette tape made back in 1994 by the organization Thunder on the Water.
David Newton:Now that name might sound familiar to some of you, as you've seen the trading cards that they produced in the early 90s. As a kid growing up in the area in the 90s and learning more about the sport and getting more involved with it, i loved those trading cards and I looked forward to getting each set as it came out. I still have my collection. I remember collecting various baseball cards, football cards, star Wars cards and this Hydroplane set in the 90s which really made a big impact on me and helped my passion and fandom grow for this wonderful sport. They didn't just do cards, they also made an audio cassette tape. They recorded Don Poyer, which was a legendary Hydroplane announcer in the 1980s and 90s and he talked about the history of Thriftway Racing. The short audio cassette tape has a great history of the sport with Thriftway Racing and I think it would be great for anyone to hear what kind of impact they had on the sport in the 1950s and 60s, because Thriftway Racing was almost a household name in the Seattle area back in the day as today it would be probably Jared Kilnick, julio Rodriguez, dk Metcalf, tara Lockett for the sports fans in Seattle. So to get kind of like an understanding of why people are excited about this announcement, i think it will be interesting for newer fans to hear this history of Thriftway Racing as well, as probably the older fans will love to hear the nostalgia as well. Before we get to the audio recording, let's take a look at that press release by Bill Osborne and the U21 team.
David Newton:So this was announced on July 5th that Greg O'Farrell and his son, brian O'Farrell, owners of the GoFast Turn Left Racing team and Lakersh Paving Incorporated, were excited about the APBA Gold Cup coming back to Seattle and debuting the Beech Unleashed Presents Myths Thriftway. So some significance for the owner, greg. When he was 11 years old he received the surprise of his young life. He got to meet the legendary Bill Munsey in the Stanshares pits and was gifted a ride in the legendary Thriftway 2 on the Ted Jones Racecourse on Lake Washington. He was quoted as saying he will never forget those incredible memories. When he was presented the opportunity to feature a new Ms Thriftway presented by Beech Unleashed that this year's Seafarer Gold Cup presented by Beacon Plumbing, he was thrilled. Now, thanks to the great opportunity at Northwest Beverages and their newly released Adult Beverage, the Beech Unleashed is it is all finally coming together. So O'Farrell's newly finished, all carbon fiber composite-eliminated hydroplane will take the Ted Jones Racecourse on August 4th, 5th and 6th as the U60 the Beech Unleashed presents Ms Thriftway.
David Newton:Gunnar O'Farrell will pilot the popular craft and is bid to claim the coveted APBA Gold Cup held in Seattle for the first time in over 38 years. The director of field sales, marcus DeGrawth, was quoted saying we are thrilled to be sponsoring this exciting team in Young. Gunnar O'Farrell while unleashing the Beech Unleashed at Seafarer, our new flavored 6% alcohol beverage people will find satisfyingly refreshing, with no added sugar or caffeine, just plain great taste and several delicious flavors. Greg O'Farrell was quoted. Greg O'Farrell went on to say that as a Ricky driver this season Gunnar will be honoring the skills and getting comfortable in a very fast hydroplane. He posted a lap of over 161 miles an hour in testing over in Tri-Cities, washington, while getting more familiar with the responsiveness of his boat. We expect him to be a little more conservative in the early heats in Seattle in trying to gather as many heat points as he can to qualify for the Winter Take All APBA Gold Cup final later that Sunday afternoon.
David Newton:He wants to thank the people with the brand the Beech Unleashed for stepping up to sponsor their dedicated team. It's exciting for them as they are all very appreciative, and they also want to thank Chris Richardson, with graphics incorporated, for their amazing work that they did striping the boat as they knew Mr Afuye. They also want to thank Athletic Awards, seafar, bill Osborne and Continental Productions for their time and effort and support. The actual photos of the boat hasn't been released yet, but there was some concept work that was released and it looks like it's paying great homage to the Mr Afuye racing team, as it's white with those persimmon strikes down the deck. Exciting news from the U21 team, and let's listen to that audio recording to hear a little bit more about the history of Thriftway racing in H1 Unlimited Racing.
Don Poier:On limited hydroplane. racing in the 1950s and 60s was characterized by a number of racing dynasties. The Miss Thriftway team from Seattle was one of these. Owned by associated grocers and driven by Bill Muncie, the Miss Thriftway set a standard of excellence that few teams before or since have ever duplicated. All three Miss Thriftway hydroplanes were designed by Ted Jones, the famed architect of Slow Motion 4, which revolutionized the sport in 1950. as the first prop riding unlimited to run successfully, the first Miss Thriftway won the 1956 and 1957 APBA Gold Cup races and the 1956 Presidents Cup, before disintegrating at the 1957 Governors Cup on the Ohio River at Madison, indiana. The second Miss Thriftway appeared only in four races. Her one-race victory was the 1958 Detroit Memorial Regatta on the Detroit River. But she's best remembered for hitting and sinking a US Coast Guard patrol boat during the 1958 Gold Cup race on Seattle's Lake Washington. Driver Muncie was pronounced dead at the scene when rescue workers could find no pulse, but Bill fortunately revived to race and win again.
