Episode 172: Fran and Edward Muncey, Part 2

We pick up part two with Fran and Edward Muncey as we talk about carrying on Bill’s vision from driver to owner and into a new era. From the cabover shift to turbines, Chip’s rise, and the Atlas Blue revival, the story fuses grief, grit, craft, and showmanship.

Episode 171: Fran and Edward Muncey, Part 1

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Transcript

Welcome Back And Setup

SPEAKER_02 0:32

I am your host, David. And it's time once again to step back, relax, and welcome to RoosterTale Talk. It is March 10th, 2026. And this is episode 172 in part two of my interview with Fran and Edward Muncie. Now, as I said, this is part two. Part one aired last week. And if you haven't listened to part one, please go back and check out episode 171. You can check the link in the bio below. You don't want to miss out on part one as this episode continues right where we left off. And there's a lot of great history and more in-depth conversations with Fran and Edward. I got to know a little bit more about both of them that I I didn't know before. And was really surprised by some of the stories and anecdotes they had. Just had a lot of fun. Really had a great time talking with them back in September when I went down to San Diego. And it just was a fun interview. And we're going to pick up today right where we left off last week. And we're going to talk more about some transitions that the Munzies had. We're going to talk about that transition from Bill just being a driver to owning his own team and what it took to do such a thing. And how Fran was able to regroup and continue Bill's legacy with Muncie racing. And just some great anecdotes and stories and history along with their the relationships that they made, both Fran and Edward, uh with some great people around the sport. But I'm not going to spoil it for you. Let's just jump back into my interview with Fran and Edward Muncie. Trying to think about how how you formed a team after his loss. What made you decide to continue with racing? Because like to be honest, like I my father wasn't as involved in hydrofin racing as yours was, but after his passing, it it's what he breathed and loved. It was hard for me to even do as much as I'm doing now. But um just curious from your your perspective.

SPEAKER_00 2:51

First I have to say that w Abel was killed and uh Edward went to school and he he got his film someplace, you knew where it was. He took it to school. And the teachers and the principal thought that was so wonderful. He wanted to tell the school about his father. And this was just like two or three days after after the accident. Everybody came to the house, Lee and Shirley Shaneath, and and the boats were coming up slowly from uh Mexico.

SPEAKER_01 3:22

Scott Kirch was the first one, I think, to stop by and remember parked the hydroplane down at the base real close to her house, and he was the first one back and checked to check in and then every through that after that everybody would stop by her as their way back up to Seattle. It was really it was amazing to see that.

SPEAKER_00 3:40

But that was something for Edward, a 10-year-old, go going to school and making a presentation using the film that they'll always use. Yeah. But I need I knew that we needed to build a boat. And I knew that Jim Lucero was the genius in the sport as far as building a boat. Everything. He was just number one. So I asked him if he would. He had to ask, he said, Well, I don't know if Dave Harensberger will let me do that.

SPEAKER_02 4:10

Um that's right, because he was working for Payne back at the time.

Buying The Team And Early Tensions

SPEAKER_00 4:14

Oh, that's right.

SPEAKER_02 4:15

Yeah. Well, I think I I think I I kind of glaze over some years here. Let's let's rewind a little bit. Because uh in 1975, Bill made even uh a bit larger step on the sport, uh becoming an owner. And could you talk a little bit more about how that came about?

SPEAKER_00 4:33

Well, we got the team. Bill was so surprised that Dave would consider selling it. He didn't tell Lassara or any he didn't tell anyone, it was a big secret. And so it was once the sale was finalized, then they Dave, Haronsberger, and Bill went to the shop and told the team. And Jim Lasera was very upset because he hadn't been told, and he didn't even know if he liked Bill. Because he he just really didn't know him.

SPEAKER_01 5:06

And it's amazing because they're coming off a championship season, the PamPack team. Right, yeah, and now you're saying that's yeah, for them. Why would you sell a team all of a sudden?

