Sterett, who just drove the boat for the first time Friday, beat Muncey by only 3½ seconds after securing the lead on the next-to-last turn.
 |
| The Sterett brothers: Terry (left) and Bill Jr. (right). |
Yesterday's program consisted of two other 15-mile preliminary heats plus the final. Sterett and Muncey, who is from San Diego, Calif., went into the final heat tied with 800 points.
Sterett led the fleet at the start and was first out of the initial turn. Muncey took the lead coming out of the second of the six laps. The two battled bow to bow for the next three laps before Sterett took command.
The next race on the circuit is the Tri-Cities Atomic Cup at Pasco, Wash., July 23.
Pak ended up with 1,200 points to the Detroit-based Atlas Van Lines' 1,100. Third was Miss Budweiser with 825, followed by Pizza Pete with 619.
Sterett and Muncey won the two President's Cup heats contested Saturday. Muncey was seeking his fifth cup victory of the season in the races on the Potomac River. Sterett won the final heat at an average speed of 109.090 mph.
Sterett, who drove the Notre Dame hydro in 1971 but didn't have a driving assignment for the first four races this year, was hired to guide the Pay 'n Pak after veteran Billy Schumacher announced his retirement Friday.
Other point winners in the race were Towne Club of Detroit with 525 and Miss Timex of Owensboro, Ky. with 300.
Despite the setback, Muncey and the Atlas still hold a comfortable lead in the national championship battle, owning 5,800 points to the second-place Pay 'n Pak's 4,925.