The sponsorship, often personally supported by Art Oberto to sustain the sport, concluded its primary run after the 2015 season, but remains one of the most recognized and celebrated brands in the history of powerboat racing.

In 1975, the Oberto Sausage Company sponsored their first unlimited hydroplane. Bob Murphy’s former U-18 Red Ball Express (#6207) became the U-4 Oh Boy! Oberto “Super Salami.” The boat tested on Lake Washington April 15th with “lady driver Pat Ciotta” alongside Bill Wurster.

Chuck Hickling drove in Oberto’s debut at Tri-Cities (Wurster was obligated to drive Sunny Jim Jam, but took over after Seattle). At Phoenix and San Diego the “Salami” was replaced by “Beef Jerky.” Oh Boy! Oberto finished the season in 13th place out of 18 entries. [Oh Boy! Oberto completed only one race in ’ 75, Tri-Cities. It failed to qualify at Seattle and San Diego, and broke down in Phoenix.—Ed.]

Go back a year to 1974, the year of the Gold Cup race in Seattle at Sand Point. Seafair lost their shirt and had absolutely no credit. They could not have charged a roll of scotch tape. Cash on the barrel-head was required. The press told the community that Seafair was broke and on the brink of vanishing.

Art Oberto wrote a letter to the editor of a Seattle newspaper which appeared on the sports page in the spring of 1975. Art wrote, “We have to save the Seafair race. It is for our kids. They are out of school all summer. They hear the roar of the hydros. They jump on their bikes and head for the pits.

“They hang on the fence. They worship the boats and the drivers. They collect the pins. They make scrapbooks. They love the hydros. We have to save the Seafair race; it’s for our kids.”

Meanwhile, KIRO-TV 7 gave Seafair a five-hour telethon. This was about early summer of 1975. A street in front of the KIRO studios in Seattle was closed off and all the local hydros were put on display out front. Most of the local hydro owners and drivers appeared on the telethon. It was a huge success, raising $56,000, and gave Seattle’s Seafair Festival a fresh new start. Otherwise, there may have never been another Seafair race.

Art Oberto was there, on TV. One of his Italian business buddies got him to donate $500 on-camera. Bill Wurster (U-18 co-owner) cornered Art over a sandwich and coffee and they cooked up the first Oberto hydro sponsorship.

The following spring, Wayne Cody held his popular evening radio, sports-talk show at Meal Maker’s restaurant in Burien. His topics were pro soccer, Mariners baseball, and hydroplanes. The U-4 Oh Boy! Oberto was on display outside the restaurant and his hydro guests were Bill Wurster and Art Oberto. During the program Wayne Cody asked Art Oberto, “How did you originally decide to sponsor an unlimited hydroplane?”

Art’s answer was, “It’s all Bob Senior’s fault. He got me to sponsor the Pit Tours!”

Miss Madison is an H1 Unlimited hydroplane team. It is the only community-owned Unlimited hydroplane in the world. It is based out of Madison, Indiana, a small town of 12,000 residents on the Ohio River which annually hosts the Madison Regatta. The story of the boat and city are the subject of the 2001 film Madison.

Traditionally running under the U-6 banner, for 2024 they will field a new boat for the 2024 season, U-91 Miss Goodman Real Estate. The number refers to the 1991 founding of the sponsor..

Miss Madison on the Ohio River at the 2017 Madison Regatta

History

The team was started in 1960 when industrialist Samuel F. Dupont donated one of his hydroplanes to the town in 1961 to be run in the American Power Boat Association races. The town's boat is registered as "U-6" (for APBA Unlimited class, #6) in high-points unlimited hydroplane racing since 1961, which makes them the longest-running team in the sport, although the team will change numbers if required by H1 Unlimited regulations that state the defending national champion use the U-1 designation. Through 2008 the U-6 team has used only 7 different hulls, although number 6 was used for only one race in 1988 when the new 5th Miss Madison hull crashed at San Diego in 1988. The Miss Madison team leased the U-3 Risley's hull from owners Ed Cooper, Sr., and Ed Cooper, Jr., for the final race of the year in Las Vegas. The U-3 was officially the U-6 Miss Madison at this one event. The 2nd-to-last hull was built in 1988 by Ron Jones Marine in Seattle, Washington. The hull was first used as a piston-engined boat powered by a V-12 Allison aircraft engine. It was later redesigned for a Lycoming turbine engine, the same type of engine used in the Chinook helicopters. The championship winning U-1 Miss HomeStreet sponsored racing hull was built in 2007 for the H1 Unlimited hydroplane series. A new U-6 debuted in 2018. It was originally built in 2003 but was never completed following Bernie Little's death. That hull was acquired by HomeStreet in 2017 and debuted at the end of the 2018 season. During the 2019 season, the team ran two boats, with the 2007 hull as the U-1918 (for sponsor Oberto Specialty Meats' founding year) and the 2018 hull as the U-6. The second hull was renamed after a sponsorship and management deal, it is now known as the U-91 Miss Goodman Real Estate. The two hulls were raced until 2023.

