Acapulco/Bill Muncey

[daveracerdsh]

Drug cartels

Very interesting post master........As the taxi driver was bringing me up from the airport, he was pointing out all of the sights....he was/is very proud of his city...and one of the things he pointed out was this hillside south of the city that had very nice casas....and he made a point to say some of them belonged to "narkos"...drug lords. I go out for a jog every morning, and a few days ago I was running back down the main drag and came across the Federalas...3 or 4 trucks, surrounding a new Chevy Yukon....the driver, a younger dude, was against the drivers door, being searched, while his passenger, maybe 50 or so, was on the sidewalk with at least 5 semi-automatic weapons trained on him. They had the truck torn apart.....not sure what they were looking for, but not hard to geuss. I would bet that the longer I stay here the more about that kinda crap I would find out..just like what was pointed out to me with the travel agents. I did show the Federalas around the corner a pic of me in my kevlar....racing...and he knew exactly what it was. They wear similar stuff under their uniforms. We had a good laugh as to how hot it gets with kevlar on Dave

[S Henderson]

Mexico

Dave I’m please to hear everything went ok and you had a good time.
Mexico is a great place to visit today but you just have be carful. Although
I guess you could say that about any place today. I just see the Mexico today
compared to what it was 20 years ago.
Be safe and good luck with your racing this summer. I sure would like to
get in a hydro one more time. You never lose that bug once it’s in your blood.

[daveracerdsh]

Acapulco

Thanx Steve. Ya..the common thread I hear from people down here is how it used to be back in the 50s thru the early 70s....this was THE place to see and be seen. Some of the old buildings around here are just amazing..very sad to seem them crumbling. Like Bill and others have pointed out, there is never any one reason why a place goes into decline...it is usually a combination of many things, just like the slow steady decline in APBA over the past 10 years or so. As you walk around the tourist area, there are just blocks of buildings that were started up and never finished...hotels, businesses, you name it. I suppose I am usually not pessamistic, but I think Acapulco has gone past the point of no return. Will be glad to get home Monday...I have a list of race related stuff to get done before the first race that fills a 3foot by 5 foot white board. Hola. Dave

[master oil racing]

I did find an article in Powerboat today that did confirm that Bill Muncey met his demise on Laguna de Coyuca as I thought. However, there were other details I had never heard before. I will post a copy in the next few days.

Good luck on your trip back home, and the same with your racing. Hope you will post some pictures. I have lots of fond memories of my stay there, and am sorry to hear how things have gone down.

[daveracerdsh]

pics

I will be happy to post pics.....the beach here is just stunning...the water has to be over 80 degrees....and it is only february! The one thing that would keep me from coming back are the beach venders.....they simply will not take no for an answer....gets sorta old. Dave

[bill van steenwyk]

Welcome to Acapulco....present day

This article appeared in todays St. Louis paper. I guess if you are a Mexican national, you are OK.

Glad you made it home OK Dave!!

[Dave M]

Read This Warning

http://www.cnn.com/2013/02/06/world/...t=hp_inthenews

CNN article about the rapes as well. Sounds like if you are Mexican, you are ok. anything else they are targeting.

[S Henderson]

Mexico

They are lucky they didn’t kill all of them.
Want to see what Mexico is like today go to
Borderland Beat.com

Stan Henderson

[raceright]

Are they using shot guns must be a pheasant hunt--Third world just around the corner--yea sure I will give up my AK

[daveracerdsh]

Newspaper

Ya..I heard about that. Pretty sick stuff. The stock picture they used was a pic looking north on the main tourist beach. The condo I was at is just out of frame to the right. Mr Wright...I honestly have no idea what you are talking about, but so be it. Just glad to be home. The cool weather in the NW feels sorta good to me. Dave

[Capt_Speed]

and Bill Muncey was killed in 1981. We raced in the southernmost part of the lagoon... Our bottom turn would have been closest to Muncey's first turn.

Didn't Bill Muncey and Jim Stone both pass away in the same year? Wasn't Jim's accident at the Laredo OD UIM Championships?

Both excellent drivers whom are still very much missed & went before they're time...

[daveracerdsh]

Muncey

I never made it out to the place that Bill was killed at....sorta hard to get to using public transportation. Sitting around the 3 different airports on my journey home, I did a little research...the Unlimited race in 1981 was billed as the world championship, and If memory serves me correct the prize money was $165,000....do I have that correct? If so..pretty good money for those days. Flying in and out of Mexico city, you notice that there are a ton of lakes around....a really nice lake is right next to the Acapulco airport. Would love to take a week and test my D stock stuff there...but sort of expensive to get it down there. Oh ya...don't worry about the water in Mexico, avoid the lettuce. Trust me, if you want a great quick weight loss plan, eat mexican lettuce. lol. One other random thought. 3 of the legs of my little trip were on Aero Mexico...and lemme tell ya...they put U.S. carriers to shame. All the planes I flew on were dang near new, and they had free meals....and the food was very good. Just a random thought. Dave

[S Henderson]

Jim Stone

Capt Speed
Yes Jim Stone was kill at Laredo, Tx. He was out testing in the morning before the racing.
That was a very bad day for all. I was watching him when it happened.

[bill van steenwyk]

There were also two other deaths connected with Laredo...

.........Mel Kirts, who was PRO VP at the time, and his wife Mary, were attending the race, and Mary had a heart attack one evening in the pits, I believe in their motor home or around it, possibly by a campfire. She did not survive the attack.

Shortly after returning home from the race, Mel was admitted to the hospital for I believe about a 3-4 week stay. He never came home. Some said he died from a "broken heart" as he did not want to live without Mary. They had been married for quite a long time, and she was his equal partner in most every way, including their business.

[UThree]

I go by UThree because I crewed the 1981 U3 Miss Thousand Trails boat. It was the 1979 Budweiser hull.

Jim Kerth was the Crew Chief, got us a dinner with Dean Chenoweth and Bill Muncey, on different nights. I forget which cities. Probably Tri-Cities and Seattle. It was a tough year; lost two really good drivers.