1974 World Championship in the Tri-Cities

Reprinted from Facebook.

If there was ever a race that I would have wanted to attend back in my youth, it would have been the 1974 World Championship in the Tri. Unlike the disastrous Gold Cup two weeks later in Seattle, the race on the Columbia River was filled with many of the hulls in Seattle that never hit the water, burned up, blew up, sank, you name it! Seattle’s Gold Cup was only memorable for one particular heat 1C that became known as one of the greatest piston powered battles of all time between the Pak and the Bud. However, this is two weeks earlier now and we are in the Tri-Cities. 

There were 12 boats that qualified for this race with George Henley in the Pay 'n Pak at the top with a speed of 119.681mph, but close behind was the new U-55 Lincoln Thrift at 118.421 mph driven by Mickey Remund. The new U-2 Miss U.S. with Tom D’Eath and the U-74 Valu-Mart with Ron Armstrong were tied for third with 116.883mph followed by Howie Benns in the U-12 Miss Budweiser at 115.681 mph.

Photo by Randy Hall

The points structure had the slower boats in heats 1A and 2A, the faster boats were in heats 1B and 2B, and the fastest boats were in heats 1C and 2C with the winners in the fast heat getting 400 points while the winners in the middle heat getting only 300 points. The slow boat winners were given 225 points. The final heat point structure was even more bizarre in the final with the winner getting 600 points, 450 to 2nd, 338 to 3rd, 254 for 4th. 

The consolation winner, the U-4 Kirby Classic received 200 points and the U-22 Sunny Jim getting 150 for 2nd place. Wow! OK, the winners in the fast heats were the Pak in 1C and the U-95 in 2C. The winners in the middle of the road heat were the Bud in 1B and the Atlas in 2B. And finally, the slow heat winner was the U-44 Pizza Pete in both 1C and 2C. Not bad for one of the three Schoenith river sleds in attendance, driven by Fearless Fred Alter.

So, it came down to the all-important final heat. The top six points getters were the Pak, the U-95, the Bud, the Valu-Mart, the Pizza Pete and the U-76 Miss Cott Beverages. Sadly, three major contenders, the Atlas Van Lines, the Lincoln Thrift and the Miss U.S. did not have enough points to qualify for the final based on not being able to finish one of their heats. So, when the Bud went down during the final heat, the door was wide open for Henley in the Pak to cruise to victory, followed by Freddy Alter in the Pizza Pete, Ron Armstrong in the Valu-Mart and coming in 4th place, the turbine powered U-95 with Leif Borgersen. Son after 12 boats qualifying for the race, there were only six finishers between the final and the consolation. 

Hmmm maybe the disaster in Seattle was a bit better. Oh well. At least the fans got to see the Australian entry VS-41 Solo run a few laps during her failed qualifying attempt but I’m sure some of the sun-drenched fans cared very little about the boats on the water and paid more attention to the suntanned skin in the water and on the beach.

Remembering Jim Lucero

The sport loses one of the great ones.

Reprinted from the Unlimited NewsJournal, June 2023

Only a small handful of people are among those who have had a transcendent influence on the sport of  unlimited hydroplane racing. Gar Wood would certainly be a member of that elite group, as would Bill Muncey, Ted Jones, and Bernie Little. Another in that category is Jim Lucero, who not only served as the crew chief for many of the top race teams during the 1970s, ‘80s, and into the mid-’90s—Pay ‘n Pak, Atlas Van Lines, Miller American, Winston Eagle—but also was at the center of such innovations as wings, cabover hulls, enclosed cockpits, and turbine power.

Jim Lucero

Jim Lucero passed away at a hospital in Federal Way, Washington, on April 29. Born in Bremerton, Washington, on May 29, 1945, he was a month shy of his 78th birthday. Though he is best known for his career in boat racing, he was so much more than that. He loved his family deeply and left behind his wife, Judy, and two daughters, Jennifer and Kristine.

But it was his involvement with the fastest of race boats that we now honor. During his career in unlimited hydroplane racing, Lucero was credited with 69 race victories, including 10 Gold Cups, and led his race teams to eight national championships. He was inducted into the Hydroplane Hall of Fame in 1980.

The Unlimited NewsJournal interviewed Lucero many times, both in a formal question-and-answer format and to get background for various purposes over the years. The first of those formal interviews came in 1974, when Lucero was only 27 years old. While much of his success in the sport had yet to happen, he was already standing at the pinnacle of success when he sat down with Dave Speer and Bill Osborne of the NewsJournal staff. This interview was first published in the November and December 1974 issues of this publication.

Jim Lucero’s first involvement with Unlimited racing came
on the crew of Notre Dame.

UNJ: What was your first Unlimited thing?

Lucero: It was strictly an accidental thing. I happened to be working nights and the Notre Dame crew needed part time help to wash engine parts. I thought it looked like a fun deal. I started working for them when Rex Manchester was driving.

Had you ever done any limited racing?

Never. Never even been to a limited race. I was an avid fan of the Unlimiteds for years, although I was beginning to lose a little interest by that time.

Was the Notre Dame camp typical of Notre Dame camps? A loose camp?

The first year I was with them was when Rex was driving, and it wasn’t. Rex was the boss, and it was very obvious he was the boss. He had all the say-so and everything and it showed in the way the boat ran. That boat probably ran as well as any Notre Dame ever did, I think, because we all knew where we stood.

When you look back on that first experience with the Notre Dame, what did you get out of it? Did ideas start formulating?

Yes. Very definitely. Particularly on the hulls. At that time we had crashed a few boats and it was clearly obvious that there was a lot of work to be done. My Notre Dame experience taught me more about engines and being careful about general maintenance than anything else. I really didn’t get into the design aspects of boats until I started working on the Smirnoff.

Tony Bugeja Collection

So, that was your next stop? Working with Lee Schoenith on his radical new hull in 1968.

I worked on the boat for a year in all, and I guess I was the crew chief. At least that’s what I was called sometimes. Until it came to the decision-making part, and Lee made the decisions, which were usually wrong.

So, when you were with the Smirnoff, you started getting involved with the hull set-up?

I was hired primarily as an engine guy because they had just switched over to Merlins. But, I worked very closely with Dick Brantsner, who designed the Smirnoff, and learned a lot about just basic hull design. Brantsner is the guy who built the fuel-injected Allison for Gale the year before. He’s been involved in I don’t know how many things. Presently, he works as director of research and development for Lionel trains.

So, it was an entire new team?

Right. In fact that was the year Dean Chenoweth was a rookie. Freddy Dube did the constructing on it. Brantsner didn’t have too much to say about how the boat was constructed, which was unfortunate because the boat probably would’ve turned out a lot lighter if he had. But it was Dick’s design—no question about it.

Was it just overbuilt? Maybe it was in reaction to the new idea, the wind-tunnel shape, the pickle-fork, and all that?

Well, it was over reaction. See, the year before [actually in 1966] the old Smirnoff had dumped and Chuck Thompson was killed in it, and it had really worked over their heads. They felt the construction was too light and went way the other way until it was so heavy that you could drop it off the Empire State Building and it wouldn’t come unstuck.

What kind of things was Brantsner trying to do with the boat? What did it do?

He was trying to make the boat aerodynamically stable. Unfortunately, it was too stable. So stable it wouldn’t get free. It just wouldn’t break loose from the water and go fast. Mechanically the boat ran well, but whenever we ran into any slop, the boat would fall into the holes because it didn’t have enough aerodynamic support. After a while we decided to close off the aerodynamic venting and get the thing to cushion itself on the water. We got it to stabilize a bit. From there we tried other things.

Lucero’s next stop was with Bob Fendler’s race team and
the U-19 Atlas Van Lines.

That obviously took you one step further.

From there I went to work for Bob Fendler on the Atlas U-19. And that boat had some very definite handling problems. Fortunately, I got a chance to learn and try some of my ideas on the boat. The boat was horrendously bad on the straightaway. God, it was 13 years old or so. It could not run over 130 mph without being dangerous. We got the boat to run 165–170, maybe, in the straight. And do it very nicely.

How did you accomplish that?

We made sponson changes. We also made some propeller changes. We worked on that area quite hard.

Then you stuck it out with Fendler a while longer?

Yeah, I stayed with him during the winter. Then at the end of that season we decided to build a new boat and go to automotive power. Building the new boat was probably a smart idea, but going to the auto power was probably a horrible mistake. That was the U-29.

 Fendler’s team introduced a new Atlas Van Lines in 1970 that was
powered by twin Chrysler Hemi engines.

A lot of people share the common conception that the hull was designed and built by Fred Wickens.

No. It definitely was not. Dick Brantsner and I designed it. Primarily, I did. In fact we designed it at the Lionel factory at Hillside, New Jersey. Actually, the crew, the U-29 crew, built the boat. Fred was down there every day, right in there with us, and he advised us on a lot of things because he had more experience than all of us putting together in building boats. So, he was invaluable in that respect.

