Reprinted from The Seattle Times, May 31, 1974
MIAMI (Special) — The Pay ‘N Pak of Seattle, driven by George Henley, easily qualified for Sunday’s Champion Spart Plug Regatta unlimited-hydroplane race with a run of better than 116 miles an hour today.
The Pak was one of three boats to qualify by 3 p. m. today. Bill Muncey got the Atlas Van Lines (U-70) in with a run of 114-plus and Tom D’Eath pushed the Miss U. S. over the standard of 95 m. p. h.
Twelve boats are here. The nine others (with drivers):
U-95 (Leif Borgersen), Just-A-Pest (Danny Walls), Budweiser (Howard Benns), Valu-Mart (Ron Armstrong), Mr. Fabricator (Tom Kaufman), Red Man (Skip Walther), Miss Madison (E. Milner Irvin), Miss Cott’s Beverages (Tom Sheehy) and Lincoln Thrift (Mickey Remund).
Skip Walther, brother of Salt Walther, is filling in for Jim McCormick in the Red Man. McCormick was injured in a spin-out yesterday. The boat was not damaged, but McCormick was hospitalized and will miss this race and next weekend’s President’s Cup in Washington, D. C.
Qualifying will continue through tomorrow afternoon.
Sunday, March 20, 2016
Pay 'n Pak Breaks Hydroplane Marks
San Diego, Sept 23, 1974 (UPI) Pride of Pay 'N Pak set two world records in winning the San Diego Cup unlimited hydroplane race yesterday.
The victory was the boat's sixth in nine starts this year and moved its driver, George Henley, closer to the national title.
He took the championship final in 114.942 miles an hour to break the world record for a 2½-mile course of 111.386 set by Miss Budweiser last year. The final covered 15 miles.
The boat also broke the world record for a 45-mile regatta on a 2½-mile course by averaging 110.859 mph for its three races. The record was set by Atlas Van Lines at 108 mph in 1972.
The victory was the boat's sixth in nine starts this year and moved its driver, George Henley, closer to the national title.
He took the championship final in 114.942 miles an hour to break the world record for a 2½-mile course of 111.386 set by Miss Budweiser last year. The final covered 15 miles.
The boat also broke the world record for a 45-mile regatta on a 2½-mile course by averaging 110.859 mph for its three races. The record was set by Atlas Van Lines at 108 mph in 1972.
The National Champion asks for...
A classic Pennzoil magazine advertisement that featured the Pay 'n Pak, the 1974 National Unlimited Hydroplane Champion, driven by George Henley and owned by Dave Heerensperger.
Pay 'n Pak Tops Five Qualifiers
By Curt Sylvester
Reprinted from the Detroit Free Press, June 28, 1974
The qualifying has just begun and already the Pride of Pay 'N Pak in its old familiar plane - No 1.
With George Henley at the controls, Pay 'N Pak took the top spot Thursday among the first five boats that qualified for Sunday's Gar Wood Trophy Race on the Detroit River.
Her speed was listed at 133.044 miles per hour but that was an exaggeration, as were there the speeds of the four qualifiers - Miss U.S., Miss Budweiser, Savair's Probe and CU-22.
The "three-mile" course was shortened considerable by chief referee Bill Newton "in the interest of safety" but the speeds were still calculated on a "three mile" speed chart.
Whatever the actual speed were, it was still Henley, navigating the Pay 'N Pak, that took the least time to tour the course. And that's the type of performance that has come to be expected of the national points champion boat, even though Henley is new to its cockpit this season.
"They're used to winning so they expect you to get out and go," admitted Henley, who replaced defending drivers' champion Mickey Remund after last season.
"I was thinking of that when they offered me the job but then I thought...if I couldn't do it, then what was I doing in racing?"
Reprinted from the Detroit Free Press, June 28, 1974
 |
| Pride of Pay 'N Pak skims along Detroit River, turning in the best qualifying speed during Thursday's trials. |
The qualifying has just begun and already the Pride of Pay 'N Pak in its old familiar plane - No 1.
With George Henley at the controls, Pay 'N Pak took the top spot Thursday among the first five boats that qualified for Sunday's Gar Wood Trophy Race on the Detroit River.
Her speed was listed at 133.044 miles per hour but that was an exaggeration, as were there the speeds of the four qualifiers - Miss U.S., Miss Budweiser, Savair's Probe and CU-22.
The "three-mile" course was shortened considerable by chief referee Bill Newton "in the interest of safety" but the speeds were still calculated on a "three mile" speed chart.
Whatever the actual speed were, it was still Henley, navigating the Pay 'N Pak, that took the least time to tour the course. And that's the type of performance that has come to be expected of the national points champion boat, even though Henley is new to its cockpit this season.
"They're used to winning so they expect you to get out and go," admitted Henley, who replaced defending drivers' champion Mickey Remund after last season.
"I was thinking of that when they offered me the job but then I thought...if I couldn't do it, then what was I doing in racing?"
Saturday, March 19, 2016
Atlas Crew Solves Engine Troubles; Sterett Criticized
By Walt Parietti
Reprinted from The Seattle Times, August 7, 1972
Muncey just had completed his greatest season in 17 hydroplaning years, riding aboard his white charger, Atlas Van Lines, to his sixth win in seven races before one of the largest Seafair Trophy Race crowds in recent years.
Muncey did it by shattering the lap and 15-mile-heat records on the three-mile Lake Washington course that he had set in Miss Thriftway 10 years earlier. He hinted the records might fall early yesterday afternoon after finishing second in Heat 1 B.
"The lid’s off now. We can go racing," balding Bill had said.
His crew chief, Jim Kerth, put a new power plant in the Schoenith-owned Atlas, and Muncey ran the first lap in Heat 213 at 115.139 miles an hour. He later upped the mark to 117.137 in the final heat runaway.
