Racing with Terry Troxell

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TERRY TROXELL

Terry Troxell's grandfather was an in-town crewman on the Slo Moe 4 way back in the early 50's. He took Terry down to the shop when he was 5 years old, put him in the Slo Moe 4. Terry says "I sat there for 1 hour to 1-1/2 hours while my grandfather was working on the boat. I just decided right then and there that this was what I was going to do, race hydroplanes."

Terry started racing at twenty in the early 1970's when a man gave him a boat during the time he worked at Boeing. Terry  drove that boat called Special Edition, a 225 for three years. Terry said "I couldn't afford to really race or buy another boat, so that hydro kind of just rotted away those few years. Soon afterwards I crewed two years on a boat for a guy who had a lot of money. That is where I got all my experience in the use of check lists and the preparations that help make boats really work to a drivers advantage."

Terry has been racing for over 35 years. He started with inboard hydros in the 145 Class, which is now the 2.5 Litre Class. Terry advanced to a 5 Litre, and from the 5 Litre to the 7 Litre. He says "I have raced in all the hydro classes, and inboards, and now the unlimited"

Although he races unlimited hydos now his favorite Class is the 5 Litre class. Terry says "The engines are stock, and the difference between first and last is probably five percent, so it is really a drivers type deal where the better driver is going to win."

But with Unlimited racing Terry says "I'm kind of liking the turbine because they are a very simple motor. The engine in the unlimited, the 255, weighs 750 pounds which is the same as a big block Cevrolette, and it turns 3,000 horsepower easy. So, you have tons of horsepower, and the engines love torque. When you go into a corner they just love to torque, the engine gives you more torque and more speed." Terry is a competitive racer who probably races about as good as anybody. He is a good starter, can put the boat on like a pair of shoes, and the hydro becomes a part of him. He can feel a boat out and is good at setting boats up to run as good as they can for what they have.

But is wasn't alway that way. When Terry first started racing he would get sick to his stomach, would go up and just about heave before a heat. Now the crew sometimes has to wake him up while he waits in the boat for time race time. In Terry's words "At the Gold Cup one year in Detroit someone ran over a couple of buoys, so we were in the water waiting for about half an hour, and I had a twenty minute nap." 

Most of Terry's time has been spent on the water racing or working on boats. When not hydroplane racing Terry is a Graphic Artist.  

Terry's whole family is just as involved and enjoying racing as much as he does. His wife Sue Troxell has an extensive background in racing coming from the Webber family. His daughter, Tiffany is married to hydro driver Kip Brown, and his stepson Jeff is a hydro driver. As Terry says "In the unlimited racing we're all involved. Jeff, my son is one of my key crew people on the boat, and my wife Sue does all the radio work. She is in contact with me when I'm on the race course telling me where everybody is and how fast we're going and all that stuff. So, yes it really is a family sport, and thats what I love about boat racing, it is a family sport."

Unlimited drivers race at speeds of 215 m.p.h. and race to the limits of their equipment. With over 35 years of racing Terry hasn't blown a boat over backwards yet. I am going to keep on racing as long as I feel like racing.
Racing with Terry Troxell
INSIDE LOOK AT WHAT HAPPENING WITH TERRY TROXELL
Racing with Terry Troxell
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