"It was a lot of work, but it was fun," said Henley, a 39-year-old national champion from Eatonville, Wash., after he out-dueled Billy Schumacher's Weisfield's to give the Pak its first win of the 1975 season.
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| With his wife, Mary, looking on, George Henley accepts the Governor's Cup after a victorious ride in the Pay 'N Pak at Madison, Ind., yesterday. It was the first win of the unlimited-hydroplane season for the Seattle boat. Henley came out of retirement to take over the Pak controls last month. |
The Pay 'N Pak passed Weisfield's on the final lap of Heat 2A in what proved to be the decisive race of the day. Henley was clocked at 116.883 miles an hour around the 2 ½-mile Ohio River course.
That time surpassed Pay 'N Pak's mark of 115.657 m.p.h. Henley also bettered the course record for a five-lap heat with his average speed of 115.148 m.p.h. He set the previous head standard of 111.724 m.p.h. a year ago.
Weisfield's, less than two boat lengths back at the checkered flag, averaged 115.060 m.p.h.
"George was really tired when he got back in from that one, but he did a heck-uva job," said Dave Heerensperger, the Pay 'N Pak owner. "We haven't been in the ball game before this year, but we are now."
Henley was too tired to climb out of his boat after the second-heat duel with Schumacher. He drove into the pits, started to pull himself out of the cockpit, then slumped back down into his seat.
But the Pay 'N Pak driver had enough energy left to run an effective race in the final heat, finishing second behind Schumacher in a deliberate attempt to do no better than he had to.
Although the Weisfield's won the final go-around, Pay 'N Pak had accumulated enough points in the earlier heats to lock up the title with a second-place finish.
"The only thing that counts is winning the race," Henley said. "If you go fast and blow an engine, nobody remembers.
Henley and Schumacher both "blew" the start of Heat 1A, scooting across the starting line prematurely. Each boat as penalized a lap, giving Miss Vernors, a Detroit-based boat, its first heat win of the season.
Pay 'N Pak beat Weisfield's across the finish line for second place, making Schumacher's chances for his third win of the season hinge around the results of Heat 2B.
Henley took the lead in the first two laps of 2B, with speeds of 114.214 m.p.h. and 114.943 m.p.h. Then Schumacher shot in front for the next two at 115.385 each time around. Henley needed the record-setting run in the final lap to overtake his rival in a sponson-to-sponson duel reminiscent of the 1973 and '74 Pay 'N Pak - Budweiser duels in Seattle.
Miss Budweiser dropped out of the race after winning Heat 1B because of sponson damage. The boat's stern went up, and as the nose dug in, some of the decking was ripped lose. A hole was punched into the right sponson.
The damage occurred on the fourth lap, but Remund was able to finish the heat.
Pay 'N Pak, two-time defending national champion among the unlimiteds, moved up to fourth place in the overall standings for the year with its 1,000-point performance.
Weisfield's remains the season-long leader heading into the sixth race, which will be in Dayton, Ohio, on Sunday.