The longtime Seattleite, who now lives in San Diego, said, "I wouldn’t have given us a 5-2 chance to win this race Saturday."
Muncey’s happy wife, Fran, chimed in: "Saturday night the engines were all apart here. Things went wrong Saturday."
Among the problems, Bill said, was a broken blower section from Saturday’s final tuneup session.
"We didn’t have all the spare stuff we needed here from Detroit," Muncey said.
Kerth said, "You find things like that by testing. It’s great working with Muncey. It’s just the way he drives. He’s superb. I never worry once he leaves the dock. There’s nothing you can do after that."
The unexpected elements in the race were the complete fold-up by the Pride of Pay ‘N Pak — two broken engines without a full lap run and the strong, third-place showing by the patch-quilt Van’s P-X team.
"It just wasn’t our day," said a dejected Billy Sterett, Jr., Pay ‘N Pak driver.
"These engines were strictly race engines. They were built up for this race. We broke them in like we usually do. We ran three laps this morning and thought we were ready to go.
"This kind of blows you out of the water. I just don’t know about next year yet. We had the Pasco race won and now we’ve gone three straight heats without a finish. That’s pretty bad."
Dave Heerensperger, Pay ‘N Pak owner, said in frustration: "We break three engines in two days. I’d like to run a 120-mile-an-hour heat right now just to show the people."
Of the first-heat failure, he added, "the back four cylinders were not firing and they finally blew. They loaded up with fuel. Billy should have cleared it out."
Heerensperger intends to stick with Sterett for 1973. "If Billy wants to drive, he’ll be my driver. It’s his decision," Heerensperger said.
Heerensperger said the sale of his Pride of Pay ‘N Pak boat had "nothing to do with the performance" yesterday. The boat was purchased yesterday for $30,000 by Bernie Little, who will campaign the hull as Miss Budweiser next year.
Heerensperger said he will build a new boat for next season, virtually a cop, "but hopefully a lighter-type boat."
The Van’s P-X got the job done with some help from Gary Crawford, Timex crew chief, who formerly worked alongside Jerry Zuvich on the old Bardahl national-championship boat.
"They’ve got half our motor in there," Crawford said. "We gave them the stuff they needed a gear box, wheel housing and quills, most of the front section."
"That’s not a bad effort for three weeks’ work," Zuvich said.
Leif Borgersen, P-X pilot, said, "The crew told me, ‘If you can’t win, get third place.’ So I did." Borgersen, close behind the second-place Notre Dame at the finish, added, "After that many heats in that rough a water, I don’t think I could have held on much longer."
"The cockpit temperature out there today must have been 150 degrees," said Muncey. "It was a lot easier running out front than where Leif was running."
Wild Bill Cantrell, longtime hydro driver and boat manager of the Atlas, said, "I wish we could have hooked up with the Pay ‘n Pak. Now we’ve got to sit all winter long and not know how we’d have done."
Schoenith, the boat’s designer, won the Gold Cup on Lake Washington in 1955, edging Muncey with the help of a disputed "bonus points" system. The result added fuel to the Seattle-Detroit battle in which Schoenith was the "bad guy" from the East and Muncey was Seattle’s "hero."
"We’ll go with this hull again next year," Schoenith said. "I’m happy with it. I don’t know now what I’d do different if I were going to build a new boat."
Cantrell said, "There’ll be a couple new Detroit boats next year. George Simon is building a new Miss U. S., with a turbo-charged Rolls engine. And Jim Herrington’s building a gas-turbine job. They’ve been testing the engine for a year in the old Mariner, but they haven’t raced it."
Muncey, commenting on the Pay ‘N Pak’s miseries, said, "I’m sorry for them, but I’m not disappointed they didn’t run. Racing involves everything, not just qualifying.
"We came to Seattle wanting that qualifying record; but when they (Pay ‘N Pak) went 125.8, we felt there was no way. So we started shooting for a victory today.
"Our goal was to do exactly as we did."
Reprinted from The Seattle Times, August 7, 1972
 |
| A disappointed Billy Sterett sat alongside the Pride of Pay 'N Pak cockpit yesterday as the boat was towed back to its dock. Sterett, expected to give Bill Muncey a race, never got a chance because of two engine failures. |
"We didn’t expect to have this kind of season," Bill Muncey said. "Who’d ever believe ten years ago that I’d bring Lee Schoenith a national championship?"
Muncey just had completed his greatest season in 17 hydroplaning years, riding aboard his white charger, Atlas Van Lines, to his sixth win in seven races before one of the largest Seafair Trophy Race crowds in recent years.
Muncey did it by shattering the lap and 15-mile-heat records on the three-mile Lake Washington course that he had set in Miss Thriftway 10 years earlier. He hinted the records might fall early yesterday afternoon after finishing second in Heat 1 B.
"The lid’s off now. We can go racing," balding Bill had said.
His crew chief, Jim Kerth, put a new power plant in the Schoenith-owned Atlas, and Muncey ran the first lap in Heat 213 at 115.139 miles an hour. He later upped the mark to 117.137 in the final heat runaway.
The longtime Seattleite, who now lives in San Diego, said, "I wouldn’t have given us a 5-2 chance to win this race Saturday."
Muncey’s happy wife, Fran, chimed in: "Saturday night the engines were all apart here. Things went wrong Saturday."
Among the problems, Bill said, was a broken blower section from Saturday’s final tuneup session.
"We didn’t have all the spare stuff we needed here from Detroit," Muncey said.
Kerth said, "You find things like that by testing. It’s great working with Muncey. It’s just the way he drives. He’s superb. I never worry once he leaves the dock. There’s nothing you can do after that."
The unexpected elements in the race were the complete fold-up by the Pride of Pay ‘N Pak — two broken engines without a full lap run and the strong, third-place showing by the patch-quilt Van’s P-X team.