For 2024, one hull will be raced (the 2018 boat) and will carry U-91 (1991 founding year) of Goodman Real Estate.

Hulls

Miss Madison Racing Hulls

(1961–present)

HULL # Years    Wins    Powerplant      Formerly         Notes

1          1961-1963       0          Allison V-12     U-79 Nitrogen  Destroyed in 1963 Gold Cup trials

2          1963-1971       3          Allison V-12     U-79-2 Nitrogen Too    1971 Gold Cup champion

3          1972-1977       0          Allison V-12     -           -

4          1978-1988       1          Allison V-12     Pay 'n Pak and Atlas Van Lines            -

5          1988-1990       1          Allison V-12     -           -

-           1991-2006       2          Lycoming Turbine        -           -

6          1988    0          Allison V-12     Risley's Is the Cooper family U-3 hydroplane, borrowed for one race.

7          2007–2023      12        Lycoming Turbine        -           After the 2018 hull began racing, Miss Madison continued to field the old hull in West Coast races during the 2019 season as the U-1918 Oberto Specialty Meats (referencing the date of the brand's founding). It was the first time there were two Miss Madison boats in a single regatta. Was the U-91 Goodman Real Estate (again referencing its founding, 1991) since 2021.

8          2018-2024       1          Lycoming Turbine        Miss Budweiser (T-7) (never completed)        An unfinished boat formerly owned by Joe Little following his father's death in 2003, the boat was built in Tukwila, WA at the Little shop. HomeStreet Bank acquired the boat when they acquired Hydroplanes, Inc., the Little family shop, and finished the hull in 2018. During the 2019 season, this boat was the U-6 when Miss Madison fielded two boats. In years after the team is the national champion, it carried U-1. When the team downsized in 2024, the boat became the primary boat, now carrying U-91 for its sponsor.

8          2025-present   1          Lycoming Turbine        Miss Budweiser (T-3)  A boat owned by Dave Bartush of Detroit MI, was leased by Miss Madison Racing for the 2025 season after Charlie Grooms wrongfully sold the teams former hulls (2007 "Sharky" and T-7) and equipment to Bruce Ratchford. Under the leadership of Crew Chief Trey Holt, the team plans to compete in Guntersville Alabama, and the hometown race the Madison Regatta.

Wins

The Miss Madison had only a handful of wins in its history prior to joining the H-1 Unlimited series. The team has won ten (2008-10, 2012, 2014-17, 2019, 2021) National High Point Championships for the racing season. The single biggest individual victory occurred in 1971, when the Gold Cup (the World Series of hydroplane racing) was held in Madison for the first time. U-6 went on to win the Atomic Cup in Tri-Cities, Washington, that same year, and finished second nationally in overall points for the 1971 season.

Other major victories occurred when she won in 2001 and 2010 in Madison for the home town fans. Miss Madison has won in Guntersville, Alabama in 1965, Lake Ozark, Missouri in 1983, San Diego, California in 1993, Thunder on the Ohio in Evansville, Indiana in 2005, and the Columbia Cup in Tri-Cities, Washington in 2008 and 2009. Two wins in 2007 coming in Seattle at the Seafair Cup, and San Diego, California.

National High Point Championships

Year     Driver

2008    Steve David

2009    Steve David

2010    Steve David

2012    Steve David

2014    Jimmy Shane

2015    Jimmy Shane

2016    Jimmy Shane

2017    Jimmy Shane

2019    Jimmy Shane

2021    Team only Jeff Bernard (1) and Jimmy Shane (2-4)

2022    Jimmy Shane

Gold Cup Championships

Year     Driver

1971    Jim McCormick

2014    Jimmy Shane

2015    Jimmy Shane

2017    Jimmy Shane

2019    Jimmy Shane

2021    Jimmy Shane

Sponsorship

As with any racing team, sponsors have been important to keep teams running. Miss Madison has had many title sponsors through the years. Many of them have been large companies. The boat, racing under the official number U-6, started out as just the Miss Madison and remained that way for a very long time. Sponsorships became a big part of the team after 1988 when the new hull was beginning its racing career. Miss Madison has been sponsored by Mazda, Holset, Kelloggs Frosted Flakes, Jasper Engines and Transmissions, DeWalt Tools, Oberto Sausage Company. HomeStreet Bank began sponsorship starting in 2016. Oberto returned for selected races in 2019 for the second hull. Goodman Real Estate took over in 2021 for selected races, and the team became full-time in 2022.

