1966 was a year of tragedy for unlimited hydroplane racing. Bill Muncey lost four friends over a few weeks at the President's Cup and the Gold Cup. Driving the Miss U.S. for owner George Simon, Muncey won the first race of the year but the boat was damaged to the extent that he had to miss the President's Cup in Washington D.C. while the team repaired the boat. This may have been a blessing for Muncey to not have attended the ill-fated race on the Potomac.
With a new Miss U.S. for 1967, and with his good friend Dave Seefeldt as crew chief, Muncey had a fair amount of success winning back-to-back World's Championships in 1968 and '69.
The Bill Muncey Story not only documents his legendary racing career from the early 1950's to his tragic death in 1981. But also includes some of the best historic racing footage ever seen. You'll follow Muncey from his early years in Detroit, then the move to Seattle in 1955 to drive the Miss Thriftway. His success through the '50's and into the early '60's driving the Thriftway hulls made him the sports new super-star. The mid-sixties, found Muncey driving several slower boats getting the most out of them. But by the early '70's he was back on top driving the famous Atlas Van Lines boats. Muncey also became the sports premier spokes-person appearing in interviews and broadcasting. In 1976 Muncey became an owner buying the entire Pay'n Pak team which included an unfinished cabover hull. After a successful '76 season in the proven "winged wonder," Muncey gambled on crew chief Jim Lucero's new space-age hull and simply dominated the sport for the rest of the decade. But as the 1980's unfolded, Muncey found himself the underdog having to count on his depth of experience and determination to keep pace with the new powerful Miss Budweiser. Although the story of Bill Muncey ends tragically in Mexico in 1981, his legacy has continued to this day. Bill Muncey continues to be the most famous name in unlimited hydroplane racing and his three decades of accomplishments are unequaled.
20 дек 2023
