August 4, 1973. SEATTLE (AP) — It is widely believed among unlimited hydroplane experts that Seattle’s long course will benefit the Miss Budweiser in Sunday’s $50,000 Seafair Regatta.
The Lake Washington oval is three miles, compared to 2 1/2-mile courses for most races on the unlimited circuit. Budweiser, the theory goes, can accelerate to greater straightaway speeds than her chief rival, the Pay ’N Pak. It’s just that it takes the Bud longer to reach her top speed. Thus the longer the straight stretches—called chutes—the better the Bud’s chances.
On the other hand the Pay 'N Pak, aided by its horizontal stabilizer wing mounted above the stern, rides smoother and faster through the turns and hits her best straightaway speed earlier once out of the corner.
Budweiser owner Bernie Little, of Lakeland, Fla., is clearly among those who say the Bud’s performance will improve here Sunday.
"We’ve got chute speed we haven’t used yet," Little said Thursday after driver Dean Chenoweth qualified the beer wagon for Sunday’s race with an average of 121.901 miles per hour over two laps.
However Pay ’N Pak jockey Mickey Remund apparently doesn’t buy the whole thing. He followed the Bud’s qualifying run Thursday with a better 122.728 m.p.h. The Pak is a Seattle-based boat.
Other qualifiers after one day of time trials: Shakey’s Special of Seattle, 106.299; Atlas Van Lines, Detroit, 105.059; Miss U.S., Detroit, 102.762; Mister Fabricator, Carrollton, Ohio, 102.370; Red Man I Owensboro, Ky„ 102.344; Value Mark U-16, Seattle, 102.177 and Pizza Pete, Seattle, 100.022.
The Budweiser-Pay ’N Pak matchup should be the hottest on the course Sunday. Between them, the two boats have won five of the six regattas this season and are just 100 points apart in the 1973 point standings.
After winning the Gold Cup in Pasco, Wash., two weeks ago the Bud leads the field with 6,238 points. The Pak has 6,138.
Wednesday, August 5, 2015
New Records Expected At Madison Regatta
June 12, 1973. MADISON, Ind. - A new
Madison Regatta speed record
might be in the making when a
fleet of 11 unlimited hydroplanes
arrive here early next month for
the 26th annual Indiana
Governor’s Cup Race.
Prime contenders of shattering records now held by Bill Muncey in Atlas Van Lines, Billy Schumacher in Miss Bardahl and Jack Regas in Notre Dame are Gene Whipp, Dayton, Ohio, rookie pilot of Lincoln Thrift Special, and Mickey Remund, Palm Desert, Calif., driver of the revolutionary new Pay ‘N Pak.
Setting their sights on a new Madison record during the July 7-8 Ohio River race, Whipp and Remund have shared the glory in the first two unlimited races of the season. Remund won three straight heats to claim the Miami, Fla., championship May 20, and Whipp, making his very first start in an unlimited craft at Washington, D.C., June 3, won the President’s Cup title.
“We’re going to break the Madison record,” Pay N Pak owner Dave Heerensperger, Seattle, predicted. “I’m certain we can average 115 on the Madison course and we’ll reach 125 by the time we get to Pasco (Wash.) for the Gold Cup.”
Lincoln Thrift owner Bob Fendler, Phoenix, Ariz., thinks his turbo-charged boat can continue to set the pace after breaking into the win column for the first time in Washington.
“We didn’t back into the winner’s circle,” said Fendler. “We beat the best of them, and we can do it again.”
Joining Pay ‘N Pak and Lincoln Thrift in the run for a big hunk of a $25,000 purse will be defending national champ Atlas Van Lines, driven by veteran Bill Muncey; Red Man, piloted by former Madison Gold Cup winner Jim McCormick; Miss Madison with Charlie Dunn, last year’s Rookie of the Year, at the controls; Gales’ Roosetertail, Miss U.S., Notre Dame, Miss Budweiser, Shakey’s Special and Valu-Mart.
Two of the hydroplanes are being mended for the June 17 Kentucky Governor’s Cup Race at Owensboro after receiving damage in Washington accidents. The Notre Dame sank after a drive shaft broke and punched a hole in the bottom of the boat. Gales’ Roostertail flipped, throwing driver Fred Alter into the Potomac River. Both boats are being repaired in Detroit.
Prime contenders of shattering records now held by Bill Muncey in Atlas Van Lines, Billy Schumacher in Miss Bardahl and Jack Regas in Notre Dame are Gene Whipp, Dayton, Ohio, rookie pilot of Lincoln Thrift Special, and Mickey Remund, Palm Desert, Calif., driver of the revolutionary new Pay ‘N Pak.
Setting their sights on a new Madison record during the July 7-8 Ohio River race, Whipp and Remund have shared the glory in the first two unlimited races of the season. Remund won three straight heats to claim the Miami, Fla., championship May 20, and Whipp, making his very first start in an unlimited craft at Washington, D.C., June 3, won the President’s Cup title.
“We’re going to break the Madison record,” Pay N Pak owner Dave Heerensperger, Seattle, predicted. “I’m certain we can average 115 on the Madison course and we’ll reach 125 by the time we get to Pasco (Wash.) for the Gold Cup.”
Lincoln Thrift owner Bob Fendler, Phoenix, Ariz., thinks his turbo-charged boat can continue to set the pace after breaking into the win column for the first time in Washington.
“We didn’t back into the winner’s circle,” said Fendler. “We beat the best of them, and we can do it again.”
Joining Pay ‘N Pak and Lincoln Thrift in the run for a big hunk of a $25,000 purse will be defending national champ Atlas Van Lines, driven by veteran Bill Muncey; Red Man, piloted by former Madison Gold Cup winner Jim McCormick; Miss Madison with Charlie Dunn, last year’s Rookie of the Year, at the controls; Gales’ Roosetertail, Miss U.S., Notre Dame, Miss Budweiser, Shakey’s Special and Valu-Mart.
Two of the hydroplanes are being mended for the June 17 Kentucky Governor’s Cup Race at Owensboro after receiving damage in Washington accidents. The Notre Dame sank after a drive shaft broke and punched a hole in the bottom of the boat. Gales’ Roostertail flipped, throwing driver Fred Alter into the Potomac River. Both boats are being repaired in Detroit.
Mickey Remund Drives Pay 'n Pak To Regatta Title
Out Duels Miss Budweiser For 22nd Governor’s Cup
By Mike Harris
Associated Press Sports Writer
July 9, 1973
MADISON, Ind. AP - Mickey Remund in the Pride of Pay ’N Pak smashed a series of records Sunday to win the 26th annual Madison Regatta unlimited hydroplane race.
The 34-year-old driver from Palm Desert, Calif., out dueled Miss Budweiser, driven by Dean Chenoweth of Xenia, Ohio, in the final 15-mile heat to win the 22nd Indiana Governor’s Cup.
A throng of more than 90,000 spectators, stretched along the Indiana and Kentucky banks of the Ohio River, watched in sweltering 90-degree temperatures as Pay ‘N Pak retained its lead in the American Power Boat Association standings.
Both Pay ‘N Pak, and Miss Bud won a pair of preliminary races easily to go into the championship run tied with 800 points. The two thunderboats ran side by side for the first 1 1/2 laps of the six-lap final run before Miss Bud momentarily lost power in the downstream turn of the second lap and fell behind for good.
It was the second victory of the season for Pay ‘N Pak and snapped Miss Budweiser’s string of victories at two.
Pay ‘N Pak’s final margin was one-half lap. Lincoln Thrift was third with rookie Danny Walls of Bellevue, Ky., at the wheel. The other two boats in the final heat—Red Man, driven by Jim McCormick of Owensboro, Ky., and Mr. Fabricator, driven by rookie Tom Kaufman of Carrollton, Ohio, suffered engine problems and failed to finish.
Pay ‘N Pak broke Madison 2 1/2-mile course records for one lap, a 15-mile heat and 45 miles for three heats.
Remund drove his Rolls Royce-powered machine to victory in the day’s first heat at an average speed of 104.126 m.p.h, erasing the old mark of 104.026 by Jack Regas in Notre Dame in 1968.
The new record, however, fell in Remund’s next run. He toured the course at 106.888 m.p.h. and established a one lap standard of 112.080, shattering the 109.489 turned in by Bill Muncey and the Atlas Van Lines two years ago.
Pay ’N Pak won $4,275 of the $25,000 total purse to push its season earnings to $18,375. Miss Budweiser picked up $3,150 for second place and remained the top money winner on the power boat circuit this year with $18,600. Remund and his boat now have a total of 4,938 points this year to 4,738 for Miss Budweiser.
The thunderboats now head for Kennewick, Was., and the Gold Cup race on the Columbia River July 22.
By Mike Harris
Associated Press Sports Writer
July 9, 1973
MADISON, Ind. AP - Mickey Remund in the Pride of Pay ’N Pak smashed a series of records Sunday to win the 26th annual Madison Regatta unlimited hydroplane race.
The 34-year-old driver from Palm Desert, Calif., out dueled Miss Budweiser, driven by Dean Chenoweth of Xenia, Ohio, in the final 15-mile heat to win the 22nd Indiana Governor’s Cup.
A throng of more than 90,000 spectators, stretched along the Indiana and Kentucky banks of the Ohio River, watched in sweltering 90-degree temperatures as Pay ‘N Pak retained its lead in the American Power Boat Association standings.
Both Pay ‘N Pak, and Miss Bud won a pair of preliminary races easily to go into the championship run tied with 800 points. The two thunderboats ran side by side for the first 1 1/2 laps of the six-lap final run before Miss Bud momentarily lost power in the downstream turn of the second lap and fell behind for good.
It was the second victory of the season for Pay ‘N Pak and snapped Miss Budweiser’s string of victories at two.
Pay ‘N Pak’s final margin was one-half lap. Lincoln Thrift was third with rookie Danny Walls of Bellevue, Ky., at the wheel. The other two boats in the final heat—Red Man, driven by Jim McCormick of Owensboro, Ky., and Mr. Fabricator, driven by rookie Tom Kaufman of Carrollton, Ohio, suffered engine problems and failed to finish.
Pay ‘N Pak broke Madison 2 1/2-mile course records for one lap, a 15-mile heat and 45 miles for three heats.
Remund drove his Rolls Royce-powered machine to victory in the day’s first heat at an average speed of 104.126 m.p.h, erasing the old mark of 104.026 by Jack Regas in Notre Dame in 1968.
The new record, however, fell in Remund’s next run. He toured the course at 106.888 m.p.h. and established a one lap standard of 112.080, shattering the 109.489 turned in by Bill Muncey and the Atlas Van Lines two years ago.
Pay ’N Pak won $4,275 of the $25,000 total purse to push its season earnings to $18,375. Miss Budweiser picked up $3,150 for second place and remained the top money winner on the power boat circuit this year with $18,600. Remund and his boat now have a total of 4,938 points this year to 4,738 for Miss Budweiser.
The thunderboats now head for Kennewick, Was., and the Gold Cup race on the Columbia River July 22.
Monday, August 3, 2015
Pay ’n Pak Wins Governor’s Cup
June 18, 1974. OWENSBORO, Ky. (AP) - Defending national champion Pride of Pay ’N Pak won the 6th annual Governor’s Cup Race at the Owensboro Regatta here Monday with an average speed of 106.960 for three events.
The winning hydroplane was piloted by George Henley of Eatonville, Wash., who amassed 1,100 points to 2nd place finisher U-95’s 1,000 points. U-95 was guided by Leif Borgerson.
Miss Budweiser, with Howie Benns at the controls, finished 3rd with 869 points and U-71 Atlas Van Lines, piloted by Bill Muncey. was 4th at 850. Then came: Sunny Jim, 521; Miss Madison, 300 and Miss Cott Beverage 225.
