1974 World Championship in the Tri-Cities

Reprinted from Facebook.

If there was ever a race that I would have wanted to attend back in my youth, it would have been the 1974 World Championship in the Tri. Unlike the disastrous Gold Cup two weeks later in Seattle, the race on the Columbia River was filled with many of the hulls in Seattle that never hit the water, burned up, blew up, sank, you name it! Seattle’s Gold Cup was only memorable for one particular heat 1C that became known as one of the greatest piston powered battles of all time between the Pak and the Bud. However, this is two weeks earlier now and we are in the Tri-Cities. 

There were 12 boats that qualified for this race with George Henley in the Pay 'n Pak at the top with a speed of 119.681mph, but close behind was the new U-55 Lincoln Thrift at 118.421 mph driven by Mickey Remund. The new U-2 Miss U.S. with Tom D’Eath and the U-74 Valu-Mart with Ron Armstrong were tied for third with 116.883mph followed by Howie Benns in the U-12 Miss Budweiser at 115.681 mph.

Photo by Randy Hall

The points structure had the slower boats in heats 1A and 2A, the faster boats were in heats 1B and 2B, and the fastest boats were in heats 1C and 2C with the winners in the fast heat getting 400 points while the winners in the middle heat getting only 300 points. The slow boat winners were given 225 points. The final heat point structure was even more bizarre in the final with the winner getting 600 points, 450 to 2nd, 338 to 3rd, 254 for 4th. 

The consolation winner, the U-4 Kirby Classic received 200 points and the U-22 Sunny Jim getting 150 for 2nd place. Wow! OK, the winners in the fast heats were the Pak in 1C and the U-95 in 2C. The winners in the middle of the road heat were the Bud in 1B and the Atlas in 2B. And finally, the slow heat winner was the U-44 Pizza Pete in both 1C and 2C. Not bad for one of the three Schoenith river sleds in attendance, driven by Fearless Fred Alter.

So, it came down to the all-important final heat. The top six points getters were the Pak, the U-95, the Bud, the Valu-Mart, the Pizza Pete and the U-76 Miss Cott Beverages. Sadly, three major contenders, the Atlas Van Lines, the Lincoln Thrift and the Miss U.S. did not have enough points to qualify for the final based on not being able to finish one of their heats. So, when the Bud went down during the final heat, the door was wide open for Henley in the Pak to cruise to victory, followed by Freddy Alter in the Pizza Pete, Ron Armstrong in the Valu-Mart and coming in 4th place, the turbine powered U-95 with Leif Borgersen. Son after 12 boats qualifying for the race, there were only six finishers between the final and the consolation. 

Hmmm maybe the disaster in Seattle was a bit better. Oh well. At least the fans got to see the Australian entry VS-41 Solo run a few laps during her failed qualifying attempt but I’m sure some of the sun-drenched fans cared very little about the boats on the water and paid more attention to the suntanned skin in the water and on the beach.

1983 Hull Rumors

Reprinted from Facebook.

Dale Fugier - Speaking of the Pay 'n Pak, here is the only color photo I've seen of the what-would-have-been '83 hull in its traditional white and orange livery. If anyone else has images, feel free to share - thanks!

Brad Haskin - So John Walters can pipe in here to make any corrections because I don't recall the details being included in his book...but the story as I recall it was thus: The boat in question was complete and ready to go for the 1982 season, but Jim Lucero insisted that the 1st turbine hull be the one that they raced. As the season went on and (in spite of the victory at Syracuse) the first hull had lots of teething problems, the team was getting frustrated that the 'new' boat was sitting unused. When confronted/asked about why, Jim Lucero's response was that he wanted to get the first hull running right so they could make more money when they sold it. That information was taken to Mr. Heerensberger who was upset enough that the plan after the '82 Seattle race was to let Lucero go from the team and run the 'new' boat for the remainder of the '82 season with Dixon Smith as crew chief. That obviously never came to pass because of the accident, and the only public appearance of the 2nd turbine Pak was when it was pulled through the 1982 Seafair Torchlight Parade on Friday night of Seafair weekend.

John Walters - Yes, this is accurate Brad. Sad, but true.

The Pak wins 3rd title on Mission Bay

Reposted from Facebook.

After two back-to-back titles for Dave Heerensperger's Winged Wonder Pay 'n Pak, one with Mickey Remund in 1973 and the other with George Henley in 1974, the Pak was looking to three-peat in 1975, but after Smilin’ George decided to retire, the seat was left open. Former Pak driver Mickey Remund already had a seat with the Miss Budweiser team, so Heerensperger had to go fishing for a new driver. He decided to go with veteran driver Jim McCormick who took the reins at the 1975 season opener in Miami. Unfortunately, the Pak underperformed and was not even able to make the final heat by scoring only 394 points. The following race at the Presidents Cup was also not good as McCormick finished in dead last during the first heat of the day.