SPEAKER_00 5:13

Right. And that's because Dave Harrisberger was having trouble with Jim Lucero. Just his personality and his ways, and so he was happy to sell it.

SPEAKER_01 5:24

Then from there, that's so you acquired the team first year. Dad's racing the Pan Pack boats now, the Atlas van Lines, and they guys win the championship, I believe. And I can't remember if you run the Gold Cup that year in 1970. Oh no, that was Tom De Eath.

SPEAKER_02 5:37

Tom Eeth, that's right. That's right. Yeah, unfortunately, they lost in Detroit to Tommy Eath and the wing the wing was off the boat.

SPEAKER_00 5:44

That's right. So then he won the next three gold cups Bill did and the uh with the cab over the camp.

SPEAKER_01 5:53

Uh-huh. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 5:54

Oh, that's right.

SPEAKER_01 5:55

So you guys bought the team, but did you did you know actually about the cab over? Was there was a design for it?

SPEAKER_00 6:01

Yes, it was already almost built. Uh but uh since Bill wasn't familiar with the Cab Over driving it, he drove the the conventional hall the first year.

SPEAKER_01 6:12

Right.

SPEAKER_00 6:13

And then switched to the Cab Over.

SPEAKER_01 6:16

And you recall anything about was Dad how nervous he was to drive it or was he excited and just because everything was different.

SPEAKER_00 6:24

You know, when you're driving a between driving a Volkswagen bus, you're right there up against the windshield. So he didn't have any points of reference.

SPEAKER_02 6:33

Right.

SPEAKER_00 6:34

So that's that's what bothered him. But he figured it out. Oh, and then something else that happened was Bill thought, I mean, Jim Lasero thought Bill was could do better in the turns in the corners. And so when they got to at uh Owensboro, Kentucky that year, Jim said, I'm gonna ask Billy Starrett if he'll take the boat out. It really upset Bill. Oh, but that's because uh Bill's Billy Starrett would go slide clear out and he'd be this way and go down the the chute after the first turn. In other words, not go around like that. He was going out like this and going kind of drifting more completely so that he'd be straight straightened out by the time you go down the get out of the corner and on the straightaway.

SPEAKER_02 7:20

Straightaway. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I didn't know that. Wow.

SPEAKER_00 7:24

Mm-hmm. And then Billy was killed a few years later in some vote, I'm not sure which one.

SPEAKER_02 7:31

Bill Starrett?

Cabover Design And Driving Style

SPEAKER_00 7:33

Uh Billy, the son. Oh. Yeah, Bill Starrett was also killed. Right, right. But Billy. Yeah. Because he was young, had a young family. I'm not sure when that was. But anyway, anyway, so then with uh Bill was upset about that, but he did try, but he showed Jim Lucero that he could do it faster the way he did. And that's you always he knew this. You always have to, you have to have boat bolt speed if you're gonna take the one lane, because you're there first. So he he just then showed Jim Lucerro that he could do it his way faster. And so he did. He stuck to his all his own ways. He always hugged the the buoys going around the turn.

SPEAKER_02 8:18

Yeah, yeah, he was master of that, master of a lot of things.

SPEAKER_00 8:20

Yeah, master of the starts and the flying starts.

SPEAKER_01 8:24

Yeah, yeah. So that first year, so 77, first year of the cab over, were you there? Do you recall if you're there in Miami?

unknown 8:31

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 8:31

They got arrived there, and I think the boat, for some reason, I can't something caught on fire or something, and it kind of blew up, blew off the deck. I think Tim Ramsey got, I'm gonna mess this up.

SPEAKER_00 8:40

And I um the young man from Canada. He got Gary Steele was blown off the boat.

SPEAKER_01 8:46

Oh, okay. Yeah. Oh man. And so that started that season off, but they ended up doing having having a fantastic year after the Miami race. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 8:55

Yeah. And many years after that, that was probably his one of his most winning holes that he had, right? Won a lot of races in that book last year.