"It just wasn’t our day," said a dejected Billy Sterett, Jr., Pay ‘N Pak driver.
"These engines were strictly race engines. They were built up for this race. We broke them in like we usually do. We ran three laps this morning and thought we were ready to go.
"This kind of blows you out of the water. I just don’t know about next year yet. We had the Pasco race won and now we’ve gone three straight heats without a finish. That’s pretty bad."
Dave Heerensperger, Pay ‘N Pak owner, said in frustration: "We break three engines in two days. I’d like to run a 120-mile-an-hour heat right now just to show the people."
Of the first-heat failure, he added, "the back four cylinders were not firing and they finally blew. They loaded up with fuel. Billy should have cleared it out."
Heerensperger intends to stick with Sterett for 1973. "If Billy wants to drive, he’ll be my driver. It’s his decision," Heerensperger said.
Heerensperger said the sale of his Pride of Pay ‘N Pak boat had "nothing to do with the performance" yesterday. The boat was purchased yesterday for $30,000 by Bernie Little, who will campaign the hull as Miss Budweiser next year.
Heerensperger said he will build a new boat for next season, virtually a cop, "but hopefully a lighter-type boat."
The Van’s P-X got the job done with some help from Gary Crawford, Timex crew chief, who formerly worked alongside Jerry Zuvich on the old Bardahl national-championship boat.
"They’ve got half our motor in there," Crawford said. "We gave them the stuff they needed a gear box, wheel housing and quills, most of the front section."
"That’s not a bad effort for three weeks’ work," Zuvich said.
Leif Borgersen, P-X pilot, said, "The crew told me, ‘If you can’t win, get third place.’ So I did." Borgersen, close behind the second-place Notre Dame at the finish, added, "After that many heats in that rough a water, I don’t think I could have held on much longer."
"The cockpit temperature out there today must have been 150 degrees," said Muncey. "It was a lot easier running out front than where Leif was running."
Wild Bill Cantrell, longtime hydro driver and boat manager of the Atlas, said, "I wish we could have hooked up with the Pay ‘n Pak. Now we’ve got to sit all winter long and not know how we’d have done."
Schoenith, the boat’s designer, won the Gold Cup on Lake Washington in 1955, edging Muncey with the help of a disputed "bonus points" system. The result added fuel to the Seattle-Detroit battle in which Schoenith was the "bad guy" from the East and Muncey was Seattle’s "hero."
"We’ll go with this hull again next year," Schoenith said. "I’m happy with it. I don’t know now what I’d do different if I were going to build a new boat."
Cantrell said, "There’ll be a couple new Detroit boats next year. George Simon is building a new Miss U. S., with a turbo-charged Rolls engine. And Jim Herrington’s building a gas-turbine job. They’ve been testing the engine for a year in the old Mariner, but they haven’t raced it."
Muncey, commenting on the Pay ‘N Pak’s miseries, said, "I’m sorry for them, but I’m not disappointed they didn’t run. Racing involves everything, not just qualifying.
"We came to Seattle wanting that qualifying record; but when they (Pay ‘N Pak) went 125.8, we felt there was no way. So we started shooting for a victory today.
"Our goal was to do exactly as we did."
Saturday, March 12, 2016
Pay 'n Pak driver remains in serious condition
By Glenn Nelson
Reprinted from The Seattle Times, August 9, 1982
Unlimited-hydroplane driver John Walters remained in serious condition this afternoon with multiple injuries suffered yesterday during a preliminary heat in the Sea Galley Emerald Cup on Lake Washington.
Chip Hanauer of Seattle drive the Atlas Van Lines to victory in the race, but the victory was marred by the accident that injured Walters, driver of the Pay 'N Pak.
Walters was pitched out of his craft in a collision with the Executone, which a split second earlier had lost control and struck The Squire Shop.
The 28-year-old Renton resident underwent surgery last night at Harborview Medical Center and was moved into an intensive-care ward. Walters had water in his lungs and was put on a ventilator when he could not breathe on his own.
Walters suffered three spinal fractures but no paralysis, a broken left leg, broken right elbow, a bruised lung, a concussion and injuries to the left eye.
George Johnson, driver of the Executone, had a leg laceration; the Squire driver, Tom D'Eath, was uninjured.
The Executone sank to the bottom of Lake Washington.
The accident did not seem to dampen the spirits of the huge crowd that lined the race course to celebrate the event that traditionally signals the end of Seafair.
Hanauer and the Atlas were nearly flawless during victories in two preliminary "fast heats" and the winner-take-all final heat. He outdueled Ron Armstrong and the Miss Budweiser, which flipped last week in Pasco, killing Dean Chenoweth.
Frank Kenney Toyota-Volvo, driven by Ron Snyder, finished third yesterday. Miss Prodelco-Mr. Auto, driven by Steve Reynolds was fourth and Tempus, piloted by Jack Schafer Jr., was fifth.
"The boat was running a bit loose during testing and we were making adjustments all race long," said Hanauer, whose six unlimited wins makes him the winningest active driver.
That the Budweiser even made it to the pits yesterday morning was a minor miracle. The Bud crew worked around the clock to repair severe damage on the boat's left sponson and a whole in its rights sponson. Armstrong, who was hired Friday, qualified yesterday morning at 127.298 mph and was seeded into the fast heat.
Reprinted from The Seattle Times, August 9, 1982
 |
| Pay 'N Pak goes airborne after running across the Executone, middle, which has just struck The Squire Shop, foreground, in an early head of yesterday's unlimited hydroplane race. |
Unlimited-hydroplane driver John Walters remained in serious condition this afternoon with multiple injuries suffered yesterday during a preliminary heat in the Sea Galley Emerald Cup on Lake Washington.