In the final heat, it was Pay ’N Pak with a speed of 104.384, followed by U-95 at a speed of 101.328, Atlas at 89.784 was 3rd and Miss Budweiser, last year’s Governor’s Cup winner, was 4th.
Pay ’N Pak had the fastest lap of the day at 114.943 mph, while U-95 turned in a regatta record heat of 112.952.
Henley’s time in winning his heat was 105.386 mph. The other heat victors and their times were: Miss Budweiser, 111.166 and Atlas Van Lines 93.965.
Seven hydroplanes were scheduled to compete in the regatta, after high waters and a collision forced postponement of the race Sunday.
Driver Charlie Dunn of Miami, Fla., was hospitalized with a cracked rib and pelvic bruises after his craft, Just-APest III, spun around into the path of Mister Fabricator, piloted by Tom Kaufman of Carrollton, Ohio. Dunn was listed in satisfactory condition.
“He spun and came in front of me, and I just didn’t have enough control to keep from hitting him,” said Kaufman, whose craft passed over the fail section of Just-A-Pest, missing Dunn in the cockpit.
“I was in Lane 1 and he was in about Lane 3 or 4, and the ground swells down there carried him over and put us on a collision course,” Kaufman said.
Both boats were out of yesterday’s race.
The regatta was scheduled to begin with the first heat, since the accident occurred during the second lap of the first heat Sunday.
The decision to postpone the regatta came after referee Art Hafner went out in a boat to check the water and said swells of 3 to 4 feet at the first turn made the course too dangerous for safety.
Winds up to 20 miles per hour turned the Ohio River into a sea of whitecaps and rollers.
With Mister Fabricator and Just-A-Pest out of the running, only three hydroplanes were scheduled to compete in the first heat over the, since the draw remained unchanged.
Roger D’Eath of Detroit was to pilot Miss Cott Beverages; rookie Milner Irvin was to drive Miss Madison, and the U-95 was to be piloted by Leif Borgersen of Seattle, Wash.
Borgerson indicated he probably would have balked if the race hadn’t been cancelled Sunday. “It was ridiculous that we’d even go out and try to run in that stuff," he said. “I’m a professional and I want to stay around this sport for a few years.”
Sunday’s accident marked the third on the hydroplane circuit this year. George “Skipp" Walther of Owensboro was killed while piloting the Red Man at the Miami Marine Stadium during preliminary runs two weeks ago, and Jim McCormick was injured when he was thrown from the same boat a few days prior to that.
The winning hydroplane was piloted by George Henley of Eatonville, Wash., who amassed 1,100 points to 2nd place finisher U-95’s 1,000 points. U-95 was guided by Leif Borgerson.
Miss Budweiser, with Howie Benns at the controls, finished 3rd with 869 points and U-71 Atlas Van Lines, piloted by Bill Muncey. was 4th at 850. Then came: Sunny Jim, 521; Miss Madison, 300 and Miss Cott Beverage 225.
In the final heat, it was Pay ’N Pak with a speed of 104.384, followed by U-95 at a speed of 101.328, Atlas at 89.784 was 3rd and Miss Budweiser, last year’s Governor’s Cup winner, was 4th.
Pay ’N Pak had the fastest lap of the day at 114.943 mph, while U-95 turned in a regatta record heat of 112.952.
Henley’s time in winning his heat was 105.386 mph. The other heat victors and their times were: Miss Budweiser, 111.166 and Atlas Van Lines 93.965.
Seven hydroplanes were scheduled to compete in the regatta, after high waters and a collision forced postponement of the race Sunday.
Driver Charlie Dunn of Miami, Fla., was hospitalized with a cracked rib and pelvic bruises after his craft, Just-APest III, spun around into the path of Mister Fabricator, piloted by Tom Kaufman of Carrollton, Ohio. Dunn was listed in satisfactory condition.
“He spun and came in front of me, and I just didn’t have enough control to keep from hitting him,” said Kaufman, whose craft passed over the fail section of Just-A-Pest, missing Dunn in the cockpit.
“I was in Lane 1 and he was in about Lane 3 or 4, and the ground swells down there carried him over and put us on a collision course,” Kaufman said.
Both boats were out of yesterday’s race.
The regatta was scheduled to begin with the first heat, since the accident occurred during the second lap of the first heat Sunday.
The decision to postpone the regatta came after referee Art Hafner went out in a boat to check the water and said swells of 3 to 4 feet at the first turn made the course too dangerous for safety.
Winds up to 20 miles per hour turned the Ohio River into a sea of whitecaps and rollers.
With Mister Fabricator and Just-A-Pest out of the running, only three hydroplanes were scheduled to compete in the first heat over the, since the draw remained unchanged.
Roger D’Eath of Detroit was to pilot Miss Cott Beverages; rookie Milner Irvin was to drive Miss Madison, and the U-95 was to be piloted by Leif Borgersen of Seattle, Wash.
Borgerson indicated he probably would have balked if the race hadn’t been cancelled Sunday. “It was ridiculous that we’d even go out and try to run in that stuff," he said. “I’m a professional and I want to stay around this sport for a few years.”
Sunday’s accident marked the third on the hydroplane circuit this year. George “Skipp" Walther of Owensboro was killed while piloting the Red Man at the Miami Marine Stadium during preliminary runs two weeks ago, and Jim McCormick was injured when he was thrown from the same boat a few days prior to that.
Pride of Pay 'n Pak Cup Winner
June 10, 1974. WASHINGTON (AP) - Defending national champion Pride of Pay ’N Pak, driven by George S. Henley of Eatonville, Wash., won the 43rd President’s Cup Regatta for unlimited hydroplanes Sunday although she finished third behind Miss Budweiser in the final heat.
Pay ’N Pak scored 1,025 points in winning first place in the heats on Saturday and earlier Sunday to edge Atlas Van Lines, driven by Bill Muncey, of San Diego, which scored 900 points for finishing second in three heats, including the final one.
Miss Budweiser, with rookie Howie Benns of Grand Island, N. Y., at the wheel, won the final heat and the 400 points that goes with it to enable her to move into fourth place behind U-95 in the final standings. Budweiser, winner of the initial regatta of the season last Sunday in Miami, won a heat Saturday but broke a supercharger linkage during the second lap of an early heat Sunday and did not finish the race.
The pit crews, however, were able to repair the trouble in time to get the thunderboat back into the final heat. U-95, driven by Leif Borgersen of Seattle, Wash., finished fifth in the final heat but placed third overall in the regatta after winning the first heat of her career earlier Sunday on top of a 2nd-place finish Saturday which gave the ship 827 points.
The final standings for the President’s Cup were Pay 'N Pak, winner two years ago here, 1,025 points; Atlas Van Lines, 900; U-95. 827; Miss Budweiser, 800; Mr. Fabricator, driven by Tom Kaufman of Carrollton. Ohio, 489; Miss U.S.£ driven by Tom D’Eath, Detroit, 225; Lincoln Thrift, driven by Mickey Remund of Palm Desert, Calif., 225; and Sunny Jim, driven by Tom Martin, Bellevue, Wash., 169.
Lincoln Thrift was withdrawn from the final day’s heats because owner Bob Fendler said the ship was having handling problems. Fendler said the boat would return to Costa Mesa. Calif., for modifications before the new hydroplane was returned to the circuit, probably at Detroit.
Pay ’N Pak scored 1,025 points in winning first place in the heats on Saturday and earlier Sunday to edge Atlas Van Lines, driven by Bill Muncey, of San Diego, which scored 900 points for finishing second in three heats, including the final one.
Miss Budweiser, with rookie Howie Benns of Grand Island, N. Y., at the wheel, won the final heat and the 400 points that goes with it to enable her to move into fourth place behind U-95 in the final standings. Budweiser, winner of the initial regatta of the season last Sunday in Miami, won a heat Saturday but broke a supercharger linkage during the second lap of an early heat Sunday and did not finish the race.
The pit crews, however, were able to repair the trouble in time to get the thunderboat back into the final heat. U-95, driven by Leif Borgersen of Seattle, Wash., finished fifth in the final heat but placed third overall in the regatta after winning the first heat of her career earlier Sunday on top of a 2nd-place finish Saturday which gave the ship 827 points.
The final standings for the President’s Cup were Pay 'N Pak, winner two years ago here, 1,025 points; Atlas Van Lines, 900; U-95. 827; Miss Budweiser, 800; Mr. Fabricator, driven by Tom Kaufman of Carrollton. Ohio, 489; Miss U.S.£ driven by Tom D’Eath, Detroit, 225; Lincoln Thrift, driven by Mickey Remund of Palm Desert, Calif., 225; and Sunny Jim, driven by Tom Martin, Bellevue, Wash., 169.
Lincoln Thrift was withdrawn from the final day’s heats because owner Bob Fendler said the ship was having handling problems. Fendler said the boat would return to Costa Mesa. Calif., for modifications before the new hydroplane was returned to the circuit, probably at Detroit.
Remund powers Pay ‘n Pak to win
July 9, 1973. MADISON, Ind. (AP) - “Mr. Cold” has struck again, only now he’s also becoming known as “The Winged Wonder.”
Mickey Remund, the driver of the Pride of Pay ‘N Pak unlimited hydroplane, is the one collecting nicknames, but they don’t concern him. He just drives the boat and wins a lot.
Sunday, he won all three of his heats in the 26th Madison Regatta. The performance was good for a perfect 1,200 points, keeping him on top of the American Power Boat Association standings. He also set three course records and took home the 22nd Indiana Governor’s Cup.
The victory also won his team $4,725 of the total $25,000 purse.
The “Mr. Cold” moniker comes to the 34-year-old Palm Desert, Calif., driver from observations of this coolness on race day.
The thunderboat he drives is the cause of the second nickname, since the Rolls Royce-powered craft is the first of the hydroplane fleet to sport a horizontal stabilizer wing.
Remund, who also piled up 1,200 points in winning the season opener at Miami, Fla., broke the two-race victory string of Miss Budweiser and her driver, Dean Chenoweth of Xenia, Ohio.
A second-place finish Sunday kept Miss Bud in second place in point standings.
Both the powerful boats easily won a pair of preliminary heats and battled closely for two laps in the championship head. But Pay ‘N Pak, stabilized better in the narrow turns on the 2 ½-mile Ohio River course because if it’s wing, took over at that point and on the six-lap race going away.
“It is never easy to be Miss Budweiser or Dean,” Remund said. “We have had some good races and sometimes I win…sometimes he does.”
“That’s two wins for us, two for Bud and one for Lincoln Thrift, and we’re only 200 points ahead (in the standings). It’s going to be close all season,” Remund said.
Asked about his big surge in the championship heat, Remund said, “I stepped on the gas and nitrous oxide the first time and I found a good piece of water.”
Remund and the Pay ‘N Pak put on quite a show for the crowd of more than 50,000 that lined the Indiana and Kentucky banks of the Ohio in sweltering, mid-80 temperatures.
In this first heat, Remund drove his boat to an average speed of 104.126 miles per hour, breaking the old mark of 104.026 set by Jack Regas in Notre Dame in 1968.
In his second heat, that record climbed to 106.888 m.p.h as the Pay ‘N Pak hit a top lap of 112.080, breaking the old lap record of 109.489 set by Bill Muncey in the Atlas Van Lines in 1971.
Remund won the final heat by duplicating his first-heat average and wound up with an overall average for 45 miles of competition of 105.044 m.p.h., breaking the old record of 101.606 set in 1968 by Billy Schumacher in Miss Bardahl.