Photo by John Woodward

The two sub-par performances by the veteran McCormick did not sit well with Heerensperger so he coaxed Henley out of retirement who then went out and had one of his worst career races scoring zero points in the Pak at the Kentucky Governor’s Cup in Owensboro with a DNS and a DNF. Meanwhile, Billy Schumacher in the U-74 Weisfield’s was making plenty of waves by winning two of the first three races of the 1975 season. Well, you can only imagine that there was a team gathering after the Owensboro race on how to turn the season around. Henley righted the ship and picked up a 3rd place podium finish in Detroit and then proceeded to go on a rampage by winning the next four races and putting the Pak right back in the national title race.

Two other hulls had also found the winner’s circle; the Budweiser won on the Potomac River and would win again in Phoenix, and Tom D’Eath in the U-2 Miss U.S. picked up a big win on her home turf in Detroit. Other noteworthy hulls were the U-55 Lincoln Thrift with Milner Irvin, and the U-6 Miss Madison/Hamm’s Bear driven by Jerry Bangs for their consistency in making nearly every final heat of the season. Everyone’s nemesis seemed to be Bill Muncey in the U-71 Atlas Van Lines (7), the Staudacher built lemon that kept Muncey off the top step of the podium for the third consecutive year. Controversy swirled around Muncey’s interpretation of the rule book as he kept searching for a race win that continued to elude the Atlas camp.

Photo by John Woodward

As the fleet headed into the last race of the 1975 season in sunny San Diego, the Weisfeld’s held a slight 249-point lead over the Pak. Schumacher had already wrapped up the driver’s title and was looking to add another national title to his already impressive resume. After the first heat, the lead had dwindled to 149 points after Henley narrowly defeated Schumacher to take the crucial 400 points away from the Weisfield’s. Then the wheels fell off as the Weisfield’s suffered engine failure and was unable to finish the second heat thus taking Schumacher out of the final and out of the national title race.

The Pak took the Lincoln Thrift to the finish line in heat 2B to barely squeak out the win by inches, and then in the final heat, the Pak had another amazing deck to deck battle, this time with Remund in the Budweiser. However, Henley in the Pak found a way to outduel the Budweiser to the finish line and win by a mere few seconds. The final two heats of the 1975 season at the San Diego Weisfield’s Trophy race gave the U-1 Pay 'n Pak enough points to leapfrog the U-74 Weisfield’s and claim their 3rd consecutive National Championship. Winning the driver’s title for Billy was nice but I’m sure that losing the team title had to sting a little. George Henley decided to hang it up for good after the season was over while Schumacher stayed on for one more year to drive the U-74 Olympia Beer.

The mighty Winged Wonder’s dominance rolled over to a 4th year as Bill Muncey would purchase the hull when Heerensperger decided to step away from the sport. This famous and innovative hydroplane designed and built by the master Ron Jones went on to win the 1976 title as the U-76 Atlas Van Lines and became the first hull in hydroplane history to win four straight titles on its way to 22 total career victories.

Move over, ya big bully!

Atlas, Muncey may be upstaged by Pay 'n Pak today

By Gary Schultz, Courier-Journal & Times Staff Writer
June 17, 1973

OWENSBORO, Ky. — Atlas Van Lines was the bully of the unlimited hydroplane fleet in 1972, winning a phenomenal six of seven races and taking first in 18 of 21 heats.

That was last year.

This summer the Atlas is fast becoming just one of the boys, a troubled boat like many others, showing promise at times and then proving a disappointment when the big moment comes.

But if the Atlas and driver Bill Muncey are ever going to come alive again, it would seem today might be the day. That's because the Muncey-Atlas duo is back in what you might call friendly confines.

The Ohio River. The Kentucky Governor's Cup race. Muncey has owned 'em both for three straight years, winning aboard Myr's Sheet Metal in 1970 and then steering Atlas Van Lines to victory in both 1971 and '72.

So tradition is on Muncey's side . . . but what about the more necessary ingredients — what about the equipment?

"We're running pretty well," Lee Schoenith, the Atlas owner, said yesterday, "but it might not matter how well we're running because the Pay 'n Pak is running fantastic. We're fast enough to beat the others — but the Pay 'n Pak . . . well, it'll be so-o-o tough."

Photo by Hank Kosciuszko 

"After going through 21 heats last year and never breaking down even once, it's been pretty unbelievable what's happened this year," Schoenith said.

