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Miami Herald July 14, 1985
JAMES CAAN JOINS $500,000 RACE AS BACKUP DRIVER
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One of the first moves actor James Caan made as a member of the Team Apache powerboat racing crew was to stop being an actor. Caan, the star of such films as Brian's Song and The Godfather, Friday canceled a New York press conference planned for Monday by Team Apache's new sponsor, Harrah's Casino of Atlantic City, N.J. Caan said the press conference, which was to be held with Team Apache driver Ben Kramer of Hollywood, was designed to hype "James Caan the actor," not what Caan had hoped: the $500,000 winner-take-all powerboat race between Miami and New York City July 29. "I'm not that James Caan now. I'm James Caan the driver," he said from his home in Los Angeles. Caan, who said he joined Team Apache a few weeks ago because of his longtime friendship with throttleman Bob Saccenti, will be Kramer's backup driver in the three-engined, 47-foot deep-vee Super built by Kramer's Apache Boats. "When I take a break, Jimmy's taking over," Kramer said. The five-team race, postponed from June 23 because some teams weren't ready, is scheduled to start off Miami Beach and end 1,257 miles later under the Verazzano-Narrows Bridge in New York Harbor. At stake is the richest prize in powerboat racing history and the 11-year-old record of 22 hours 41 minutes 15 seconds set by Dr. Bob Magoon of Miami Beach. Caan, 47, said he will come to Miami Thursday to train with Team Apache. Although he owns a 38-foot Scarab that is kept at Turnberry, he has never raced professionally and makes no pretensions about his abilities. "I'm doing this so I don't get old," said Caan, who hasn't acted in a film since Kiss Me Goodbye in 1982. "I've been competitive all my life, and this is a challenge. But if I'm deadweight out there, I'm gone. They won't have to tell me I couldn't cut it." Team Apache president Jack Kramer, Ben's father, said Caan was brought aboard for "publicity. He turns people's heads." The move turned the corporate head of Harrah's, which decided to pay an undisclosed portion of Team Apache's $105,000 entry fee. While surprised by Caan's nixing of the press conference, Harrah officials weren't upset. "We still consider this a great marketing tool with people as recognizable as James Caan and the Team Apache crew," said Alice Parker, Harrah's public relations manager. Meanwhile, four of the five teams have changed or are considering changing their original engine selections. "With this extra month, you have time to test out everything," said S. Sandy Satullo, who is considering replacing three 400-horsepower Caterpillar diesels in his 44-foot Tempest with more powerful engines. "All I've been doing is testing and re-testing parts," he said. Team Apache, which had installed three Italian-made Lamborghini gas engines, has switched to three 700-horsepower Isotta Frachini diesel engines, which are also made in Italy. "With the diesel, we hope we only have to make one stop for gas," Jack Kramer said. Tom Gentry of Honolulu, who plans to have Miami's Rich Powers at the throttles of a 46-foot Scarab deep-vee, is experimenting with three engines ranging from 750 to 900 horsepower each. George Morales of Fort Lauderdale will run the only catamaran in the race, a 46-foot Cougar, but he is still deciding on four engines, each about 600 horsepower. The only crew seemingly settled on what to run is the Popeye's team headed by Al Copeland, a New Orleans fried chicken mogul. Copeland's 46-foot aluminum Cougar will be powered by three 575-horsepower Mercruisers. |