Chip Hanauer of Seattle drive the Atlas Van Lines to victory in the race, but the victory was marred by the accident that injured Walters, driver of the Pay 'N Pak.
Walters was pitched out of his craft in a collision with the Executone, which a split second earlier had lost control and struck The Squire Shop.
 |
| The Pay 'N Pak begins a complete side flip. Its driver, John Walters, was injured seriously. |
The 28-year-old Renton resident underwent surgery last night at Harborview Medical Center and was moved into an intensive-care ward. Walters had water in his lungs and was put on a ventilator when he could not breathe on his own.
Walters suffered three spinal fractures but no paralysis, a broken left leg, broken right elbow, a bruised lung, a concussion and injuries to the left eye.
George Johnson, driver of the Executone, had a leg laceration; the Squire driver, Tom D'Eath, was uninjured.
 |
| The Pay 'N Pak flips upside down, and its driver, John Walters, is thrown from the boat. |
The Executone sank to the bottom of Lake Washington.
The accident did not seem to dampen the spirits of the huge crowd that lined the race course to celebrate the event that traditionally signals the end of Seafair.
Hanauer and the Atlas were nearly flawless during victories in two preliminary "fast heats" and the winner-take-all final heat. He outdueled Ron Armstrong and the Miss Budweiser, which flipped last week in Pasco, killing Dean Chenoweth.
Frank Kenney Toyota-Volvo, driven by Ron Snyder, finished third yesterday. Miss Prodelco-Mr. Auto, driven by Steve Reynolds was fourth and Tempus, piloted by Jack Schafer Jr., was fifth.
"The boat was running a bit loose during testing and we were making adjustments all race long," said Hanauer, whose six unlimited wins makes him the winningest active driver.
That the Budweiser even made it to the pits yesterday morning was a minor miracle. The Bud crew worked around the clock to repair severe damage on the boat's left sponson and a whole in its rights sponson. Armstrong, who was hired Friday, qualified yesterday morning at 127.298 mph and was seeded into the fast heat.
Thursday, March 10, 2016
The Race That Nobody Remembers
By Fred Farley - Unlimited Hydroplane Historian
The 1971 Madison Regatta will never be forgotten for as long as men race boats. That, of course, was the year when Jim McCormick guided the community-owned MISS MADISON to victory in the race of races--the APBA Gold Cup--before the hometown crowd.
But as memorable as the 1971 regatta was, no one seems to want to remember the race that followed it in 1972.
In lieu of the Gold Cup, the city of Madison hosted a World's Championship Race, which was sanctioned by the Union of International Motorboating. But while the '71 Gold Cup had gone off like clockwork, the '72 World's Championship had more problems than an arithmetic book.
The Ohio River had experienced some major flooding. The pit area was under water. And there was enough drift floating down the river that one could almost have walked across the Ohio. The race was set for Sunday, July 2. It ended up being run on Tuesday, July 4. And even then, it was nearly canceled.
The flooding was a major concern. Plus, a third of the Unlimited fleet--which included the MISS MADISON--had suffered major equipment damage the previous week at Detroit and weren't available to race at Madison.
The Unlimited Racing Commission's Executive Secretary Phil Cole probably did more than anyone else to insure that the 1972 Madison race happened. He convinced Madison Regatta President Jack Ice that congressional help was needed to bring the river under control so the race could be run.
Cole, a former MADISON COURIER reporter, utilized his contacts in government to close the locks upriver at Markland, Kentucky, and open the locks down river at Louisville. When that was accomplished, the level of the river dropped rather quickly.
Even so, Cole gave the race "about a 30 percent chance" of happening.
That's because only part of the problem was solved. The Kentucky River, which is located between Markland and Madison, was still dumping fresh debris into the Ohio River. The race committee alleviated that difficulty somewhat by sweeping over the course before each heat and picking up the floating garbage.
A faction of the Madison committee wanted to cancel the race and re-schedule for September (shades of 1998!). The late Paul Steinhardt led the pro-September group. But the ruling faction--headed by Jack Ice and Wilbur Heitz--eventually won out.
That was the strangest week that I ever spent at a boat race in my life. My official excuse for being there was as a reporter for RACE BOAT & INDUSTRY NEWS. (I hadn't yet been appointed as Unlimited Historian.) There was the burning question of whether or not there would be a race. And on top of that, I had friends on both sides of the issue of whether or not to go ahead with the July 4 date or postpone until Labor Day. I had a difficult time being objective.
The race fan in me wanted to see the race run on the Fourth. But that river bothered me. I asked Bill Cantrell, who was team manager for the ATLAS VAN LINES that year, "Mr. Cantrell, have you ever driven in water like this?" He answered, "Well, yes I have. But whenever I did, somebody always went over."
Eight boats were in town for the 1972 race. And frankly no one wanted to run because of the hazardous conditions. But Fred Alter, owner and driver of the TOWNE CLUB, argued forcefully, "If we don't run this race this year, there might not ever be another race in Madison." Reluctantly, the teams agreed to give it a try.
But Billy Schumacher, driver of the PRIDE OF PAY 'N PAK and a two-time winner of the Madison race, would have no part of it. "No way am I going to play leapfrog over logs," he declared. PAY 'N PAK owner Dave Heerensperger then prevailed upon retired MISS BUDWEISER pilot Bill Sterett, Sr., to step in as relief driver--even though Sterett hadn't driven in competition since 1969.
Unlimited qualifying and the entire Limited program were scrubbed at the 1972 Madison Regatta. In fact, the boats weren't able to move into the pit area until race day morning.
Madison's characteristically sunny summer weather was no where in evidence. The skies were overcast and the air was chilly on July 4.
Terry Sterett took the MISS BUDWEISER out for a shakedown cruise over the debris-laden course. He didn't like what he saw and described the conditions as marginal at best.