What were the things you were trying to make happen that weren’t happening on the other boats?

We were trying to improve the turning capabilities of the boat. The name of the game in boat racing, as in any other kind of racing, is to make up the time in the slowest part of the course. And, it was obvious the boats were really pigs around the turns. And, I mean really pigs. The boats that were running fast—like the Bardahl or Miss Budweiser—were doing good in the turns. But the others were just horrible.

Technically, or design-wise, how did you try to execute this idea?

Basically, we tried to move the aerodynamic center of lift closer to the center of gravity, which meant moving the break in the bottom further back. And, we used wide sponsons. We didn’t move the center of gravity too far back, it was back about 25 inches or so, maybe 30. That proved to be too far back, although the boat turned well. The engines [twin Chrysler Hemis] were a disaster. I think we made three races before I quit.

Now, own up to this: Who decided to put the engines in?

Well, I was a good part of it. Myself and Keith Newton. They looked like they could cut the program, and we decided that was the thing to do. They looked like the wave of the future

The engines just couldn’t last.

Oh yeah. We couldn’t make an engine last more than a few laps. We were working on such a limited budget that we couldn’t do the right things. Chryslers are not cheap. That’s what bit us basically. And, we were trying to do everything ourselves. Heck, we built the boat, built the trailer, and did all the engine work ourselves. It was just too much. There was too much pressure. Towards the end we were working 24-hour shots, three or four times a week, and the whole thing dissolved.

In terms of the boat’s potential, you were not unhappy?

In fact, I was very pleased with it. It had some problems on the straightaway. It was pretty goosey, but I think that could’ve been cured pretty easily. But it turned excellently. It was probably the best turning boat on the circuit, I think. We couldn’t turn over 120 on the straights and we were still turning 95 to 100 laps.

When Lucero joined the Pay ‘n Pak crew in 1970, his first assignment was to
oversee the operation for Pay ’n Pak ‘Lil Buzzard.

What was the next step?

I went to work with Pay ‘n Pak.

What first drew you to the team? Was it that you felt that maybe you were going to get another chance to express ideas? Was it that you felt Dave Heerensperger would be committed to spending the money to do the job?

OK. There were several things. One, was that there were several close friends of mine—Dwight Thorne, Dixon Smith, David Smith—working on the boat. People that I respected a lot. That was a great starting point. Also, it was obvious that Dave was willing to spend the money to make the boats right. That takes the financial pressure off of you, and I don’t care how you look at it, that’s a gigantic amount of pressure on a guy. If you’re conscientious at all you’re going to be looking at that to make sure you’re doing the right thing for the guy you’re working for. If he can’t afford to spend a thousand dollars for a particular thing, you’ll try to find some other way around it.

Would it be fair to say that was really the first time you didn’t feel that type of pressure?

Oh no. I didn’t feel the pressure with the Notre Dame. There was money to burn. But there was a distinct lack of talent and organization on that thing, too.

When you first went with Pak, what was your responsibility?

We were running both boats at that time. The Chrysler-powered boat and ‘Lil Buzzard. Dwight Thorne was kind of overall crew chief, and I was given the responsibility to sort of chief the Buzzard. It didn’t work out that way because we were all pretty much equals on the boat. Everybody had his area of responsibility.

Since it was a conventional-type hull, not innovative in any way, you were in sense taking a step backward?

Yes. Very definitely. It was obvious to me the Chrysler boat had, at least the hull had, considerably more potential than the ‘Lil Buzzard did. The ‘Lil Buzzard ran well, in fact it ran much better than it had any right to. In fact, that hull won one race that year and should’ve won a couple more. When Tommy [Fults] got killed in it, the boat was riding better than it had ever ridden before—but it was a very fluke deal.

Was the Buzzard pretty well set up when you got to it?

Oh no. No, it was a very bad-riding hull. We did a lot of things to it, and we talked a lot about it. I was working with very capable people, and I just couldn’t say “this and that” will work and we’d do it. We had to talk about it, and I had to prove myself right, or at least convince them that’s what should be done.

Try to give me an idea of the thought process involved in setting up a hull. Is it a matter of little steps? What is it?

You have to observe the boat. It’s really a trial and error deal. You set the boat up initially thinking that, well, these things should be right. But, it’s like test flying an airplane. There’s going to be little things that come up that you just don’t have any way of knowing about until you run. In boats it’s even worse because there is less science involved. Less known about what things really should be.

The people must play an important role, as well?

Very definitely. There’s a real problem in boat racing. Well, there’s a distinct lack of the kind of people in boat racing that have the capability to do what needs to be done to make the boats right. Just because it doesn’t pay well enough. It’s obvious that an aerodynamic or hydrodynamic engineer isn’t going to work for peanuts. I just happen to be lucky enough to have come up with, through trial and error, some things that will help the boat. But, that’s the only reason. It isn’t because I’m so much smarter than anyone else I’ve been reasonably successful.

Pride of Pay ‘n Pak appeared in 1970 as a cabover powered by
twin Chrysler Hemi engines.

While you worked on the ‘Lil Buzzard, did you have anything to do with the cabover hull?

I tried to stay completely away from that when I first went to work for Dave. I thought that I should stay away from it because it was Ron Jones’s thing. He did design it and I felt he wanted to work it out his way. He and I had some different ideas on things. Also, it was a Chrysler project—it was his design and he knew more about it than I did.

What did you feel he was trying to do with the boat? How did that work into your ideas for the boat?

Well, he and I were basically trying to achieve the same goals: Make the boat turn well. But we were going about it differently. We had different cures in mind. I like to work with the sponsons a lot because I feel there’s a lot to be improved there. They did a lot of work with props because Ron feels there’s a lot to be improved there. And he’s right. I felt there was too much weight on the propeller for the way the boat was reacting—there may have been, there may not have been. I don’t know.

With the cabover Pay ‘n Pak, was the center of balance back like the boats now, or had Ron gone that far?

It started out way back and then it moved forward. The longer we had the boat the farther the c.g. moved forward.

How did you become crew chief? And, how do you go about convincing somebody to turn their boat around so drastically?

Well, I was basically the only one left, kind of. But before that, David had offered me the job. After Seattle, we decided to give the Chryslers one more chance—which was San Diego. They did a good job for us, but they were horribly expensive and, for us, very maintenance high. Instead of spending time working out the boat, we were spending time trying to keep the engines running. So, at that time we decided, well we’ve got all these Merlins, we know they can run reliably, and we know they make a lot of horsepower. We decided to switch it to Merlin power at that point in time. And, the way the boat was set-up, we could not possibly put a Rolls in the boat and keep the engine in the front.

During the offseason, Lucero was instrumental in converting the boat to
Merlin power with the driver behind the engine.

The engines dictated the change more than the change dictated the engine.

Yes. Although, that’s the way I wanted it, anyway. So, it was very fortunate that it worked out that way

You don’t care where the cockpit is as long as the boat goes?

Not really. I feel it is somewhat safer to be in the back than in the front. The driver takes more of a beating. But to me, I don’t care. It’s not worth it to end up losing a driver by having him sit in the front. If the boat noses in, he’ll be pitched out instead of going down with the boat. If he feels comfortable in the front, we’ll put him there. The visibility is great up there. But, then again, George [Henley] hasn’t complained about visibility in our boat.

After the ’73 Gold Cup, was there a feeling that you wished you hadn’t sold the boat to Budweiser?

Oh, no. There were three different ways to look at it. One, we got a very fair price for the old boat. In fact, a darn high price. Granted it was an excellent-running boat. And, we also felt we could build something faster, and I think we pretty well proved that. I think that Bernie Little would’ve quit the sport if he hadn’t gotten a competitive-running hull, and I don’t think the sport can afford to lose him. He’s a colorful guy.

Jim Lucero is perhaps best known for his role creating the
“Winged Wonder” Pay ‘n Pak in 1973. Photo by Randy Hall.

When it came time for the new boat, who was the person to say what it would look like? What was Heerensperger’s role in the design? What did you say?

I’d say Dixon and myself because that’s all there was then. We knew what we wanted—a boat that ran like the old one but was 800 pounds lighter. That’s where the honeycomb stuff came up. Dave gave us a very free hand.

Whose idea was that?

Dixon’s and myself. We did all the research, talked with the Hexcel people, came up with the design specs for what we needed—the whole works. Fortunately, it worked. Generally speaking, we all worked together enough to know that when we want to do something we’d better have a good reason for it.

What was Ron Jones’s reaction when you went to him with this idea?

Well, I’d say he was less than enthusiastic about it. Ron is an independent guy and he’s got a lot of pride. It was basically his own design—basically the same thing as the old boat. People don’t like other people coming into their field of expertise and telling them what to do.