SPEAKER_00 9:03

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 9:03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 9:04

Yeah. Now when Jimmy Johnson drove it last, he couldn't in Seattle last week, three weeks ago, he couldn't believe how you could be in there because there's plenty of space, but there's no seat belt. And your head is up above everything. He he just thought how dangerous this is.

SPEAKER_02 9:24

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 9:24

And especially with all boats going into the first corner at a race. He could have been there. He did so amazing.

SPEAKER_01 9:30

I love the cockpit footage of Handhold. And it does look like Dad would always talk about it like this, how he would bring it down, and he'd always use this like he's driving a bus and kind of ease the boat down, and that's exactly what Jimmy did. Yeah. He looked like.

SPEAKER_02 9:43

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. The video footage of that was amazing, and it was fun to see Jimmy out there. And I was holding my breath there for him to get it started, but he got it out there. He's showed his own showmanship, right? He's building up the anticipation. Yeah. But what was it for you two to like to see Bill's boat out there on the water again after so many years? I'm sure you've seen it before, um, since it's been restored, but and then seeing Jimmy out there with it. Was that your first time seeing it since it's been restored?

SPEAKER_00 10:14

And it was just the beautiful, just perfect. And that was Don Mock that up that.

SPEAKER_02 10:21

He was a stickler for detailed and attention. Another musician, uh talented musician in his own rights, and uh yeah, he did beautiful craftsmanship on that boat.

SPEAKER_01 10:32

That Atlas Blue, like your shirt, that Atlas Blue was just it was gorgeous out there. And to hear that engine, and he got into it. Yeah, he was going real. I mean he had no nitrous, nothing like that. It's his first time, but he's putting muscle into it after the first couple laps. And I think it was such an amazing moment. I I I'm partial to retiring the boat from here because it's so special with Jimmy driving it. I think dad would love that, yeah, and that's it. Nobody else. And they were asking if I'd had an interest in driving it first. I thought, yeah, that'd be amazing, but then you think, no, it's was perfect the way that story when it played out. And unless Jimmy wants to drive it again or something of that nature, or Chip wants to drive it again, but I think nobody else. Those just those are the perfect people that are.

SPEAKER_00 11:13

And Don Brock said that only Chip. And then Chip let Jimmy drive it.

Restored Atlas Runs And Memories

SPEAKER_02 11:19

Yeah, no, I think that's a beautiful send-off for that hole. I mean, it's it's restored, it's beautiful now, and it's a museum piece, and uh it's rekindled a lot of memories and was fun seeing Chip drive it. It's fun seeing Jimmy drive it last month. Uh just an amazing tribute.

SPEAKER_01 11:36

Now, if Chip spoke, now that's a different story in 1982, then maybe one day there's opportunity to drive that on the book. That'd be cool. That'd be cool.

SPEAKER_02 11:45

Well, ever, you know, you you said you got you were asked to if you wanted to drive that Bill's flu blaster. Um did growing up, did you have any interest in driving hydroplanes, or was it more of what what was your thoughts on that?

SPEAKER_01 11:59

Well, we grew up with motorcycles here in Southern California. We wanted actually the interest was there, and there's but it just didn't exist really. The racing in Southern California even was just really far away. We just didn't grow up with it, and all my friends were racing motorcycles, and that was the thing, thing to do, or play stick and ball sports. And my then my sister, and part of the story of Seattle is my sister started dating a young man named Ricky Johnson. Actually, he's racist out front right now, leading trophy truck legends class in Baja right now at the very time. They dated at that time just as teenagers, and he naturally just got me into motorcycles. He won some veer races up there in Seattle in the Kingdome back in the day.

SPEAKER_00 12:36

And yes, go up there, and the whole crew would go and and watch Jimmy. I mean, uh Ricky, Ricky Johnson. So he would always have a bad start and he'd work his way up and make it so exciting.

