Hydroplane Owners Gambling

May, 1973

Multimillionaires David Heerensperger of Seattle and George Simon of Detroit are out to shake up the Old Guard when the 1973 unlimited hydroplane season opens May 18-20 with the $25,000 Champion Spark Plug Regatta at the City of Miami Marine Stadium.

Sparing no expense in the costly fight to rule the waves, both tycoons are gambling on a bold and innovative approach to Gold Cup warfare this year.

Heerensperger's Pay 'N Pak and Simon's Miss U.S. reflect the latest approach to the aerodynamics of high speed water racing. Utilizing lightweight construction materials such as titanium, magnesium and aluminum, both rigs are between 500 and 1,000 pounds lighter than most other boats on the circuit.

Improved cornering ability and acceleration off hairpin turns like those at the Marine Stadium are the primary goals rather than top straightaway speed.

Built by Ron Jones of La Habra, Calif., Pay 'N Pak utilizes Hexel honeycomb aluminum desk structure and and cowling designed by the Craig Breedlove speed team. The Seattle-based thunderboat also boosts a horizontal stabilizer bar, on the stern. The top wing is about 20 square feet in area and can  be adjusted when the boat is in the pits.

Pay 'N Pak crew chief Jim Lucero explains, "The horizontal stabilizer wing is a safety device to trim the boat. If the nose is too high, the wing should correct the boat's attitude."

Heerensperger has named Mickey Remund, a record holding limited hydroplane driver, to drive the new Pay 'N Pak. Remund impressed a full house at Marine Stadium last summer by racking up a local speed record with his five litre hydro "Goin' Thing."

Remund's crash helmet is equipped with a two-way radio so that he's in constant touch with Lucero. Should the boat's 12-cylinder supercharged Roll Royce power plant quit during the race, Lucero can relay instant instructions to Remund.

Heerensperger isn't the only owner who's making waves with dramatic changes in 1973. On the Eastern front, U.S. Equipment Company magnate George Simon is unveiling the latest in a distinguished line of "Miss U.S." thunderboats. The new beauty is a Staudacher hull constructed of titanium and magnesium that tips the scale at just under 5,000 points and is expected to be the lightest rig on the tour this season.

Besides Pay 'N Pak and Miss U.S., the lineup of the Champion Spark Plug Unlimited Regatta includes defending champion Atlas Van Lines with Bill Muncey at the helm, Miss Budweiser drive by Dean Chenoweth, Red Man piloted by former Gold Cup winner Jim McCormick, Miss Madison with Miamian Charlie Dunn, Jr. at the control and Lincoln Thrift and Loan chauffeured by George Henley of Eatonville, Wash.

Official testing gets underway on May 17, with qualifying runs slated on May 18-19. Race action begins at noon on May 20, with a non-stop action program that alternates limited heats of hydroplanes and runabouts with the world's fastest unlimited Gold Cup thunderboats.

Bowing Out a Winner

By Bill Knight, Boating Editor, The Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Reprinted from Pipe Yard Gazette, January/February 1976

In 1964, Dave Heerensperger got out of unlimited hydroplane racing, vowing he’d be back.

The other day, the owner of the Pay ‘n Pak camp winner of the last three national championships, sold his boats and equipment and retired again, suggesting the challenges of the sport - at least for him - was gone.

Timing was critical on both occasions.

When he departed the first time, Heerensperger lacked the resources to campaign a competitive boat. “I couldn’t play their game,” he explained later.

More recently, it was a matter of bowing out while he was still at the pinnacle in a sport the Pak racing team has dominated to the point of his losing enthusiasm fo fit.

“I’ve had a lot of fun but the challenge is not there anymore,” he said candidly. “Besides, where to we go from here? What more can we do? We’ve won three straight national championships. After we got our act together last season we took everyone on head on and trounced ‘em.”

A couple of other factors played a part in the decision, which caught most of the boat racing world by surprise.

— Added responsibilities, demanding more of his time, in the management of his growing empire of building supplies, auto and sporting goods stores.

— Growing concern over the possibility of a backlash against the Pak camp because it has won so much in recent years. It’s the same undercurrent which prompts many to cheer against a big winner, regardless of the endeavor. Maybe it’s because more people identify psychologically with undergoes than champions. Heerensperger has been wary of this since the Pak hit the top and, in face, has often voiced concern over the lack of opposition.

— Billy Muncey’s offer - with the support of five-year financial backing by Atlas Van Lines - to buy all of Heerensperger’s boats, engines, props, gearboxes and the like.

Sport in Decline?