Referee Ken Wright told the drivers in Heat 1-A to go out and give him a thumbs-up or a thumbs-down. "If even one of you gives me a thumbs-down, I'll flag all of you all back in and cancel the whole thing. It's up to you." Everyone gave a thumbs-up. So Wright allowed the race to be run.
Nevertheless, nobody wanted to be the first to commit to running in 1-A. The seconds ticked away, and no one made a move to go in the water. The 5-minute gun fired and all of the boats were still sitting on their trailers! Finally, the PRIDE OF PAY 'N PAK crew gave the signal to the crane operator to lower away. Then everyone else followed suit. And the race was on.
Four heats of racing were run that day and no one "went over" as Bill Cantrell had feared. And two of the four heats were barn burners.
Bill Muncey easily won both of his heats (1-B and 2-B) with ATLAS VAN LINES and was declared the overall winner for the Joe Schoenith team.
Terry Sterett in MISS BUDWEISER out distanced Tom Sheehy in GO GALE by one tenth of a second in Heat 1-A.
Bill Sterett in PRIDE OF PAY 'N PAK brought the crowd to its feet with a bravura come-from-behind performance in Heat 2-A. After a late start, Bill worked his way up through the field. He passed first one boat and then another to take the win at a solid 107 miles per hour--the fastest heat of the day.
Heat 2-A also represented a rare Unlimited Class instance where a father and a son raced against each other. When Bill ducked inside of Terry's roostertail and pulled even with his son on the backstretch, the crowd went wild. The PAK and the BUD dueled through the bridge turn together and were side-by-side at the exit buoy. Bill out accelerated his son and went on for the win, while Terry faded to third behind his Dad and Tom Sheehy.
With all of the bother about rescheduling the race from Sunday to Tuesday, no one remembered that the DELTA QUEEN river boat was to make a scheduled pass by Madison on its way from Louisville to Cincinnati on July 4. As the boats for Heat 2-B were being lowered into the water, around the bend came the DELTA QUEEN, crowded with passengers and with the calliope blasting away.
The unexpected appearance on the race course of the massive sternwheeler lent an air of unreality to the already mixed-up proceedings. The common reaction: "What else can go wrong?"
The DELTA QUEEN tore up one or two course buoys and stirred up the river even more than it already was. But Heat 2-B was still run to its conclusion without incident.
Then a thick fog cover set in over the race area. Visibility was so impaired that spectators on the Madison side of the river couldn't even see the Kentucky shore. At this point, referee Wright announced cancellation of the Final Heat and declared the race a contest on the basis of points scored in the preliminary heats.
ATLAS VAN LINES was first, MISS BUDWEISER second, GO GALE third, MISS TIMEX (with Jim McCormick) fourth, PIZZA PETE (with Bob Gilliam) fifth, PRIDE OF PAY 'N PAK sixth, and TOWNE CLUB seventh, while COUNTRY BOY (with Salt Walther) failed to finish.
Billy Schumacher, together with his wife Cyndee, watched the 1972 Madison race from the shore. Many persons supported Billy's decision not to race that day, including veteran racer George N. Davis of IT'S A WONDER fame. But Schumacher was persona non grata with the PAY 'N PAK team and found himself replaced by Billy Sterett, Jr., at the remaining three races of the season.
As Unlimited Historian, I've been asked many times if I thought Schumacher was justified in walking away from his team at such a crucial moment. That's a tough one. In my view, it's inappropriate for someone such as myself who has never driven in an Unlimited race to point the finger of blame at someone who is one of the sport's most respected champions.
It does bother me that Billy was alone in his refusal to race. A lot of people wrestled with the problem of how to proceed on July 4, 1972, and came to a different conclusion. These included the other drivers, all the owners, the crews, the local committee, the APBA officials, and the Army Corps of Engineers. All decided to make the best of a bad situation and to give it a try. But Schumacher had a difference of opinion, which he had a right to express.
It is well known that Billy and PRIDE OF PAY 'N PAK crew chief Jim Lucero were at odds on how to set up the boat in 1972. PRIDE OF PAY 'N PAK had scored impressive victories at the last three races of 1971. But the '72 season had been an exercise in frustration with Schumacher being trounced in every race by Bill Muncey and ATLAS VAN LINES.
When Bill Sterett took over Schumacher's seat at Madison, he failed to start in Heat 1-A but then really "flew" the boat in Heat 2-A--much to the delight of Lucero.
Where Schumacher and Lucero were concerned, it was a case of an irresistible force against an unmovable object.
On a race team, there can be only one leader. Everyone must pull in the same direction. A team must be unified or there is chaos.
Detroit race official Jack Love lamented the outcome of the 1972 Madison Regatta. He told THE MADISON COURIER's Graham Taylor, "I've never seen so many things go wrong at a single boat race in my life."
When regatta president Jack Ice spoke at the awards banquet the night of the race, he told the assembled owners, drivers, crew members, and race officials, "I said all along that we'd have a boat race come hell or high water. And I've been catching hell ever since we got the high water."
The 1971 Madison Regatta will never be forgotten for as long as men race boats. That, of course, was the year when Jim McCormick guided the community-owned MISS MADISON to victory in the race of races--the APBA Gold Cup--before the hometown crowd.
But as memorable as the 1971 regatta was, no one seems to want to remember the race that followed it in 1972.
In lieu of the Gold Cup, the city of Madison hosted a World's Championship Race, which was sanctioned by the Union of International Motorboating. But while the '71 Gold Cup had gone off like clockwork, the '72 World's Championship had more problems than an arithmetic book.
The Ohio River had experienced some major flooding. The pit area was under water. And there was enough drift floating down the river that one could almost have walked across the Ohio. The race was set for Sunday, July 2. It ended up being run on Tuesday, July 4. And even then, it was nearly canceled.