SPEAKER_01 12:50

And that's that story. I don't sure if you know that piece of the story, but that's the uh Ricky was actually just a big brother to Jimmy. And he grew up to the same last name, but they were not uh blood brothers, but same last name. And his dad was actually Rick, Jimmy's dad was Ricky's mechanic early in his career. And Jimmy or Ricky went factory for Honda and Yamaha, which actually it was at that time, but that was the thing to do is to get into motorcycle racing, and boat racing just didn't exist. No, yeah, and it was it was um so no, but we always have a desire, of course, to drive something like that or drive in a boat with speed, and the closest we came to it was the thriftway uh was two years ago.

SPEAKER_00 13:27

Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_01 13:27

Two years ago about Lake Shallan. At Lake Shallan, and we just rode in Thriftway and it broke the quell shaft right after the first turn. But all I wanted to care about all the that entire time was what did it feel like. Dad always called it a sled, and I just didn't, I knew it was heavy. But to get out there once it went in and how far it slid out, oh my gosh, no, that's it. And the the gent the people of the team were so wonderful, they were so nice to take me out there and they said, Oh, well, well, you can do this again another time. No, that's good. That's all I needed to feel. Yeah, and that's and uh so I didn't have really a desire anymore to do it. But the an 82 Atlas or something like that would be fun, of course, like or something like that down the road. But it's still it's those are the professionals, knuckleheads like me and amateurs like me, can sit on the sidelines too and just watch. Happy to do that.

SPEAKER_02 14:17

Well, I I think you deserve a ride in the 82 Atlas, so hopefully we can talk to the right people and make it happen one day, right? Yeah, it'll be fun to see out, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 14:25

It was a that was a really special up there for both of us to go up there and experience and see all the old boats running. It was super cool.

SPEAKER_02 14:31

Yeah, yeah. Yeah, that was and seafarero a month ago. Let's that was such an iconic moment when Jimmy was out there and the buzz and the pits. I'm I've never seen so many people crammed into one spot in the in the pits of seafare. I'm sure insurance didn't like that at all.

SPEAKER_01 14:46

But so I was curious what you felt it too then, because it was it was kind of electric in the air.

SPEAKER_02 14:51

Yeah, it was it was really fun. And uh like I tried to get over and talk to you, but there were so many people there and packed in there, and it was hard to get hard to move around. Yeah. I think the whole pit stopped, honestly, and just moved there in that one pit stall. Yeah. Uh it was fun. Yeah.

Did Edward Want To Drive

SPEAKER_00 15:10

It's really hard, I guess, to start those engines. And so when Bill first did it, the Miss Great Lakes in Detroit when he first started, uh the head mechanic uh got in the boat, started it, and then he jumped overboard and swam to shore. And Bill took it around the race course. It finally ended up sinking, uh, you know, after he passed Danny Foster, Bill Cantrell, he thought, oh my gosh, I'm gonna win. It was his first time in a hydroplane. Yeah. But he was uh considered a hot hot shoe, so that's why they wanted him to try it. But it the bottom came right out of it and it sunk. Oh, and before that, uh for an engine, he went out to Gar Wood's place. And the way he described it was, you know, a big mansion and all these little windows, and he walked up and saw Garwood, who was everyone's hero in boat racing, working down there in the shop. He knocked on the window, and anyway they talked, and he said, Can I borrow an engine? I'm gonna be in the Harmsworth Trophy, I think it was.

SPEAKER_02 16:16

It might have been, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 16:17

In 1951. So he said yes. So that's one thing Bill had to do is he had to uh pay for the one engine that sunk and give back the other one.

SPEAKER_02 16:28

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 16:29

Garwood.

SPEAKER_02 16:30

What a story, yeah, another legend in the sport there. Legend helping a legend.

SPEAKER_00 16:34

Yeah. Well, in 1972, he was working for Ali Shayneth. That was he won four gold cups, but he wanted to win that fifth gold cup because Gar Wood won five. Yeah. So that was a really big deal for him, that gold cup. Maybe the most that was the most important race that I ever knew him to be just so excited about.