The shell was his design, but did the sponsons bear any resemblance?

No. They were pretty different. We’ve got some different ideas about how a hull should be set up. The old boat was set up my way and it worked successfully. So I naturally thought justified in calling the shots on the new hull.

Did he try to talk you into full length air traps?

Oh, we talked about it. I think the discussion went something like, “Do you want full air traps?” I said, “No.” He said, “OK.”

What about the wing?

I think the wing is an excellent safety device, but I don’t think it is absolutely necessary to the performance of the boat. As is evidenced by the Budweiser, and that boat runs pretty well without one. We can make minor changes in its performance by tuning the wing some. In fact, Dave Heerensperger had as much to do with that as anybody. He insisted on having a wing on the boat.

Is that right?

David was thinking of it from a publicity standpoint.

Lucero with Pay ‘n Pak driver George Henley.

Is there anything the present U-1 cannot do that you wish it could do?

I think that the boat isn’t quite as efficient in the straightaways as it should be. It’s pretty good in the turns, in fact probably better than anything else running right now. But I think we can improve the straightaway characteristics. By the way, on the wing, every time I turn around, I read some article that the Craig Breedlove Speed Team, whatever the heck that is, designed the wing. I’ve never met Craig Breedlove. He didn’t have an ounce of anything to do with this boat. I’d like to dispel that right now.

What are you doing to a Rolls now, that you weren’t doing in 1970?

Today we try to take it easier on the engine. We try to make the boat work better so that the engine doesn’t have to work so hard. That’s why we sold the old boat. We knew it took a lot of horsepower to push it. They’ll probably get upset with me saying it, but the boat has never gone as fast since we sold it. We can make the new boat go that fast and kind of stroke it.

Have you reached that point where it is harder to get more out of your engines? Now, is it going to be a further perfecting of the hull?

No. I think we can get more horsepower, and the way to do that is the way the Allison guys are doing it—take the load off the engine. It’s just a question of going about things in the right manner. This year we haven’t needed it but in the future we may.

If you were to go to turbocharging, would you go to an Allison?

If we were to, and right now we don’t have any plans to, we’d turbo a Merlin because it would be economically unfeasible for us to turbo an Allison. We’ve got a lot of Merlins left. We know what we can do with them. We feel we can make them competitive. To sell them wouldn’t make good business sense.

If you were given a free hand to design and build a new boat, what would you come up with?

About six months ago I had it pretty well formulated in my mind what I’d want to do. But after watching the new Jones boats, I’m not so sure. I think it would be somewhat along the lines of this boat. We’d make some structural changes because the honeycomb has worked out very well in some areas and in other areas it hasn’t worked out well at all.

Who selects your drivers?

David and I. The number one criterion is what kind of job they do out on the race course. But no matter how good a job they do on the course, if he presents a bad image for the company we can’t afford to hire him. We’ll sit down and talk about potential drivers, who’s available and who would do the best job for us.

You’ve often been critical of many drivers.

Well, one area where there is room for improvement is driving. I think there are too many drivers that are just seat-of-the-pants guys who don’t relate worth a damn to the crew. They come in and say the boat is “yacking,” or something like that. What the hell is a “yack”? Too many don’t approach their driving in a professional manner. To me, if a driver isn’t doing his thing on the course, he ought to be doing it on the beach—watching other drivers, mapping strategy, improving their skills. They feel that once they get the ride that all they need to do is jump in the boat and drive it. And that stinks. There’s too many of those guys around.

George is pretty good about this, isn’t he?

Yes. He thinks a lot about what’s going on out there. Early in the season George had some troubles with the boat. He’ll admit this. He was either going into the turn too fast, too slow, or in the wrong lane. We were able to help him by showing him video tape of what was going on. I don’t know of anyone else who does this. When everything is right, I want him to go out there and drive the hell out of it. He thinks a lot about what’s going on. What he’s going to do. Many camps seem totally, or at least borderline, disorganized and they never get the same combination twice while testing.

Do you feel a lot of that going around?

Oh yes. Most of that stems from inexperience. I was the same way when I started boat racing, and I hope I’m not that way now. People just don’t have the background to do the things they need to do—and I don’t know where they can get it readily. We try to come up with accurate data on what we’ve done in the past, and why, so that we can judge for the future.

What about the sport itself?

We need to work harder to put on a good show. I can remember, a ways back, thinking this sport had about a year and a half to go because there were only six or eight boats, but God, about three races this year we’ve had 15 boats. That’s not bad. I don’t know if we can handle any more. We need more competitive boats, but I think that’ll come. Next year I look for probably seven competitive boats, whereas this year there’s been basically four, off and on.

How many races a year is too many?

I think that 10 races is plenty. I’d like to see 10 races with a little more prize money. And be more selective about the places to run. I don’t think driving across country is a big deal. It’s a little hard on the crews, but we can bear it. The most important thing is to get quality race sites. Detroit has had boat races for years and years and years, but I still think it is a crappy place to race. I don’t care what they say about Sand Point, there’s no way Sand Point can even come close to Detroit. On a good day Detroit is horrible.

What about the people that run the sport?

I’d like to see improvement made as far as technical and safety committees go. I don’t feel that the people in those areas are qualified from a practical point of view—to do the job they are doing. I think the sport has made a good move in hiring professionals to promote the sport. I would like to see them work harder at promoting the race sites. Not just getting a site, but helping people at the race to put it on. Muncey did an excellent job at San Diego—at least I assume he had a lot to do with it. And Gene Whipp did a bitching job at Dayton. We need more of that. I think we also need better press relations.

Maybe we’ll see a change soon?

I doubt it. The owners are a pretty tough group. All those guys, Lee and Bernie, and David. It would be pretty hard for anybody to tell those three, hey, this is the way it is going to be. Period! I don’t know if there’s anybody who can do that. Personally, I would like to see the format so that the winner of the final heat was the winner of the race. That’s easy for the fans to understand. I don’t know of a single type of race that isn’t that way.

Yet the Fan Plan, the way it worked this year, has been less than ideal.

Right. But I think you’ll find that the top running boats, no matter who they are, go out to win. Perhaps the answer is an elapsed-time thing? Look at what some of the other sports are doing. And make the qualifying mean something. That used to be a big deal. Now it’s nothing.

What about next year? What about your future?

As far as I can see I’ll be working for Pay ‘n Pak for a good long time. They’re good people to work for. I don’t anticipate any changes. If we do build another hull, it isn’t going to be an over-the-winter project because I want ample time to test.

What motivates you? What makes Jim Lucero tick?

I dig boat racing. I like to compete. I think this is one reason David and I get along so well—because he loves to compete. The whole company is like that. I like the people, too. I’ve found that I can compete well and satisfy my desire. On the other hand, the way I look at it, I’m earning my living doing this stuff and if I come up with something that gives our operation an advantage, there’s no way I’m going to let it leak out. That’s not the name of the game. The name of the game is for Pay ‘n Pak to win—not Budweiser or somebody else.

Extra hydro, 'collision' cause confusion

By Hec Hancock
Reprinted from The Tri-City Herald, July 22, 1974

Controversy and confusion, long the trademark of unlimited hydroplane racing, all but obliterated the finish of the $37,000 World Championship Regatta Sunday on the Columbia River.

The famous seven-boat start.

George Henley, a 37-year-old rookie driver from Eatonville, drove Pay 'n Pak to victory in the winner-take-all championship heat.

That much is a matter of record.

It is also a fact there were seven boats, one over the limit, in the final heat and Bill Muncey, hardly a stranger to rhubarbs, was fined $250.

Neither was it speculation that the turbine powered U-95 suffered an estimated $15,000 in damage to its tail section during the first lap of the championship heat.

However, just how the U-95, which set a course record of 113.469 in winning the second heat, was damaged set off a heated argument that surged back and forth through the pit area for more than an hour following the race.

About the only think everyone agree upon was the Muncey and the Atlas Van Lines had no business being in the race.

Muncey's presence came about when, as an alternate boat, he joined the field when he felt the U-74 Valu-Mart was unable to answer the starting call.

"The last time I had a chance to see the Valu-Mart the driver was standing on the deck. That was with a minute and 30 seconds to go," Muncey said afterwards.

As a consequence the veteran driver decided all systems were go.

Meanwhile, Ron Armstrong, Valu-Mart driver, got his boat going thus making it a seven-man field. Witnesses report that was with 1:40 left.

It was the traffic jam created by the seven thunderboats desperately endeavoring to negotiate the first turn that brought grief to U-95. Somehow the boat driven by Leif Borgersen was hit from behind forcing it to go dead in the water.

It was nearly a minute before it could resume under its own power, putting it out of contention. 

"You knew something wasn't right," U-95 Borgersen said afterwards. "Everything closed in on that first turn. It was like a funnel. All of the sudden the boat went up in the air. Then it went sideways and whether it caught the right sponson and hooked or took a direct hit I don't know."

