Dean Alan Chenoweth (August 27, 1937 – July 31, 1982) was an American

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

pilot. Known for piloting the famous ''

Miss Budweiser The ''Miss Budweiser'' were 22 hydroplanes sponsored by Budweiser beer that raced in the unlimited class under the U-12 banner. They were owned (some were leased backups) by Bernie Little. Anheuser-Busch sponsorship began in 1963, thanks to th ...

'' boat and the winner of four

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 ...

Gold Cups, he was killed at age 44 in a racing accident on the

Columbia River The Columbia River (Upper Chinook language, Upper Chinook: ' or '; Sahaptin language, Sahaptin: ''Nch’i-Wàna'' or ''Nchi wana''; Sinixt dialect'' '') is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river headwater ...

Career

Born in

Xenia, Ohio Xenia ( ) is a city in Greene County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Located in southwestern Ohio, it is east of Dayton, Ohio, Dayton and is part of the Greater Dayton, Dayton metropolitan area as well as the Miami Valley region. As o ...

, and a long-time resident of

Tallahassee, Florida Tallahassee ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of and the only incorporated municipality in Leon County, Florida, Leon County. Tallahassee became the capital of Fl ...

, Chenoweth began his career in motorboat racing at the age of 12. At 15, he won three national championships, in Class A and Class B hydroplanes and Class A stock boats. Chenoweth moved to unlimited class hydroplane racing in 1968. Between 1968 and 1982, he won four

APBA APBA (pronounced "APP-bah") is a game company founded in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. It was created in 1951 by trucking firm purchaser J. Richard Seitz (1915-1992). The acronym stands for "American Professional Baseball Association", the name of a b ...

Gold Cups, in 1970, 1973, 1980, and 1981, and won the National High Point Championships four times. Chenoweth also set a record of twenty heat race wins in the first five events of the 1980 season. Best known as the driver of

Bernie Little Bernie Little (born in McComb, Ohio, USA c. 1926 - died April 25, 2003) was the most successful owner in Unlimited Hydroplane racing history. His ''Miss Budweiser'' team won 134 of the 354 hydroplane races they entered. They won the high points cha ...

's famed ''

'', and owner of a

Budweiser Budweiser () is an American-style pale lager, a brand of Belgian company AB InBev. Introduced in 1876 by Carl Conrad & Co. of St. Louis, Missouri, Budweiser has become a large selling beer company in the United States. Budweiser is a filte ...

distributorship in Tallahassee, where he moved in 1973, Chenoweth survived a number of spectacular accidents, including a massive blowover on

Lake Washington Lake Washington () is a large freshwater lake adjacent to the city of Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the largest lake in King County, Washington, King County and the second largest natural lake in the state of Washington (state), Was ...

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 ...

during a speed record attempt in October 1979. He was inducted into the

Motorsports Hall of Fame of America The Motorsports Hall of Fame of America (MSHFA) is a 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 1991.Dean Chenoweth
at the

Death

While piloting ''Miss Budweiser'' in 1982, Chenoweth was killed on the

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

on During Saturday morning qualifying for the next day's Columbia Cup at the Tri-Cities, the boat was traveling at about when it blew over and impacted inverted. He suffered massive head, neck, and chest injuries; when pulled from the water, he was unconscious and did not have a pulse. Chenoweth was taken to

Kennewick Kennewick () is a city in Benton County, Washington, Benton County in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. It is located along the southwest bank of the Columbia River, just southeast of the confluence of the Columbia and Yakima ...

General Hospital, and was pronounced dead 45 minutes after the accident. Less than ten months earlier, hydroplane racing legend

Bill Muncey William Edward Muncey (November 12, 1928 – October 18, 1981) was an American hydroplane racing legend from Detroit, Michigan. The International Motorsports Hall of Fame and hydroplane historian Dan Cowie described Muncey as "without question, the ...

was killed during the last race of the 1981 season at

Acapulco Acapulco de Juárez (), commonly called Acapulco ( , ; ), is a city and Port of Acapulco, major seaport in the Political divisions of Mexico, state of Guerrero on the Pacific Coast of Mexico, south of Mexico City. Located on a deep, semicirc ...

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

Legacy

Chenoweth's death led Little to develop a closed cockpit for the next ''Miss Budweiser'' boat, and the enclosure became standard for unlimited racers. He is memorialized by a fountain in Lake Leon in Tallahassee's

Tom Brown Park Tom Brown Park is a city park in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. Located on the eastern side of Tallahassee off Capital Circle, Tom Brown Park is a large recreation park, featuring several baseball fields, a disc golf course, tennis cou ...

; he had been named the city's Man of the Year for 1981.

References

External links

Hydroplane History
– Dynamo Dean and the Griffon Bud * {{DEFAULTSORT:Chenoweth, Dean H1 Unlimited 1937 births 1982 deaths Sportspeople from Tallahassee, Florida Sportspeople from Xenia, Ohio American motorboat racers Motorboat racers who died while racing Sports deaths in Washington (state) APBA Challenge Cup American people of Cornish descent