SPEAKER_01 16:58

Oh really?

SPEAKER_00 16:59

Uh-huh. And Bill Cantrell, he's Bill said, Do you have any um word for what should I do? He said, get out in the front front and improve your position. That was wild Bill Cantrell.

SPEAKER_02 17:16

Well, I remember hearing uh Bill say that in some interviews, that's for sure.

SPEAKER_01 17:19

Um that fifth gold cup, that was if I recall, was a big one for Chip too. There's so much pressure.

SPEAKER_00 17:24

No, I'm talking oh yeah, I understand what I mean.

SPEAKER_01 17:26

For Chip, it was such an intense moment. I think it was 86. That was 82, 83, 4, 85, 86. Yep. So much pressure leading up to that moment and the relief, all of them, but especially chip.

SPEAKER_00 17:39

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 17:40

Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_00 17:42

And that was obviously because it was five heats in those days. Full full laps. I mean, five laps, five heats.

SPEAKER_01 17:50

Yeah. Yeah. After that, I don't know if that was the case, but it it sure seemed like it. He was a relaxed person then obviously in the later years that were relaxed, but these those first few years he was intense, but that's what he didn't know any other way. Right. Yeah. Yeah. To be it's just that that laser focused. Yeah.

Choosing Chip Hanauer

SPEAKER_00 18:06

So I I remember a doctor would come, came finally to w work talk to him to wind him down before uh before a heat. Yeah. Final heat, especially. Yeah. But he just was so intense. In fact, he would just walk in circles and anyway, he won. He was a winner.

SPEAKER_02 18:31

Yeah, yeah. And you had you had the right driver for your team. Oh yeah. Yeah. Well, and and I love talking about Bill, but also want to talk about you and and your time with the sport as well. Um and you you decided to come back. Was Chip the the driver you wanted to have? Yes. Why why was that?

SPEAKER_00 18:46

Uh well, first of all, Bill made me promise that if any he always said this, anything happens to me, get that boat to the next race. You know, hire a driver, but get it there. Because he thought always thought more of the sport than it than himself. There's something else that I didn't just say, and that was I remember in Washington, D.C., he and Billy Shoemaker, uh, Bill wanted it to be exciting for the fans. So we'd say, okay, okay, now um let's stay together in the preliminary heats, and then for the final, then go, you know, then go for it. But he wanted to put a show on for the fans to help the sport. So that you're not supposed to do, I guess, but but anyway, that was a good one.

SPEAKER_02 19:30

Well, he wasn't he he knew he was an entertainer, right?

SPEAKER_01 19:33

He understood what the fans wanted. Yeah. But so with Chip, how did that how'd that come along? He had to keep he had to get the race the team to the next race, as Bill said, but how did it come about with Chip?

SPEAKER_00 19:44

So then um oh Frisbee knew that Bill would want me to do that, and he said, Well, we're with you, what do you want to do? And I said, Well, we need a a boat, and Jim Lussero is the expert, he's the he's the one that can do it. So talked to Jim. He said, Well, I'm gonna have to get permission from Harrisburger because he was building the turbine boat and John which John Walters drove. He was building a few boats at that time. Right. So I wanted what happened in the pits in Seattle. Um I asked Dave Harrisburger if I could talk to him because I didn't really know him. He was just this big rough man. Anyway, I was crying, I could hardly get the words out uh to say, could could I please borrow, can Jim Laser build a boat for for me, for the team? Atlas will be the sponsor. And he said yes.

SPEAKER_01 20:40

And Chip had Chip uh Dad had started getting to know Chip more in the offseason. He actually had started racing together in their this uh Parker Enduro used to be still actually I don't know if it exists anymore, but it was an eight-hour race. And I think they did a few of them together and they started building rapport and relationship.

