''Miss Madison'' is an

H1 Unlimited H1 Unlimited is an American unlimited hydroplane racing league that is sanctioned by the American Power Boat Association (APBA). Until 2009, the series was known as ABRA Unlimited Hydroplane, in turn renamed from APBA Unlimited Hydroplane in 2004. ...

hydroplane team. It is the only community-owned Unlimited hydroplane in the world. It is based out of

Madison, Indiana Madison is a city in and the county seat of Jefferson County, Indiana, United States, along the Ohio River. As of the 2010 United States Census its population was 11,967. Over 55,000 people live within of downtown Madison. Madison is the large ...

, a small town of 12,000 residents on the

Ohio River The Ohio River () is a river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing in a southwesterly direction from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to its river mouth, mouth on the Mississippi Riv ...

which annually hosts the Madison Regatta. The story of the boat and city are the subject of the 2001 film ''Madison''. Traditionally running under the U-6 banner, for 2024 they will field a new boat for the 2024 season, U-91 ''Miss Goodman Real Estate''. The number refers to the 1991 founding of the sponsor..

History

The team was started in 1960 when industrialist Samuel F. Dupont donated one of his hydroplanes to the town in 1961 to be run in the

American Power Boat Association The American Power Boat Association (APBA) is an American membership-owned corporation. In 1903, New York's Columbia Yacht Club had formulated a constitution for what ultimately became the APBA. It is the United States sanctioning authority for the ...

races. The town's boat is registered as "U-6" (for APBA Unlimited class, #6) in high-points unlimited hydroplane racing since 1961, which makes them the longest-running team in the sport, although the team will change numbers if required by

regulations that state the defending national champion use the U-1 designation. Through 2008 the U-6 team has used only 7 different hulls, although number 6 was used for only one race in 1988 when the new 5th Miss Madison hull crashed at San Diego in 1988. The Miss Madison team leased the U-3 Risley's hull from owners Ed Cooper, Sr., and Ed Cooper, Jr., for the final race of the year in Las Vegas. The U-3 was officially the U-6 Miss Madison at this one event. The 2nd-to-last hull was built in 1988 by Ron Jones Marine in

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is the List of municipalities in Washington, most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the List of Unit ...

. The hull was first used as a

piston-engine A reciprocating engine, more often known as a piston engine, is a heat engine that uses one or more reciprocating pistons to convert high temperature and high pressure into a rotating motion. This article describes the common features of all ...

d boat powered by a V-12

Allison Allison may refer to: People * Allison (given name) * Allison (surname) (includes a list of people with this name) * Eugene Allison Smith (1922-1980), American politician and farmer * Allison family, a family of RMS Titanic passengers Compan ...

aircraft engine. It was later redesigned for a Lycoming turbine engine, the same type of engine used in the Chinook helicopters. The championship winning U-
Miss HomeStreet
sponsored racing hull was built in 2007 for the H1 Unlimited hydroplane series. A new U-6 debuted in 2018. It was originally built in 2003 but was never completed following Bernie Little's death. That hull was acquired by HomeStreet in 2017 and debuted at the end of the 2018 season. During the 2019 season, the team ran two boats, with the 2007 hull as the U-1918 (for sponsor Oberto Specialty Meats' founding year) and the 2018 hull as the U-6. The second hull was renamed after a sponsorship and management deal, it is now known as the U-91 Miss Goodman Real Estate. The two hulls were raced until 2023. For 2024, one hull will be raced (the 2018 boat) and will carry U-91 (1991 founding year) of Goodman Real Estate.

Hulls

Wins

The ''Miss Madison'' had only a handful of wins in its history prior to joining the H-1 Unlimited series. The team has won ten (2008-10, 2012, 2014-17, 2019, 2021) National High Point Championships for the racing season. The single biggest individual victory occurred in 1971, when the Gold Cup (the World Series of hydroplane racing) was held in Madison for the first time. U-6 went on to win the Atomic Cup in

Tri-Cities, Washington The Tri-Cities are three closely linked cities (Kennewick, Washington, Kennewick, Pasco, Washington, Pasco, and Richland, Washington, Richland) at the confluence of the Yakima River, Yakima, Snake River, Snake, and Columbia Rivers in the U.S. s ...

