Happy Birthday Shannon Bowman

[Tom10W]

Happy Birthday Shannon

Have a great day Shannon. A BSH Champion in 1975 and still very hard to beat today!
Hey Big Mike, who says Shannon doesn't like runabouts. Here is a vintage picture of Shannon in BSR. One of the early Wakefields.

Tom Kargus

[Mark 72@E]

It ain't no blue ribbon winner

I liked this photo so much I entered it into my local county fair last fall. It won second place in the boating category -- the blue ribbon went to some boring photo of rowboats in front of the Jefferson Memorial in Washington, DC.

Shanon, I said hello to Tommy Barrett at the Wilson, NC race. The last time I saw him was a few decades ago. His DSH was the first Bezoats in Region 4. My 25SSH was the second. And many more followed.

Thanks for all you contribute to the sport.

Note: This photo will eventually be removed to conserve server space. Download it sooner rather than later if you like it.

[ryan_4z]

Happy Birthday Smokey. You better get that C motor fixed! See ya in the first turn old man.

[j hydro racer]

hey shanon

shanon have a good one

happy birthday

[Dick Tyndall]

Happy Birthday...........

I didn't think many people were as old as I am. Seems like a lot of people are having problems with the 102's lately. I fixed mine yesterday..........69.6 MPH and nary a miss ( pump set-up )........gotta have the best for Captain America. Two new coils aren't cheap...............
Hope you have a great day and many more to come!

[Bill Huson]

Happy birthday, young `un

from an old `un

[RacerX]

Your Old Dude!!!!

Shannon,

I don't know if I will make it that f'ng long Bowman!! Christ Bowman I got suspended from High School when I was 17 for picking on old people younger then you!! Your body must be pickled in Rolling Rock is all I can figure.... You might see me sooner then you think. Happy Birthday Beeeooootttccchhh!

Mike Barrett

[JULI SEAMAN]

Another wish from the left coast

We know how old you are; what I wanna know is what number is next to "Smokie" these days. It's not up to 55 yet is it Hope it's a happy one!!! Juli

[Ron Hill]

Shannon....

Shannon,

I really enjoyed seeing you in Louisiana. I'm not sure that many of TODAY'S Stock Racers realize how much your mom and Dad effected Stock Outboard Racing's growth...

As a Kid, my dad was up to is elbows in Mercury motors. (He was the oldest Mercury Dealer in California, and never had a retail shop).

Your family's history is so deep in kneeldown racing, I'm sure that whatever I write, I can't do justice to your family...

I'd like to say, that my 1977 Bezoats DSH was the fastest "D" Stock hydro I ever drove. I spent some time today looking for pictures of my Bezoats...

My student, the late Teddy Whalen, had a Brocolli 20/25SSR... He loved that boat as he loved life...

I often wish my mind didn't remember things as if they happened yesterday...but it does...I remember your dad taking a picture of me and my father at the 1956 Stock Nationals in Cambridge, Maryland. At the 1959 Stock Nationals, I remember your mom and Dad, telling my dad about their wheel bearing problems coming to Seattle...Seems you'd have been pretty young at the '59 Nationals...My dad and your dad seemed to always be friends, as if they'd been friends forever...They always enjoyed a good laugh.

FYI TO THOSE WHO DON'T KNOW: Shannon's Mom and dad wrote tons of articles about Stock Racing, and Craig and Shannon's Mom and Dad took hundreds of pictures of kneeldown racers...that were printed in magazines like Boat Sport, Speed and Spray and Outboard.

Hank Bowman was killed in the Miami Orange Bowl, 9 Hour. Hank was killed by his own boat. Hank had been thrown into the water and his boat kept going. After Hank's death, a rule was passed that you must have a kill switch. Having a kill switch seems a "No brainer" now... but not having it, cost Outboard Racing its VOICE.

Shannon's mom passed away in an equally tragic situation....

It was so great to SEE SHANNON win C Hydro in Louisana. Michael Angelo never built a hydro like Shannon and he'd never have driven one like Shannon does....

Happy Birthday....

[Steve Johnson]

VERY NICE Ron Hill

Happy Birthday Shannon
Very nice work Ron, it speaks volumes
Steve 77-G

[hydroracer25]

Happy Birthday

Shannon,
Hope it was a good one. Also, wanted to say thanks for the technical advise in Alexandria during the Winter Nationals, it proved to be critical!

Tom,
Now that I've seen a picture of Shannon in a runabout, how 'bout one of Craig in a hydro?

Mark

[Tom10W]

That first picture of Shannon in his CSH is awsome...
He don't drive like "55"...It's hard to beat old times like Shannon, John Runne, Matt D..those guys are always right on the starting line...

Sorry Mark, I don't have any pictures of "Craig in a hydro"...
Does one exist???

I do have a vintage picture of Craig doing the next best thing..drinking a cocktail...
You can definitely see the resemblance in this picture...
Last picture is Craig doing the Marathon...
(Photo's taken by Don Allen Jr)

[Steve Warnock]

Happy Belated Birthday

Happy Birthday Bud!

You’ve come along ways from those Rusty Rae Speed N Spray Days!

So how did we meet Shannon? Well we got hired by the “General” in 1977 and they sent me to Syracuse NY on a training program and I found out there was some serious racing going on out there. The NE Divisionals were held in Thompson, CT that year so the girlfriend (soon to be the one and only ex-wife Carol) my new 77 Dodge semi customized van and we trucked off to this big event not knowing where we were really going. We raced ASH and BSH back then where the A was not even close to the eastern boys unless it was on a river course but the B was running pretty good with a new Hawk Hydro Hedlund style hydro.
Didn’t really know a whole of people out there other than some of the NY (Stone, Furnel, Marcell, Mamanno’s) and Canadians (Utman, Deugo) that raced at the NY races so this was really something for me. We had heard of this Racing Phenom Shannon Bowman, but never met him!

It was a pretty warm weekend as I caught Stone and Furnel on top of their Monster Trailer looking at babes with binoculars.
Anyways this “No-Name” took a 2nd in our elim on Sat. and was standing in the water at inspection with the guy that took 1st. Some guy in a boat with the letter “J” on it. And I really liked the high gloss paint job on it. So I said, “You really got a nice looking boat there.” So he acknowledged with “Thanks, yours is nice looking too”. So I asked “ So who built your boat? And he said, “I did”, and then he asked “Who built yours?” and I said “My dad and I”. I then went and shook his hand and said “I’m Steve Warnock from Wisconsin” and said “Hi, I’m Shannon Bowman”. Holy S#$T, I finished 2nd to Shannon Bowman. WOW, wait till the guys back in Wisco hear this one! Well that made my day! Except when I got back to the pits and was taking my prop off I notice the rear gear case stud was broken. Ended up borrowing a gear case from the Icon Bill Giles for the finals
Had a really great Chicken dinner that night also and most everybody really got FUBAR’d.
So the finals are on Sunday and we’re at role call for BSH and Shannon wasn’t on the list for the finals. Evidently Shannon went out in the wrong elimination race on Sat. and no one was notified. Well a little Brew-Ha Ha happened, that’s how I met Craig Bowman the politician and racer. In the end Shannon missed the finals.

Giles won the finals with Tom Utman and I tied for 2nd, Utman got the 2nd on time. There was a lot more to that trip as we ended up winning ASH as the last man standing with all the restarts/gun jumpers and all. Still have the watch and plaque we won. Man what a long trip home.
To this day, every time I see Craig, my head hurts the next day; Yeah, I wonder what’s with that?

Yo Shannon, anybody that can still kick some youthful A$$ is a hero in my book!!
Keep on Truckin!
Warbie