History of Miss Madison Sponsors Hamm's Beer 1975 Miss Lynnwood 1976 Armstrong's Machine 1977 Starvin Marvin 1977 Dr. Toyota 1980 Frank Kenney Toyota 1981-82 Miss Rich Food Plan Service 1982-83 American Speedy Printing 1984-85 The Ching Group 1985 Holset Miss Madison 1986-90 Holset Miss Mazda 1989-90 Kellogg's 1992-94 Jasper Engines & Transmissions 1995 DeWalt Tools 1995-97 Powerball 1998 Oberto Beef Jerky 2000–15, 2019 (U-1918) Homestreet Bank 2016-present (U-6)[1] Goodman Real Estate 2022-present (U-91)

Sponsors by Year and Hull

Year     Hull Number    Name

1961    5879    Miss Madison

1962    5879    Miss Madison

1963    5879    Miss Madison

1963    6079    Miss Madison

1964    6079    Miss Madison

1965    6079    Miss Madison

1966    6079    Miss Madison

1967    6079    Miss Madison

1968    6079    Miss Madison

1969    6079    Miss Madison

1970    6079    Miss Madison

1971    6079    Miss Madison

1972    7206    Miss Madison

1973    7206    Miss Madison

1974    7206    Miss Madison

1975    7206    Miss Madison / Hamm's Bear

1976    7206    Miss Madison / Miss Lynnwood

1977    7206    Miss Madison / Barney Armstrong's Machine / Starvin’ Marvin

1978    7325    Miss Madison (Hull originally U-25 Pay’n Pak)

1979    7325    Miss Madison

1980    7325    Dr. Toyota

1981    7325    Frank Kenney Toyota-Volvo

1982    7325    Frank Kenney Toyota-Volvo / Rich Plan Food Service

1983    7325    Frank Kenney Toyota-Volvo / Rich Plan Food Service

1984    7325    American Speedy Printing

1985    7325    American Speedy Printing

1986    7325    Holset - Miss Madison

1987    7325    Holset - Miss Madison

1988    7325    Holset - Miss Madison

1988    8803    Miss Madison (Leased from Cooper's Express)

1988    8806    Holset - Miss Madison / Risley's Holset - Miss Madison

1989    8806    Holset - Miss Madison / Holset Miss Mazda

1990    8806    Holset - Miss Madison / Holset Miss Mazda

1991    8806    Gaylord's at Kilohana / Valvoline Miss Madison / Kellogg's Frosted Flakes

1992    8806    Kellogg's Tony the Tiger

1993    8806    Kellogg's Frosted Flakes

1994    8806    Powerball / Miss Madison

1995    8806    Jasper Engines and Transmissions / Dewalt Tools

1996    8806    Dewalt Tools

1997    8806    Dewalt Tools

1998    8806    Miss Madison

1999    8806    Miss Madison (White)

2000    8806    Miss Madison (Yellow) / Oh Boy! Oberto

2001    8806    Oh Boy! Oberto

2002    8806    Oh Boy! Oberto

2003    8806    Oh Boy! Oberto

2004    8806    Oh Boy! Oberto

2005    8806    Oh Boy! Oberto

2006    8806    Oh Boy! Oberto

2007    0706    Oh Boy! Oberto

2008    0706    Oh Boy! Oberto

2009    0706    Oh Boy! Oberto (U-1)

2010    0706    Oh Boy! Oberto (U-1)

2011    0706    Oh Boy! Oberto (U-1)

2012    0706    Oh Boy! Oberto

2013    0706    Oh Boy! Oberto (U-1)

2014    0706    Oberto

2015    0706    Oberto (U-1)

2016    0706    HomeStreet Bank (U-1)

2017    0706    HomeStreet Bank (U-1)

2018    0706    HomeStreet Bank (U-1) (except San Diego)

2018    1806    HomeStreet Bank (U-1) (San Diego)

Miss Madison had acquired Bernie Little's hydroplane racing assets)

2019    1806    HomeStreet Bank (U-6)

Entire 2019 season

2019    0706    Oberto Specialty Meats (U-1918)

Tri-Cities, Seattle, and San Diego Only

2021    0706    Goodman Real Estate, HomeStreet Bank (U-1)

Guntersville and Madison Only

1806    HomeStreet Bank (U-1)

Tri-Cities and San Diego Only

2022    1806    HomeStreet Bank (U-1)

0706    Goodman Real Estate (U-91)

from http://www.namba.com

Drivers

Drivers of Miss Madison since 1961.

Driver  Year

Marion Cooper            1961-1963

Morlan Visel    1963

Buddy Byers    1963-1965

Jim McCormick           1966, 1969-1971

Ed O'Halloran  1967-1968

Charlie Dunn   1972-1973

Tom Sheehy     1973, 1982

Milner Irvin     1974, 1978-1981, 1984

Jerry Bangs      1975

Ron Snyder      1976, 1982–84, 1986–88

Jon Peddie       1977-78

Andy Coker     1985-1986

Jerry Hopp       1986, 2000

Mitch Evans     1988

Mike Hanson   1988-98

Todd Yarling    1999

Charley Wiggins          2000

Nate Brown     2000

Steve David     2001-2013

Jon Zimmerman          2011 (Back-up driver for the Gold Cup while Steve David was recovering from injuries from Madison)

Jimmy Shane   2014-22

U-6 (2019)

Jeff Bernard     2019-22

Second boat (2019, 2022-), Primary (Gold Cup, 2021)

Dylan Runne    2023

U-6

Andrew Tate    2023-24

U-91

Brandon Kennedy        2025

U-6