The flooding was a major concern. Plus, a third of the Unlimited fleet--which included the MISS MADISON--had suffered major equipment damage the previous week at Detroit and weren't available to race at Madison.
The Unlimited Racing Commission's Executive Secretary Phil Cole probably did more than anyone else to insure that the 1972 Madison race happened. He convinced Madison Regatta President Jack Ice that congressional help was needed to bring the river under control so the race could be run.
Cole, a former MADISON COURIER reporter, utilized his contacts in government to close the locks upriver at Markland, Kentucky, and open the locks down river at Louisville. When that was accomplished, the level of the river dropped rather quickly.
Even so, Cole gave the race "about a 30 percent chance" of happening.
That's because only part of the problem was solved. The Kentucky River, which is located between Markland and Madison, was still dumping fresh debris into the Ohio River. The race committee alleviated that difficulty somewhat by sweeping over the course before each heat and picking up the floating garbage.
A faction of the Madison committee wanted to cancel the race and re-schedule for September (shades of 1998!). The late Paul Steinhardt led the pro-September group. But the ruling faction--headed by Jack Ice and Wilbur Heitz--eventually won out.
That was the strangest week that I ever spent at a boat race in my life. My official excuse for being there was as a reporter for RACE BOAT & INDUSTRY NEWS. (I hadn't yet been appointed as Unlimited Historian.) There was the burning question of whether or not there would be a race. And on top of that, I had friends on both sides of the issue of whether or not to go ahead with the July 4 date or postpone until Labor Day. I had a difficult time being objective.
The race fan in me wanted to see the race run on the Fourth. But that river bothered me. I asked Bill Cantrell, who was team manager for the ATLAS VAN LINES that year, "Mr. Cantrell, have you ever driven in water like this?" He answered, "Well, yes I have. But whenever I did, somebody always went over."
Eight boats were in town for the 1972 race. And frankly no one wanted to run because of the hazardous conditions. But Fred Alter, owner and driver of the TOWNE CLUB, argued forcefully, "If we don't run this race this year, there might not ever be another race in Madison." Reluctantly, the teams agreed to give it a try.
But Billy Schumacher, driver of the PRIDE OF PAY 'N PAK and a two-time winner of the Madison race, would have no part of it. "No way am I going to play leapfrog over logs," he declared. PAY 'N PAK owner Dave Heerensperger then prevailed upon retired MISS BUDWEISER pilot Bill Sterett, Sr., to step in as relief driver--even though Sterett hadn't driven in competition since 1969.
Unlimited qualifying and the entire Limited program were scrubbed at the 1972 Madison Regatta. In fact, the boats weren't able to move into the pit area until race day morning.
Madison's characteristically sunny summer weather was no where in evidence. The skies were overcast and the air was chilly on July 4.
Terry Sterett took the MISS BUDWEISER out for a shakedown cruise over the debris-laden course. He didn't like what he saw and described the conditions as marginal at best.
Referee Ken Wright told the drivers in Heat 1-A to go out and give him a thumbs-up or a thumbs-down. "If even one of you gives me a thumbs-down, I'll flag all of you all back in and cancel the whole thing. It's up to you." Everyone gave a thumbs-up. So Wright allowed the race to be run.
Nevertheless, nobody wanted to be the first to commit to running in 1-A. The seconds ticked away, and no one made a move to go in the water. The 5-minute gun fired and all of the boats were still sitting on their trailers! Finally, the PRIDE OF PAY 'N PAK crew gave the signal to the crane operator to lower away. Then everyone else followed suit. And the race was on.
Four heats of racing were run that day and no one "went over" as Bill Cantrell had feared. And two of the four heats were barn burners.
Bill Muncey easily won both of his heats (1-B and 2-B) with ATLAS VAN LINES and was declared the overall winner for the Joe Schoenith team.
Terry Sterett in MISS BUDWEISER out distanced Tom Sheehy in GO GALE by one tenth of a second in Heat 1-A.
Bill Sterett in PRIDE OF PAY 'N PAK brought the crowd to its feet with a bravura come-from-behind performance in Heat 2-A. After a late start, Bill worked his way up through the field. He passed first one boat and then another to take the win at a solid 107 miles per hour--the fastest heat of the day.
Heat 2-A also represented a rare Unlimited Class instance where a father and a son raced against each other. When Bill ducked inside of Terry's roostertail and pulled even with his son on the backstretch, the crowd went wild. The PAK and the BUD dueled through the bridge turn together and were side-by-side at the exit buoy. Bill out accelerated his son and went on for the win, while Terry faded to third behind his Dad and Tom Sheehy.
With all of the bother about rescheduling the race from Sunday to Tuesday, no one remembered that the DELTA QUEEN river boat was to make a scheduled pass by Madison on its way from Louisville to Cincinnati on July 4. As the boats for Heat 2-B were being lowered into the water, around the bend came the DELTA QUEEN, crowded with passengers and with the calliope blasting away.
The unexpected appearance on the race course of the massive sternwheeler lent an air of unreality to the already mixed-up proceedings. The common reaction: "What else can go wrong?"
The DELTA QUEEN tore up one or two course buoys and stirred up the river even more than it already was. But Heat 2-B was still run to its conclusion without incident.
Then a thick fog cover set in over the race area. Visibility was so impaired that spectators on the Madison side of the river couldn't even see the Kentucky shore. At this point, referee Wright announced cancellation of the Final Heat and declared the race a contest on the basis of points scored in the preliminary heats.
ATLAS VAN LINES was first, MISS BUDWEISER second, GO GALE third, MISS TIMEX (with Jim McCormick) fourth, PIZZA PETE (with Bob Gilliam) fifth, PRIDE OF PAY 'N PAK sixth, and TOWNE CLUB seventh, while COUNTRY BOY (with Salt Walther) failed to finish.
