The ALL-TIME Worlds BEST Throttle Man is....
06-26-2008, 04:16 PM
#111
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Bob Nordskog. Not only did he stand on one foot and throttle with the other, he was the toughest SOB to every drive a marathon boat. As an example, San Francisco to LA, and Canada to Mexico for starters. Ask Bob or Norm Teague...
06-27-2008, 07:59 AM
#112
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Tommy Akoury is one of my favorite throttle men, riggers, mechanics, gentlemen, of all time. When I was at Cougar, he was Tman/ Crewchief of the unbeatable P-class 'Black Duck'. After the race, and before the speed trials as Wyandotte, Mi., he worked all night with us in the mud and rain, to install our third engine. We could never have done done it without his help, expertise, and parts. Next day, we set the world P-class record. He was second. When I reminded him of his kindness at the reunion, he said: "Yeah, I never was too smart"!
Anyway, I'll probably run into him this weekend, I'll tell him about the nice things being said about him.
Brownie, thanks for the kind words about my father...he is just figuring out what a computer is (he's oldschool like that, still doesn't even have a cell phone), so maybe one day we'll get him on here. It would be nice for him to connect with some of the old timers on here.
-Chris
06-27-2008, 10:47 AM
#113
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Three teams put our Shadow Cats on the map and Shadow begat the Chris Cat and Chris Cat begat the Conquests..... but without Black Duck (Aiken/Akoury), Luv-it ( Gilly), and El Boss ( Diaz)...... none of the rest would have happened....
Those guys were the start of the whole thing and without them we might have been a sad anecdote......
Truth is, it is the teams that make the boats and engines successful.
T2
Those guys were the start of the whole thing and without them we might have been a sad anecdote......
Truth is, it is the teams that make the boats and engines successful.
T2
Last edited by T2x; 06-27-2008 at 12:49 PM.
06-27-2008, 12:13 PM
#114
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Memories..........
Willie Diaz was an astounding T-man..... He was in great condition, had amazing reflexes, and was absolutely fearless. He was accompanied at all times by his wing men, Carlos and "El Rhonco" (The Rhino)...... These two were bookends built like a pair of offensive linemen with massive bodies. On land they sure acted like bodyguards....... In the boat one drove and one "navigated". In fact during races both simply hung on for dear life....regardless of who had the wheel..... El Boss was set up with the throttleman in the middle..... for absolute control....
After each race, Willie would step out of the boat as fresh as a daisy without a drop of perspiration...... His teamates stepped out grey faced, soaked with sweat......and probably 20 lbs lighter than before the event.
I often wondered what the conversations were like in that boat as Willie charged through the breakers over the Key West reef.........
I fear we will never see anything like that again....
T2x
Willie Diaz was an astounding T-man..... He was in great condition, had amazing reflexes, and was absolutely fearless. He was accompanied at all times by his wing men, Carlos and "El Rhonco" (The Rhino)...... These two were bookends built like a pair of offensive linemen with massive bodies. On land they sure acted like bodyguards....... In the boat one drove and one "navigated". In fact during races both simply hung on for dear life....regardless of who had the wheel..... El Boss was set up with the throttleman in the middle..... for absolute control....
After each race, Willie would step out of the boat as fresh as a daisy without a drop of perspiration...... His teamates stepped out grey faced, soaked with sweat......and probably 20 lbs lighter than before the event.
I often wondered what the conversations were like in that boat as Willie charged through the breakers over the Key West reef.........
I fear we will never see anything like that again....
T2x
Last edited by T2x; 06-27-2008 at 12:23 PM.
06-30-2008, 07:36 AM
#117
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You make my list simply because, with the humility you have shown above, you seperate yourself from the current group ..... and that is "Old School".
T2x