Chuck Lyford, team manager of U-95, charged it was Muncey who had clipped his driver's boat. But other than being in the field illegally, Lyford did not blame the Atlas driver as much as the Valu-Mart, which he claimed moved from the outside and caused the crunch.

Bill Newton, race referee, ruled Valu-Mart was in the clear.

"Someone moved from lane five to the inside and that's illegal." Muncey stated. He later felt it was the Pak. Later he thought it must have been the turbine.

"There was no collision, I did not hit it," he said in answer if it had been his boat which had hit the U-95.

"Muncey gets fined $250 and the damage costs me $15,000, I don't think thats right," an irate Pam Clapp, owner of the U-95 retorted after Newton rejected her written protest.

About the only one who wasn't confused was the winner Henley.

"I got a good start and was out in front by the turn."

As a consequence he didn't see any of the confusion that transpired in his wake.

After the "non-collision" Henley sped virtually unopposed to victory pocketing $7,100 for the triumph. Fred Alter in the Pizza Pete earned $4,600.

Commissioner George Byers Jr., chairman of the Unlimited Racing Commission, promised Ms. Clapp he would appoint a four or five-man committee to investigate. "We'll get together a few days before the Gold Cup in Seattle and go over available information and look at any films on the race he stated."

Interestingly enough a protest used to automatically stop the awarding of prizes. Under present rules, the referee has the authority to determine the outcome right on the spot.

The rule as changed largely because of an incident in 1956 when it was 85 days before the winner of the Gold Cup was determined.

Muncey was declared the winner of that race when TV films showed he hadn't hit a buoy as charged.

Gold Cup Day at the New Site

By Georg N. Myers
Reprinted from The Seattle Times, August 5, 1974

After all the caterwauling over what a wretched place Sand Point was for a hydroplane race, I made a hideous discovery.

The shoreline of Lake Washington's hydroplane course was jammed, but there was still lots of room for parking and moving around on the Sand Point Naval Air-Station's base during yesterday running of the Gold Cup Race. — Staff aerial photo by Larry Dion.

It is not much worse than the hallowed site at the Stan Sayres Memorial Pits.

All week long, I heard pitiable laments:

"There isn’t even any drinking water at Sand Point!"

"You can’t see past the officials’ tower and those damn cranes in the pits!"

"Impeach Arden Aegerter! "

My memory was that, at the old Seward Park course, there never was any drinking water. If you sat behind the official barge or the cranes in the pits there, you could not see.

Still, when the public for 23 years has walked in to see an event free, the temptation is irresistible to barbecue anybody who upsets tradition and has the temerity to ask you to pay.

I arrived at Sand Point on Gold Cup Day determined to find fault. It was a short search.

The sun was too hot, and there were almost no trees. The grass was not green, and it was beat down. There were a lot of terrible places to sit, where you could see no more than a passing roostertail, and that’s where most of the people sat.

But there were glimmers of ingenuity.

A dozen or so fans, on folding chairs, had a splendid view of much of the course from the concrete loading platform of the Navy’s old Small-Arms Pyrotechnic storehouse.

Another dozen were atop a Marine Corps display—one each tractor, medium, full-tracked, low-speed Model 82-30 (53,500 lbs., $36,000).

Twice that many covered the roof of a giant Washington National Guard van.

I watched one heat from the summit of Bunker 21, a concrete mound overlaid with wild grasses and floating thistledown. It commanded a sweeping view, through binoculars, of three-quarters of the course. But it was no place for hay fever.

I trudged the length of the course and watched another heat from the swimming pier of the Sand Point officers’ beach, my feet barely dangling over the lapping water.

Though limited, it was the most dramatic view I found, as the boats exploded into sight from the starting buoy and thundered into the south turn. But I could not see Miss U.S. when she burst into flames in the north turn.

At almost the same moment, however, a grass fire crackled nearby, and the flames licked dangerously near hundreds of automobiles parked on the airport runway.

Firemen controlled that blaze, I gather, somewhat more quickly than the fire was subdued on Miss U.S.

I found an even better vantage point a few hundred yards farther south, looking straight up the course from a low, unpopulated promontory thick with wild broom, blackberry canes and thistle.

I would like to have watched a heat from there. But a young man and a girl, wearing suntan lotion and not much more, were paying very close attention to each other, lying in the thistle, only a few feet away.

I was embarrassed that, if they discovered I was there, they might be embarrassed.

For variety, I watched one heat from an assigned seat on the official tower.

The entire course lay before me. Every time the boats roared into the south turn, all I could see through my binoculars was the tattoo on a photographer’s bicep.

When U-95 went down, I had an excellent view. I then was on a slope almost directly behind the official tower, very close to a sign reading: "Let’s Return the Race Back to the Stan Sayres Pits."

Beside the sign was a table, where you could sign a petition.

I managed a little added elevation by climbing onto a big, green litter-disposal bin. It was the best view I had all day.

A man with an official badge made me get off.

The most comfortable place to watch was in a tree-shaded strip of 300 yards immediately south of the pits. About half the area was roped off for "military personnel" and guests of Pay ‘n Pak.

But, as in most spots directly on shore—at Sand Point and Seward Park—the boats were visible only as they passed.

It broke on me that there was no overwhelming evidence that most of the people who go to a hydroplane race are obsessed with seeing the race.

The attraction seems to be the atmosphere, the noise, the crowd itself.

It is a day for suntan lotion and the plastic frost chest, gaudy halters and grungy cutoffs, flying Frisbees and inflatable rafts, watching the imperturbable ducks, ogling the string bikinis—more string than bikini.

For all those purposes, Sand Point proved itself eminently adequate, with one horrible difference. The other place was free.

Third equals 1st for 'Pak'

Reprinted from The Seattle Times, June 10, 1974

WASHINGTON, D.C — (Special) — For the second week in a row, the worth of unlimited hydroplane racing's "fan plan" has been increased.

George Henley, driving the Pay 'n Pak, yesterday won the President's Cup by placing third in the final heat.

A week ago, in the season-opening Champion Regatta in Miami, the Budweiser took regatta honors with a second in the final.

Yesterday's go was more of a parade than a race, with Henley piling up 800 points in preliminary heats to establish a near unsurmountable lead over his hottest rivals — Bill Muncey in the Atlas Van Lines and Howie Benns in the Bud.

Henley needed only a third in the final heat to win his first unlimited race. And that's exactly what he did. The Eatonville, Wash., driver quickly settled into third behind Benns and Muncey and did not force the issue throughout the five-lap heat.

Henley scored 1,025 points. Muncey finished second with 900 and Leif Borgersen in the turbine-powered U-95 took third with 827. Despite the final-heat win, Benns with forth with 800 points. A supercharger failure in Heat 2B stalled the beer wagon and Benns watched Henley scoot to an easy 400-point win in the prelim.

For years, hydro fans have been complaining about the sport's scoring system whereby a boat can accumulate points during early heats and then "coast" in the final.

Two years ago, Seattle took the hind and initiated a fan-plan format which gives the overall win to the winner of the final heat. This year, Detroit, Tri-Cities and Seattle will use the fan plan.

But Miami, Washington, D.C., and other cities haven't come around yet and fans along the Potomac yesterday were "treated" to the dullest race in years.

Borgersen got the U-95 its first-ever heat win with an average of 90.289 miles an hour in Heat 2A. The U-95 was in contention with 700 points going into the final, but the new craft was not running with the hot dogs when they are on the course at the same time. Borgersen gathered his points against second-line competition.

It was the third President's Cup win for Dave Heerensperger, owner of the Seattle-based Pay 'n Pak. Bill Sterett, Jr. won here with the Pride of Pay 'n Pak in 1972 and the late Col. Warner Gardner took the 1968 Potomac race with the Eagle Electric.

The win puts Pay 'n Pak atop the national points standings with 1,825. Miss Budweiser is right there with 1,800, followed by U-95 with 1,596 and Atlas Van Lines and Miss Madison with 1,125 each.

Tom Sheehy, Miami, quit as the driver of the Miss Cott's Beverages (former Notre Dame) after yesterday's race. Roger D'Each of Hialeah, Fla., is expected to be Sheehy's replacement.

Time Trials Start Tomorrow

15-Boat Field to Make Dash for Gold Cup

By Del Danielson
Reprinted from The Seattle Times, August 4, 1974

The first unlimited hydroplane to test the new Sand Point course will be lowered into the water shortly after 9 a. m. tomorrow when time trials for the 1974 Gold Cup begin.

Twenty hours of qualifying are scheduled. The course will be open from 9 a. m. to 4 p. m. tomorrow and Friday and from 9 a. m. to 3 p. m. on Saturday.

Sunday’s Gold Cup will begin at noon.