What Heerensperger didn’t say - he’s not the type to take a blast at the sport which has treated him well - is something that which could be even more critical in his decision. With the emergence of major league sports in the Seattle area, boat racing could decline to the point where the exposure it will get via press and TV won’t justify the rising cost of putting an unlimited on the circuit.

Highly regarded in the sport, Heerensperger’s departure is hardly a good omen. An innovative type, he will best be remembered for leading the sport into a new era of low profile, picklefork hulls which were faster and safer. The Pak hydro which finished its third season last year is the winningest hull in the sport’s history - 16 wins in 30 races.

He pioneered the use of honeycomb aluminum in hydros and the “wing” tail section and the rest of the fleet followed his example. Not all of this experiments worked. The “outrigger” was a dismal failure. His twin-automotive engine cab over was a flop at first. But Heerensperger didn’t flinch at trying new ideas and his innovations paid off.

Jim Lucero, the Pak crew chief Heerensperger credits with much of the team’s success, converted the twin-Chrysler hydro into Rolls power and rebuild the bottom and it became the hottest boat on the circuit.

Winningest Hydro

But the next Pak, new in ‘73, was even better and Heerensperger rates the boat - his 6th hull in 10 seasons - as his greatest contribution to the sport. The hull smashed records all across the country and won more races than any single boat, more than any of the legendary Slo-Mo’s, Thriftways, Gales, Tempo’s, or Bardahls. Before the next season, build Ron Jones was flooded with orders to duplicate the ‘73 Pak.

It brought  Heerensperger his first national championship and his first Gold Cup.

Yet Heerensperger’s most emotional achievement goes back to 1968 when he was still campaigning the Eagle Electric out of Spokane.

“We went to Guntersville, Ala., in the first race of this season with Colonel Gardner driving and we won the Dixie Cup” he recalls. “When we came back to Spokane there was a crowd of 500 to 1,000 people at the airport to greet us and the Shadle Park High School band was playing. I’ll never forget that one.”

Heerensperger will devote more time to the business now and he’s in the process of building a new home. He plans to attend the hydro races in Tri-Cities and Seattle as a spectator. “I won’t be upset and nervous and as ugly to live with,” he chucked.

He said the Pak will continue to sponsor a softball team with is “a pitcher and one or two players away from a national championship.”

But Dave Heerensperger is bowing out of boat racing as a winner and the sport is the loser.

Fastest field ever set for Columbia Cup

By Hec Hancock
Reprinted from Tri-City Herald, June 28, 1980

After three days of qualifying that saw almost as many records broken as political promises after an election year, the fastest fleet of unlimited hydroplanes ever assembled is poised for today's Columbia Cup regatta.

Let by Dean Chenoweth in the Miss Budweiser, which set a world record on the two-and-a-half mile Columbia Cup course of 138.248 miles per hour, the 11 qualifiers averaged over 116 mph making it the fastest field ever assembled for a hydroplane race.

That average, incidentally, would be a mile faster — 117 mph— had the top speed of the new Pay 'n Pak turbine boat of 123.796 mph been allowed. That speed, however, was clocked before driver John Walters successfully passed his qualification test as an unlimited driver.

Saturday's unveiling of the Pay 'n Pak drew plenty of attention and ovations from the large crowd around the pit area.

As it was, the long awaited arrival and performance of Dave Heerensperger's Pay 'n Pak was the highlight of Saturday's qualifying activities. A crowd that lined the bank of the Columbia River burst into applause as the Pay 'n Pak, sounding more like a departure of a Hughes Airwest flight than a boat, roared away from the dock.

The boat's performance, particularly in view that it had only one test run and that as last as Thursday, was impressive. Walters turned in laps of 109.091, 123.796 and 114.943.

"Absolutely unbelievable," a happy Heerensperger said. "We have a lot yet to learn about the boat but this was a big step."

"I only used about 50 percent of my horsepower," Walters reported after the run. "It handles very well."

The Miss Budweiser opened the onslaught on the record book by posting a speed of 134.128 mph on its first warmup run Thursday. That broke the old mark of 133.929 set by Bill Muncey at San Diego in 1979.

On Thursday, Muncey regained the record, if only briefly, by averaging 126.364 mph.

Exactly 14 minutes later, however, Miss Bud had the record back having toured the course at 138.248.

However, despite the predictions by Bernie Little, owner of the Miss Bud, that the boat would do 140 mph Chenoweth and the rest of the beer boat team were content Saturday to settle for testing in preparation for today's race.

Fastest lap of the day was the 132.159 mph turned in by Steve Reynolds shortly before the course closed for qualifying.