Muncey, the defending champion, was not among the final heat competitors. His Atlas boat finished second to Miss Bud in an earlier heat but blew an engine and failed to finish its second heat.
To make the whole thing even more interesting, Remund won the final heat with a bit of a handicap. While jockeying for starting position, the outside part of his aluminum steering wheel broke apart in his hands.
He drove the straights at more than 150 m.p.h., held the 35-foot boat steady through the rough turns and out-dueled Miss Bud using the spokes of the steering wheel.
Another triumph for "Mr. Cold."
Mickey Remund, the driver of the Pride of Pay ‘N Pak unlimited hydroplane, is the one collecting nicknames, but they don’t concern him. He just drives the boat and wins a lot.
Sunday, he won all three of his heats in the 26th Madison Regatta. The performance was good for a perfect 1,200 points, keeping him on top of the American Power Boat Association standings. He also set three course records and took home the 22nd Indiana Governor’s Cup.
The victory also won his team $4,725 of the total $25,000 purse.
The “Mr. Cold” moniker comes to the 34-year-old Palm Desert, Calif., driver from observations of this coolness on race day.
The thunderboat he drives is the cause of the second nickname, since the Rolls Royce-powered craft is the first of the hydroplane fleet to sport a horizontal stabilizer wing.
Remund, who also piled up 1,200 points in winning the season opener at Miami, Fla., broke the two-race victory string of Miss Budweiser and her driver, Dean Chenoweth of Xenia, Ohio.
A second-place finish Sunday kept Miss Bud in second place in point standings.
Both the powerful boats easily won a pair of preliminary heats and battled closely for two laps in the championship head. But Pay ‘N Pak, stabilized better in the narrow turns on the 2 ½-mile Ohio River course because if it’s wing, took over at that point and on the six-lap race going away.
“It is never easy to be Miss Budweiser or Dean,” Remund said. “We have had some good races and sometimes I win…sometimes he does.”
“That’s two wins for us, two for Bud and one for Lincoln Thrift, and we’re only 200 points ahead (in the standings). It’s going to be close all season,” Remund said.
Asked about his big surge in the championship heat, Remund said, “I stepped on the gas and nitrous oxide the first time and I found a good piece of water.”
Remund and the Pay ‘N Pak put on quite a show for the crowd of more than 50,000 that lined the Indiana and Kentucky banks of the Ohio in sweltering, mid-80 temperatures.
In this first heat, Remund drove his boat to an average speed of 104.126 miles per hour, breaking the old mark of 104.026 set by Jack Regas in Notre Dame in 1968.
In his second heat, that record climbed to 106.888 m.p.h as the Pay ‘N Pak hit a top lap of 112.080, breaking the old lap record of 109.489 set by Bill Muncey in the Atlas Van Lines in 1971.
Remund won the final heat by duplicating his first-heat average and wound up with an overall average for 45 miles of competition of 105.044 m.p.h., breaking the old record of 101.606 set in 1968 by Billy Schumacher in Miss Bardahl.
Muncey, the defending champion, was not among the final heat competitors. His Atlas boat finished second to Miss Bud in an earlier heat but blew an engine and failed to finish its second heat.
To make the whole thing even more interesting, Remund won the final heat with a bit of a handicap. While jockeying for starting position, the outside part of his aluminum steering wheel broke apart in his hands.
He drove the straights at more than 150 m.p.h., held the 35-foot boat steady through the rough turns and out-dueled Miss Bud using the spokes of the steering wheel.
Another triumph for "Mr. Cold."
Sunday, July 26, 2015
Madison Winner!
July 8, 1973. MADISON, Ind. (UPI) - Mickey Remund (bottom), shown piloting the unlimited Pay ‘N Pak hydroplane, passes the mark ahead of Dean Chenoweth (top) in Miss Budweiser in the final 15 mile heat of the Madison Regatta for unlimited Hydroplanes. Remund smashed a series of records in winning the 22nd annual Indiana Governor’s Cup race. Like their counterparts in auto racing, the wing shown on the winning boat apparently has added speed to these already fast boats. Remund, shown here skimming the water at over 150 miles per hour, won both heats and the final in record time.
Pay 'n Pak Sets New Madison Regatta Mark
July 9, 1973. MADISON, Ind. (UPI) - The winged Pay 'N Pak dominated the field Sunday to win the Indiana Governor’s Cup for unlimited Hydroplanes.
The $25,000 cup race is the main prize at the two-day Madison Regatta on the Ohio River. An estimated 100,000 spectators line the Indiana and Kentucky shorelines to watch the event in sunny, 90-degree weather.
Pay 'N Pak, driven by Mickey Remund, Palm Desert, Calif., roared to a record 104.106 miles per hour to finish one-half lap ahead of Miss Budweiser in second place. The two “thunderboats” were tied entering the 150 mile finale after each pickup a pair of heat victories.
Miss Budweiser was driven by Dean Chenoweth, Xenia, Ohio.
Third in the five-boat final was Lincoln Thrift, followed in fourth by Redman and in fifth by Mr. Fabricator.
Pay 'N Pak accumulated 1,200 points for the afternoon with Budweiser getting 1,100. Lincoln Thrift had 675, Redman 525 and Mr. Fabricator 469.
Sentimental favorite and community-owned Miss Madison was sixth with 352 points earned in heat races. Gale’s Roostertail was seventh with 300. Valu-Mart and Atlas Van Lines competed, but failed to score points.
Atlas was the defending Regatta champ and the No. 1 boat in the American Power Boat Association races last season. But driver Bill Muncey, San Diego, Calif., experienced mechanical problems all week and his craft went dead in the water while leading a preliminary heat.
Pay 'N Pak passed Muncey and Atlas en route to a record 106.888 winning average in that heat.
Mechanical problems plagued many of the other boats in the nine craft event, but there were no accidents or sinkings.
Earlier in the week Pay 'N Pak - the first “thunderboat” to utilize the stabilizer wing - roared to a qualifying record on the 2 ½ mile Ohio River course. Remund posted a 115.908 clocking Thursday.
The $25,000 cup race is the main prize at the two-day Madison Regatta on the Ohio River. An estimated 100,000 spectators line the Indiana and Kentucky shorelines to watch the event in sunny, 90-degree weather.
Pay 'N Pak, driven by Mickey Remund, Palm Desert, Calif., roared to a record 104.106 miles per hour to finish one-half lap ahead of Miss Budweiser in second place. The two “thunderboats” were tied entering the 150 mile finale after each pickup a pair of heat victories.
Miss Budweiser was driven by Dean Chenoweth, Xenia, Ohio.
Third in the five-boat final was Lincoln Thrift, followed in fourth by Redman and in fifth by Mr. Fabricator.
Pay 'N Pak accumulated 1,200 points for the afternoon with Budweiser getting 1,100. Lincoln Thrift had 675, Redman 525 and Mr. Fabricator 469.
Sentimental favorite and community-owned Miss Madison was sixth with 352 points earned in heat races. Gale’s Roostertail was seventh with 300. Valu-Mart and Atlas Van Lines competed, but failed to score points.
Atlas was the defending Regatta champ and the No. 1 boat in the American Power Boat Association races last season. But driver Bill Muncey, San Diego, Calif., experienced mechanical problems all week and his craft went dead in the water while leading a preliminary heat.
Pay 'N Pak passed Muncey and Atlas en route to a record 106.888 winning average in that heat.
Mechanical problems plagued many of the other boats in the nine craft event, but there were no accidents or sinkings.
Earlier in the week Pay 'N Pak - the first “thunderboat” to utilize the stabilizer wing - roared to a qualifying record on the 2 ½ mile Ohio River course. Remund posted a 115.908 clocking Thursday.
Saturday, July 25, 2015
Dave Heerensperger's Unlimited Results
| Date | Race | Finish | Driver | Boat |
| 1982 | ||||
| 6/6/1982 | Champion Spark Plug Regatta | 5th | John Walters | U-25 Pay 'N Pak (2) |
| 6/13/1982 | Thunder-In-The-Park | 1st | John Walters | U-25 Pay 'N Pak (2) |
| 6/27/1982 | APBA Gold Cup | 6th | John Walters | U-25 Pay 'N Pak (2) |
| 8/1/1982 | Columbia Cup | 5th | John Walters | U-25 Pay 'N Pak (2) |
| 8/8/1982 | Emerald Cup | DNF | John Walters | U-25 Pay 'N Pak (2) |
| 1981 | ||||
| 6/7/1981 | Champion Spark Plug Regatta | 2nd | John Walters | U-25 Pay 'N Pak (2) |
| 6/28/1981 | Stroh's Silver Cup | 7th | John Walters | U-25 Pay 'N Pak (2) |
| 7/5/1981 | Indiana Governor's Cup | 5th | John Walters | U-25 Pay 'N Pak (2) |
| 7/12/1981 | Thunder On The Ohio | 8th | John Walters | U-25 Pay 'N Pak (2) |
| 7/26/1981 | Columbia Cup | 8th | John Walters | U-25 Pay 'N Pak (2) |
| 8/9/1981 | APBA Gold Cup | 2nd | John Walters | U-25 Pay 'N Pak (2) |
| 10/18/1981 | World Championship | 3rd | John Walters | U-25 Pay 'N Pak (2) |
| 1980 | ||||
| 7/27/1980 | Columbia Cup | W/D | John Walters | U-25 Pay 'N Pak (2) |
| 1975 | ||||
| 5/18/1975 | Champion Spark Plug Regatta | 6th | Jim McCormick | U-1 Pay 'N Pak (1) |
| 6/1/1975 | President's Cup | 3rd | Jim McCormick | U-1 Pay 'N Pak (1) |
| 6/15/1975 | Kentucky Governor's Cup | DNF | George Henley | U-1 Pay 'N Pak (1) |
| 6/29/1975 | Gar Wood Trophy | 3rd | George Henley | U-1 Pay 'N Pak (1) |
| 7/6/1975 | Indiana Governor's Cup | 1st | George Henley | U-1 Pay 'N Pak (1) |
| 7/13/1975 | Hydroglobe | 1st | George Henley | U-1 Pay 'N Pak (1) |
| 7/27/1975 | APBA Gold Cup | 1st | George Henley | U-1 Pay 'N Pak (1) |
| 8/3/1975 | Seafair Trophy | 1st | George Henley | U-1 Pay 'N Pak (1) |
| 9/14/1975 | Desert Thunderboat Regatta | 5th | George Henley | U-1 Pay 'N Pak (1) |
| 9/21/1975 | Weisfield's Trophy | 1st | George Henley | U-1 Pay 'N Pak (1) |
| 1974 | ||||
| 6/2/1974 | Champion Spark Plug Regatta | 4th | George Henley | U-1 Pay 'N Pak (1) |
| 6/9/1974 | President's Cup | 1st | George Henley | U-1 Pay 'N Pak (1) |
| 6/16/1974 | Kentucky Governor's Cup | 1st | George Henley | U-1 Pay 'N Pak (1) |