Fifteen boats have registered for the race, setting up a heat schedule of five hydros in each of three flights. Six will run in the winner-take-all final.

The Gold Cup will be more of an endurance test than a sprint.

Because of the energy crisis, it was decided before the season to trim heats from six laps to five (12½ miles) in all races but the Gold Cup. Thus, all previous races have been 37½-mile events.

The Gold Cup races call for three preliminary heats — so Sunday’s race will be a 60-miler.

Boats will be grouped according to qualifying speeds. The five fastest qualifiers will race in the C sections of Heats 1, 2 and 3. The second fastest five will go in the B sections and the slowest five in A sections.

Three from the fast group, two from the middle section and one from. the slower division will start in the final.

The move from Seward Park (Stan Sayres pits) to Sand Point (a fenced-in military base) will allow the race-sponsoring Seafair to collect an admission charge for the first time in 24 years.

Hydro fans wishing to view time trials tomorrow, Friday and Saturday need only a Seafair skipper pin. But parking will cost a buck on those three days.

Unlimiteds Unanimous, a hydro hobby club, again will conduct guided pit tours during the three days of testing and qualifying. Cost - $1, for the general race fund.

The 2½-mile course is enclosed on three sides by the log boom. More than 15,000 feet of log-boom space is available and the log-boom committee is operating out of the Seattle Yacht Club (EA 9-1700).

A closer look at the lineup of 15 boats:

U-1 (Pay 'n Pak) — Last year’s national champion, has won three of five races this year season and leads the national points standings by 837 points over the second-place Budweiser. Rolls Royce-powered. Owned by Dave Heerensperger, Pay 'n Pak stores, Kent. Driven by George Henley, 36, Eatonville, Wash. Colors—white, orange and black.

U-2 (Miss U.S.) — A new hull with great potential, but has yet to be a consistent front-runner. Powered by turbo Allison. Owned by George Simon, U.S. Equipment Co., Detroit. Driven by Tom D’Eath, 30, Detroit. Colors — red and white with stabilizer wing.

U-4 (Kirby Classic) — Hull built years ago as Tahoe Miss, but not used in past 10 years. Powered by Rolls Royce. Owned by Bob Murphy, Murphy Marine, Burien. Driven by Bill Wurster, 50, Seattle. Colors — red, gold and white.

U-6 (Miss Madison) — Community-owned by citizens of Madison, Ind. One of several boats to switch to turbo Allison power this season. Won final heat in Miami season opener and placed third overall. Driven by Milner Irvin, 33, rookie from Coral Gables, Fla. Colors — Yellow and mahogany.

U-12 (Miss Budweiser) — Winner of two races this season. Last year’s Gold Cup winner. Powered by Rolls Owned by Bernie Little, Lakeland, Fla. Driven by Howie Benns, 36, rookie from Grand Island, N. Y. Colors — Red, gold and white.

U-74 (Valu-Mart) — New hull this year, powered by Rolls Royce. Damaged when rudder failed in Miami. Rejoined circuit in Pasco. Owned by Les Rosenberg, Seattle. Driven by Ron Armstrong, 32, rookie from Lakewood, Calif. Colors — Red, white and black.

U-76 (Northwest Tank Service) — Last year’s Notre Dame ran earlier this season as Miss Cott Beverage. Ran in Pasco as U-76. Rolls-powered. Owned by Tom Higgins, Miami. Sponsored by Don Mulivrana, Seattle. Driven by Roger D’Eath, 32, rookie from Hialeah, Fla. Colors White with red stripe.

U-81 (Red Man) — Destroyed in Miami accident. (Skipp Walther, driver, killed). Rebuilt and rejoins fleet for Gold Cup. Another turbo Allison. Owned by Jim McCormick, Owensboro, Ky. Driven by Tom Sheehy, 31, Miami. Colors — Red and white.

U-95 — Only turbine-powered boat in fleet. Showed great potential in several races, this season, yet to win. Will race without tail fin damaged in Pasco accident. Owned by Pam Clapp, Seattle. Driven by Leif Borgersen, 29, Bellevue. Colors — Red, white and blue.

VS-41 (Solo) — Australian entry. Arrived for Pasco race, but withdrew because of hull damage during testing. Rolls-powered. Owned by Stan Jones and Bob Carnie, Melbourne. Driven by Bob Saniga and/or Stan Jones. Colors — Purple, yellow and white.

U-18 (Red Ball Express) — Older hull, ran in recent years as Burien Lady, Smoother Mover and Greenfield Galleries. Rolls-powered. Owned by Bob Murphy, Burien. Driven by Jerry Bangs, 38, rookie from Seattle. Colors — Red, white, mahogany.

U-22 (Sunny Jim) — Older hull, ran last season as Shakey’s Special. Another turbo-Allison power system. Owned by Pete LaRock, Seattle. Driven by Tom Martin, 45, Mercer Island. Colors — Red, white and blue.

U-44 (Pizza Pete) — Former Myr’s Special, ran early in season as Atlas Van Lines back-up boat. Powered by turbo Allison. Owned by Lee Schoenith, Detroit. Sponsored by Pete Utter, Miami and Seattle. Driven by Fred Alter, 47, Detroit. Colors — White with cabbage-red stripes.

U-55 (Lincoln Thrift) — New hull, withdrawn during President’s Cup race because of handling problems. Returned to circuit in Pasco, but hull was damaged by explosion during last-minute test run. Great potential, no results yet. Was first boat to use turbo Allison last year. Owned by Bob Fendler, Phoenix. Driven by Mickey Remund, 37, Phoenix, last year’s national champion in the Pay 'n Pak. Colors — Yellow, white and blue.

U-71 (Atlas Van Lines) — Won six of seven races and national championship in 1972. Hasn’t won since. Turbo Allison. Nearly destroyed in April test run. Rebuilt and rejoined circuit in Pasco. Owned by Lee Schoenith, Detroit. Driven by Bill Muncey, 45, San Diego, winningest driver ever. Colors — Red, white and blue.

Bud wins by (—) that much

Pak edged at Detroit

Reprinted from The Seattle Times, July 1, 1974

DETROIT— (Special) — George Henley ran out of time in his game of "catch up" with Howie Benns, but the unlimited hydroplane jockey from Eatonville, Wash., still leads in the chase for national high points honors.

Howie Benns, Miss Budweiser driver, after a heat victory. Photo by Bill Knodell.

Henley, at the wheel of the Pay 'n Pak, was washed down by Benns in the Budweiser as the two boats battled for the lead late in the second lap of the winner-take-all final heat of yesterday's Gar Wood Trophy Race on the stormy Detroit River.

The splash pushed the Pak inside the buoy line and allowed Benns to build a commanding lead.

But Henley circled back to pick up the missed buoy and methodically gained on Benns to set up one of the most exciting finishes in the long history of hydro racing on the Motor City.

The two boats were side by side in the backstretch of the fifth and final lap, but Benns had the inside lane and held it through the final turn. Benns' margin of victory was three tenths of a second (about one boat length).

"I had to eat his water," Henley said of the incident. "But that's all part of the game."

Henley, trailed Benns by about four boat lengths at the apex of the turn, headed for the inside. But Benns had the necessary lead and cut for the exit buoy and Henley ran through the Budweiser's roostertail.

"We don't play any dirty game," Benns said when questioned about a possible infraction. "I wouldn't do anything like that and to him and he wouldn't to me."

Benns, a 35-year-old rookie from Grand Island, N.Y., received high praise from his boss, Bernie Little, owner of the Bud.

"It took him about three races to really get with it," Little said. "But he's a thousand percent better. You should have seen the move he put on Muncey in 1B."

Bill Muncey, winningest driver in unlimited history, ran forth in Heat 1B and did not finish 2B.

It was a Pak-Bud race all the way. Savair's Probe, driven by Bob Miller, ran third in the final but its speed was more than 10 miles an hour under the second-pace Pak. Tom Kaufman ran forth with his Mister Fabricator and Roger D'Each placed fifth in the Miss Cott's Beverages.

Benns' speed was announced at 109.800 m.p.h. But, in actuality, it was much slower. The Detroit course was shortened during time trials. Bill Newton, chief referee, ordered the sharp turns to be "rounded off" and this the course is about 2¾ miles. But a three-mile speed chart was used "for comparison purposes only."

The Pak leads in the points race with 3,750. Budweiser closed to 3,694.

Next stop on the unlimited circuit will be the World Championship Regatta in the Tri-Cities on July 21.

Driver Pitched from Boat during Regatta

June 2, 1974, MIAMI — Tragedy nearly struck during the first heat at yesterday's Champion Spark Plug Regatta at Miami Marine Stadium, as Leslie Rosenberg's new Valu-Mart unlimited hydroplane lost its rudder in a close race with the Pay 'n Pak, driven by George Henley.

