The tranquility of Stan Sayres Park was interrupted on the afternoon of April 9, 1973, when a crowd of hydroplane groupies and reporters gathered to witness the christening of a craft that promised to introduce the latest in hydroplane technology: a boat named Pay 'n Pak.
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| Dave Heerensperger, owner, Mickey Remund, driver, and Jim Lucero at the unveiling the revolutionary new Pay 'n Pak hydroplane in 1973. The "Winged Wonder" was the first hydroplane constructed of Hexcel honeycomb aluminum and to sport a horizontal stabilizer wing. |
But, the biggest innovation was under the deck. The entire structure was built with a strong but lightweight material called Hexcel, a sort of aluminum sandwich, thin sheets of the metal on the top and the bottom and a core made of aluminum and set in a honeycomb pattern.
As the boat arrived for the christening, the crowd saw that it had a wedge shape, an effect created by the aerodynamic cowling that seemed to enclose the cockpit more than usual. The color scheme also was eye-catching, brilliant white decks with the name “Pay 'n Pak” painted in large orange and black letters.
What really caught their eye, though, was something that hadn’t been discussed in the accounts of the boat’s construction: a wing.
Standing about five feet above the deck and resting atop two vertical tails was a horizontal stabilizer, a four-foot wide slab of Hexcel, plastic, and epoxy that was as long as the transom was wide.
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| Through Heerensperger’s most successful years of racing hydroplanes, Jim Lucero was there at his side as his crew chief. Known as one of the most innovative technicians the sport has ever known, Lucero washed parts for the Notre Dame crew in 1965, served on the crew of the radical Smirnoff, then joined the Heerensperger team midway through the 1970 season. The following winter, at only 24 years old, Lucero led the effort to transform the Pride of Pay ‘n Pak to Rolls Merlin power and would thereafter play a key role in fulfilling each novel idea Heerensperger would have until he left the sport in 1982. |
According to crew chief Jim Lucero, who played a significant role in the boat’s design, the wing had two purposes: to add some lift to the rear of the boat and provide the hull better directional stability and control.
It also grabbed attention.
Fans argued over the merits of the wing. Would it cause the boat to become airborne? Would it come off when the boat hit high speed or ran into a large swell? It was just the kind of debate the sponsor side of Heerensperger dreamed about.
During a boat’s first season, especially a boat as innovative as Pay 'n Pak, there typically is a period of fine-tuning. The crew will try different props, shift the weight around, and make small changes to the sponsons. So, while the Pay 'n Pak team and the boat’s driver, Mickey Remund, worked on these things in 1973, their chief nemesis was their old boat, now painted Budweiser gold, red, and white and with Dean Chenoweth back in the team’s cockpit.
Remund and Chenoweth were locked in a struggle throughout the 1973 campaign. The Pay 'n Pak won the first race it entered, the Champion Spark Plug Regatta in Miami, then Chenoweth took his turn at the winner’s circle. And, so it went all year, with both boats winning four races. but, in the end, when all the points were tallied, Pay 'n Pak came out on top by a mere 275 points, giving Dave Heerensperger his first national championship.
Although the points race had been close, the record book was one-sided in favor of the new hydro. During the year, Pay 'n Pak had shattered 26 of 29 existing speed records.
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| George Henley was the most successful driver Heerensperger would have, winning a total of 12 races. Photo by Bill Osborne. |
In the years that followed, the Winged Wonder would win another national title in 1974 with George Henley behind the wheel and another the following year with Henley and Jim McCormick
sharing the driving duties. In three years of racing, the boat had won a total of 16 races.
Heerensperger pulled off another stunning deal after the 1975 season, this time selling his entire team to Bill Muncey. With the boat’s new owner behind the wheel in 1976, it won its fourth straight national title, this time with the name Atlas Van Lines painted on its hull.
In 1977, while Muncey raced a new boat, the Winged Wonder appeared in the two Pacific Northwest races as the Pay 'n Pak, but was showing its age. The sponsons came apart twice. Then it was sold to the City of Madison, Indiana, and spent the next 11 seasons as either the Miss Madison or carrying the names of various sponsors.