| 6/30/1974 | Gar Wood Memorial | 2nd | George Henley | U-1 Pay 'N Pak (1) |
| 7/21/1974 | World Championship | 1st | George Henley | U-1 Pay 'N Pak (1) |
| 8/4/1974 | APBA Gold Cup | 1st | George Henley | U-1 Pay 'N Pak (1) |
| 9/1/1974 | Hydroglobe | 1st | George Henley | U-1 Pay 'N Pak (1) |
| 9/15/1974 | Desert Thunderboat Classic | 5th | George Henley | U-1 Pay 'N Pak (1) |
| 9/22/1974 | San Diego Cup | 1st | George Henley | U-1 Pay 'N Pak (1) |
| 10/13/1974 | Indiana Governor's Cup | 1st | George Henley | U-1 Pay 'N Pak (1) |
| 10/20/1974 | Admiral's Cup | 2nd | George Henley | U-1 Pay 'N Pak (1) |
| 1973 | ||||
| 5/20/1973 | Champion Spark Plug Regatta | 1st | Mickey Remund | U-25 Pay 'N Pak (1) |
| 6/3/1973 | President's Cup | 3rd | Mickey Remund | U-25 Pay 'N Pak (1) |
| 6/17/1973 | Kentucky Governor's Cup | 5th | Mickey Remund | U-25 Pay 'N Pak (1) |
| 7/1/1973 | Gar Wood Memorial | 2nd | Mickey Remund | U-25 Pay 'N Pak (1) |
| 7/8/1973 | Indiana Governor's Cup | 1st | Mickey Remund | U-25 Pay 'N Pak (1) |
| 7/22/1973 | APBA Gold Cup | 4th | Mickey Remund | U-25 Pay 'N Pak (1) |
| 8/5/1973 | World Championship | 1st | Mickey Remund | U-25 Pay 'N Pak (1) |
| 9/2/1973 | Clearwater Cup | 1st | Mickey Remund | U-25 Pay 'N Pak (1) |
| 9/9/1973 | National Champions Regatta | 2nd | Mickey Remund | U-25 Pay 'N Pak (1) |
| 1972 | ||||
| 6/4/1972 | Champion Spark Plug Regatta | 2nd | Billy Schumacher | U-25 Pride Of Pay 'N Pak (3) |
| 6/11/1972 | Kentucky Governor's Cup | 2nd | Billy Schumacher | U-25 Pride Of Pay 'N Pak (3) |
| 6/25/1972 | APBA Gold Cup | 2nd | Billy Schumacher | U-25 Pride Of Pay 'N Pak (3) |
| 7/4/1972 | World Championship | 6th | Bill Sterett | U-25 Pride Of Pay 'N Pak (3) |
| 7/9/1972 | President's Cup | 1st | Billy Sterett Jr. | U-25 Pride Of Pay 'N Pak (3) |
| 7/23/1972 | Atomic Cup | 3rd | Billy Sterett Jr. | U-25 Pride Of Pay 'N Pak (3) |
| 8/6/1972 | Seafair Trophy | DNF | Billy Sterett Jr. | U-25 Pride Of Pay 'N Pak (3) |
| 1971 | ||||
| 5/23/1971 | Champion Spark Plug Regatta | DNF | Billy Schumacher | U-25 Pride Of Pay 'N Pak (3) |
| 6/6/1971 | President's Cup | 5th | Billy Schumacher | U-25 Pride Of Pay 'N Pak (3) |
| 6/13/1971 | Kentucky Governor's Cup | 2nd | Billy Schumacher | U-25 Pride Of Pay 'N Pak (3) |
| 6/27/1971 | Horace Dodge Memorial | 8th | Billy Schumacher | U-25 Pride Of Pay 'N Pak (3) |
| 7/4/1971 | APBA Gold Cup | 3rd | Billy Schumacher | U-25 Pride Of Pay 'N Pak (3) |
| 7/25/1971 | Atomic Cup | 4th | Billy Schumacher | U-25 Pride Of Pay 'N Pak (3) |
| 8/8/1971 | Seafair Trophy | 1st | Billy Schumacher | U-25 Pride Of Pay 'N Pak (3) |
| 8/15/1971 | Emerald Cup | 1st | Billy Schumacher | U-25 Pride Of Pay 'N Pak (3) |
| 9/26/1971 | Atlas Van Lines Trophy | 1st | Billy Schumacher | U-25 Pride Of Pay 'N Pak (3) |
| 1970 | ||||
| 5/31/1970 | Suncoast Cup | 6th | Tommy Fults | U-25 Pride Of Pay 'N Pak (3) |
| 6/7/1970 | President's Cup | 7th | Tommy Fults | U-25 Pride Of Pay 'N Pak (3) |
| 6/28/1970 | Horace Dodge Memorial | 4th | Tommy Fults | U-00 Pay 'N Pak’s Lil Buzzard |
| 5th | Ron Larsen | U-25 Pride Of Pay 'N Pak (3) | ||
| 7/5/1970 | Indiana Governor's Cup | 7th | Ron Larsen | U-25 Pride Of Pay 'N Pak (3) |
| 9th | Tommy Fults | U-00 Pay 'N Pak’s Lil Buzzard | ||
| 7/19/1970 | Atomic Cup | 1st | Tommy Fults | U-00 Pay 'N Pak’s Lil Buzzard |
| 6th | Ron Larsen | U-25 Pride Of Pay 'N Pak (3) | ||
| 8/2/1970 | Seafair Trophy | 7th | Tommy Fults | U-00 Pay 'N Pak’s Lil Buzzard |
| 9th | Ron Larsen | U-25 Pride Of Pay 'N Pak (3) | ||
| 9/20/1970 | APBA Gold Cup | 6th | Ron Larsen | U-25 Pride Of Pay 'N Pak (3) |
| W/D | Tommy Fults | U-00 Pay 'N Pak’s Lil Buzzard | ||
| 1969 | ||||
| 6/8/1969 | Dixie Cup | 8th | Tommy Fults | U-25 Pride Of Pay 'N Pak (1) |
| 6/15/1969 | Kentucky Governor's Cup | 7th | Tommy Fults | U-25 Pride Of Pay 'N Pak (1) |
| 6/29/1969 | World Championship | DNF | Tommy Fults | U-25 Pride Of Pay 'N Pak (1) |
| 7/20/1969 | Atomic Cup | 3rd | Tommy Fults | U-25 Pride Of Pay 'N Pak (1) |
| 8/3/1969 | Seafair Trophy | 6th | Tommy Fults | U-25 Pride Of Pay 'N Pak (1) |
| 9/28/1969 | APBA Gold Cup | 4th | Tommy Fults | U-25 Pride Of Pay 'N Pak (2) |
| 1968 | ||||
| 6/2/1968 | Dixie Cup | 1st | Warner Gardner | U-25 Miss Eagle Electric (2) |
| 6/16/1968 | Wisconsin Cup | DNF | Warner Gardner | U-25 Miss Eagle Electric (2) |
| 7/7/1968 | Indiana Governor's Cup | 2nd | Warner Gardner | U-25 Miss Eagle Electric (2) |
| 7/21/1968 | Atomic Cup | 1st | Warner Gardner | U-25 Miss Eagle Electric (2) |
| 8/4/1968 | World Championship | 3rd | Warner Gardner | U-25 Miss Eagle Electric (2) |
| 8/11/1968 | Diamond Cup | 4th | Warner Gardner | U-25 Miss Eagle Electric (2) |
| 8/25/1968 | President's Cup | 1st | Warner Gardner | U-25 Miss Eagle Electric (2) |
| 9/8/1968 | APBA Gold Cup | 5th | Warner Gardner | U-25 Miss Eagle Electric (2) |
| 1967 | ||||
| 8/19/1967 | British Columbia Cup | 6th | Norm Evans | U-21 Miss Eagle Electric (2) |
| 9/17/1967 | Sacramento Cup | DNF | Norm Evans | U-21 Miss Eagle Electric (2) |
| 9/24/1967 | San Diego Cup | DNF | Norm Evans | U-21 Miss Eagle Electric (2) |
Henley forgotten man in hubbub following victory
By Jini Dolan
Reprinted from the Tri-City Herald, July 22, 1974
“Hey Daddy - I cut my arm on a propeller.”
That was the victory greeting George Henley received from daughter Lori, 8, after winning the World Championship of unlimited hydroplanes Sunday.
And the reception in the pits for the Eatonville driver of Pay ‘N Pak continued in that vein.
The winner was the forgotten man in the brouhaha that followed the seven-boat final heat and the collision of the U-95 that no one can agree was a collision.
Owner Dave Heerensperger, however, jubilant in his third victory on the Columbia River course, had a magnum of champagne cooling for Henley.
He’d confidently placed it in the refrigerator that morning.
For Heerensperger, the win was a sweet one after watching his picklefork lose a propeller as it headed for the checkered flag in last year’s Gold Cup with Mickey Remund at the wheel.
He was sure he had it Sunday after the first heat in which Pak lead the pack, including the U-95.
Heerensperger gold Henley to cool it in the second heat, “go for a second or third” but when the epic five-lap duel with the U-95 started, the boat owner was noisily rooting for a U-1 victory.
Of Henley, Heerensperger said, “He drove a good race - and he stayed out of the trouble (in the final heat).”
Henley described his tight turns in Heat 2-C as he strove to compensate for the speed the U-95 was picking up on the straightaways.
“I felt like I could reach right out and touch the green buoy,” he said.
Disappointed U-95 driver Leif Borgersen described his impressions of starting a race amongst seven thunderboats:
“It was like being in one of those desert road races where 15,000 motorcycles take off at the same time - and all of a sudden they go into a funnel.”
Borgersen has been a driver for six years and has never won.
Chuck Lyford, U-95 crew chief reminded Heerensperger of his debt to the turbine team:
“Hey, remember that’s our prop, David,” he said after the race.
The Pak had borrowed the propeller on several other occasions.
Bad luck plagued several other camps.
On Saturday the Miss Madison caught fire.
On Sunday, electrical problems, after effects of the fire, kept the community-owned hydro from starting the first heat and contributed to a blown engine in the consolation race.
The crew of the Lincoln Thrift, damaged by an explosion late Saturday, worked in shifts until 6 a.m. Sunday to get the Phoenix-based boat running.
Owner Bob Fendler got permission to put it in the water for testing just before the race - but after that, it completed only one lap.
“It’s really tough.” said the dejected attorney. “We still have some kind of fuel problem but we honestly can’t figure out what’s wrong.”
The crew of the Solo from Australia watched from the official barge.
This is a spectacular sight,” said Colin Winton, the boat’s designer.
“Every once in a while I have to pinch myself to prove I’m really here. I’ve been reading about this for years,” he said.
Before the race, Henley said, “This is my favorite place to race.”
And afterward, finding himself 800 points ahead of the Budweiser in the national standings following his first win here. “Now I like it better than ever.”
“This is home.”
Reprinted from the Tri-City Herald, July 22, 1974
“Hey Daddy - I cut my arm on a propeller.”
That was the victory greeting George Henley received from daughter Lori, 8, after winning the World Championship of unlimited hydroplanes Sunday.
And the reception in the pits for the Eatonville driver of Pay ‘N Pak continued in that vein.
The winner was the forgotten man in the brouhaha that followed the seven-boat final heat and the collision of the U-95 that no one can agree was a collision.
Owner Dave Heerensperger, however, jubilant in his third victory on the Columbia River course, had a magnum of champagne cooling for Henley.
He’d confidently placed it in the refrigerator that morning.
For Heerensperger, the win was a sweet one after watching his picklefork lose a propeller as it headed for the checkered flag in last year’s Gold Cup with Mickey Remund at the wheel.
He was sure he had it Sunday after the first heat in which Pak lead the pack, including the U-95.
Heerensperger gold Henley to cool it in the second heat, “go for a second or third” but when the epic five-lap duel with the U-95 started, the boat owner was noisily rooting for a U-1 victory.
Of Henley, Heerensperger said, “He drove a good race - and he stayed out of the trouble (in the final heat).”
Henley described his tight turns in Heat 2-C as he strove to compensate for the speed the U-95 was picking up on the straightaways.
“I felt like I could reach right out and touch the green buoy,” he said.
Disappointed U-95 driver Leif Borgersen described his impressions of starting a race amongst seven thunderboats:
“It was like being in one of those desert road races where 15,000 motorcycles take off at the same time - and all of a sudden they go into a funnel.”