Driver Ron Armstrong (lower right) was thrown from his boat, the Valu-Mart, when it lost a rudder and crashed near the finish line during Heat 1A of yesterday's Champion Spark Plug Regatta at Miami Marine Stadium.
Photo by Bill Reinke, Miami News staff photographer.

Valu-Mart driver Ron Armstrong was thrown out as the boat hooked and spun to the right. Miraculously, Armstrong was not seriously injured, suffering only a bruised neck. His boat, however, was not so lucky. With its transom completely torn out, the boat sank before it could be retrieved.

Miss Budweiser Wins Final Race

JACKSONVILLE, Fla., Oct. 20, 1974 (AP)—Dean Chenoweth brought the unlimited hydroplane season to a close today by piloting Miss Budweiser to a narrow victory over the Pride of Pay 'n Pak in the Admiral's Cup race.

Chenoweth, of Tallahassee, Fla., took two of the three heats at average speeds above 100 miles per hour. George Henley of Seattle, who had previously clinched the national title with Pay 'n Pak, took the final heat.

Pay 'n Pak Wins Hydroplane Regatta

WASHINGTON, June 9, 1974 (AP) — The defending national champion, Pride of Pay 'n Pak, driven by George S. Henley of Eatonville, Washington, won the 43rd Presidents Cup Regatta for Unlimited hydroplanes today, although finishing third behind Miss Budweiser in the final heat.

Pay 'n Pak scored 1,025 points in winning heats yesterday and earlier today. Second place went to Atlas Van Lines driven by Bill Muncey of San Diego, which scored 900 points for finishing second in the heats, including the final one.

Miss Budweiser, with a rookie, Howie Benns of Grand Island, N.Y. at the wheel, broke a supercharger yesterday but won the final heat today to move into fourth place behind U-95 in the final standing.

It’s a local thing: hydroplanes echo through Seattle history

By Feliks Banel
Reprinted from MYNorthwest.com, July 25, 1025

It’s a noisy summertime tradition and popular spectator sport here in Seattle and it has been for decades. But old-timers say that the new arrivals just don’t get it, that they don’t appreciate the heritage and the meaning of a contest that’s still near and dear to so many local hearts.

Of course, the “spectator sport” and “contest” of which I speak is the annual debating of the relevance of the Seafair hydroplane race.

Back in 1975, a Seattle Times editorial asked, “Are the hydroplanes passé?” In August 2003, a Seattle Times headline questioned, “Have we outgrown Seafair hydros?” For that 2003 article, a numbskull was quoted saying, “The hydro races have been losing relevance for a long time. Not to denigrate it, but people’s tastes change.”

We’ll come back to that numbskull in a minute. First, the reason for that 1975 editorial is worth taking another look at. That year, for the first time, Seattle’s annual thunderboat races were in real danger of not happening at all.

It was one year earlier, in 1974, that the hydro races were held in a new location. Seafair, the community organization with roots in Seattle’s post-war boom years and the city’s centennial celebration in 1951, moved the race from south of the I-90 bridge near Stan Sayres Memorial Park to what’s now Magnuson Park. Back then, the area was known as Sand Point and it had been a Navy base for decades.

In 1974, the city was in the process of taking over the old base from the Navy to turn it into a park. The move to Sand Point happened because Seafair had been losing money on the races for years and expenses were going up.

For all previous years of the race, from 1951 to 1973, there was no charge to watch the races at Stan Sayres. In 1974, Seafair wanted to charge admission to help cover their increasing costs. Sand Point, as a former Navy base, had a fence around it, which made it easier to control than the shore around Stan Sayres. Race fans got into Sand Point for $6 a carload.

The 1974 Seafair races weren’t exactly a disaster, but many spectators and hydro teams weren’t pleased. The course was shorter, so the boats couldn’t reach the high speeds they could at the old location, and some say it was windier and the water choppier. And since Sand Point was not yet a park — it was an old Navy airfield — it lacked the amenities of Stan Sayres, there were no trees and no shade, and the view for most of the spectators turned out to be not very good.

“It was a bad idea,” says legendary broadcaster, concert promoter and raconteur Pat O’Day of the move to Sand Point. O’Day, who did play-by-play for the hydros for decades, broadcast the races for KJR that year and he remembers that the place was called Sand Point for a reason.

“Sand Point is a point,” O’Day said, “And as a result, half of the crowd could only see the south end of the course and the other half of the crowd could only see the north end of the course because the pits were right on the point itself, along with the start-finish line tower.”

The winner that controversial year was the Miss Pay 'n Pak, driven by Smiling George Henley of Eatonville.

As it came time to plan for the 1975 races, the Unlimited Hydroplane Commission refused to sanction the Sand Point location for a return engagement, saying that the course was too windy and not conducive to holding a good race. Then, Seafair said it couldn’t afford to hold the races at Stan Sayres if they couldn’t charge admission. It turned into a standoff.

The UHC threatened to bypass Seattle that season and sanction a hydro race in Dallas instead. It looked pretty grim for a while. But, at the last moment — just weeks before the race — the Seattle City Council stepped in and provided support in the form of an additional $20,000, boosting the city’s contribution to $56,000, and then two local hydro owners pledged $17,000 to help defray costs. The races went back to Stan Sayres where they’ve been held ever since.

And good thing, according to O’Day. He says that the original race location is, “memorable because of one thing: Stan Sayres pits is magic. It’s a beautiful race course, with Mount Rainier smiling down at everybody. That’s a magical, magical event.”

But the business of professional hydroplane racing has changed and many people say that the sport is not as popular as it once was in Seattle and other communities. As recently as the 1980s, local kids all over Puget Sound made their own miniature plywood hydroplanes and towed them behind their bicycles in neighborhood races. If that still happens, I personally haven’t seen it recently.

The truth is, hydroplanes had their biggest years in Seattle long before the Seahawks and the Mariners ever made it to the playoffs (and earned a spot in our professional sports-hearts and sucked up all those sponsor and ticket dollars). O’Day also says the current crop of turbo-powered boats lack the thrills and especially the sounds of the old piston-engine boats that dominated the sport from the 1950s through the 1970s, and he hopes that the industry will shift back to the more retro boats.

As for that numbskull quoted by The Seattle Times in 2003, he went on to redeem himself a bit later in that article by saying, “Seattle is at a stage where it is wrestling with being a small, out-of-the-way city vs. a big city connected to the rest of the world. As a result, there will always be debates and questions over whether Seafair is relevant or worth keeping.”

And yes, that numbskull was me, when I was deputy director of the Museum of History & Industry. Informed debates about what’s important to a city and region and how that can change over the years are critical conversations to have, officially and unofficially, if we want to live in this ever-changing place and have some say in choices that are made. Let’s keep Seattle’s present in dialog with its past as a means of preparing for the future.

But let’s give O’Day the final optimistic word on the hydros’ role in Seattle’s future, as he says it simply, and he says it best.

“Seafair was a nice community event, but the hydroplanes made it explode,” O’Day said. “The community needs the race and the sport needs the community.”

Pak hydro wins in Kentucky

U-95 sets heat record

Reprinted from The Seattle Times, June 17, 1974

The Pay 'n Pak of Seattle, driven by George Henley, today won the delayed Kentucky Governor's Cup unlimited hydroplane race for its second successive triumph on the thunderboat trail.

Pay 'n Pak, which also won the President's Cup in Washington, D.C., a week ago, won the final heat with an average speed of 104.384 miles an hour. The Pak accumulated 1,100 points in winning one heat and placing second to Budweiser in another.

Another Seattle-based boat, U-95, placed second with a time of 101.328 in the final heat. Atlas Van Lines was third at 89.794 m.p.h., followed by Budweiser and Sunny Jim.

The U-95, driven by Leif Borgersen, clocked off an Ohio River course record in winning Heat 1A at 112.952 m.p.h.

Pay 'n Pak won Heat 1B, Budweiser turned back the Pak in a rousing race to win 2A and Atlas Van Lines placed first in 2B.

Racing was postponed yesterday when unseasonable northwest winds whipped the course into a frothy ferment.

The race did get started, but an accident in the second lap of Heat 1A sent Charlie Dunn to the hospital and race officials into a quick huddle to mull over the weather situation.

Dunn, driver of the Just-A-Pest, spun out in the first corner of the second lap and the Pest was run over by Tom Kaufman in his Mister Fabricator. Dunn was pinned between the boats. He suffered an cracked rib, pelvic bruises and took some water into his lungs. He was listed in stable condition late last night at Owensboro-Davies County Hospital.

The Just-A-Pest sank to the bottom of the Ohio.

Race officials delayed the race, hoping the wind would calm down. But at 5:30 p.m. the decision was made to put the race over to today.

"The wind is out of the northwest," reported Dick Toth, a race official. "That's really rare here. The wind is blowing just opposite of the current, so it's pretty choppy out there. Lots of whitecaps."

