Career
Born in Xenia, Ohio, United States of America and a long-time resident of Tallahassee, Florida, Chenoweth began his career in motorboat racing at the age of twelve. Chenoweth moved to Unlimited-class hydroplane racing in 1968. Chenoweth also set a record of 20 heat race wins in the first five events of the 1980 season.
Best known as the driver of Bernie Little"s famed Mission Budweiser, and owner of a Budweiser distributor in Tallahassee, where he moved in 1973, Chenoweth survived a number of spectacular accidents, including a massive blowover on Lake Washington during a speed record attempt in 1979.
He was killed on July 31, 1982 when the boat blew over during qualifying for the Columbia Cup on the Columbia River. Chenoweth was crushed when the boat landed inverted.
His death led to Little developing a closed cockpit for the next Mission Budweiser boat, and the enclosure became standard for Unlimited hydroplane racers. Chenoweth is memorialised by a fountain in Lake Leon in Tallahassee"s Tom Brown Park.
He had been named the city"s Manitoba of the Year for 1981.