Billy Schumacher, together with his wife Cyndee, watched the 1972 Madison race from the shore. Many persons supported Billy's decision not to race that day, including veteran racer George N. Davis of IT'S A WONDER fame. But Schumacher was persona non grata with the PAY 'N PAK team and found himself replaced by Billy Sterett, Jr., at the remaining three races of the season.
As Unlimited Historian, I've been asked many times if I thought Schumacher was justified in walking away from his team at such a crucial moment. That's a tough one. In my view, it's inappropriate for someone such as myself who has never driven in an Unlimited race to point the finger of blame at someone who is one of the sport's most respected champions.
It does bother me that Billy was alone in his refusal to race. A lot of people wrestled with the problem of how to proceed on July 4, 1972, and came to a different conclusion. These included the other drivers, all the owners, the crews, the local committee, the APBA officials, and the Army Corps of Engineers. All decided to make the best of a bad situation and to give it a try. But Schumacher had a difference of opinion, which he had a right to express.
It is well known that Billy and PRIDE OF PAY 'N PAK crew chief Jim Lucero were at odds on how to set up the boat in 1972. PRIDE OF PAY 'N PAK had scored impressive victories at the last three races of 1971. But the '72 season had been an exercise in frustration with Schumacher being trounced in every race by Bill Muncey and ATLAS VAN LINES.
When Bill Sterett took over Schumacher's seat at Madison, he failed to start in Heat 1-A but then really "flew" the boat in Heat 2-A--much to the delight of Lucero.
Where Schumacher and Lucero were concerned, it was a case of an irresistible force against an unmovable object.
On a race team, there can be only one leader. Everyone must pull in the same direction. A team must be unified or there is chaos.
Detroit race official Jack Love lamented the outcome of the 1972 Madison Regatta. He told THE MADISON COURIER's Graham Taylor, "I've never seen so many things go wrong at a single boat race in my life."
When regatta president Jack Ice spoke at the awards banquet the night of the race, he told the assembled owners, drivers, crew members, and race officials, "I said all along that we'd have a boat race come hell or high water. And I've been catching hell ever since we got the high water."
Tuesday, March 8, 2016
Pak breaks world mark in qualifying
By Del Danielson
Reprinted from The Seattle Times, August 5, 1973
With the fun and games of the "fan plan follies" completed and a world record tucked in Mickey Remund's locker, the nation's unlimited hydroplane fleet today is poised on Lake Washington's shores awaiting the noon start of the $50,000 World Championship regatta.
Fourteen boats met a somewhat nebulous qualifying standard. Two hydros - including the U-95 turbine boat - are NOT official entries. The U-95 arrived in the pits after the course closed yesterday and a request for qualifying time this morning was denied.
Remund fell short of the much talked about time-trial average of 130 miles an hour. He did, however, drive the Pay 'N Pak to a world mark for the fastest qualifying speed ever - 126.613 m.p.h.
Remund's speed topped the qualifying ladder used to determine the heat assignments for today's race. The fan-plan rules put the top qualifiers in the same heat, 1C; the "middle boats together and the slow craft in a third flight.
Reprinted from The Seattle Times, August 5, 1973
 |
| The Pay 'N Pak threw up a long roostertail on Lake Washington as Donald Writesman, Coast Guard petty officer from Port Angeles, kept a watchful eye on the record run from his perch in the rescue helicopter circling the three-mile race course. Fourteen boats will start in pursuit of the $50,000 in prize money at noon today. |
With the fun and games of the "fan plan follies" completed and a world record tucked in Mickey Remund's locker, the nation's unlimited hydroplane fleet today is poised on Lake Washington's shores awaiting the noon start of the $50,000 World Championship regatta.
Fourteen boats met a somewhat nebulous qualifying standard. Two hydros - including the U-95 turbine boat - are NOT official entries. The U-95 arrived in the pits after the course closed yesterday and a request for qualifying time this morning was denied.
Remund fell short of the much talked about time-trial average of 130 miles an hour. He did, however, drive the Pay 'N Pak to a world mark for the fastest qualifying speed ever - 126.613 m.p.h.
Remund's speed topped the qualifying ladder used to determine the heat assignments for today's race. The fan-plan rules put the top qualifiers in the same heat, 1C; the "middle boats together and the slow craft in a third flight.
Monday, March 7, 2016
'I remember seeing the water twice and sky once'
By Bob Evancho
Reprinted from Tri-City Herald, July 28, 1980
It lasted just a few short seconds. But the memory will undoubtedly linger for a ling time in John Walters mind.
The 27-year-old rookie driver was to make his competitive debut as an unlimited hydroplane pilot in the turbine-powered Pay ' N Pak at the Columbia Cup hydro races Sunday.
But his first race didn't come about when the Pak was wrecked in a spectacular end-over-end crash during a high-speed test run around 10:40 a.m.
Walters, a native of Renton, suffered a fractured left hip socket and a sprain of the left knee, elbow and shoulder.
He was very fortunate.
"I have lots of bruises; I'm stiff and sore everywhere," Walters said from his hospital bed in Kennewick. "I've got a lot of pain in my lower back and legs."
Although doctors at first thought he may require surgery to repair his broken hip. Walters said they decided against it as of Sunday evening.
Walters recalls the crash, witnessed by thousands along the banks of the Columbia, clearly. His account:
"I was running what would have been my last lap at around 160 mph," he said. "I felt the nose come up a little and I let up on the throttle just to slow the boat down. All the corrections I made just didn't seem to get the job done. It just sort of hung there for the longest time.
"I remember being upside down and see the water twice and the sky once. I as kind of picked out of the boat when it actually hit the water. I was very much aware of what was going on, " Walters went on.