"At Miami, for instance, our nitrous oxide valve broke. That's the first time I've ever heard of one breaking. And then at Washington, the drive on the oil pump broke. It's been little things, nickel-and-dime stuff."

The little things, meanwhile, have been holding together just fine for the Pay 'n Pak and driver Mickey Remund.

It's almost a rule that a brand-new boat — like the Pay 'n Pak — does not meet with success in its first season. The inaugural campaign is supposed to be one of "working out the bugs."

Not so with the Pay 'n Pak. It collected a perfect score of 1,200 points with three consecutive heat victories in the season opener at Miami. Then, in the second race, on the Potomac River at Washington, D.C., the Pay 'n Pak tacked on two more heat wins before running forth in the finale and finishing third overall.

Today's competition, which begins at noon (CDT), is the third stop of the year on the hydro circuit. Pay 'n Pak leads the national championship standings with 2,169 points. Lincoln Thrift, the Washington winner, is second with 1,925 and Miss Budweiser third with 1,569. Atlas Van Lines is a distant fifth with 825.

Having trouble in the corners

Remund figures the Pay 'n Pak's stiffest challenge today will come from Dean Chenoweth and Miss Budweiser.

"If Muncey wasn't having a lot of minor problems," the Pay 'n Pak driver said, "I'd be most worried about him. As it stands, though, I'd have to say the Budweiser is the one to watch. They seem to be coming on nicely."

Bernie Little, the always-optimistic owner of Miss Bud, agrees with Remund's size-up.

"The favorite has to be the Pay 'n Pak," he says. "But we're ready to cause some trouble (the Bud finished fourth in Miami and second at Washington).

"Our boat's got 'em all beat down the chutes - we're getting 160 (m.p.h). Where we've been getting hurt is in the corners. Dean's been slowing down too much — but that's understandable, because he's only driven this boat in two races.

"But he's got the hang of it now - he's going to keep scooting all the way. We're going to be okay."

If two other boats — the Valu-Mart and Mr. Fabricator — meet the 95 m.p.h qualifying minimum before the course opens, the Owensboro Regatta will have 10 starts. Each boat will compete in two 15-mile preliminary heats with the five highest point-getters moving on to the final.

16-Cylinder Revolution

The new twin-Chrysler-powered Unlimited Hydroplane is out to revolutionize Gold Cup racing.

Reprinted from Hot Rod magazine, September 1970

With those big World War II Allison engines becoming scarcer than hen's teeth, Dave Heerensperger, Chairman of Pay 'n Pack Stores, decided to use a pair of Keith Black "elephants" to power his new unlimited hydroplane, "The Pride of Pay 'n Pak." Hull design is by the father and son team of Ted and Ron Jones of Costa Mesa and follows their new and revolutionary pickle-fork tunnel-hull configuration. The relatively new driver-ahead-of-engine design, known as cab-over, attains the desired effect of moving the center of gravity farther aft than in the conventional three-point hydro. Most three-pointers will average 150 to 160 in the chutes but slow to about 80 mph in the turns. The new low profile, combined with tunnel-hull lift, will produce about 150 in the chutes, and the relocated C/G will result in not under 110 in the corners. "Pay 'n Pak" is shorter (28'6" as opposed to most unlimiteds' 30-31'). It's also wider - 13', about a foot more than usual. Water pickup and pitot tube are in leading edge of rudder.

The unique tunnel hull is constructed of white oak, northern ash, mahogany and birch plywood, with the underside completely sheathed in aluminum. There is over two grand invested in aircraft stainless steel braid covered lines and fittings. The custom-made V-drive gearbox was built by Casale and has a ratio of 1.67:1. This super-light box has an integral oil pump for lubrication, plus a water-cooled jacket. The usual unlimited gearbox weighs about 300 to 400 pounds. Weight saving is a big factor in this boat's performance. The bare hull weighs only 1900 pounds; in racing trim she will weigh about 5000 pounds. Most unlimiteds weigh from 6500 to 8000 pounds. Special linear electric drive motors are used to actuate the engine couplers. The couplers can be operated from the cockpit, allowing on-the-beach runups without a spinning prop; or in case of engine failure, the boat can finish on one engine. Tommy "Tucker" Fults was the first driver but relinquished the helm to Ron Larsen when it seemed that some time-consuming debugging was going to have to be done.

A pair of these 473 Chrysler hemis on alky are rated at 1100 hp each. The GM blower utilizes a Cragar drive and manifold on the Chrysler block equipped with Forged true pistons and rings on Carrillo rods turning on a Moldex crank. Keith designed the cam and uses the new Spalding solid-state CD ignition. The Black dry-sump unit has two scavengers and delivers 105 psi at 185° through special oil coolers. With couplers at each end, engines are interchangeable and can be switched in 15 minutes. Fin holds boat in turns.