Engines: Griffons Vs Turbines

SPEAKER_00 20:57

And dad Bob Nordscog, the president of APBA at that time, he would build boats and dad knew Chip was the future of the sport, without a doubt. And you know why? Because he's a student of the sport. That's what what uh Bill and other was paying attention to everything.

SPEAKER_01 22:15

Yeah, yeah. And then as they got to know them, I think that's part of it with dad, is that was an easy choice for him. And I think and mom knew that, I think, at the time too.

SPEAKER_00 22:25

It wasn't Jim Lucero's choice, but I won.

SPEAKER_02 22:30

Okay. Well, yes, I would I would hope you would you would win. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 22:34

I think I told uh O. H. Frisbee just to insist on Shift Hannah or being the driver.

SPEAKER_01 22:40

Are you able to say who you think Jim Lucero wanted as a driver?

SPEAKER_02 22:43

Curious.

SPEAKER_00 22:44

Oh, I can't even remember who it was.

SPEAKER_02 22:46

I've heard rumors that it was Steve Reynolds or Scott Pierce. I don't I don't know if there's any truth to that.

SPEAKER_00 22:50

Oh, yes, and then um uh the one from Detroit. Tom D. Tom D. Okay.

SPEAKER_01 22:56

And so but I wanted I remember Scott Pierce expressed interest, that's after Acapulco. He he said Expressed interest if he didn't even know if they're gonna get back into racing, but he said if there's an opportunity, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 23:07

Did you guys yeah, quite a few of them called, yeah, but I didn't know what was gonna happen. But anyway, so they Atlas signed Chip on to go on a speaking tour like Bill had, and he was very good. So that's he took over that part and then driving. So then we needed a really good crew, and we already had Tim Ramsey, Jim Harvey, great people in place, yeah, ready to go, and they all wanted to go back racing out. So they had to we had to wait for the boat to be built, and we had the Rolls-Royce Merlin engines.

SPEAKER_01 23:50

You actually had purchased, I think it's somewhat you had you and dad had purchased some griffin engines, a whole bunch of them, didn't you? But you yet use them.

Records, Gold Cups, And Streaks

SPEAKER_00 23:57

Yeah, uh Bill um Bennett of Circus Circus called. He said, Well, what are you gonna do, Fran? I said, Well, I'm not sure. He said, Well, I'll tell you what, I just bought six Griffin engines like Bernie has. They were 2,000 horsepower more than the Merlin's that we had. Um, and so I was gonna share them with Bill, but now uh, do you want to buy them? Give you a real good deal on them. So I said, yes. So they they brought them up to the shop in Kent. And then Jim Lucera wanted to go turban because he said it was lighter and you know, much easier to work on for the crew. I know it took away a lot from the sport, you know, the noise. Right, right. But they could win, you know, the turbines are that's the interesting part, though.

SPEAKER_01 24:48

Most people probably don't know that that they were the program dad was gonna go in your or your pro you guys were gonna go with Christmas. Perfect reference. The griffin program. I don't know if you were gonna do it that next year, but you had them at least in your inventory. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 25:00

And then so we did what Jim wanted, and that was go with a turbine. So Chip had to learn how to drive, learn all over because with a reciprocal engine you could slow down, you know, to go in the corner or whatever you but with a turbine, um, you couldn't let them wind down because then they would stop. Yeah. And they're just very, but it was uh very low. Um the boats were they they put it in the room. Center of gravity was super low, the boat. The CG, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 25:31

Yeah. Interesting. Yeah, well, what could have been? It's interesting that you could have used the Griffins in the program, but I think turbines at for your time at that time was the right call because won some more races with that, and oh yeah. For some years you were the the premier team.

SPEAKER_00 25:47

We were the first um first boat to ever win a race with a turban. I know that U-95 tried, uh, that was John Walters and had that accident. But I think we were the first ones to win a race. I can't remember Pan Pack 1.

SPEAKER_02 26:04

Pan Pack 1, Syracuse in 1992. Um definitely set a lot of records with the turbines and what I met win a gold cup. Oh, yes. Oh, yes. Yes, you were the first to win a gold cup uh in '84 with uh in Tri Cities. Yeah. What does mom always say? I love the.

