the boat is wood glassed over talked to owner last year would love to have one all glass.

I have old freeze frame tapes with miss calculation racing...

and some footage of one of the Big Red's running also

Wow, does that seem familiar right down to the Morse controls. Here's the cockpit of the early 80s Velocity whose owner very kindly asks me throttle at Cowes every year.

Hi everyone! This is Kelly Poppa, Mike Poppa's daughter. I had only seen pictures of Still Crazy when it was a cougar cat. Even though this isn't the same boat my father was racing when he had his accident in 85, he definitely raced this boat at one point in time as made obvious by all the pictures people have posted. I'm not sure if it's possible, but my brother and I would love to see this boat. Is there anyway someone could tell me what storage yard it is in? Thanks!

You better watch it Steve people might think you're a nice guy!

h2boater,

I really enjoy your knowledge and pics of old school offshore racing. Especialy in the Magnum-section!!
Thank you :-)

Mange

Steve, thank you very much for getting me the address. My brother, cousin, and I are very excited about the possibility of at least seeing this boat! We have many pictures of Dad with this boat, so to be able to see it would be absolutely amazing. Thanks again :)

Here is a pic from a 1980 Powerboat Magazine of Mike's Velocity he raced in P-Class, I wonder if this became Still Crazy later??

I'm glad you got in touch with Steve as I think he's got the best contact info for the current owner. I live less than 10mins away from the yard so if you need someone to show you around, let me know.

World's nicest gauntlet thrower!

At least you got a picture without the HAT!

Still Crazy
 

That boat preceded Still Crazy by a couple years. Intimidator was campaigned by Gene Whipp & Mike Poppa quite successfully before Whipp relocated from OH to FL. Still Crazy was built for former NFL player Dick Fulham & he won 2 M class Championships with it with Steve Stepp mostly on sticks. (I did 2 with him).
Dick upped to Open with his ill fated Cat w/ Mr. Poppa on sticks. Intimidator had stock Mecruiser 280's & ran P class. Still Crazy had approx. 500hp staggered small blocks w/ No.2 Speedmasters for M class rules & ran about 95 with a full load & almost 100 near race end. She was VERY quick & well campaigned by a fine Gentleman. Terrible shame & a great loss to both Families.

Your Right On The Money With All This Information. Great Guys Those Two.

Legend of Big Red
 

[QUOTE=Phantom1;2046306]That's the original "Big Red" isn't it?

Yep, That's her alright. Big Red was cold molded of West System Plywood & Epoxy in the original Pompano shop in 1980. Legendary Sport Fish builder & Vel. neighbor Jim Smith consulted a bit on the West techniques, which he'd been doing for years. Red was heavy, rigid & quite quick for it's day. I enjoyed racing her with Steve in 6 events. That hull was used as a plug to make molds for the 38" Velocity pleasure boat version, of which just a couple were made. I swear that boat was "unbreakable" and we beat her really" hard in a few rough one's. Steve sold her to Pompano resident Mike Knieper, who ran her mainly for kicks. That's one tough old boat & a real EZ ride at just about 100, especially after years of leaping about in 30 footers.

Breaks 100?
 

No. Still Crazy came a couple years after that event. The 102mph event was at lake X in May of '80 with Steve & Whipp, Steve's Pleasure boat 30' Vel. with full monkey fur interior, seating, head, etc., Mercruiser stock & warranted 475hp Turbo 454's w/ No.2 Speedmasters & reg. gas. Mercruiser had just come out with that package, which didn't last long due to high abuse (no kidding?). They ran it again through APBA speed traps a month later in Sarasota at 104+, salt water being quicker. We used that quick & plush boat as a factory demo for about 6 mos. & sold it to a guy who kept it at Ocean Reef club in the upper keys. It never raced, as it was so plush & the power package didn't fit a racing class. I actually took well qualified prospective buyers for demo rides in that thing, and a few went for that much go, but most went for something a bit tamer. Obviously we were very cautious.
Fountain tried to beat the 100 mark with the same package within weeks of Stepp's run. He failed & had the power boosted considerably in order to make the claim that he was just as fast. Velocity was the 1'st Offshore PB to "officially" record those kind of speeds, which was a point of pride for the mark & a strong selling feature. The No. 2 speedmaster drives worked VERY well with that hull. No Vee bottom race boats I know of were going that speed, because of their size & weight, fuel load, & older hull designs. A boat needed to be heavy & tough to survive that kind of punishment, and top speed was usually not the priority during that era..........survival was.

GREAT shot with Dick Fullam standing on dock behind the boat & Stepp in the cockpit. They were a great team in that small block 30' Velocity.

Shot of Steve Stepp & the late Gene Whipp in Big Red & I "believe" Bill Barnhart's leg(?). Bill helped build that cold molded hull.

I also believe that's my father, Mike Poppa, standing on the boat?

anyone have pics of the boat(1st 100mph) velocity with the monkey fur interior? , I am curious as to how it looked.

!st 100 mph Velocity
 

It's pictured on the Velocity web site in their "History" section. It's White with Blue trim, large RED Velocity on sides (painted hurriedly for this run) & the Lake X Cypress tree's in background. It never raced nor had racing numbers. The Mercruiser 475 Turbo package carried a (foolish) warranty for 1 year, which did not go well in many cases & Merc dropped that package the very next year. Our's was so reliable that I used it for Family outings several weekends, and we sold the boat for pleasure use with good results. We also featured ity in the Miami Boat show in '81, with the then new Velocity 100 logo, which did not please reggie at all. I have more photos (hundreds) & will prolly scan some when I can get a new scanner. I have boxes of pics "somewhere."

thanks , I will check out the web site, and post those pics!

Kelly, I met your Father a few times while he was racing with Gene. I did not know him well. I do remember your Mom with you at a race or 2. You may have hung out with my wife & our kids I think, while we were out pounding waves. We're not very clear on that. I thought of you & your family following the tradegy. I'm sorry for your loss.

Still Crazy has a new home!
 

I bought her today. Will bring her to my shop in Stuart in the next day or two. Raced at the same time in a "P" class boat called the Bandit and then went on to work for Popeyes. I was on the team that went to Key West working with Steve Curtis when the accident happened. I've wanted this boat for a long time and would love to see her brought back to her original glory. Saluti, Cadillac McDaniel (772) 285-2266 / [email protected]

Way to go Cadillac....................

See you at next year's OFF meeting

T2x

Ciao Ragazzi !

Congrats on your purchase, was she in pompano
storage off of powerline or some where else ?
And keep us posted with the restoration with some
photo's..........

Buona fortuna!

Crash-Box

Cool thread. Keep us posted Cadillac

Miss Calculation was my 30 originally Gene W's. It is now an open fisherman! It goes 70 with a single Vortec

Very cool!

Hi STeve.......

Are you still a RIB fan? I'm getting close to pulling the trigger.

Rich

Absolutely! I use it all the time (we have a Hooters down the river). Come on down go for a ride and check out Skip's outboard museum.
Steve

You need to check out Skip's museum he has some REALLY cool stuff in there.

Still Crazy 30 Velocity
 

Congrats on selling the boat John. Bringing a good thread forward.

Cool boat. It's identical to the one I own. Mine is an 81. I would creme myself if I ran across that.