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."
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