Borgersen has been a driver for six years and has never won.
Chuck Lyford, U-95 crew chief reminded Heerensperger of his debt to the turbine team:
“Hey, remember that’s our prop, David,” he said after the race.
The Pak had borrowed the propeller on several other occasions.
Bad luck plagued several other camps.
On Saturday the Miss Madison caught fire.
On Sunday, electrical problems, after effects of the fire, kept the community-owned hydro from starting the first heat and contributed to a blown engine in the consolation race.
The crew of the Lincoln Thrift, damaged by an explosion late Saturday, worked in shifts until 6 a.m. Sunday to get the Phoenix-based boat running.
Owner Bob Fendler got permission to put it in the water for testing just before the race - but after that, it completed only one lap.
“It’s really tough.” said the dejected attorney. “We still have some kind of fuel problem but we honestly can’t figure out what’s wrong.”
The crew of the Solo from Australia watched from the official barge.
This is a spectacular sight,” said Colin Winton, the boat’s designer.
“Every once in a while I have to pinch myself to prove I’m really here. I’ve been reading about this for years,” he said.
Before the race, Henley said, “This is my favorite place to race.”
And afterward, finding himself 800 points ahead of the Budweiser in the national standings following his first win here. “Now I like it better than ever.”
“This is home.”
Henley - a household word
By Jini Dalen
Reprinted from the Tri-City Herald, July 18, 1974
George Henley’s name isn’t even mentioned in the American Power Boat Association listing of major hydroplane race victories through 1973.
Bill Muncey’s wins take up the better part of two pages.
But, said Henley today, “We’re having our fun this year.”
The 37-year-old Eatonville, Wash., driver of the U-1 Pay ‘N Pak after four races is the points leader in the 1974 national standings.
Howie Benns of the Miss Budweiser is just six points behind with 3,894 and the veteran Muncey, Atlas Van Lines, 1750 points behind with 2,144.
This is Henley’s first season in a top-ranked hydro and he’s loving it.
“I feel good in this boat. The crew gives me a lot of confidence - the way they inspect the hull, keep the equipment in shape.”
At first, he said, he had some difficulty getting used to the Pak itself, sitting far back behind the engine, almost under the wing-like stabilizer on the tail.
“But every race I learn a little more so now I’m comfortable,” said Henley, who took the checkered flag at Washington, D.C. and Owensboro, second place at Detroit.
Naturally enough, Henley considers the Budweiser his Championship race Sunday.
“They’ve been giving us a good go-round all year,” he said.
And with the “fan plan,” which pits fast boats against fast boats in preliminary head, “We’ve got to beat the Bud in the qualifying heats to stay on top in the points race,” he said.
But Henley doesn’t foresee a two-boat context.
“I know the Valu-Mart and the Miss U.S. can move. The Lincoln Thrift is capable of taking it. So’s the U-05.
“And it’s gonna be fast.”
Henley, who heads sales, service and promotion for Hamilton Jets, Tacoma, manufacturers of marine propulsion systems, has been racing since 1954, starting with outboards and moving to inboards in the early 60’s.
He was the 225 class National High Points Champion in 1969, then piloting the unlimited Burien Lady in 1970 and switched to the Lincoln Thrift Special one year later.
The soft-spoken father of two got into racing “because I’ve always loved boats - speed boats, fishing boats, charter boats - all kinds of boats.”
And he’s pleased to see a revival in unlimited racing, a sport thought to be dying only a few years ago.
“All the sudden we have good competition,” he said. “This season we have 11 races - that’s good even for limiteds.”
“And there’s lots of new drivers coming up. It makes me feel good to race with them and to be competitive.”
This year, said Henley, the boats are running fast like they’re supposed to. “They’re not breaking up.”
Reprinted from the Tri-City Herald, July 18, 1974
George Henley’s name isn’t even mentioned in the American Power Boat Association listing of major hydroplane race victories through 1973.
Bill Muncey’s wins take up the better part of two pages.
But, said Henley today, “We’re having our fun this year.”
The 37-year-old Eatonville, Wash., driver of the U-1 Pay ‘N Pak after four races is the points leader in the 1974 national standings.
Howie Benns of the Miss Budweiser is just six points behind with 3,894 and the veteran Muncey, Atlas Van Lines, 1750 points behind with 2,144.
This is Henley’s first season in a top-ranked hydro and he’s loving it.
“I feel good in this boat. The crew gives me a lot of confidence - the way they inspect the hull, keep the equipment in shape.”
At first, he said, he had some difficulty getting used to the Pak itself, sitting far back behind the engine, almost under the wing-like stabilizer on the tail.
“But every race I learn a little more so now I’m comfortable,” said Henley, who took the checkered flag at Washington, D.C. and Owensboro, second place at Detroit.
Naturally enough, Henley considers the Budweiser his Championship race Sunday.
“They’ve been giving us a good go-round all year,” he said.
And with the “fan plan,” which pits fast boats against fast boats in preliminary head, “We’ve got to beat the Bud in the qualifying heats to stay on top in the points race,” he said.
But Henley doesn’t foresee a two-boat context.
“I know the Valu-Mart and the Miss U.S. can move. The Lincoln Thrift is capable of taking it. So’s the U-05.
“And it’s gonna be fast.”
Henley, who heads sales, service and promotion for Hamilton Jets, Tacoma, manufacturers of marine propulsion systems, has been racing since 1954, starting with outboards and moving to inboards in the early 60’s.
He was the 225 class National High Points Champion in 1969, then piloting the unlimited Burien Lady in 1970 and switched to the Lincoln Thrift Special one year later.
The soft-spoken father of two got into racing “because I’ve always loved boats - speed boats, fishing boats, charter boats - all kinds of boats.”
And he’s pleased to see a revival in unlimited racing, a sport thought to be dying only a few years ago.
“All the sudden we have good competition,” he said. “This season we have 11 races - that’s good even for limiteds.”
“And there’s lots of new drivers coming up. It makes me feel good to race with them and to be competitive.”
This year, said Henley, the boats are running fast like they’re supposed to. “They’re not breaking up.”
Friday, July 24, 2015
Pak wins 3rd straight title, Henley says he'll go for 4th
September 22, 1975, SAN DIEGO - After driving Pay ‘N Pak to its third straight unlimited national championship George Henley promised owner Dave Heerensperger he would be back to drive the boat next year.
Henley made the announcement Sunday night at the awards banquet following the Pay ‘N Pak’s come-from-behind victories in all three heat to win the Weisfield’s Cup unlimited hydroplane race on Mission Bay.
Going into the dramatic finale of the 1975 season the Pak trailed Weisfield’s by 249 points. The 1200 points from Sunday’s victory gave the Pay ‘N Pak a finale score of 8,864 points. Weisfield’s was second with 8,213 and Lincoln Thrift third with 8,103.
Weisfield’s, driven by Billy Schumacher, lost a narrow decision to the Pak in the first heat. A faulty oil line put the Weisfield’s out of the race in the second heat and with only 300 points out of the championship final.
Not only did Henley nail down the national title for the Pak but he set five course and national records in the process. The Pak’s 113.621 mph average was a national record for a 37 ½ mile race on a 2 ½ mile course. The Pak now holds all eight national records for the fast San Diego course.
Despite the face the Pay ‘N Pak won the national championship, Schumacher, driver of the Weisfield’s, won his third national driving title. Henley, who retired following the 1974 season, missed the first three faces of the year before Heerensperger lured him back into the cockpit.
In each of the races, Henley trailed until the field turned for home. Then the Pay ‘N Pak pulled ahead for narrow triumphs. The third conquest earned Pay ‘N Pak a third unlimited national championship in a row. And the three firsts give the boat 16 consecutive wins, a record for a single hull.
Second in the final standings of the Weisfield’s Cup was Miss Budweiser, driven by Mickey Remund of Palm Desert, Calif. Third overall was Lincoln Thrift driven by Milner Irvin of Phoenix, Ariz.
Going into the championship heat, Pay ‘N Pak and Miss Budweiser both had perfect records with two firsts and Budweiser led until the final turn. However, heavy traffic cost Remund time and Pay ‘N Pak, racing outside, pulled ahead.
Pay ‘N Pak recorded the fastest time, 116.099 miles per hour run in the first heat. Weisfield’s, which lead through all but the final straightaway, was second with a 115.920 Pay ‘N Pak averaged 111.414 for the final. Miss Budweiser averaged 111.139.
Henley made the announcement Sunday night at the awards banquet following the Pay ‘N Pak’s come-from-behind victories in all three heat to win the Weisfield’s Cup unlimited hydroplane race on Mission Bay.
Going into the dramatic finale of the 1975 season the Pak trailed Weisfield’s by 249 points. The 1200 points from Sunday’s victory gave the Pay ‘N Pak a finale score of 8,864 points. Weisfield’s was second with 8,213 and Lincoln Thrift third with 8,103.
Weisfield’s, driven by Billy Schumacher, lost a narrow decision to the Pak in the first heat. A faulty oil line put the Weisfield’s out of the race in the second heat and with only 300 points out of the championship final.
Not only did Henley nail down the national title for the Pak but he set five course and national records in the process. The Pak’s 113.621 mph average was a national record for a 37 ½ mile race on a 2 ½ mile course. The Pak now holds all eight national records for the fast San Diego course.
Despite the face the Pay ‘N Pak won the national championship, Schumacher, driver of the Weisfield’s, won his third national driving title. Henley, who retired following the 1974 season, missed the first three faces of the year before Heerensperger lured him back into the cockpit.
In each of the races, Henley trailed until the field turned for home. Then the Pay ‘N Pak pulled ahead for narrow triumphs. The third conquest earned Pay ‘N Pak a third unlimited national championship in a row. And the three firsts give the boat 16 consecutive wins, a record for a single hull.
Second in the final standings of the Weisfield’s Cup was Miss Budweiser, driven by Mickey Remund of Palm Desert, Calif. Third overall was Lincoln Thrift driven by Milner Irvin of Phoenix, Ariz.
Going into the championship heat, Pay ‘N Pak and Miss Budweiser both had perfect records with two firsts and Budweiser led until the final turn. However, heavy traffic cost Remund time and Pay ‘N Pak, racing outside, pulled ahead.
Pay ‘N Pak recorded the fastest time, 116.099 miles per hour run in the first heat. Weisfield’s, which lead through all but the final straightaway, was second with a 115.920 Pay ‘N Pak averaged 111.414 for the final. Miss Budweiser averaged 111.139.
Friday, July 17, 2015
Heerensperger, Pay 'n Pak, Out of Racing
By Tom Green, UPI Sports Writer, August 10, 1982
SEATTLE -- Dave Heerensperger, owner of the Pay 'N Pak unlimited hydroplane and one of the key figures in the sport, announced he was pulling out of racing Tuesday just two days after his driver was critically injured.
Heerensperger's decision casts further doubt on the future of the hydroplane racing, which has been plagued by the deaths of its two best-known drivers in less than a year.
Pay 'N Pak driver John Walters nearly became the third hydro-racing fatality in 10 months when his boat was involved in a three-boat, high-speed collision in the Emerald Cup race on Lake Washington Sunday.
He suffered a fractured elbow, broken leg, compression fracture of three vertebrae, concussion, collapsed and bruised lung and facial injuries around his left eye.
"The feeling I had in my stomach when I saw the accident, I felt that I had enough," said Heerensperger. "I hope the fans of the Pay 'N Pak and the public understand."
Three boats -- the Pay 'N Pak, Squire Shop and Executone -- were too severely damaged to continue racing, with the Executone sinking to the bottom of the lake.
