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Howie Benns gets dumped into the Detroit River during the first running of the final heat.

The incident happened during the first running of the final heat of the 1976 Gold Cup in Detroit.

Benns had swept three elimination heats in Miss Budweiser and was racing into the same rough first turn in the final when his boat caught a three-foot roller.

"Howie was right next to me," said Bill Muncey. "His boat hit the wave and just did a 180-degree spin. He was thrown out and the boat was wrecked by the time it settled back in the water."

Benns, of Grand Island, N.Y., suffered a broken left leg when he was slammed from his cockpit. [Detroit News report]

(For a more complete description of this race please see the 1976 APBA Gold Cup report).