Bernie Little (born in McComb, Ohio, USA c. 1926 - died April 25, 2003) was the most successful owner in Unlimited

Hydroplane racing Hydroplane racing (also known as hydro racing) is a sport involving racing Hydroplane (boat), hydroplanes on lakes and rivers. It is a popular spectator sport in several countries. Racing circuits International professional outboard hydroplane r ...

history. His '' Miss Budweiser'' team won 134 of the 354 hydroplane races they entered. They won the high points championship 22 years in 40 years of

competition Competition is a rivalry where two or more parties strive for a common goal which cannot be shared: where one's gain is the other's loss (an example of which is a zero-sum game). Competition can arise between entities such as organisms, ind ...

, and the Gold Cup 14 times. His first victory came on the Columbia River near Kennewick,

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

in 1966 for the

Columbia Cup The HAPO Columbia Cup is an H1 Unlimited hydroplane boat race held each July on the Columbia River in Columbia Park, Tri-Cities, Washington The Tri-Cities are three closely linked cities ( Kennewick, Pasco, and Richland) at the confluence o ...

. The winning driver, Bill Brow, won in the Miss Budweiser with a winning speed greater than 98 mph. Little's team is also known for making an enclosed driver's cockpit to improve driver safety, after driver Dean Chenoweth was killed in a crash in Kennewick,

during qualification for a race in 1982. His team employed some of the biggest names in their field, including boat designer Ron Jones, aeronautical engineer D.J. Nolan, Sr. of Bloomfield Hills, MI and drivers

Chip Hanauer Lee Edward "Chip" Hanauer (born July 1, 1954 in Seattle) is the third most successful Unlimited Hydroplane racer in history. He has won the APBA Gold Cup a record 11 times and was the driver of one of the most famous boats in APBA history, the '' ...

, Jim Kropfeld, and Dave Villwock. Little has been inducted into the Florida Sports Hall of Fame, and was inducted into the

Motorsports Hall of Fame of America The Motorsports Hall of Fame of America (MSHFA) is hall of fame that honors motorsports competitors and contributors from the United States from all disciplines, with categories for Open Wheel, Stock Cars, Powerboats, Drag Racing, Motorcycles, ...

in 1994.Bernard Little
at the

Chenoweth, Hanauer, and another driver for Little, Tom D'Eath, are also in the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America.

References

Bernie Little - King of Boats
by Fred Farley - APBA Unlimited Historian {{DEFAULTSORT:Little, Bernie American motorboat racers 1920s births 2003 deaths