Several drivers reportedly refused to go on the course when the wind came up.

Pay 'n Pak Wins Gold Cup Race

SEATTLE, Aug. 5 (UPI) — Patience and perfection paid off yesterday for George Henley, who drove Pay 'n Pak victory in a much-delayed Gold Cup race for unlimited hydroplanes on Lake Washington.

The victory gave the Pak a big lead in point standing for this year's national hydroplane championship.

The Miss Budweiser, which stayed close on the Pak's trail all day with Howie Benns at the wheel, came second. Freddie Alter, driving Pizza Pete, was third. As for Bid Muncey, a five-time Gold Cup champion, the best he could driving the Atlas Van Lines was fourth.

The Pak won all four of its heats, and its only serious challenge was the first time out when the Budweiser was leading but spewed oil briefly and was overtaken by the Pak.

Two attempts to run a heat for the five fastest qualifiers in the 14-boat field were stopped when two boats were badly damaged or destroyed. In the first try, the U-95 sank early in the race after its engine exploded, putting hole in the hull. During the second attempt, the Miss U.S. caught fire and burned badly before the blaze was extinguished. Both drivers, Tom D'Eath and Leif Borgersen of the U-95 escaped injury.

Milk Carton Boat Race

Reprinted from The Seattle Times, July 12, 1974

Photo by Johny Closs

Constructed of 104 milk cartons, this craft will compete in the design category, where entries must float but don't race. There are about 200 hours of work in the Lake Forest Park neighborhood project. Kneeling beside Bryce James (14), the driver was Mike Gowey (19) crew chief and designer. The others were Chet James (17) left and Brent James. The hydroplane has a skin of cardboard and paint.

Turbos could steal the show in Pasco — Heerensperger

By Del Danielson
Reprinted from The Seattle Times, July 3, 1974

The first four races on the 1974 unlimited-hydroplane calendar have been strictly Pay 'n Pak — Budweiser duels, but the owners of the front-running Pak think the next outing could be won by an of one of a half dozen boats.

"I think there are six boats that could win in Pasco," Dave Heerensperger said earlier this week after returning from Detroit, where his boat ran second to the Bud.

Despite the dominance of the Budweiser and his Pak, Heerensperger feels "this is the best field I've ever seen." The affable owner thinks the turbine-powered U-95, Miss U.S., Atlas Van Lines, or Lincoln Thrift could steal the show from the two boats which, together, have triumphed in 11 straight hydro starts over the past two years.

Next stop is the World Championship Regatta on the Columbia River at Pasco, July 21.

"The water will be better in Pasco," Heerensperger said. "That's always a great course and we had the usual junk water back east."

The U.S., Atlas and Lincoln Thrift are powered by turbocharged Allison engines. That's why Heerensperger feels they have a chance at victory.

"They've got to have more power than we've got - if everything is running right," said Heerensperger, who hinted that he might be thinking about the turbo setup as a future power plant for his boat.

So far, the turbos have been plagued by minor engine problems. "If they get everything worked out, they're plenty tough," the Pak owner added.

For now, Heerensperger will stick with the Rolls engines which have pushed his boat 56 points ahead of the Bud in the race for the national points championship. The Pak has 3,750 and the Bud 3,694.

George Henley, driver of the Pak, and Jim Lucero, crew chief, get the lion's share of the credit for the success of the Pak.

"George is some kind of driver," Heerensperger said. "He does everything we ask, tells us exactly what we need to know about the handling of the boat out there. He really knows what he's doing.

"I tried to hire Dean Chenoweth who I think is the best driver in boat racing. But dean was tied to business commitments and can't drive for anybody.

"George has been a very pleasant surprise. he's going to be as good as Chenoweth. he's not very far from that right now, really."

The Pak owner beams when asked about Lucero. "He's an unbelievable guy as far as devotion and wanting to win and what he knows about hulls and engines. Jim and Dax Smith are the main engine guys for u and we haven't busted an engine yet."

Heerensperger has mixed emotions about the move of the Gold Cup from the Stan Sayres Park area to Sand Point.

"I think the idea is right to charge admission," he said. It's the only way to keep big-time boat racing here and build big purses.

"But the Sayres course is better. I don't know why they don't just invest $50,000 in a big snow fence and put it up every year down there and keep the people off the streets like they do in Madison, Ind.

"The pits are great and the course is ideal!"

The boss of the Pak team hedged on the number of "true" contenders for the Gold Cup. "I said six boats could win in Pasco. Well, I think it will be limited to few real contenders here because of the rough water at Sand Point. But I don't want to be too negative on the Sand Point thing because charging is the only way we can build big purses."

Heerensperger would like to see another Northwest race on the unlimited slate. "We need another race out here real bad. We've added races in San Diego and Phoenix and Jacksonville and Dayton, all over the place. Everybody wants us to come and race. But if we had another race in the Northwest I think we could get another four or five boats. The sponsors would go for it.

"Portland, Eugene, Coeur d'Alene or Spokane . . . I'd really like to get one going in Spokane. They tell me there might be room for a course on Long Lake."

Heerensperger is not so interested in adding a big-market site in California as he is in his home area, the Pacific Northwest. "This is where all the enthusiastic people are," he said.

"The interest in unlimited racing is here in the Northwest. It's like Class C baseball and the major leagues when you compare this area with the Eastern race cities.

"This is where it's at."

Heerensperger plans to be married on August 3, the eve of the Gold Cup race here.

"It's going to be one helluva weekend, I'll tell you that."

Pak's 122.616 is '74 top qualifying speed

Reprinted from The Seattle Times, September 21, 1974

SAN DIEGO — George Henley yesterday pushed the Pride of Pay 'n Pak to the fastest qualifying time of the current unlimited hydroplane season in qualifying for tomorrow's San Diego Cup regatta.

Henley qualified the Pak at 122.616 miles per hour, bettering his mark set on the Gold Cup course at Seattle by one-tenth of a mile per hour.

Yesterday saw Dean Chenoweth back in the cockpit of the Miss Budweiser, the boat he piloted to national honors in past seasons before retiring. Chenoweth returned to active duty as a hydro jockey when Howie Benns, Budweiser driver, was seriously injured in a motorcycle accident earlier this month.

Chenoweth was on the course four times, but the best he could do in a qualifying run was 110.089 mph. He tried different propellers each time and still isn't satisfied he's found the proper one for the course here, which is considered to be the fastest on the circuit.

Qualifying speeds: Pay 'n Pak, 122.616; Valu-Mart, 120.321; Atlas Van Lines, 119.363; Red Man, 112.219; Miss Budweiser, 110.089; Sunny Jim, 101.810; Miss Technicolor, 100.223; and Kirby Classic, 98.908. Lincoln Thrift and Super Cinder have not qualified yet.

From outboards to the Gold Cup

By Ranny Green,
Reprinted from The Seattle Times, Pictorial Magazine, July 28, 1974

Since childhood, boating has intrigued Eatonville’s George Henley.

Eatonville's George Henley

He has raced powerboats from outboards to unlimited hydroplanes. His boating also has included operating a jet boat on river excursions and salmon fishing at Westport.

This summer the 36-year-old family man has raced about the country as an unlimited-hydroplane jockey and jet-boat salesman.

Next Sunday on Lake Washington the amiable Henley, who has been racing since 1954, will be at the helm of the Pay ‘n Pak, the defending national champion in the Gold Cup regatta.

“I have two big obligations this summer — driving the Pak and boosting sales for my employer, Turbo Pac, Inc., (a Tacoma firm which sells jet-powered boats),” Henley said. “But sometimes there just don’t seem to be enough hours in the day.

“Fortunately, Pay ‘n Pak has a great racing team,” he continued. “My only obligation is to drive. Jim Lucero, the crew chief, is a genius at repairing the boat. If there’s the slightest thing wrong, I tell him and he attempts to correct.

“The team did its home work during the winter months and the boat was marvelously prepared. We had some rudder trouble in preseason testing but it was corrected. Preparation was the key in the early races because I had very few laps in the boat before the first race.”

Dave Heerensperger, the boat owner, and Henley agreed last spring that Henley would be allotted sufficient time to continue “my main obligation as sales and public-relations manager for Turbo-Pac.

“This is a different arrangement than Mickey (Remund, 1973 Pay ‘n Pak driver) had. He was employed by Pay ‘n Pak and available at virtually any time for testing the boat and for public appearances.

Prior to this season, Henley was winless in unlimited competition. That drought ended on the Potomac River when he captured the coveted President’s Cup in early June.

“That still ranks as my biggest thrill,” he said. “The first win is always the one you remember, and once you get the taste of victory, you don’t want to give it up.”

The glamour of that initial win will be increased, since he and his Pak mates will go to Washington D.C., in the fall to receive the cup from President Nixon at the White Houses.