Heerensperger, who was one of the best-heeled and most enthusiastic owners in hydroplane racing, cited the danger inherent in the sport for his decision to withdraw. The powerful boats, which barely touch the water when running full tilt, travel at speeds approaching 200 mph.
The Pay 'N Pak also was involved in a spectacular flip during a qualifying run on the Columbia River in 1980.
"Although it is a very exciting sport, after two accidents involving Pay 'N Pak in the last three years I just do not want to continue," said Heerensperger. "I am sure that my feelings will be understood by the public and by those connected with boat racing."
Walters' accident occurred only eight days after the death of veteran driver Dean Chenoweth in the Miss Budweiser on the Columbia River. Chenoweth was killed July 31 while attempting to qualify his boat for the Columbia Cup race near Pasco, Wash.
Last October, the most successful and charismatic driver in the history of the sport, Bill Muncey, was killed during a race in Acapulco, Mexico.
Hydroplane driving has always been dangerous, but the recent series of accidents constitutes the worst period the sport has faced since 1966 when three drivers were killed in one race and a fourth died later in the season.
Heerensperger, 45, is chairman of the board of Pay 'N Pak, a Kent, Wash.-based chain of plumbing and electrical discount stores. He had been one of the top innovators in the sport, being credited with introducing stabilizer tailfins, rear mounted engines, trimaran hulls and, most recently, a turbine-powered engine.
For more than 30 years, an unlimited hydroplane race on Lake Washington has been a fixture of Seattle's annual Seafair summer festival. Many of the owners and drivers, like Heerensperger, are based in the Seattle area. Seattle and Detroit have been the historic centers of the sport.
But in the aftermath of the accident in Sunday's Emerald Cup, one Seattle newspaper questioned the city's continued involvement in the dangerous sport.
In an editorial, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer said the hydroplane race is not only a life-threatening endeavor, but one that costs the city a lot financially -- up to $80,000 to stage this year.
"There is something unseemly about the expenditure of public funds on what is essentially a commercial event -- involving boats garishly decorated with the names of corporate sponsors -- that carries a risk to the lives and limbs of its participants," the newspaper said.
SEATTLE -- Dave Heerensperger, owner of the Pay 'N Pak unlimited hydroplane and one of the key figures in the sport, announced he was pulling out of racing Tuesday just two days after his driver was critically injured.
Heerensperger's decision casts further doubt on the future of the hydroplane racing, which has been plagued by the deaths of its two best-known drivers in less than a year.
Pay 'N Pak driver John Walters nearly became the third hydro-racing fatality in 10 months when his boat was involved in a three-boat, high-speed collision in the Emerald Cup race on Lake Washington Sunday.
He suffered a fractured elbow, broken leg, compression fracture of three vertebrae, concussion, collapsed and bruised lung and facial injuries around his left eye.
"The feeling I had in my stomach when I saw the accident, I felt that I had enough," said Heerensperger. "I hope the fans of the Pay 'N Pak and the public understand."
Three boats -- the Pay 'N Pak, Squire Shop and Executone -- were too severely damaged to continue racing, with the Executone sinking to the bottom of the lake.
Heerensperger, who was one of the best-heeled and most enthusiastic owners in hydroplane racing, cited the danger inherent in the sport for his decision to withdraw. The powerful boats, which barely touch the water when running full tilt, travel at speeds approaching 200 mph.
The Pay 'N Pak also was involved in a spectacular flip during a qualifying run on the Columbia River in 1980.
"Although it is a very exciting sport, after two accidents involving Pay 'N Pak in the last three years I just do not want to continue," said Heerensperger. "I am sure that my feelings will be understood by the public and by those connected with boat racing."
Walters' accident occurred only eight days after the death of veteran driver Dean Chenoweth in the Miss Budweiser on the Columbia River. Chenoweth was killed July 31 while attempting to qualify his boat for the Columbia Cup race near Pasco, Wash.
Last October, the most successful and charismatic driver in the history of the sport, Bill Muncey, was killed during a race in Acapulco, Mexico.
Hydroplane driving has always been dangerous, but the recent series of accidents constitutes the worst period the sport has faced since 1966 when three drivers were killed in one race and a fourth died later in the season.
Heerensperger, 45, is chairman of the board of Pay 'N Pak, a Kent, Wash.-based chain of plumbing and electrical discount stores. He had been one of the top innovators in the sport, being credited with introducing stabilizer tailfins, rear mounted engines, trimaran hulls and, most recently, a turbine-powered engine.
For more than 30 years, an unlimited hydroplane race on Lake Washington has been a fixture of Seattle's annual Seafair summer festival. Many of the owners and drivers, like Heerensperger, are based in the Seattle area. Seattle and Detroit have been the historic centers of the sport.
But in the aftermath of the accident in Sunday's Emerald Cup, one Seattle newspaper questioned the city's continued involvement in the dangerous sport.
In an editorial, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer said the hydroplane race is not only a life-threatening endeavor, but one that costs the city a lot financially -- up to $80,000 to stage this year.
"There is something unseemly about the expenditure of public funds on what is essentially a commercial event -- involving boats garishly decorated with the names of corporate sponsors -- that carries a risk to the lives and limbs of its participants," the newspaper said.
APBA Gold Cup to Henley For Second Year in Row
Reprinted from Boating, Jul-Aug 1975
The APBA Gold Cup for unlimited hydroplane racing was won by George Henley for a second consecutive year. Out of a fleet of 12 boats, Henley drive Dave Heerensperger's Rolls Royce-powered Pay 'N Pak to victory in the 60-mile race over a 2 1/2-mile Columbia River course at Tri-Cities, Wash.
Second place finisher was George Simon's Miss U.S. piloted by Tom D'Eath, she set a new 60-mile race record of 108.974 mph for the course, APBA Gold Cup, and U.S. records.
Miss U.S.'s sister ship, Bob Fendler's Lincoln Thrift piloted by Milner Irvin, finished third and set 15-mile heat records of 113.684 mph for the Columbia River course and APBA Gold Cup statistics.
The twin Ron Jones-designed hulls were powered by turbo-charged Allison engines.
The APBA Gold Cup for unlimited hydroplane racing was won by George Henley for a second consecutive year. Out of a fleet of 12 boats, Henley drive Dave Heerensperger's Rolls Royce-powered Pay 'N Pak to victory in the 60-mile race over a 2 1/2-mile Columbia River course at Tri-Cities, Wash.
Second place finisher was George Simon's Miss U.S. piloted by Tom D'Eath, she set a new 60-mile race record of 108.974 mph for the course, APBA Gold Cup, and U.S. records.
Miss U.S.'s sister ship, Bob Fendler's Lincoln Thrift piloted by Milner Irvin, finished third and set 15-mile heat records of 113.684 mph for the Columbia River course and APBA Gold Cup statistics.
The twin Ron Jones-designed hulls were powered by turbo-charged Allison engines.
Monday, July 13, 2015
Pay 'n Pak Wins Gold Cup Race
SEATTLE, Aug. 5, 1974 (UPI) -- Patience and perfection paid off yesterday for George Henley, who drove Pay 'N Pak to victory in a much-delayed Gold Cup race for unlimited hydroplanes on Lake Washington.
The victory gave Pak a big lead in point standing for this year's national hydroplane championship.
The Miss Budweiser, which stayed close on the Pak's trail all day with Howie Benns at the wheel, came in second. Freddie Alter, driving Pizza Pete, was third. As for Bill Muncey, a five-time Gold Cup champion, the best he could do driving the Atlas Van Lines was fourth.
The Pak won all four of its heats, and Its only serious challenge was the first time out when the Budweiser was leading but spewed oil briefly and was overtaken by the Pak.
Two attempts to run a heat for the five fastest qualifiers in the 14-boat field were stopped when two boats were badly damaged or destroyed. In the first try, the U-95 sank early in the race after its engine exploded, putting a hole in the hull. During the second attempt, the Miss U.S. caught fire and burned badly before the blaze was extinguished. Both drivers, Tom D'Eath and Leif Borgersen of the U-95 escaped injury.
The victory gave Pak a big lead in point standing for this year's national hydroplane championship.
The Miss Budweiser, which stayed close on the Pak's trail all day with Howie Benns at the wheel, came in second. Freddie Alter, driving Pizza Pete, was third. As for Bill Muncey, a five-time Gold Cup champion, the best he could do driving the Atlas Van Lines was fourth.
The Pak won all four of its heats, and Its only serious challenge was the first time out when the Budweiser was leading but spewed oil briefly and was overtaken by the Pak.
Two attempts to run a heat for the five fastest qualifiers in the 14-boat field were stopped when two boats were badly damaged or destroyed. In the first try, the U-95 sank early in the race after its engine exploded, putting a hole in the hull. During the second attempt, the Miss U.S. caught fire and burned badly before the blaze was extinguished. Both drivers, Tom D'Eath and Leif Borgersen of the U-95 escaped injury.
Saturday, July 11, 2015
Walters flips, Muncey’s final Tri-City win
July 27, 1980: John Walters flips out/Muncey gets final TC win in Atlas.
Reprinted from the Tri-City Herald
Barely anyone remembers who won the 1980 Columbia Cup.
That’s because of what happened to John Walters in the Pay ‘N Pak on a test run early Sunday morning before racing even began.
Walters had a packed house watching. And that’s maybe why everyone remembers Walters flipping the boat in one of the most spectacular blowovers ever.
On the test run, Walters had the shiny new turbine boat up to 170 mph along the frontstretch next to Columbia Park.
Suddenly, the front of the boat lifted up, doing 2 1/2 somersaults before landing right-side up, shattering the boat across the river.
“I remember thinking, ‘I can save this,’ ” Walters told the Herald back in 2004. “But then the boat kept climbing and climbing. It was like someone kicked out a jack from underneath me. Then I saw the blue bridge disappear, then I saw the horizon and then the boat’s shadow on the river. Just like my famous quote — sky water, sky water. It seemed like it took forever.
“I don’t remember hitting the water or coming out of the boat,” Walters continued. “But I do remember the water was cold, and I knew that I was supposed to raise my hands above my head if I was OK. When I did that, I remember a huge roar from the fans. I was hurting, but that made me feel great.”
Walters suffered a fractured left hip socket and a sprain of the left knee, elbow and shoulder.
Pak owner Dave Heerensperger, whose team had returned after a four-year hiatus, said the team was done for the year. But it would be back the following season, he said.
As for the actual race, Dean Chenoweth had won 20 straight heats in the Miss Budweiser in the team’s second Griffon Rolls engine boat, dominating the circuit by winning the first five races of the season and holding an insurmountable lead of 7,200 points in the national high-points standings, to the 3,875 of No. 2 in the standings, Bill Muncey and his Atlas Van Lines.
Between Chenoweth and Muncey, the two drivers broke the world speed record on the water over the three qualifying days (yes, back then, they qualified Thursday through Saturday). Chenoweth’s speed of 138.248 mph on Friday held up.
The race also introduced the first woman crew chief, Carol Lee, for the U-15 Miss Burien Hobby Center. It was also the first time race officials were up in a helicopter to keep an eye on the action.
On race day, Muncey had perhaps his best performance on the Columbia River — and scariest. At one point in the final, his boat became airborne. But he was able to get it back onto the water.
He held off Chenoweth, who suffered mechanical problems and a minor leak in the oil system, to win the final heat and snap Bud’s 20-heat win streak.
But in that final heat, Muncey’s average speed of 128.571 mph was a world record.
“I remember (Muncey) was really flying high,” said historian Fred Farley. “He even admitted afterward ‘I took too many chances out there.’”
It was Muncey’s final victory on the river.
In 1981, he died in a racing accident in Acapulco, Mexico.
Reprinted from the Tri-City Herald
Barely anyone remembers who won the 1980 Columbia Cup.
