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Smirnoff Question |
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By Fred Farley - ABRA Unlimited Historian |
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QUESTION: I was at the 1966 Gold Cup when Chuck Thompson was fatally injured in the SMIRNOFF. I can't locate any history on the boat. Was it an older hull revamped? - Jim Coleman ANSWER: The SMIRNOFF that Chuck Thompson drove was in its third year of competition. It was built in 1964 by Gale Enterprises (i.e., Fred Dube and Bill Cantrell). It won the 1964 President's Cup with Cantrell driving. The boat was a contender in 1964 but was rebuilt for the 1965 season and wasn't quite the same. Cantrell was seriously injured when he was pitched out at the '65 Madison Regatta. When Cantrell suffered burned hands at the 1966 Tampa Suncoast Cup, Thompson replaced him. Cantrell once told me that he had a theory as to why Chuck crashed. Thompson was used to driving the TAHOE MISS, which was a much louder boat on account of the short stacks on the Allison engine. SMIRNOFF had a long exhaust pipe and was much quieter. It's possible that Chuck equated the louder engine noise with greater speed. Since SMIRNOFF was quieter, he may have thought that he was going slower than he really was. |
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