Don Poier:The third Miss Thriftway can only be described with superlatives. Together with her arch rival, miss Bardahl, the Miss Thriftway was one of the first teams to successfully represent a commercial sponsor on a major scale. Built in 1959, miss Thriftway III wasted no time in serving notice that she was a front runner. She won the first heat that she ever entered and placed an overall third in the 1959 Apple Cup at Lake Shalane, washington. On February 15, 1960, miss Thriftway became the fastest propeller-driven boat in the world. The Rolls-Royce Merlin-powered projectile averaged a record-breaking 192.001 miles per hour over a straightaway mile on Lake Washington's east channel. This eclipsed the previous mark of 187.627 set in 1957 by Jack Regas in Hawaii, kai III. The record stood for two years.
Don Poier:For the 1961 and 62 campaigns, miss Thriftway was renamed Miss Century 21 to help publicize the 1962 Seattle World's Fair. The basic organization of the racing team, however, was unchanged Willard Rhodes remained the representative owner, bill Muncie the driver and Jack Ramsey the crew chief. In 1960, the team won its first of three consecutive national high-point championships. Between 1960 and 62,. Miss Thriftway Miss Century 21, established an unlimited class reliability record of 55 consecutive heats finished without a mechanical breakdown.
Don Poier:On the last day of her career at the 1963 Seattle Seafair Regatta, miss Thriftway set a heat record of 112.5 miles per hour, then went dead in the water in the second, requiring a tow to the pits. In five years of participation, the persimmon and white-colored U-6114 out of 32 races entered. This included two victories in the APBA Gold Cup, which is the crown jewel of powerboat racing, in 1961 and 62. From 1959 to 1963, the nifty Thrifty started in 85 heats, finished 77 of them, was first place 46 times, second place 16 times and averaged 54 heats at better than 100 miles per hour. Without question, miss Thriftway had earned her retirement.
Speaker 2:For more information about unlimited hydroplane collectibles and thunder on the water product, contact J&W Productions and Promotions, post Office Box 68223, seattle Washington, zip code 98188, or call area code 206-939-3561.
David Newton:Well, that was a great summary of the history of Miss Thriftway Racing Team and the association of Thriftway groceries in H1 Unlimited Racing. Hopefully that gives you some better understanding of the nostalgia it has for a lot of the race fans And just a nice fun walk down memory lane for those who were there and experienced that first person. Now, before we go, i want to talk a little bit more about Don Poyer, because Don Poyer had a spot in the hydroplane world in the 1980s and 90s. He was an avid fan of the sport. He grew up in the area and he was a great broadcaster and announcer for the sport in the 1980s and 90s. I watched a lot of recordings of races as a kid and loved watching the races that he broadcasted because he had such a unique voice and that passion really came through with every race. Unfortunately, he didn't spend a long time in the sport. We had a lot of other great announcers Steve Montgomery, dick Crippen, mark Evans, chip Hanna or Mike Fitzsimmons, bill Omara, pato Day But Don Poyer for me, just has a special place on my heart because when I was a kid I just loved watching those races that he announced.
David Newton:Unfortunately, he didn't spend a long time in the sport, he moved on to other aspects. He broadcasted a lot of football games in the 90s for the Pac-10 and he worked at Key CPQ Fox prime sports in the Northwest. But in 1985, he got his break as an announcer and he really went to the professional ranks As he announced an NBA team, the Vancouver Grizzlies. He went on to call games for them and be that play-by-play announcer. Unfortunately, he left the world a little early, as he passed away in 2005 of a heart attack at the age of 53 years old. He'll always have a special place on my heart. Love hearing his voice again and having his passion preserved for us with this audio.
David Newton:Well, i hope you've enjoyed our episode. Make sure you come back next week to listen to our next episode. We release new episodes every Tuesday at 5 am Pacific Standard Time. Also, don't forget to hit that subscribe button on your podcast player, as well as rate and review your experience. For more updates on Hydro News, check us out on social media. We're on the major players Facebook, twitter and Instagram. Ruchatel Talk is also online with our website, wwwruchateltalkcom. On the website you can sign up for an email subscription list to get notifications on upcoming episodes, hydro News podcast updates and much, much more. Finally, this is a free podcast to all of our listeners And if you're really enjoying your experience and want to help us to continue to grow and expand, please donate. You can find a link to donate through PayPal on our website through the support tab. So until next time, i hope to see you at the races, but until next time, longus, when you subscribe.