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Phil Bononcini  

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Chuck Moore

This page updated on
February 28, 2008

TEAM HISTORY

Since joining the Unlimited Light Hydroplane racing circuit in 1996, Phil Bononcini and Joe Frauenheim have been a racing force to contend with. With a long and rich history of restoring and racing vintage Unlimited Hydroplanes, these two men joined the circuit to "have some fun". What they discovered was an healthy sense of competitiveness that reached far beyond the joy and fulfillment of revitalizing the Unlimited Hydroplanes that now play major roles in the history of this exciting sport.

Phil Bononcini, a resident of the Seattle, WA area - for the decades, the home base to most of the Unlimited Hydroplane racing teams competing today - probably felt the urge the strongest as he became the "designated" driver in the partnership. At their first race in Phoenix, AZ in 1996, he quickly completed his qualifying driver heats and found himself among the most talented and fastest Unlimited Light drivers in the country.

Joe Frauenheim, also a Seattle-are resident, quickly settled into the titles of co-owner and crew chief with equal expertise and enthusiasm. The crew for the Pocket Mechanic were certainly not the normal rookies of the sport either, all having racing resumes associating them with historic names of Unlimited Hydroplanes of the past, including the "Miss Thriftway", "Gen V", "Shadow II" and "Tempo IV".

The new team also had something else that had the other competitors taking notice, the Coast Cutlery Company of Portland, OR, was their national sponsor which enabled the team to compete at every race on the Unlimited Hydroplane national circuit. One win and top four finishes put the Pocket Mechanic team firmly in the record books as the 1996 season ended.

The Unlimited Light racing circuit continued to grow in 1997 and more teams meant tougher, more experienced competitors - and the Pocket Mechanic team rose to the challenge - again making every race and finishing in the top 5 at most events. As driver Phil Bononcini raked in more competitions, the "numbers" eventually caught up with him during the annual trek of the Unlimited Hydroplanes circuit to Lake Washington in Seattle. A dramatic blow-over brought race fans to their feet but state-of-the-art equipment which includes an enclosed canopy, helped ensure that both driver and boat came out unscathed.

As the 1998 racing season prepares to take the nation by storm with events sweeping across North America, the Pocket Mechanic race team will again re-join the circuit with a new 24' Jones hydroplane hull and a re-worked engine program that nearly guarantees podium finishes throughout the season. The Coast Cutlery Company will again be the primary titling sponsor for this experienced, competitive and race-ready team.

We’re Ready To Rock! ...... Are The Other Teams Ready For Us?

HOW IT ALL STARTED
... in April of 1996 ...

by Phil Bononcini

Joe and my first race as you know was in Phoenix '96. Up until Wednesday before the race we weren't sure we were going to make it. Our engine builder, AC Nutter, had promised our engine for months. I finally had to drive to his shop on the previous Friday night. When I got there he was just removing the engine from the dyno. Not enough valve clearance. Come back tomorrow. 

The next morning I was there and he did get it on the dyno and I was able to watch the engine turn out 633 HP! Now that's a lot for the alternate engine right out of the box no tweaking. 

Back to Seattle on Saturday night, where my crew was waiting to start the laborious chore of making hoses, motor mounts, and dry sump mounts; only to find out the oil pan hit the bottom of the boat. That was about 3 pm Sunday. I called Terry Troxell, who owned the pan that came with the boat to ask if I could borrow it. "For only this race," he said. The only problem was the pan was back in Portland where the engine builder, AC Nutter, was. So back to Portland I went, got the pan, and installed it. 

After 3 all-nighters the boat was all together and it was Wednesday morning. Joe was of no mood to just throw a boat together, have it be all messed up, show up at an Unlimited race and look foolish. So, on Weds. night we traveled to test at American Lake where Troxell and Bob Schultz were testing. As we pulled up all sorts of aid-cars and firetrucks were pulling in just ahead of us. Frank Starace (sp?) had just blown over a brand new Jones five litre! The dive crew and boat hadn't got in the water yet so Troxell drove out in his National Modified to pull Frank out along with a friend who was watching from a boat. They were able to get him out of the escape hatch after 2 1/2 to 3 minutes. The air system failed or he was not able to clear it and he took on water. Terry and this other fellow gave him mouth to mouth and got him going. He was not awake and blue when the aid car took him to the hospital. He did recover and went on to race that year. 

So there we where. All ready to go... The rookies, the boat, the blowover, and the lake. After a couple very non-eventful (read slow) test heats we felt like we had enough confidence to make it to Phoenix. We left straight from American Lake to Firebird. So just getting a boat, throwing an engine together...And the results went like this... Phoenix: WON THE SECOND HEAT, 4TH IN FINAL!

Detroit: 6th in points, final canceled due to winds. (completed heats for drivers qualification)  Kansas City: 5 heats, 4th in final.  Evansville: 4th in final.  Seattle: Blowover in testing on Friday.  Kelowna: Blown engine in first Heat.