ROMULUS (AP) - John Walters scored his first-ever unlimited hydroplane race victory Monday when he piloted his Pay 'N Pak boat to victory in the $75,000 Thunder in the Park race at Sampson State Park here.
The 28-year-old, second-year driver from Renton, Wash., won $135,000 after completing the five lap, 10-mile race at an average speed of 120.887 mph. The victory was the first ever for a turbine-powered unlimited hydroplane.
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| The Pay 'N Pak (left) in a deck-to-deck battle with Miss Budweiser. |
Only two boats in the six-boat final finished the race. Miss Madison, sponsored by Rich Plan Food Service of Utica, and driven by Tom Sheehy of Miami, finished second at an average speed of 86.106 mph.
Walters took the early lead in the final and fought off a last-second challenge from the Dean Chenoweth-piloted Miss Budweiser before gliding to the victory.
Chenoweth, of Tallahassee, Fla., finished fourth. He received a one-lap penalty for cutting off another boat before blowing his engine after completing four laps.
Earlier in the day, Chenoweth defeated Walters in a five-lap heat at an average speed of 116.732 mph.
In the final, The Squire Shop, piloted by Tom D'Eath of Fair Havern, Mich., finished third.
Atlas Van Lines and driver Chip Hanauer of Seattle finished fifth, while Miss Rock, skippered, by Bob Miller of Everett, Wash., placed sixth.
Miss KYYX, driven by Brenda Jones of Seattle, was disqualified in the heat for insufficient speed and placed seventh overall.