Photo by missthriftway.com
Bill Muncey drove Miss Thriftway to a victory in Detroit in 1956 and followed it up with a win in Seattle in 1957 with the same boat. 1956 he won the race with the average speed of 96.552 MPH and 101.787 MPH in 1956.
Bill once again won back to back Gold Cups in 1961 and 1962 in a boat named Miss Century 21. The 1961 race was run in Reno, Nevada at an average speed of 99.678 MPH and the 1962 race ran in Seattle, Washington with the winning average speed of 100.71. It would take 10 years before Bill Muncey would win the Gold Cup again. 1972 racing in Detroit he would win in Atlas Van Lines boat with an average speed of 104.277 MPH. Gold Cup number 6, 7 and 8 were won by Muncey in 1977, 1978 and 1979 all in his Atlas Van Lines boats. The 1977 race was run at Tri-cities, Washington with an average winning speed of 111.822. The 1978 race was run at Owensboro, Kentucky with an average winning speed of 111.412. And the 1979 race took place at Madison, Indiana with the average winning speed of 100.765.
Bill Muncey was the most winning driver of all time in a hydroplane boat at the time of his death in 1981 while racing in Acapulco, Mexico.
Miss Thriftway specs:
Length: 28.5’
Engine: Allison
Owner: Willard Rhodes
Miss Century 21 specs:
Length: 30.75’
Engine: Rolls-Royce Merlin
Owner: Willard Rhodes
Atlas Van Lines (1972) specs:
Engine: Rolls-Royce Merlin
Owner: Joe Schoenith
Atlas Van Lines specs:
Engine: Rolls-Royce Merlin
Owner: Bill Muncey
Belle Isle is the 102nd Michigan State Park. Like all state parks you will need a Recreation Passport to be on the island.
All caches placed at Belle Isle State Park by the Belle Isle Cachers, or Rattrak, are here with consent of the support of the DNR supervision for the island.