Mercury Challenge

[GrandpaRacer]

Remember these from 30 years ago? I was cleaning my garage and found these from 1987 -1990. In the back they are inscribed: Moses Lake, WA; San Demas, CA; Astoria, OR; and Yelm, WA. I forgot I had them and assume they were handed out after each race.

[DeanFHobart]

John,

I don’t think I received those in the first year of 1986 for the Western Mercury Callenge.

Deano...............

[GrandpaRacer]

Yes, the first one is dated 1987. All these years later when trophies are long gone it is nice to have these medallions. Do you recall did we get these at each individual race?

[DeanFHobart]

John,

I do not recall that since I only ran the Western Mercury Challenge in 1986, which I won and set the 1-2/3 mile record at Lake Lawrence. But those medallions are cool. In 1986 I don’t think they gave any specific ‘Mercury Challenge’ trophies at the individual races. In 1986 the Mercury Challenge 4 races were: Cullaby, Olympia, Scootenay and Lawrence.

My final winning trophy was a framed picture of my boat.... a Don ‘Dewey’ Anderson Dart Craft...That was taken at Eatonville which was not a Challenge race.

[Matt Dagostino]

When the series started in 1986 medals were given at each event! The first race was Ocoee in 1986 with like 33 DSH's there in uniform ready to race. I believe Phil Van Syckle won that first race. I went on to win at Dayton and then later clinch the series in DSH. In 1986 we all used the Mark 55 engine. In 1987 which i believe was the first year of the expanded series to the West Coast the Merc 44xs was legal and went onto dominate the D Class .........

The Mercury support tractor trailer was always in attendance and had parts and complete motors for sale right on the spot. If i remember correctly it had a window like a ice cream truck would have and you could walk up and buy any part you needed for your Merc 25 or Merc 44xs on the spot.

[fbref5269]

that's what gary pond needs to do at the races
frank novotny
52-E

[GrandpaRacer]

I loved it when that truck showed up at the Nationals. Always went home with a box of extra parts.

[DeanFHobart]

The 1986 spring race at Dayton was the first Eastern Mercury Challenge Race... and me and my son Tod were there with his OMC ASH. But it was the Mercury Challenge that I decided to run 25 XSH. So when I went home I talked to Steve Vincent who was in charge of The West Coast series. I bought a new 25 SX motor and I was off and running.

But I don’t think that the West Coast Series received Medallions.... because if we did I would still have them... and I do not.

[hydroman6]

Dean, I have an engraved Merc Challenge aluminum coffee cup from 1987 in DSH.

[Matt Dagostino]

Dean.....Ocoee 1986 was the first race of the Merc Challenge series.........just sayin


Matt

[DeanFHobart]

Hydroman6,

Yes.... now that you mention it, I also have a silver color most likely aluminum engraved cup for our last race at Lawrence Lake, Yelm, Washington. So I guess we did get some trophy item at each race. I just don’t recall.

Matt,

Now that you mention it, yes, Dayton was the second race... my bad. Then the Wakefield SO Nationals was another..... What was the other one.... a site in New York?

Thanks, Deano..........

[Matt Dagostino]

I believe Whitney Point was the 3rd race and Wakefield was the final in 1986..........at Wakefield the sun was so bad the race committee could not run the final and awarded me the victory based on points........

[Flyer]

Matt was it Whitney point or silver lake. Flyer

[Harold8]

It was Silver Lake. That was the first Mercury Challenge race I ran. Picked up a new style wrap around for my D at the race to be legal.

[GrandpaRacer]

These were the best trophy! I only have 1.

[DeanFHobart]

These were the best trophy! I only have 1.

Nice John..... I did not receive one of those. I wish I did.

[DeanFHobart]

I think it was Silver Lake also... Because we had two Silver Lakes in Washington at the time (Now three Silver Lakes).... so I thought it was ironic that there was racing at Silver Lakes on both sides of the States at the time.

I’’ll give Steve Vincent a call, he will most likely remember.

[daveracerdsh]

I did pretty well in D stock hydro Mercury Challenge series wise.....got second place overall in 89 and won the whole thing in 90...they gave us really cool plaques which came in the mail, and at trophies we recived the very nice medalions. They also handed out big fake checks....I am looking at both the plaques and medallions as I type this....would love to find somebody that has VHS tapes of the West coast events.......(not bragging btw)

[ricochet112]

PB100002.JPG I think the 1990 NAC plaque might be from the East vs West challenge at Wakefield Nationals

[GrandpaRacer]

Cool, I remember these! Wonder where mine are..

[Matt Dagostino]

Mine are hanging in the garage!

[GrandpaRacer]

Matt, A few years ago we built a shop for boat building and motor work. I am going to find this memorabilia and display it there as well. I recently mounted the now illegal 20ss restrictor also!

[GrandpaRacer]

Think about the marketing the Mercury Challenge created. Here we are 30 years later and we are still talking about it.

[deeougee]

It’s interesting isn’t. I remember those days. Quite a bit of money and involvement from Mercury, everyone was engaged. The challenge races were held in many different places. I know we talked about this before but I remember Saginaw being a challenging course. We lost sight of John Brouge down in the south turn and there was a breakwall down there coming out of the turn, thought he might have hit it or put the hydro up on the bank! Use to be a lot of boats at those races. Remember Matt and Steve having quite the tussle in 25 hydro for the title at the Saginaw race. Jon Stone was the man in D hydro and Vic Brinkman in 25 runabout.

[GrandpaRacer]

Ricochet112, I found a 1990 plaque like yours, you beat me. Then I found an 1988 plaque and in 1986 we got a photo of us in our boat nicely done. Here is the 1988 plaque, it doesn't say my position..

[daveracerdsh]

There were some people in Seattle Outboard that did not like the challenge series.....if memory serves me correct you had to bid for the races, and the region ten inboard clubs ran a few events.....Moses Lake and Spanaway come to mind in this area.....

[daveracerdsh]

The inboards hosted the challenge series at Moses Lake in May or June of 1990.......we had 23 d stock hydros, elims of course.....doing a le mans start from the beach. Oh man....talk about cool. Nate brown was standing on a spit of land with a flag, and off we went....12 d stock hydros headed for a bouy.....then off to the 1 mile or so course. amazing stuff. the tension leading up to nate dropping the flag I can still feel to this day..............