"For today, second place is not all that bad," said Dave Heerensperger, owner of the turbine-powered Pay 'n Pak unlimited hydroplane after driver John Walters guided the boat to a second place in the first race of the season at Miami, FL, in the eleventh annual running of the Champion Spark Plug Regatta.
Walters, running in his first unlimited race ever, and driving the Pak in its maiden race, picked up a win in the first heat of competition, and then with a little luck in the final finished second to the powerful Miss Budweiser when Bill Muncey in the Atlas Van Lines went dead in the water after the first lap.
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| Emotions at Miami ran the gamut from deep frustration when the team had problems getting motors running to jubilation when the Pak took a second place finish in the final. Photo by Bill Moore. |
Beset by a number of problems from the opening day of testing and qualifying, Walters gave a great deal of credit to the crew, noting, "We had a lot of problems and the crew did a hell of a job. They could have quit a number of times but they just kept plugging away. Without their dedication I don't think we would have made it out of the pits."
Trouble for the Pak stemmed from salt water, high temperatures, and humidity resulting in numerous motor failures during testing and qualifying. Salt water was the major problem, as the salt in the water crystallized on the blades of the compressor causing what is known a a compressor stall in the world of turbine engines.
After a day of thrashing on the boat Friday, the team got the boat running well enough to get the "whoosh" machine to qualify at just of 95 mph. later in the day Walters upped that to just over 105 mph; and on Sunday prior to the race, upped that speed to just under 107 mph.
And just for the sake of definition, a thrash, in this instance, means that Walters, the crew, and crew chief Jim Lucero, had the boat in the water 17 times for test runs prior to the running of the first head of racing on Sunday.
Changes that were made for racing in the salt water of Miami included sealing the ram scoops in the front of the boat and running the boat without the cowling.
The Pak did get the luck of the draw, which saw the Budweiser and Atlas Van Lines matched in both preliminary heats. Walters won his first heat, but failed to start in the second due to an engine that the salt had overcome.
In that first heat, Walters started on the outside and went into the first furn with Miss Madison and Michael's Pride and faltered momentarily when he ran into another compressor stall. This time the motor stayed lit, however, and Walters reeled in both Miss Madison and Michael's Pride much to the favor of the 16,000 fans on hand for the event.
In the final head, Walters found himself on the inside, in a place where he didn't want to be, and he backed off going into the first turn to make sure that he didn't get "washed down" - something that would have been fatal for the Pak since it was running without its cowling.
Meanwhile, Bill Muncey in his Atlas Van Lines and Dean Chenoweth in the Bud were battling for the lead with Muncey holding the upper hand until the two exited turn four and Muncey's engine gave way leaving the lead to the Bud. Walters passed the Madison going up the back stretch earning second place when Muncey went dead in the water.
"The Budweiser was obviously the boat to beat in the final so our strategy was to take the safe lane into the first turn with a good start and make the motor live," said Walters.
Both Heerensperger and Lucero had praise for Walter's driving performance, as he not only kept the boat out of trouble on the race course but showed plenty of skill in guiding the turbine-powered hull to first and second place finishes.
Heerensperger also gave credit to Lucero and his Pak crew for their notable performance at the Miami race. "Our crew really busted their tails to get the boat in the race, and I just can't say too much about their performance, "Heerensperger said.