Originally Posted by T2x

Don had pretty much retired from racing and building race boats long before he was murdered so his career was probably not "shortened" by the tragedy.

I knew Don and know Reggie and am not a blind fanatic regarding either. But give the devil his due...Reggie hung in there and did win at any and all costs... so he does deserve respect in that regard. Personally I wouldn't use the term "King" since so much of any Offshore success story rests on the technology developed by an even more competitive Icon, Carl Kiekhaefer, (and his son Fred). But Reggie is and was the most prolific winner (by boat brand) in the sport's history. On the other hand, Peter Hledin had a lot to do with developing Fountain's race boat construction technology and has been successfully building winning boats over a longer time span. Peter is a much more humble guy and shies away from aggressive self promotion (yes you can read between the lines here.)

Regarding Reggie's Tunnel boat career, he was an outstanding driver, almost as good as the other two (overly humble) guys in the video. One of them, Bill Seebold, has won over 1000 races as compared to Reggie's 100+.and deserves the title of (World's greatest Boat Racer...or maybe even "King").. The other, Earl Benz, is the greatest natural boat racing talent I ever saw, bar none, but had a relatively short career because he switched to family and building boat companies at a very young age comparatively.

At the very least Reggie is in some fine company and respected, if not loved, by most folks I know. Bear in mind that TV producers don't get rich by telling stories about simple folks who come in 3rd, and, as with all things Fountain exaggeration is all part of the game..

I hope the show turns out well.....

T2x

Originally Posted by T2x

Don had pretty much retired from racing and building race boats long before he was murdered so his career was probably not "shortened" by the tragedy.

I knew Don and know Reggie and am not a blind fanatic regarding either. But give the devil his due...Reggie hung in there and did win at any and all costs... so he does deserve respect in that regard. Personally I wouldn't use the term "King" since so much of any Offshore success story rests on the technology developed by an even more competitive Icon, Carl Kiekhaefer, (and his son Fred). But Reggie is and was the most prolific winner (by boat brand) in the sport's history. On the other hand, Peter Hledin had a lot to do with developing Fountain's race boat construction technology and has been successfully building winning boats over a longer time span. Peter is a much more humble guy and shies away from aggressive self promotion (yes you can read between the lines here.)

Regarding Reggie's Tunnel boat career, he was an outstanding driver, almost as good as the other two (overly humble) guys in the video. One of them, Bill Seebold, has won over 1000 races as compared to Reggie's 100+.and he (along with a fellow named Bill Sirois) deserve the title of (World's greatest Boat Racer...or maybe even "King").. The other, Earl Benz, is the greatest natural boat racing talent I ever saw, bar none, but had a relatively short career because he switched to family and building boat companies at a very young age comparatively.

At the very least Reggie is in some fine company and respected, if not loved, by most folks I know. Bear in mind that TV producers don't get rich by telling stories about simple folks who come in 3rd, and, as with all things Fountain, exaggeration is aq big part of the game..

I hope the show turns out well.....

T2x

Originally Posted by T2x

Don had pretty much retired from racing and building race boats long before he was murdered so his career was probably not "shortened" by the tragedy.

I knew Don and know Reggie and am not a blind fanatic regarding either. But give the devil his due...Reggie hung in there and did win at any and all costs... so he does deserve respect in that regard. Personally I wouldn't use the term "King" since so much of any Offshore success story rests on the technology developed by an even more competitive Icon, Carl Kiekhaefer, (and his son Fred). But Reggie is and was the most prolific winner (by boat brand) in the sport's history. On the other hand, Peter Hledin had a lot to do with developing Fountain's race boat construction technology and has been successfully building winning boats over a longer time span. Peter is a much more humble guy and shies away from aggressive self promotion (yes you can read between the lines here.)

Regarding Reggie's Tunnel boat career, he was an outstanding driver, almost as good as the other two (overly humble) guys in the video. One of them, Bill Seebold, has won over 1000 races as compared to Reggie's 100+.and he (along with a fellow named Bill Sirois) deserve the title of (World's greatest Boat Racer...or maybe even "King").. The other, Earl Benz, is the greatest natural boat racing talent I ever saw, bar none, but had a relatively short career because he switched to family and building boat companies at a very young age comparatively.

At the very least Reggie is in some fine company and respected, if not loved, by most folks I know. Bear in mind that TV producers don't get rich by telling stories about simple folks who come in 3rd, and, as with all things Fountain, exaggeration is aq big part of the game..

I hope the show turns out well.....

T2x

Originally Posted by Comanche3Six

Take all Reggie's trophies; that should fill a 30 yard container level. Take all his gold jewelry; that should fill a 40 yard container level. Take all the mirrors he has ever gazed into seemingly endlessly; let's hope we can fit them into two 40 yard containers level. Stack them on top of one another. Place Reggie on top of them, standing on his tiptoes, stretching out, reaching upwards. He still can not touch the soles of Don Aronow's boots. That is how far he is from being the King of Offshore.

Originally Posted by phragle

A guy pulls into a gas station along the hiway on the way to loto. Driving an f650 pulling a big fountain. Wild paint, big motors and miles away from the nearest water. A minivan pulls up on the other side of the pump. Guy gets out, walks over and checks it out. He doesn't really know anything about boats, but when he sees the owner he says "nice CIGARETTE boat. Reggie has accomplished great things, he may have even risen to king status, but the kingdom was founded by....... Obama is the current potus (like him or hate him, he still managed to land the job) but if it wasn't for George Washington, he wouldn't have a country to be president of...

Originally Posted by TRL505

That is without a doubt the worst comparison I have ever read on this forum, or any other. That is akin to saying that Ray Crock and his enterprise (Mcdonalds) is superior to the founder of Ruths Chris (Ruth Fertel) due to the fact that everyone driving a "Looser Cruiser" minivan can assimilate with who Mcdonalds is. The world is full of Lemmings that regurgitate what they see on episodes of Miami Vice (Yes I know they were Scarabs). However, the "common" perception of the lay person, and their subsequent dogmatic ignorant statements regarding their obvious lack of knowledge on the difference between offshore boats in NO WAY dictates who has contributed more to the offshore powerboat industry.