That’s because of what happened to John Walters in the Pay ‘N Pak on a test run early Sunday morning before racing even began.
Walters had a packed house watching. And that’s maybe why everyone remembers Walters flipping the boat in one of the most spectacular blowovers ever.
On the test run, Walters had the shiny new turbine boat up to 170 mph along the frontstretch next to Columbia Park.
Suddenly, the front of the boat lifted up, doing 2 1/2 somersaults before landing right-side up, shattering the boat across the river.
“I remember thinking, ‘I can save this,’ ” Walters told the Herald back in 2004. “But then the boat kept climbing and climbing. It was like someone kicked out a jack from underneath me. Then I saw the blue bridge disappear, then I saw the horizon and then the boat’s shadow on the river. Just like my famous quote — sky water, sky water. It seemed like it took forever.
“I don’t remember hitting the water or coming out of the boat,” Walters continued. “But I do remember the water was cold, and I knew that I was supposed to raise my hands above my head if I was OK. When I did that, I remember a huge roar from the fans. I was hurting, but that made me feel great.”
Walters suffered a fractured left hip socket and a sprain of the left knee, elbow and shoulder.
Pak owner Dave Heerensperger, whose team had returned after a four-year hiatus, said the team was done for the year. But it would be back the following season, he said.
As for the actual race, Dean Chenoweth had won 20 straight heats in the Miss Budweiser in the team’s second Griffon Rolls engine boat, dominating the circuit by winning the first five races of the season and holding an insurmountable lead of 7,200 points in the national high-points standings, to the 3,875 of No. 2 in the standings, Bill Muncey and his Atlas Van Lines.
Between Chenoweth and Muncey, the two drivers broke the world speed record on the water over the three qualifying days (yes, back then, they qualified Thursday through Saturday). Chenoweth’s speed of 138.248 mph on Friday held up.
The race also introduced the first woman crew chief, Carol Lee, for the U-15 Miss Burien Hobby Center. It was also the first time race officials were up in a helicopter to keep an eye on the action.
On race day, Muncey had perhaps his best performance on the Columbia River — and scariest. At one point in the final, his boat became airborne. But he was able to get it back onto the water.
He held off Chenoweth, who suffered mechanical problems and a minor leak in the oil system, to win the final heat and snap Bud’s 20-heat win streak.
But in that final heat, Muncey’s average speed of 128.571 mph was a world record.
“I remember (Muncey) was really flying high,” said historian Fred Farley. “He even admitted afterward ‘I took too many chances out there.’”
It was Muncey’s final victory on the river.
In 1981, he died in a racing accident in Acapulco, Mexico.
Heerensperger’s Eagle Electric earns third Atomic Cup win
July 21, 1968: Eagle Electric/Dave Heerensperger win.
Reprinted from the Tri-City Herald
Dave Heerensperger brought unlimited hydroplane fans the Pay ‘N Pak during its glory years of the 1970s.
But before Pay ‘N Pak, there was Eagle Electric. And during the third running of the Atomic Cup, Heerensperger’s driver, Col. Warner Gardner, drove the Miss Eagle Electric to victory, knocking off Miss Bardahl.
Eagle Electric owner Heerensperger — who someday would lead the wave of turbine expansion — picked up his first victory on the Columbia River.
There were some interesting notes that week.
Water Follies officials warned people to stay out of Columbia Park between 1 a.m. and 7 a.m. on race day Sunday. Any unauthorized cars would be towed at the owner’s expense. And for God’s sake, don’t throwing anything into the water when the boats are racing.
The Atlas Van Lines was the first boat out on the water ... on Tuesday. Back then, the boats could hit the water early in the week, and qualifying ran Thursday through Saturday.
Gardner was out on the course at midweek when he noticed two dead cows were floating down the river. Another one was found the next day.
Race officials named the consolation race — the second-fastest five — the Mira Slovak Trophy race for Sunday in honor of the driver of Harrah’s Club, who missed the race because he was recovering at home from a plane crash. ... It was the third one he had been involved in to that point.
And Bill Muncey, who was driving the Miss U.S., didn’t make the race because he hit a houseboat on the Ohio River during the Indiana Governor’s Cup in Madison, Ind.
Gardner had driven the Eagle Electric, based out of Spokane, to a win in the Dixie Cup in Guntersville, Ala., earlier in the season.
And on this day in the Tri-Cities, he outran the 12-boat field and swept all of his races toward the victory, marking the third straight time in the three years of the race that the winner had done so.
Gardner overtook Miss Budweiser driver Bill Sterett at the end of the first lap and was never threatened again. Race favorite Billy Schumacher in the Miss Bardahl, the defending Atomic Cup champion, broke down in the final and was never a factor.
“I was with them at the start,” Schumacher said. “but Warner and Bill had too much speed for me. I froze a cylinder in a new engine and just couldn’t run with them.”
Race officials estimated 60,000 people watched the race. The formula? They counted 13,569 cars going through the admission gates and estimated an average of 4 people in each vehicle.
Reprinted from the Tri-City Herald
Dave Heerensperger brought unlimited hydroplane fans the Pay ‘N Pak during its glory years of the 1970s.
But before Pay ‘N Pak, there was Eagle Electric. And during the third running of the Atomic Cup, Heerensperger’s driver, Col. Warner Gardner, drove the Miss Eagle Electric to victory, knocking off Miss Bardahl.
Eagle Electric owner Heerensperger — who someday would lead the wave of turbine expansion — picked up his first victory on the Columbia River.
There were some interesting notes that week.
Water Follies officials warned people to stay out of Columbia Park between 1 a.m. and 7 a.m. on race day Sunday. Any unauthorized cars would be towed at the owner’s expense. And for God’s sake, don’t throwing anything into the water when the boats are racing.
The Atlas Van Lines was the first boat out on the water ... on Tuesday. Back then, the boats could hit the water early in the week, and qualifying ran Thursday through Saturday.
Gardner was out on the course at midweek when he noticed two dead cows were floating down the river. Another one was found the next day.
Race officials named the consolation race — the second-fastest five — the Mira Slovak Trophy race for Sunday in honor of the driver of Harrah’s Club, who missed the race because he was recovering at home from a plane crash. ... It was the third one he had been involved in to that point.
And Bill Muncey, who was driving the Miss U.S., didn’t make the race because he hit a houseboat on the Ohio River during the Indiana Governor’s Cup in Madison, Ind.
Gardner had driven the Eagle Electric, based out of Spokane, to a win in the Dixie Cup in Guntersville, Ala., earlier in the season.
And on this day in the Tri-Cities, he outran the 12-boat field and swept all of his races toward the victory, marking the third straight time in the three years of the race that the winner had done so.
Gardner overtook Miss Budweiser driver Bill Sterett at the end of the first lap and was never threatened again. Race favorite Billy Schumacher in the Miss Bardahl, the defending Atomic Cup champion, broke down in the final and was never a factor.
“I was with them at the start,” Schumacher said. “but Warner and Bill had too much speed for me. I froze a cylinder in a new engine and just couldn’t run with them.”
Race officials estimated 60,000 people watched the race. The formula? They counted 13,569 cars going through the admission gates and estimated an average of 4 people in each vehicle.
Henley, Pak coast to 1975 Gold Cup win
Reprinted from the Tri-City Herald, July 27, 1975
George Henley came out of retirement three races into the season to drive the Pay ‘N Pak again.
He caught a great deal from Pak owner Dave Heerensperger, which including a portion of the winning purse.
It was working so far, as Henley had won the last two races leading into the Tri-Cities.
Meanwhile, besides Henley and the Pak — which was the defending Gold Cup champ — the other favorite had to be Weisfield’s and driver Billy Schumacher.
They had also won two races headed into the Tri-Cities.
This was the Tri-Cities’ second Gold Cup race.
It was determined by the race committee that the minimum qualifying speed would by 95 mph.
Schumacher was the fastest qualifier at 122.630 mph.
He also came in as the national high-points leader, with a 1,062-point lead over second-place Lincoln Thrift.
Henley and Pay ‘N Pak were third at 4,439.
It was an interesting race day.
The Budweiser almost sank to the bottom of the river.
Henley himself lost his racing suits when someone stole them.
Someone found one of them under a truck the next day.
In the final, Tom D’Eath in the Miss U.S. won.
However, the Gold Cup winner that year was determined by the team with the most points over the whole weekend.
That belonged to Henley with 1,425 points.
In fact, he had the Gold Cup so well in hand that he coasted to a third-place finish in the final, knowing the Gold Cup was his.
By the time the weekend was over, Pay ’N Pak was in the national high-points lead.
While Schumacher ended up being the national champion driver, thanks to Henley missing those first three races, Pay ’N Pak was the national champion boat.
George Henley came out of retirement three races into the season to drive the Pay ‘N Pak again.
He caught a great deal from Pak owner Dave Heerensperger, which including a portion of the winning purse.
It was working so far, as Henley had won the last two races leading into the Tri-Cities.
Meanwhile, besides Henley and the Pak — which was the defending Gold Cup champ — the other favorite had to be Weisfield’s and driver Billy Schumacher.
They had also won two races headed into the Tri-Cities.
This was the Tri-Cities’ second Gold Cup race.
It was determined by the race committee that the minimum qualifying speed would by 95 mph.
Schumacher was the fastest qualifier at 122.630 mph.
He also came in as the national high-points leader, with a 1,062-point lead over second-place Lincoln Thrift.
Henley and Pay ‘N Pak were third at 4,439.
It was an interesting race day.
The Budweiser almost sank to the bottom of the river.
Henley himself lost his racing suits when someone stole them.
Someone found one of them under a truck the next day.
In the final, Tom D’Eath in the Miss U.S. won.
However, the Gold Cup winner that year was determined by the team with the most points over the whole weekend.
That belonged to Henley with 1,425 points.
In fact, he had the Gold Cup so well in hand that he coasted to a third-place finish in the final, knowing the Gold Cup was his.
By the time the weekend was over, Pay ’N Pak was in the national high-points lead.
While Schumacher ended up being the national champion driver, thanks to Henley missing those first three races, Pay ’N Pak was the national champion boat.
Tuesday, April 28, 2015
It’s OK with George
By Hec Hancock
Reprinted from the Tri-City Herald, February 6, 1976.
Some things are very predictable.
You know, stuff like the sun coming up every morning, higher taxes, prices increasing and George Henley, the smiling unlimited hydroplane driver from Eatonville, nodding a cheery assent to a question and saying, “That’s great.”
It shouldn’t, therefore, come as any great surprise that Henley was in hearty agreement with Dave Heerensperger’s decision to sell the three-time national champion unlimited hydroplane Pay ‘N Pak to Bill Muncey.
“It’s sure alright with me,” Henley told Heerensperger when informed of the sale to Muncey, “I think it’s a great time to step out.”
His only reservation, he said later when he learned of the large amount of money involved - reportedly in high six figures - was that he hadn’t held out for a portion of it.
“I probably could have if I had thought about it. I was under contract to drive this year,” he explained.
Even so, Henley sounded relieved.
The thought of starting preparations in about another month for the upcoming season, he admitted, had been causing him a few butterflies in his stomach.
For one thing, Heerensperger was having a new boat built. “It’s going to be a real beauty. They’re using honeycombed aluminum and it’s going to be very light,” he added.
However, he didn’t relish the prospect of breaking in a new boat saying, “I don’t like being a test pilot.”
Behind the placid outward demeanor Henley revealed there were inward tensions.
“You’re going too fast,” he says of the speeds attained by the thunderboats, “and I’m concerned about thing breaking. Like our stabilizer last here here in the Gold Cup race.”
Henley explained that you haven’t much time to think of such matters during a race but said he dwelt on them considerably afterwards.
