Lee Edward "Chip" Hanauer (born July 1, 1954, in Seattle)[1] is the third most successful Unlimited Hydroplane racer in history. He has won the APBA Gold Cup a record 11 times and was the driver of one of the most famous boats in APBA history, the Miss Budweiser, in the early to mid-1990s. He was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1995 as their youngest inductee. In 2005, he was inducted into the International Motorized Vehicles Hall of Fame. In 1991, he temporarily left the waters for auto racing only to return a season later.
Hanauer was born on July 1, 1954, in Seattle. He grew up with a poster of the international Grand Prix auto racing star Jim Clark of Scotland on the wall of his boyhood bedroom. But finances and his home in Seattle, Washington – a major center of boat racing – dictated that he start in small hydroplanes. Hanauer graduated cum laude from Washington State University in 1976, also the year of his racing debut. Hanauer worked as a teacher of emotionally disturbed children, but became a full-time hydroplane driver in 1978, first winning a race in 1979 in Ogden, Utah.[1]
In 1982 Hanauer became the driver for Atlas Van Lines, replacing owner/driver Bill Muncey, who died in the final race of the 1981 season. Muncey asked his widow, Fran, to continue the race team if he died. Fran selected Hanauer, who was reportedly picked by Bill to replace him, to drive. Hanauer went on to win his first Unlimited National and World Championship. In 1985 he won his fourth consecutive Gold Cup and another National Championship.[1]
In 1986 Hanauer tied Garfield Wood's record for the most consecutive Gold Cup wins. In 1987 he won his sixth consecutive Gold Cup, breaking Gar Wood's record. He won a seventh consecutive Gold Cup victory in 1988. In 1990 he again won the National Championship.[1]
At the end of the 1990 season, Hanauer left hydroplane racing and tried his hand at auto racing, driving for Toyota, but joined Bernie Little's Miss Budweiser hydroplane racing team in 1992.[1] The team owner of the Toyota-sponsored auto racing team for which Hanauer briefly drove in 1991 later commented that Hanauer would certainly have been successful in automobile racing had he pursued that career progression.
In the early 1990s, Hanauer suffered a series of severe injuries in high-speed unlimited hydroplane accidents. Those accidents eventually pushed him to make the decision to retire in 1996. He also developed a serious condition called spasmodic dysphonia which caused him to lose his voice – only to regain it several years later after learning of a treatment in which botox is injected directly into the throat.[2] He continues to volunteer his time at a home for disadvantaged children in Seattle. He also volunteers as a transporter for Disabled American Veterans, picking up disabled veterans from their homes and driving them to appointments at the VA Medical Center in Seattle.
^ abcde"Chip Hanauer - Biography". The Hydroplane & Raceboat Museum. Archived from the original on September 19, 2013. Retrieved September 22, 2012.
^McHale, Laurie; Degginger, Craig (May 14, 1999). "Chip Hanauer's restored voice gives him a new lease on life". University of Washington News and Information. Archived from the original on December 15, 2012. Retrieved September 22, 2012.
Lee Edward "Chip" Hanauer (born July 1, 1954, in Seattle) is the third most successful Unlimited Hydroplane racer in history. He has won the APBA Gold...
Hanauer is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: Adrian Hanauer (born 1966), American businessman ChipHanauer (born 1954), American motorboat...
Associated Press. July 25, 1981. p. 17. Blanchette, John (July 27, 1981). "Hanauer's the hydro champ". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. 13. Lee...
aeronautical engineer D.J. Nolan, Sr. of Bloomfield Hills, MI and drivers ChipHanauer, Jim Kropfeld, and Dave Villwock. Little has been inducted into the Florida...
to 52.5 statute miles. The driver with the most Gold Cup victories is ChipHanauer, with 11 victories. Dave Villwock is second, with 10, and Bill Muncey...
Championship, and APBA Gold Cup wins in 1985, 1986, and 1987, driven by ChipHanauer. For the first time in a video game, it was featured in NASCAR '15: Victory...
condition in the book The Voice Gallery: Travels With a Glass Throat (2002) ChipHanauer, American hydroplane racing driver Rodney Hicks, American Broadway, film...
Sports Cars 1991 Janet Guthrie Open Wheel 2021 Jim Hall Sports Cars 1994 ChipHanauer Power Boats 1995+ Sam Hanks Open Wheel 2000 Bob Hannah Motorcycles 2000...
Governor's Cup ChipHanauer Atlas Van Lines 1985 Indiana Governor's Cup Steve Reynolds Miss 7-Eleven 1986 Indiana Governor's Cup ChipHanauer Miller American...
Thriftway Gale V Miss Supertest III Stanley Sayres O Bernie Little O ChipHanauer D Ron Musson D Ole Bardahl O Bill Muncey D & O Guy Lombardo D & O Dean...
1985 Budweiser APBA Gold Cup Miller American ChipHanauer 1986 Emerald Cup Miller American ChipHanauer 1987 Emerald Cup Miss Budweiser Jim Kropfeld 1988...
Circus Circus Regatta Atlas Van Lines ChipHanauer 1983 Miller High Life Regatta Atlas Van Lines ChipHanauer 1984 Miller High Life Thunderboat Regatta...
Columbia Cup Atlas Van Lines Bill Muncey 1981 Columbia Cup The Squire Shop ChipHanauer 1982 Columbia Cup The Squire Shop Tom D’Eath 1983 Columbia Cup American...
original on December 12, 2021. Retrieved October 18, 2021 – via ProQuest. "Hanauer inducted into Hall of Fame; Motorsports | Hydroplane driver joined by four...
Atlas Van Lines 1982 ChipHanauer Atlas Van Lines 1983 ChipHanauer Atlas Van Lines 1984 Jim Kropfeld Miss Budweiser 1985 ChipHanauer Miller American 1986...
Gunnar Dennis Aase Carlos Moran ChipHanauer Jay Cochran Bobby Carradine Gunnar 966 271 41 DNF GTP 6 Joest Porsche Chip Robinson Hurley Haywood Henri Pescarolo...
using a Bass-designed livery for all motorsport sponsored by Miller. ChipHanauer drove the Muncey operation throughout her control before the team was...
WA 11 1981 Dean Chenoweth Miss Budweiser Acapulco (Mexico) 12 1982 ChipHanauer Atlas Van Lines Houston, TX 13 1983 Milner Irvin Miss Renault Houston...
(Ret)., congressional candidate Darcy Burner, and hydroplane legend ChipHanauer. Speakers at the second event, held in 2010, included VoteVets.org founder...
DeLuca Bill Weston Mazda MX-6 93 45 DNF GTP 66 Team Gunnar Jay Cochran ChipHanauer Bobby Carradine Dennis Aase Gunnar 966 47 46 DNF INV GT 15 Scott Clarke...
42 GTS-3 24 Team Seattle/Alex Job Racing Don Kitch Jr. Chris Bingham ChipHanauer Chuck Lyford Byron Sanborn Porsche 911 G 400 43 GTS-3 68 The Racer's...
Team Gunnar Gunnar 966-Porsche 66 Dennis Aase 1, 3 Jay Cochran 1, 3 ChipHanauer 1, 3 Carlos Morán 1 Bobby Carradine 1, 3 John Paul Jr. 5, 8-11 Charles...
slides down the road on his back. San Diego, CA – While making a turn, ChipHanauer's red speedboat suddenly flies into the air and crashes, breaking a few...
Chet Collins as Stage Manager Lewis Arquette as TV Station Guard Terri Hanauer as Woman in Shower Helene Winston as Woman in Ice Cream Shop Gary Riley...
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