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Driver suffers broken legs in one of three mishaps; mate also hurt

By TERRY TOMALIN

© St. Petersburg Times, published November 17, 2000

ST. PETERSBURG -- The STARS helicopter rescue team got a workout Thursday when three incidents forced divers into the water. Accidents involving F2 and F4 boats were minor, but a rollover in the F3 class sent two men to the hospital.

A 36-foot Eliminator, the F3-16 Roll Offs, came into Turn 1 too fast and rolled over. Driver Danny Hankey of Mead, Okla., was taken to Bayfront Medical Center with broken legs and had surgery Thursday evening. His teammate and throttleman, Jim Franklin of Garland, Texas, chipped an elbow. He also was treated at Bayfront.

SUPER SUPER CATS: The future of Super Cats could be the new Randy Scism catamarans, boats built specifically to the new class configurations.

Mark Nemschoff's Tommy Bahama looked as if it was going to walk away with Thursday's race, but a mechanical failure caused it to drop out with just a couple of laps to go. Nemschoff and son Paul hit top speeds of about 130 mph.

"The boat just handled great in the turns," Mark Nemschoff said. "We could really keep up our speed."

Tommy Bahama has failed to finish a race since it made its American Power Boat Association debut at Islamorada in September. Scism's other new boat, Hugh Fuller's Hydrogen Media/Fountain Mercury, failed to make the starting line.

"We were heading out to the start when another boat made a wrong turn and we had to get out of its way," Fuller said. "We took some water in the intake and an engine stalled out."

Fuller said his new 40-footer will race Sunday. Fans should be ready for a deck-to-deck showdown between the new Scisms.

MOTOR WATCH: Inspectors from the APBA's new Certified Racing Engines program were out in force looking under the hoods of the top five boats in the Factory 1 and Factory 2 classes.

The new inspection system is patterned after a program used in auto racing. The inspectors make sure all the boats adhere to strict class restrictions.

"Our goal is to make sure everyone is following the rules," APBA chairman Michael Allweiss said. "We just want to keep the racing fair."

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