After coming out of retirement following the first three races of last season he had an even more enjoyable year than in 1974 when he drove the Pak to its second national title and on the driver’s championship in the process.
“I thought I had experienced everything but that wasn’t the case,” he said.
For one thing he silenced critics who wrote off his success in 1974 to luck.
And he enjoyed the head-to-head duels he had with Billy Schumacher in the Weisfield’s.
“We really went at it for three heats at Madison. We were doing things we shouldn’t have been. I’d look out and Bill would be there, just a few feet away. I just kept wishing that he’d let up,” he said.
It never entered his mind that he could have broken off himself.
That was the turning point in the Pak’s uphill climb to win its third championship.
The Pak jumped from third place in the national point standings to first place following the Gold Cup race in the Tri-Cities.
Henley lost the lead when he beached the Pak on an island in the small lake used for a course at Phoenix and had to win the final race of the year at San Diego to earn the championship.
Now with Muncey, with the backing of Atlas Van Lines, having purchased the Pay ‘N Pak boats, engines, and machine shop, Henley appears to have retired for keeps.
There have been published reports that Muncey would like Henley to drive the old Pak, the one that has won three championships.
Henley says he hasn’t heard from Muncey but makes it clear he’s not interested in driving would would be the No. 2 boat.
“Besides,” he adds, “Muncey will probably sell it. Tom Kaufman who has Mr. Fabricator is looking for a boat and would probably jump at the chance to by the Pak.”
But if he isn’t going to be racing he’s still enthusiastic about the change in the racing format adopted by the American Power Boat Association.
Since he suggested it, he should be.
Under the new plan there will be no changes to the heat system, but the winner of the final heat takes home all the marbles.
It will eliminate situations such as occurred at the Gold Cup where Henley and the Pak, needed only a second place finish to clinch the victory, took it easy to be sure of finishing.
“I told people when they complained that I would have preferred going all out in the final heat but under the rules couldn’t afford to. Besides I had a bonus riding on the Gold Cup,” he said.
The advantage of the new plan over the unlamented fan plan, according to Henley, is the fact it brings together the three fastest boats.
“Under the fan plan some of your fastest boats can be eliminated. It’s possible that the biggest point winner might not be the actual winner but that is just more incentive for going all out all the way through,” he explained.
But if Henley isn’t racing, it doesn’t mean he won’t be around boats or on the water.
As a representative of Jetcraft Inc., a distributor of jet propelled boats, he’s been in the Tri-Cities all week for the boat show at Columbia Center.
“This is where my future is,” he said with his familiar grin. “I’m on the water a great deal of the time and I really enjoy what I’m doing. If Dave wanted to sell, that’s sure alright with me.”
At least he doesn’t have to dwell upon what could happen if the wrong thing breaks when you’re roaring along at 170 miles per hour.
Reprinted from the Tri-City Herald, February 6, 1976.
Some things are very predictable.
You know, stuff like the sun coming up every morning, higher taxes, prices increasing and George Henley, the smiling unlimited hydroplane driver from Eatonville, nodding a cheery assent to a question and saying, “That’s great.”
It shouldn’t, therefore, come as any great surprise that Henley was in hearty agreement with Dave Heerensperger’s decision to sell the three-time national champion unlimited hydroplane Pay ‘N Pak to Bill Muncey.
“It’s sure alright with me,” Henley told Heerensperger when informed of the sale to Muncey, “I think it’s a great time to step out.”
His only reservation, he said later when he learned of the large amount of money involved - reportedly in high six figures - was that he hadn’t held out for a portion of it.
“I probably could have if I had thought about it. I was under contract to drive this year,” he explained.
Even so, Henley sounded relieved.
The thought of starting preparations in about another month for the upcoming season, he admitted, had been causing him a few butterflies in his stomach.
For one thing, Heerensperger was having a new boat built. “It’s going to be a real beauty. They’re using honeycombed aluminum and it’s going to be very light,” he added.
However, he didn’t relish the prospect of breaking in a new boat saying, “I don’t like being a test pilot.”
Behind the placid outward demeanor Henley revealed there were inward tensions.
“You’re going too fast,” he says of the speeds attained by the thunderboats, “and I’m concerned about thing breaking. Like our stabilizer last here here in the Gold Cup race.”
Henley explained that you haven’t much time to think of such matters during a race but said he dwelt on them considerably afterwards.
After coming out of retirement following the first three races of last season he had an even more enjoyable year than in 1974 when he drove the Pak to its second national title and on the driver’s championship in the process.
“I thought I had experienced everything but that wasn’t the case,” he said.
For one thing he silenced critics who wrote off his success in 1974 to luck.
And he enjoyed the head-to-head duels he had with Billy Schumacher in the Weisfield’s.
“We really went at it for three heats at Madison. We were doing things we shouldn’t have been. I’d look out and Bill would be there, just a few feet away. I just kept wishing that he’d let up,” he said.
It never entered his mind that he could have broken off himself.
That was the turning point in the Pak’s uphill climb to win its third championship.
The Pak jumped from third place in the national point standings to first place following the Gold Cup race in the Tri-Cities.
Henley lost the lead when he beached the Pak on an island in the small lake used for a course at Phoenix and had to win the final race of the year at San Diego to earn the championship.
Now with Muncey, with the backing of Atlas Van Lines, having purchased the Pay ‘N Pak boats, engines, and machine shop, Henley appears to have retired for keeps.
There have been published reports that Muncey would like Henley to drive the old Pak, the one that has won three championships.
Henley says he hasn’t heard from Muncey but makes it clear he’s not interested in driving would would be the No. 2 boat.
“Besides,” he adds, “Muncey will probably sell it. Tom Kaufman who has Mr. Fabricator is looking for a boat and would probably jump at the chance to by the Pak.”
But if he isn’t going to be racing he’s still enthusiastic about the change in the racing format adopted by the American Power Boat Association.
Since he suggested it, he should be.
Under the new plan there will be no changes to the heat system, but the winner of the final heat takes home all the marbles.
It will eliminate situations such as occurred at the Gold Cup where Henley and the Pak, needed only a second place finish to clinch the victory, took it easy to be sure of finishing.
“I told people when they complained that I would have preferred going all out in the final heat but under the rules couldn’t afford to. Besides I had a bonus riding on the Gold Cup,” he said.
The advantage of the new plan over the unlamented fan plan, according to Henley, is the fact it brings together the three fastest boats.
“Under the fan plan some of your fastest boats can be eliminated. It’s possible that the biggest point winner might not be the actual winner but that is just more incentive for going all out all the way through,” he explained.
But if Henley isn’t racing, it doesn’t mean he won’t be around boats or on the water.
As a representative of Jetcraft Inc., a distributor of jet propelled boats, he’s been in the Tri-Cities all week for the boat show at Columbia Center.
“This is where my future is,” he said with his familiar grin. “I’m on the water a great deal of the time and I really enjoy what I’m doing. If Dave wanted to sell, that’s sure alright with me.”
At least he doesn’t have to dwell upon what could happen if the wrong thing breaks when you’re roaring along at 170 miles per hour.
Friday, January 23, 2015
Mickey's Water Wing
A couple of great Champion Spark Plug magazine advertisements that feature Mickey Remund and the the "Winged Wonder" Pay 'N Pak.
Wednesday, January 14, 2015
Pay 'n Pak Sweeps to World Championship Victory
Reprinted from Pay 'N Pak Racing News, August 1974
Over 80,000 hydro maniacs were treated to the greatest thunderboat racing in history on the sun-streaked, breeze-dappled course on the Columbia River at Tri-Cities, Washington, on Sunday, July 21, 1974.
After three days of total frustration the big boats ran like a script on Sunday with the Pay 'N Pak (mentioned as a 3rd place boat by Charles Lyford of the U-95 camp) winning it wire to wire as though anyone could catch the George Henley piloted rocket the way she was running.
Seven boats were in the flying start (reminiscent of the old six boat starts) when Bill Muncey, the alternate, joined the start as Valu-Mart had gone dead in the water. Little did Bill know that rookie Ron Armstrong had restarted the Valu-Mart before the one minute gun.
In the screaming first turn there were at least four boats and it was hairy. Pak, U-95 on her hip, Valu-Mart, Budweiser, and Atlas in there somewhere. In a 320 ton spray of roostertail something happened, the Pak came out leading by two boat lengths, the U-95 seemed to settle in the water and then the Valu-Mart, Bud and Atlas screamed after the Pak.
The action in that turn evoked a protest from Pamela Clapp, owner of the U-95, but race officials contended nothing illegal happened. However, from there on the second fastest qualifier (118 to the Pak's 119+) and the boat that set the fastest head time of the day (113.469 mph) was never really in it.
U-95 finally restarted and apparently running on one turbine managed a bad fourth. (The same place the U-95 crew had predicted for the Pak.)
The U-95 and the Pak went into the final championship flight in a dead heat with 700 points apiece. The Pay 'N Pak widened her National Points lead over (still second) Budweiser from 6 points to 837 points and the U-95 moved up within 813 points below the Bud.
The seven boat start was (as one reporter put it) fouled up. About six minutes before the final starting gun, flames spewed from the engine of the Valu-Mart and she headed into the infield - obviously out of the action. This spurred Bill Muncey in the Atlas Van Lines into life.
Apparently Ron Armstrong revived the Valu-Mart shortly before the one minute gun, but by now Bill was pass him and naturally couldn't see behind him. Bill must have been surprised when Ron zipped past him at the start. Muncey as fined $250.00 for not pulling off the course. What would you have done?
Over 80,000 hydro maniacs were treated to the greatest thunderboat racing in history on the sun-streaked, breeze-dappled course on the Columbia River at Tri-Cities, Washington, on Sunday, July 21, 1974.
After three days of total frustration the big boats ran like a script on Sunday with the Pay 'N Pak (mentioned as a 3rd place boat by Charles Lyford of the U-95 camp) winning it wire to wire as though anyone could catch the George Henley piloted rocket the way she was running.
Seven boats were in the flying start (reminiscent of the old six boat starts) when Bill Muncey, the alternate, joined the start as Valu-Mart had gone dead in the water. Little did Bill know that rookie Ron Armstrong had restarted the Valu-Mart before the one minute gun.
In the screaming first turn there were at least four boats and it was hairy. Pak, U-95 on her hip, Valu-Mart, Budweiser, and Atlas in there somewhere. In a 320 ton spray of roostertail something happened, the Pak came out leading by two boat lengths, the U-95 seemed to settle in the water and then the Valu-Mart, Bud and Atlas screamed after the Pak.
The action in that turn evoked a protest from Pamela Clapp, owner of the U-95, but race officials contended nothing illegal happened. However, from there on the second fastest qualifier (118 to the Pak's 119+) and the boat that set the fastest head time of the day (113.469 mph) was never really in it.
U-95 finally restarted and apparently running on one turbine managed a bad fourth. (The same place the U-95 crew had predicted for the Pak.)
The U-95 and the Pak went into the final championship flight in a dead heat with 700 points apiece. The Pay 'N Pak widened her National Points lead over (still second) Budweiser from 6 points to 837 points and the U-95 moved up within 813 points below the Bud.
The seven boat start was (as one reporter put it) fouled up. About six minutes before the final starting gun, flames spewed from the engine of the Valu-Mart and she headed into the infield - obviously out of the action. This spurred Bill Muncey in the Atlas Van Lines into life.
Apparently Ron Armstrong revived the Valu-Mart shortly before the one minute gun, but by now Bill was pass him and naturally couldn't see behind him. Bill must have been surprised when Ron zipped past him at the start. Muncey as fined $250.00 for not pulling off the course. What would you have done?
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