SPEAKER_00 26:25

No, we won 82, 82 up to 88, seven gold cups.

SPEAKER_02 26:29

Yeah, you want seven gold cups. You're undefeated. That's an older one.

SPEAKER_00 26:31

No, I'll never do that.

SPEAKER_02 26:33

Yeah, that's that's an amazing feat there.

SPEAKER_00 26:36

That's Chip and the whole crew. They did it.

SPEAKER_01 26:38

I don't even like to correct you. She makes a good point sometimes too. Edward, don't let the facts get in the way of a good story. So it's like I better just shut up. She's gonna give me the nod. Edward, just be quiet. Let me just tell the story. So, mom, go ahead. You say whatever you want to say. I'll stop correcting you.

SPEAKER_00 26:53

John Love said that. That's that's right. I called him yellow. Uh-huh.

Merch Truck And Building A Brand

SPEAKER_01 26:57

Yeah. But that's true, you're undefeated in that time frame.

SPEAKER_00 27:01

That's what goal time seven. And then Jimmy Johnson uh won seven national championships in NASCAR. So that was.

SPEAKER_02 27:11

He wasn't undefeated, though.

SPEAKER_00 27:13

Has anyone won more?

SPEAKER_01 27:14

Uh he didn't have seven.

SPEAKER_00 27:16

He had five seven.

SPEAKER_02 27:16

You know better than I would, probably seven. Well, was he undefeated? But I was saying he wasn't undefeated every year.

SPEAKER_01 27:21

No, just championships.

SPEAKER_02 27:22

Didn't he have seven street championships?

SPEAKER_01 27:25

I don't know, to be honest.

SPEAKER_00 27:26

I won seventh, but he won five and then two.

SPEAKER_01 27:29

Okay. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 27:30

There was a couple years.

SPEAKER_01 27:31

But the other thing you don't talk about much is the t-shirt truck. You you and you started that, that was a whole other business. She started while Bill was racing. Yeah, yeah. And she was the first one. No, nobody was selling merchandise, and she started in 1978, I think. I might be wrong. I think that was it. 78 with your t-shirt truck, and she some Bill would uh uh make the joke sometimes, sometimes friend would make more money on the weekends than than he did because he'd something you know, break or something, and she was do had lines, just super long lines, for people to buy her t-shirts and had the greatest merchandise, the ideas that they put together.

SPEAKER_00 28:04

Because I had three teams, I had Pan Pack, Squire, and Atlas Fan Lines. And so sometimes customers would come up and say, Oh, I don't like Bill Muncie. And I'd say, Oh, well, here's Chip Handover shirt. Would you like to buy that? Anything to make a sale?

SPEAKER_02 28:19

Well, but you didn't take it personally. No, yeah, you couldn't. Yeah. Man, and she yeah, she loved it. And then uh And so you traveled to each race with that and and helped sell it.

SPEAKER_00 28:30

Yeah. I drove a t-shirt truck pulling the trailer, but first of all, I flew to Texas to uh trailer manufacture and designed that. So it was the coolest. It had a windows and you could display the shirts and music and um it was great.

SPEAKER_01 28:48

Sold a lot of t-shirts and hats and super she was you were super hands-on though too at the time. Yeah you had people there to be the salespeople for, but you were inventory and everything else to manage that thing.

Women Leading In The Pits

SPEAKER_00 29:00

Uh-huh. And the race. Wild was shirt works in Seattle. They're probably not there anymore. But they're they made everything for Squire. So Bob Bob Style Styles, he's the one that put me in touch with different manufacturers to order. In fact, I saw him in in Seattle. Yeah, yeah. Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_02 29:21

Yeah, he was down there. Yeah. Yeah, good. Yeah. One one thing I'm just curious about, I mean, you were so successful in the sport as an owner. Did you have any as a female in the sport, I'm just curious, did you have any difficulties or challenges with that? Did everyone take you serious with that? I mean, kind of a feel like it was a different time 40 plus years ago than it is today with equality with that. Just curious if they treated you like family uh and res in full respect.