Hydroplane Owners Gambling

May, 1973

Multimillionaires David Heerensperger of Seattle and George Simon of Detroit are out to shake up the Old Guard when the 1973 unlimited hydroplane season opens May 18-20 with the $25,000 Champion Spark Plug Regatta at the City of Miami Marine Stadium.

Sparing no expense in the costly fight to rule the waves, both tycoons are gambling on a bold and innovative approach to Gold Cup warfare this year.

Heerensperger's Pay 'n Pak and Simon's Miss U.S. reflect the latest approach to the aerodynamics of high speed water racing. Utilizing lightweight construction materials such as titanium, magnesium and aluminum, both rigs are between 500 and 1,000 pounds lighter than most other boats on the circuit.

Improved cornering ability and acceleration off hairpin turns like those at the Marine Stadium are the primary goals rather than top straightaway speed.

Built by Ron Jones of La Habra, Calif., Pay 'n Pak utilizes Hexel honeycomb aluminum desk structure and and cowling designed by the Craig Breedlove speed team. The Seattle-based thunderboat also boosts a horizontal stabilizer bar, on the stern. The top wing is about 20 square feet in area and can  be adjusted when the boat is in the pits.

Pay 'n Pak crew chief Jim Lucero explains, "The horizontal stabilizer wing is a safety device to trim the boat. If the nose is too high, the wing should correct the boat's attitude."

Heerensperger has named Mickey Remund, a record holding limited hydroplane driver, to drive the new Pay 'n Pak. Remund impressed a full house at Marine Stadium last summer by racking up a local speed record with his five litre hydro "Goin' Thing."

Remund's crash helmet is equipped with a two-way radio so that he's in constant touch with Lucero. Should the boat's 12-cylinder supercharged Roll Royce power plant quit during the race, Lucero can relay instant instructions to Remund.

Heerensperger isn't the only owner who's making waves with dramatic changes in 1973. On the Eastern front, U.S. Equipment Company magnate George Simon is unveiling the latest in a distinguished line of "Miss U.S." thunderboats. The new beauty is a Staudacher hull constructed of titanium and magnesium that tips the scale at just under 5,000 points and is expected to be the lightest rig on the tour this season.

Besides Pay 'n Pak and Miss U.S., the lineup of the Champion Spark Plug Unlimited Regatta includes defending champion Atlas Van Lines with Bill Muncey at the helm, Miss Budweiser drive by Dean Chenoweth, Red Man piloted by former Gold Cup winner Jim McCormick, Miss Madison with Miamian Charlie Dunn, Jr. at the control and Lincoln Thrift and Loan chauffeured by George Henley of Eatonville, Wash.

Official testing gets underway on May 17, with qualifying runs slated on May 18-19. Race action begins at noon on May 20, with a non-stop action program that alternates limited heats of hydroplanes and runabouts with the world's fastest unlimited Gold Cup thunderboats.

Will Pak's cornering be enough?

Weisfield's sets course record

Special to The Courier-Journal

DAYTON, Ohio — Can Weisfield's handle the tight comers on the Eastwood Park Lake course? And can it handle the Pay 'n Pak?

Those are the two biggest questions to be answered today when the city stages its second annual Hydroglobe Regatta for unlimited hydroplanes.

The Weisfield's hydro, driven by Billy Schumacher, leads the national championship standings after five races with 4,763 points to second-place Lincoln Thrift's 4,201.

But it was the Pay 'n Pak, with George Henley at the controls, that prevailed at last Saturday's Madison Regatta — and many think the snug Eastwood Park Lake course suits the Pak much better than Weisfield's.

The Pak, on the other hand, corners tighter than any other boat in the fleet, so it has to be ranked as the favorite on the two-mile Eastwood Park Lake course. (All other courses on the circuit measure 2 1/2 miles and thus have wider turns.)

Too, the Dayton layout proved to the Pak's liking last year when Henley piloted the hydro to a perfect winning score of 1,200 points.

However, Weisfield's set a new course record 109.091 miles per hour in yesterday's qualifying, bettering the Pak's 107.463 of last year. Pay 'n Pak qualified at 107.784 as did Lincoln Thrift. Other qualifiers:

Miss U.S 104.348; Miss Budweiser 104.348; Miss Madison 98.765; Atlas Van Lines 97.495; Miss Vernor's 95.491; Miss Boot Head 93.385; U-95 90.000.