Hydroplane racing burst onto the Seattle scene in 1950, and local sports fans embraced it with a passion that is hard to imagine. Throughout the early 1950s, thousands of fans flocked to Lake Washington to watch classic races between Seattle�s Slo-mo-shun boats and a fleet of East Coast challengers. For over 40 years, hydroplane racing was synonymous with summertime in Seattle. During its golden age, when �hydro fever� was at its height, drivers like Bill Muncey, Ron Musson, and Mira Slovak were sports heroes on par with today�s Ken Griffey Jr. or Ichiro. Seattle became the �hydro� capital of the nation.
The Hydroplane and Raceboat Museum in Kent, Washington, is the only national museum dedicated exclusively to unlimited hydroplane racing. David D. Williams, the museum�s director and author of Hydroplane Racing in Seattle, has been driving unlimited hydroplanes for over a dozen years and was the primary stunt driver for the movie Madison. This is his fourth book on the subject of hydroplane racing.