SPEAKER_00 29:50

Respect, yeah. Uh-huh. And then I'm not, I was not a shrinking violet. I mean, I I would want to do something and then we did it. Or I I'd always talk to Chip first or talk to everybody and then decide what to do.

SPEAKER_01 30:06

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 30:07

Whatever it took to win. Except no cheating.

SPEAKER_01 30:10

She was the prettiest owner in the pits, obviously. Oh, yeah. And she had the coolest outfits. I think all the other women wanted her outfits that she wore on different race days and such. You know, the high heels. You had sometimes wore high heels, too. The different, just the cool outfits. But at the same time, if they saw her face, she was determined. Yeah. What would I have to do to get this place, this boat in a winning position today?

Smart Tweaks, Gears, And Wins

SPEAKER_00 30:31

I would talk to different people like Jim Hendrick, and I'd find out secrets that they were doing. Uh something to make their boat go faster. Um, just talk to lots of people in the pits and uh to find out things and then ask the crew, my crew, what they thought of it. Yeah. Sometimes they would do it, sometimes not. But that was especially true when we were running the Merlin engines. Uh, found out they were using different gears. So I found they were they were using nines rather than sevens, whatever that is, for the gear ratios. So they got them and we won the next race. So I mean, I was just always paying attention to what everyone else was doing, talking to them. And Jim Hendrick always spilled the beans. He would tell me everything they were doing.

SPEAKER_02 31:23

He was so much fun too.

SPEAKER_00 31:24

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 31:26

He was a character. One of my last memories, I remember him singing karaoke in a in a bar in Tri-Cities, and he was just belting it out. That was the best. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 31:35

Right? I he was so good at it. Uh-huh. That was he was funnier than Dad. Dad didn't tell the jokes like Jim did, but he was he was. I miss Jim a lot. Yeah. I forgot about that.

SPEAKER_00 31:46

He was, yeah, he was just great.

Closing Tease And Community CTA

SPEAKER_02 31:50

Well, Knuckleheads, once again, that's all the time we have for this week. Please tune in next week as we'll have part three and the conclusion of my interview with Fran and Edward Muncie. Once again, I just want to thank them both again for their time. Had a wonderful afternoon with them in San Diego. And again, I want to thank Chip Hanauer for all of his efforts to make this interview happen. In the meantime, before next week, check us out online. We're on social media, Facebook and Instagram, as well as our website, RichardTalk.com. And while you're on the website, check out that tab for the Richard Hell Talk Plus, which is a monthly subscription service with many various uh perks about being a member. Not only are you contributing to this podcast and helping me bring you new content uh every week for the summer of this year, but you're also gonna get new early access to all new episodes, as well as entered into a monthly raffle drawing. You're gonna get a free card set every summer for the current racing season. As well, if you're a VIP member, which is a$10 a month subscription service, you can get access to the Legends card set that just came out, which is an 11 card set of various drivers and boats throughout the years who are legends and retired in the support of Hydrocoin Racing. After last week's episode, I actually gave you uh a song that was uh really important for Bill Mency. That was one of the songs that he he would use for tempo counting down the race clock, and I liked giving you a different outro. And so this week I actually dug up some audio recording of Jim Hendrix singing karaoke in a bar in Kennewick, Washington from 1998, singing Don't Stop Believe in By Journey. Could you imagine if I actually had a recording of that? That would be so funny and hilarious. If there's anyone out there that actually has recording of Jim Hendricks singing karaoke, I would love to hear it. Please contact me. A lot of great personalities in the sport of hydrofund racing. Uh, but nothing really caps off uh hearing Jim Hendricks singing karaoke. All right, that's all of it time we have for this week. So until next time, I hope to see you at the race.