Despite racing virtually at sea level, Henley senses plenty of pressure in the cockpit of the Pak. but it’s not air pressure, rather psychological.

“There’s a certain amount of pressure to keep the title that Mickey earned,” Henley explained. “But what business in the world doesn’t have pressure? I enjoy it.

“I hadn’t planned to go racing this season, but this was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up. David and I have a one-year agreement that I’ll drive the boat. If something happens and he wants to change drivers, that’s his opinion. But I hope to prove myself as a winner so he won’t have to exercise that option.”

Henley, a longtime limited-hydro driver, became somewhat disenchanted with the unlimited’s lifestyle and personnel shortly after making the jump to the big boats in the early 1970s.

“I’ve changed a lot of my opinions since then,” he confessed. “But unlimited racing has changed, too. There’s the Fan Plan (where the winner of the final heat is declared the race victor), there are more limited drivers moving into unlimiteds, there are more boats and the competition is much improved.”

He concedes his change of heard may in part be due to his association with one of the sport’s top racing camps.

“When you’re not winning or contending, a season can become pretty long,” he said.

Because the spring and summer are prime sales periods for Turbo Pac, Henley spends virtually every available minute concentrating on selling the Hamilton jet boats.

“All of my family enjoys boating,” Henley said. “When I am not out selling or racing, we’re on the Nisqually River or some other body of water.”

His summer timetable is well organized and tightly scheduled. Commuting 27 miles to the Tacoma boat shop when he isn’t racing, Henley spends a typical work day on the phone and at marinas informing potential clients about this product.

“It’s amazing how racing and jet-boat sales complement each other,” he added. “Everywhere I go in business, people ask about the unlimited. I’m convinced that any recognition I gain in racing is helpful to business.”

Born in Ketchikan, Alaska, Henley comes from a family of five children. His parents operate Silver Lake resort near Eatonville, where he has resided most of his life. His wife, Mary, has seven sisters, one of whom is married to Ron Jones, Southern California unlimited-hydroplane builder.

Discussing his interest in boats, Henley quipped: “I guess I was born with webbed feet. Ever since I was a small boy, I’ve been around boats. I think racing really began to attract me when I was a first-grader and my family was living at Spanaway Lake, south of Tacoma.

“The reason I recall it so well is that one day I walked down to a dock, about a block from my home, to watch a race. My parents called and called for me, but I didn’t hear them. When they finally found me, they gave me a good paddling for wandering away from home without permission.”

His racing ventures began in a B stock hydro in 1954. Then he graduated to the 136-, 155- and 280-cubic-inch limited-hydro categories. In the late 1950s he was a crew member of the Tacoma-based unlimited Miss B & I. and the Coral Reef. In 1969 he captured the national 225 crown in Miss Tide Air. Later, henley drove the famed seven-liter Record 7 after the late George Babcock retired.

His previous unlimited rides, from 1970 to ‘73 were the Burien Miss, Lincoln Thrift and Red Man.

Although the sport has been tragedy marked in recent years, Henley said: “It’s no more dangerous than driving down the highway at midnight some Friday or Saturday night. In fact, these drivers are a heck of a lot better than any you’ll see on the freeway.”

He has been involved in two narrow scrapes with death, one a flip in his 225 on Lake Sammamish in 1970 and a nose dive in the Link Thrift at the 1972 Gold Cup on the Detroit River.

“George is a great starter,” Heerensperger said. “Even when he wasn’t in a top hull he’d always be in a good position at the start. He’s got a bunch of desire and he’s chomping at the bit in our boat.”

Henley added: “There’s considerable strategy in racing. We videotape most of our test and trial runs to determine how the boat is riding and how I can improve my position on the course.

“Much of my preparation for each event is aimed at timing the start. I spend a couple of days working on positioning myself in relation to the starting clock.

“Like Howie Benns (Miss Budweiser driver) and Ron Armstrong (Valu-Mart pilot), I want the inside lane. That means that all jockeying for position begins well before the one-minute gun, for whoever has that lane by the turn buoy heading into the straightway, owns the position.

“Unquestionably the start and the first turn are crucial phases of every race. If you can get past those in the lead and have comparable power to the rest of the boats, you’re usually in pretty good shape.

“But racing these big hydros is more than simply putting your foot down and letting the boat go. It’s as much psychological as it is physical.

“From a physical standpoint, I attempt to stay in good condition the year around by jogging and driving the jet boats.”

This week Henley will begin a quest for the prestigious Gold Cup, a title that has eluded the Pay ‘n Pak team in its six years of racing.

“My chief ambition this season is to take the unlimited points championship,” Henley said, “but there is no race I’d rather win than the Gold Cup right here on our home course.”

Heerensperger noted, “I’m confident George can win it. He has all the tools to become a great driver, and we have a sound boat capable of helping him get to the winner’s circle.”

Pak drops fortune in props in river

July 21, 1974, Kennewick, Wash., (AP) — Dave Heerensperger, owner of the Pay 'n Pak unlimited hydroplane, has seen $3,000 worth of his propellers sink to the bottom of the Columbia River this week.

But, with Heerensperger and the rest of the Pak's racing team here for today's World Championship Regatta, it isn't the money but the principle of the thing that bothers them.

The Pay 'n Pak, like most other unlimited hydros on the circuit, use props — also called "wheels" that are hand-forged in Italy and cost about $1,500 each. The Pak lost two in the first two days of qualifying for today's regatta.

"We're not breaking them," Heerensperger said. "They're just coming off."

Pay "N Pak driver George Henley said, "we've had no problem all season until this week."

The problem, Heerensperger and crew chief Jim Lucero decided, must be in the propeller shaft rather than the prop itself. So, they decided late Friday to switch to a different kind of shaft — a kind Heerensperger feels is potentially weaker and more likely to lead to a break in the prop were it connects with the shaft.

But, "we can't take the chance it will happen again," Heerensperger said as he discussed the disappearing propellers.

Pak still boat to beat

By Hec Hancock
Reprinted from Tri-City Herald, August 4, 1974

SEATTLE - The format for today's Gold Cup race on Lake Washington will be essentially the same as it has been for most of the year, i.e., catch the Pride of Pay 'n Pak, and the latest driver to join the thunderboat fleet, Billy Schumacher, is confident he is up to the task.

"We needed a more experienced driver," Les Rosenberg, owner of the Valu-Mart, explained Saturday as he replaced first-year driver Ron Armstrong with the veteran Schumacher.

The winner of the national championship and the Gold Cup in 1967 and '68 responded by increasing Valu-Mart's qualifying speed from 115.017 m.p.h. to 119.051 m.p.h., good enough for fourth place and a spot in the five-best fastest heat.

"We'll take first or second if we can stay together," an optimistic Rosenberg predicted. A confident Schumacher didn't see any reason to disagree with his new boss. "I'm favorably impressed with the boat," he said. "I wouldn't be driving if I didn't think we could win. I didn't take much adjustment since it feels pretty much the same as the Pak did.

Schumacher was the driver of the Pay 'n Pak when he quit hydroplanes in 1972.

Catching the Pak, however, could prove to be something else. The winner of the World Championship at the Tri-Cities two weeks ago is running at top form and a smiling George Henley appeared unperturbed by the rough water off Sand Point as he sped to the top qualifying time of 122.531 m.p.h.

The defending national champion was trailed by Lincoln Thrift driven by Mickey Remund.

Remund, whose boat was plagued by troubles at Tri-Cities, expressed satisfaction with his craft's performance Saturday but voiced concern over the race course.

"It's almost as bad as Detroit," he said. "The water just misses coming over the bow, and that's when people get hurt. It looks like all right from the shore and it's fine in the morning, but later in the day there are swells that make it rough."

Stan Jones, driver of the Australian champion, Solo, concurred but added, "It's the type of course we're used to. In fact, it's just about the same as what we have at home except there are no flies, and needless to say, we don't miss that aspect."

After breaking two propellers including their best one at Tri-Cities, the Solo crew had a borrowed replacement flown up from Australia.

Jones was satisfied with the engine but pointed out that the attitude of the boat would have to be changed because of the greater amount of fuel needed for the longer course.

The turbine-powered U-95, which appeared ready to challenge the Pak at Tri-Cities before being crippled by a collision with a still-unidentified boat, qualified in the second heat along with the Atlas Van Lines, piloted by Bill Muncey.

The U-95 is running without a tail assembly and, in spite of a tendency to bounce around the course, posted a speed of 115 m.p.h. easy, but the ride could be much better.

As Borgersen pointed out, the boat is nearly 300 pounds lighter without the tail assembly, and air can now get under the stern causing the boat to rise up in the water.

And whether the U-95 as well as the rest of the roostertail crowd can make the needed adjustments to catch the front-running Pak remains to be seen. Heat 1-A of today's $52,500 Gold Cup starts at noon.