"As the boat was flying I tried to bury myself in the cockpit as much as possible and I remember there was a lot of pressure actually holding me in the seat.
"It hit the water upside down and backwards and the end 2 1/2 times, It came down hard on one sponson and that's when I fell out.
"The next thing I remember," he continued, "was being in the water with pieces of the boat all around me."
Walters said he never lost consciousness after the crash. "I just moved my hands and legs to make sure I was still in one piece," he said. "I knew I hurt my back, but I didn't know how bad."
Walters, with his wife Arlene by my side, said the rescue boats rushed to his aid quickly. "It seemed like the first boat got there about 50 seconds after the crash," he stated. "I was really impressed by how fast they got out there...and really thankful."
Was Walters going faster than he had planned when the boat flipped?
"No," he replied. "I had going 145 yesterday and the main problem was with the wind screen. The wind was twisting my head around and I had trouble breathing. After we adjusted the wind screen it went pretty smoothly. I felt very comfortable with the speed I was going at the time.
Were there any other reasons for the mishap?
"I don't know for sure," he said. "More than anything it's just that we didn't have a whole lot of time in the boat and we didn't have time to learn the boat's warning signals.
"Most boats, after you've worked on them for a while, can pretty much tell you what you can do and what you can't do. Maybe if I had been with it longer I would have picked something up before the accident happened that would have warned me."
Was the new project being pushed too hard?
"Possibly," he said. "That's a really hard question to answer. I felt comfortable going that fast. It really didn't give me any warning that it was going to happen.
"I wanted to run as hard as we could and do it safely. I don't think I was driving over my head. It's all a part of boat racing."
Does he still want to race?
Yea," was his answer. "On the initial impact I had thoughts of 'Wow, what am I doing this to myself for,' but when Jim and Dave (crew chief Jim Lucero and owner Dave Heerensperger) came up to see me and started talking about what changes we'd make on the boat. I found myself getting more and more involved. I'm really anxious to get back into it."
But it will take a while for Walters's battered body to heal and the damage to the boat will require extensive work.
And Walters will have plenty of time to ponder his future.
Reprinted from Tri-City Herald, July 28, 1980
It's a bird, it's a plane, it's Pay 'N Pak!
 |
| These photos show the Pay 'n Pak as it was making its spectacular 2 ½ revolution spill while warming up for Sunday's Columbia Cup. No spectators were injured and driver John Walters (see story below) survived to tell what it was like. |
It lasted just a few short seconds. But the memory will undoubtedly linger for a ling time in John Walters mind.
The 27-year-old rookie driver was to make his competitive debut as an unlimited hydroplane pilot in the turbine-powered Pay ' N Pak at the Columbia Cup hydro races Sunday.
But his first race didn't come about when the Pak was wrecked in a spectacular end-over-end crash during a high-speed test run around 10:40 a.m.
Walters, a native of Renton, suffered a fractured left hip socket and a sprain of the left knee, elbow and shoulder.
He was very fortunate.
"I have lots of bruises; I'm stiff and sore everywhere," Walters said from his hospital bed in Kennewick. "I've got a lot of pain in my lower back and legs."
Although doctors at first thought he may require surgery to repair his broken hip. Walters said they decided against it as of Sunday evening.
Walters recalls the crash, witnessed by thousands along the banks of the Columbia, clearly. His account:
"I was running what would have been my last lap at around 160 mph," he said. "I felt the nose come up a little and I let up on the throttle just to slow the boat down. All the corrections I made just didn't seem to get the job done. It just sort of hung there for the longest time.
"I remember being upside down and see the water twice and the sky once. I as kind of picked out of the boat when it actually hit the water. I was very much aware of what was going on, " Walters went on.
"As the boat was flying I tried to bury myself in the cockpit as much as possible and I remember there was a lot of pressure actually holding me in the seat.
"It hit the water upside down and backwards and the end 2 1/2 times, It came down hard on one sponson and that's when I fell out.
"The next thing I remember," he continued, "was being in the water with pieces of the boat all around me."
Walters said he never lost consciousness after the crash. "I just moved my hands and legs to make sure I was still in one piece," he said. "I knew I hurt my back, but I didn't know how bad."
Walters, with his wife Arlene by my side, said the rescue boats rushed to his aid quickly. "It seemed like the first boat got there about 50 seconds after the crash," he stated. "I was really impressed by how fast they got out there...and really thankful."
Was Walters going faster than he had planned when the boat flipped?
"No," he replied. "I had going 145 yesterday and the main problem was with the wind screen. The wind was twisting my head around and I had trouble breathing. After we adjusted the wind screen it went pretty smoothly. I felt very comfortable with the speed I was going at the time.
Were there any other reasons for the mishap?
"I don't know for sure," he said. "More than anything it's just that we didn't have a whole lot of time in the boat and we didn't have time to learn the boat's warning signals.
"Most boats, after you've worked on them for a while, can pretty much tell you what you can do and what you can't do. Maybe if I had been with it longer I would have picked something up before the accident happened that would have warned me."
Was the new project being pushed too hard?
"Possibly," he said. "That's a really hard question to answer. I felt comfortable going that fast. It really didn't give me any warning that it was going to happen.
"I wanted to run as hard as we could and do it safely. I don't think I was driving over my head. It's all a part of boat racing."
Does he still want to race?
Yea," was his answer. "On the initial impact I had thoughts of 'Wow, what am I doing this to myself for,' but when Jim and Dave (crew chief Jim Lucero and owner Dave Heerensperger) came up to see me and started talking about what changes we'd make on the boat. I found myself getting more and more involved. I'm really anxious to get back into it."
But it will take a while for Walters's battered body to heal and the damage to the boat will require extensive work.
And Walters will have plenty of time to ponder his future.
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