1952 President’s Cup Regatta
Potomac River, Washington, DC, September 21, 1952

Miss Pepsi Takes President’s Cup Race for Third Straight Year
Thompson Drives Regatta Winner
Registers Third Triumph With Miss Pepsi in President’s Cup Event on Potomac
Scores a 3-Heat Sweep
Overcomes a Gale II Threat Before 60,000, then Beats Miss Great Lakes

Record Fleet Seen In President's Cup First President's Cup Heat Taken by Thompson Miss Pepsi Takes President's Cup for Third Straight Year The 1952 President's Cup Regatta Miss Pepsi Wins President's Cup Statistics

Washington, Sept 21 [1952] — Shooting great, spraying rooster tails astern that rose high into the afternoon sun, four of America's best super powered speed boats were able to stay in one piece and finish the forty-five miles of the traditional early autumn fixture known as the President's Cup Regatta. And as every one of the 60,000 spectators along the Hains Point sea wall expected, out in front was the smooth, steady riding Miss Pepsi of Detroit, driven by Chuck the former outboard pilot, and owned by Walter and Roy Dossin.

Winner in yesterday's run on the Potomac River, Miss Pepsi featured the last two fifteen heats today.

In the runner-up spot in the heat was Joe Taggart of Canton, Ohio, driving miss Great Lakes II for Albin Fallon of Detroit. Taggart jammed his throttle foot down to the floorboard but still was 200 yards behind.

The third boat was J. L. Schoenith’s Gale II, by also from Detroit and driven by Foster. A poor fourth but nevertheless in there was the synthetic Hornet-Crust.

The Potomac was as smooth as it gets in September and the wind only a zephyr. It was an ideal racing afternoon. Miss Pepsi and Thompson probably are the top combination in the sport. This was their third straight President's Cup victory on the Potomac and no rivals seem able to furnish serious competition.

Moreover, the speed boat picture has changed during the past couple of weeks. Stanley Sayres has quit racing because of illness and may not campaign next year in the Gold Cup or any other event with his record holder, Slo-Mo-Shun. Lou Fageol also quit racing and last week's accident at Red Bank to Al D'Eath, in which he suffered a broken wrist and cracked ribs brought an announcement that he was through. Regatta-goers therefore today saw the best of the country’s fleet.

Miss Pepsi's second-heat victory was a smooth-riding pleasure cruise. Thompson jockeyed into the lead as the starter's cannon on the Coast Guard cutter Marion boomed and for the six 2½-mile laps Miss Pepsi stayed in front, able apparently to stretch out a longer lead or slow down to let her rivals catch up.

Taggart in Miss Great Lakes and Foster in Gale II kept consistently in second and third position, but Hornet-Such Crust with Jack Bartlow piloting, had a rough time. Before completing the first lap she was out of action along the Virginia shore and had lost three miles before Bartlow could get the craft going again.

Miss Pepsi drew out to 200 yards in front, then 300 and once to 400 yards ahead of Gale II. But on the fifth lap, black smoke was streaming out of the crack of her hatch cover, a sign of fuel and probably carburetor trouble. This caused Thompson some concern. He had to let up his accelerator foot, cut his speed and at the finish he was only fifty yards with Foster closing fast.

Jack Schafer, the hard luck man in major speed boat racing, mustered a wan smile when told during the afternoon his Such Crust III, which conked out yesterday, would not start today. This twin-Allison job turned over in the Detroit River last month and Schafer’s luck has gone from bad to worse.

Once Schafer was a President’s Cup winner. This was back in 1948 when Dan Arena drove the initial Such Crust at the then unheard-of average speed of 73.14 miles and hour.

Rivals have trouble beating Bobby Rowland’s 226-cubic-inch-class headliner, You-All, but a fire did the trick today. Rowland, from South Norfolk, Va., had no trouble winning the first heat in 67.976 miles an hour, but in the second a carburetor flash fire check him.

Rowland eased his throttle, braking You-All to a stop, and smothered the blaze. But by then he had lost too much advantage to resume racing and this gave the heat to Carl A. Widenhouse of Concord, NC, who emerged as the race winner with a total of 625 points.

Referee W. Melvin Crook of New York invoked a rule book penalty seldom used when he suspended for six months Joseph H. Stiles of Philadelphia, who drive his Class E service runabout, Chi-Craig. Stiles wore a life jacked without the necessary rolled collar and the penalty was a mandatory one.

(Reprinted from the New York Times, September 22, 1952)

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