Hanauer Races To Lap Record Again - 172.166

For the second day in a row Saturday, Chip Hanauer of Seattle set a lap speed record - 172.166 mph on the 2.5-mile course - in the final qualifying session for the Bill Muncey Cup unlimited hydroplane race.

While his three principal rivals all improved their speeds as well, Hanauer, driving Miss Budweiser, remains well ahead of No. 2 qualifier and defending Muncey Cup champion Dave Villwock of Auburn, Wash. Villwock, who is driving PICO, had a top speed of 168.530.

On Friday, Hanauer, 41, the winningest active driver in the sport, set a lap record of 171.155.

Mark Tate of Wayne, Mich., the former lap speed record-holder until he was bumped by Hanauer on Friday, is the third qualifier in Smokin’ Joe’s at 167.131.

Tate is followed by Steve David’s T-PLUS Engine Treatment at 161.720 miles an hour.

Eleven of the 12-boat field qualified with speeds of more than 145 miles an hour - also a record.

Three preliminary heats, each divided into two sections, will precede today’s winner-take-all, five-lap final.

Hanauer has won four of eight previous races this season and 57 overall dating back to 1979. Only the late Bill Muncey won more with 62 victories from 1955 to 1982, when he died while racing in Acapulco, Mexico.

The Bill Muncey Cup on Mission Bay is the ninth stop on the 1995 Hooters Unlimited Hydroplane Series.