1952 APBA Gold Cup
Lake Washington, Seattle WA, August 9, 1952
Miss Pepsi
Speeds 103 M.P.H. In TestSEATTLE, Aug. 7 [1952] (AP) - A three-day-old qualifying record tumbled today as Chuck Thompson drove the Detroit-owned Miss Pepsi nine miles at an average speed of 103.746 miles an hour to qualify for Saturday's Gold Cup race.
His run broke the record set Monday at 102.664 miles an hour by the Slo-Mo-Shun V. Thompson's effort followed by minutes an unsuccessful attempt by Wild Bill Cantrell to beat Slo-Mo-Shun’s mark
Thompson made one circuit of the course then waved for a timing and sailed smoothly through his required three laps. His twin-engined giant turned the first and last lap at 103.448 and the middle lap at 104.046.
Cantrell was a highly disgusted speed boat driver as he rode a lifeless Such Crust IV back to the pits in tow after she had conked out on the third lap of a high-speed run.
Earlier in the day Cantrell had sped three laps over the three-mile course at an average of 91.371 miles and hour, well over the minimum qualifying 75 mph.
Plagued by bearing trouble Morlan Visel's Hurricane IV of Los Angeles sped through the laps at an average speed of 89.776 miles an hour. The only boat still to qualify is Miss Great Lakes II, owned by Albin Fallon of Detroit.
The crowd lining the Lake Washington shore got an unscheduled thrill when the defending champion, Slo-mo-shun V, nearly turned over during a warm-up run.
As driver Lou Fageol took Slo-Mo-Shun V around a turn, water poured into the carburetor and stopped the engine. The boat reared like a frightened horse and was hidden for an instant in a cloud of spray. Race officials were worried until a glance through binoculars showed Fageol smiling. He quickly got the boat started again and returned to base.
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