, that same year, and finished second nationally in overall points for the 1971 season. Other major victories occurred when she won in 2001 and 2010 in Madison for the home town fans. ''Miss Madison'' has won in

Guntersville, Alabama Guntersville (previously known as Gunter's Ferry and later Gunter's Landing) is a city and the county seat of Marshall County, Alabama, United States. At the 2020 census, the population of the city was 8,553. Guntersville is located in a HUB ...

in 1965, Lake Ozark, Missouri in 1983,

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

in 1993, Thunder on the Ohio in

Evansville, Indiana Evansville is a city in Vanderburgh County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 118,414 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is Indiana's List of cities in Indiana, third-most populous city after India ...

in 2005, and the Columbia Cup in

in 2008 and 2009. Two wins in 2007 coming in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

at the

Seafair Cup The Seafair Cup (branded as the HomeStreet Bank Cup for sponsorship reasons, and formerly the Albert Lee Appliance Cup), is an H1 Unlimited hydroplane boat race held annually in late July and early August on Lake Washington in Seattle, Washingto ...

, and

National High Point Championships

Gold Cup Championships

Sponsorship

As with any racing team, sponsors have been important to keep teams running. Miss Madison has had many title sponsors through the years. Many of them have been large companies. The boat, racing under the official number U-6, started out as just the ''Miss Madison'' and remained that way for a very long time. Sponsorships became a big part of the team after 1988 when the new hull was beginning its racing career. ''Miss Madison'' has been sponsored by

Mazda is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Fuchū, Hiroshima (town), Fuchū, Hiroshima Prefecture, Hiroshima, Japan. The company was founded on January 30, 1920, as Toyo Cork Kogyo Co., Ltd. ...

, Holset,

Kelloggs Kellanova, formerly known as the Kellogg Company and commonly known as Kellogg's, is an American multinational food manufacturing company headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, US. Kellanova produces and markets convenience foods and snack f ...

Frosted Flakes Frosted Flakes or Frosties is a breakfast cereal, produced by WK Kellogg Co for the United States, Canada, and Caribbean markets and by Kellanova for the rest of the world, and consisting of sugar-coated corn flakes. It was introduced in the U ...

, Jasper Engines and Transmissions, DeWalt Tools,

Oberto Sausage Company Oberto is an American business that makes meat snacks including all natural jerky, pepperoni, charcuterie, chicken bites and other smoked meats. The company was founded in 1918 by Constantino Oberto in Seattle, Washington. It is now headquartered ...

HomeStreet Bank
began sponsorship starting in 2016. Oberto returned for selected races in 2019 for the second hull. Goodman Real Estate took over in 2021 for selected races, and the team became full-time in 2022. History of Miss Madison Sponsors Hamm's Beer 1975 Miss Lynnwood 1976 Armstrong's Machine 1977 Starvin Marvin 1977 Dr. Toyota 1980 Frank Kenney Toyota 1981-82 Miss Rich Food Plan Service 1982-83 American Speedy Printing 1984-85 The Ching Group 1985 Holset Miss Madison 1986-90 Holset Miss Mazda 1989-90 Kellogg's 1992-94 Jasper Engines & Transmissions 1995 DeWalt Tools 1995-97 Powerball 1998 Oberto Beef Jerky 2000–15, 2019 (U-1918) Homestreet Bank 2016-present (U-6) Goodman Real Estate 2022-present (U-91)

Sponsors by Year and Hull

from http://www.namba.com

Drivers

Drivers of Miss Madison since 1961.

References

External links

Official website
Retrieved January 18, 2007 *{{IMDb title, qid=Q4323251, title=Madison, Retrieved January 18, 2007
Official website
Retrieved July 15, 2014 H1 Unlimited Racing motorboats Hydroplanes