The Miss Budweiser and the Pay 'n Pak, the two glamour boats of the fleet, won't have to wait long before their paths cross. Both boats are included in Heat 1A. Rounding out the six-boat heat are the Squire Shop, Kawaguchi Travel Service, Miss Tempus, and the Barney Armstrong Machine.

In Heat 1B will be Dr. Toyota, Atlas Van Lines, Circus Circus, Oh Boy! Oberto and Don Campbells' Food Service.

Heat 1A will start at 12 noon and followed by Head 1B at 12:45 p.m.

There will then be a redraw with Heat 2A to start at 2 p.m. and Heat 2B at 2:45 p.m.

The six leading point earners will then meet in the winner take all championship at 4 p.m.

A crowd of more than 40,000 is expected to line the banks of the Columbia River for the 15th running of an unlimited hydroplane race in the Tri-Cities.

1973 Pay 'n Pak

By Ken Muscatel, Pacific Northwest Chapter, ACBS

It remains one of the most popular unlimited hydroplanes ever built. To this day, the deck-to-deck duels between “The Pak” and “The Bud” remain legendary. Dave Heerensberger’s Pay ’n Pak was as revolutionary in its design and construction techniques as it was popular for the futuristic wing on the back and big orange letters painted across the deck. Designer Ron Jones insisted the boat utilize a horizontal wing at the transom to assist in the craft’s high-speed stability.

1973 Pay 'n Pak

The cockpit was situated higher than those of contemporary unlimiteds, offering the driver exceptional visibility. The Pay ’n Pak also set itself apart as the first unlimited to be constructed using honeycomb aluminum—a strong, lightweight material developed for use in the aircraft industry. The result was a hull lighter, stronger and faster. At times, it seemed virtually untouchable.

1973 UIM World Championship

Between 1973 and 1976 the hull won four consecutive National Championships under the Pay ’n Pak and Atlas Van Lines names. Drivers Mickey Remund, ‘Smilin’ George Henley, and Bill Muncey found the winners circle 21 times, dominating during one of the most competitive eras in hydroplane racing. Facing worthy opponents like Miss Budweiser, Weisfields, Miss. U.S., and Lincoln Thrift the boat usually lost only when suffering some kind of mechanical issue. So good was the boat ride that upon his first time in the hull, Bill Muncey chided previous driver George Henley for not winning more races with it. Ron Snyder achieved its 22nd and final victory for the Miss Madison team in 1983 as the Miss Rich Plan.

2017 Tri-Cities, WA

After retiring from competition halfway through the 1988 season, the hull was stored indoors until acquired by Ken Muscatel in 2012. The Hydroplane & Raceboat Museum undertook a thorough, three year restoration back to its Pay ’n Pak configuration, making its public debut in 2017.

Son of U-95

By Hec Hancock
Reprinted from Tri-City Herald, June 27, 1980

Just to be on the safe side it might be a good idea for thunderboat aficionados to circle today's date, June 27, 1980, on their calendars.

It could be a red-letter day in the history of the sport, possibly even of the magnitude of the development of the Slo-Mo-Shun IV and the three-point suspension back in 1950  by Seattleites Ted Jones and Stan Sayres.

On the other hand, the introduction of the turbine engine to the sport of unlimited hydroplane by Dave Heerensperger and the new Pay 'n Pak might just be another interesting day of thunderboat racing.

The new turbine powered Pay 'n Pak kicks up her heals.

Either way, boat owners, drivers and race fans will be following the turbine engine's first taste of competition with a great deal more than just passing interest.

"It could be the biggest thing to hit racing or the biggest and most expensive bust," admits Heerensperger, who won three national championships before selling his boats, engines and equipment in 1975.

It's been almost two years in the works, and Jim Lucero, crew chief and boat designer, hopes he has successfully adapted the type of turbine engine used by helicopters during the Vietnam War to use in thunderboat racing.

If it works, an entirely new world of hydroplane racing will have been opened up.

The advantage the turbine engine offers over the traditional reciprocal engine are many.

It's much lighter first of all. The Pay 'n Pak's turbine engine weights about 700 pounds compared the Griffen Rolls Royce's 2,500 but can deliver approximately the same 3,000 horsepower.

The turbine, which can produce full power in a one-and-half seconds, is more durable, in greater supply and much more current than the World War II vintage aircraft engines.

But whatever the ultimate potential of the engine, Heerensperger cautioned against expecting too much too soon.

"We probably won't see much Sunday," he said after the boat's run Saturday. "We have a lot to learn and may adjustments to make. We're not going to be running 180 mph because we don't want to get anybody killed."

Actually, the appearance of the Pay 'n Pak in today's Columbia Cup race isn't the first jet-powered boat to race.

Back in 1974 the U-95 equipped with twin Lycoming gas turbines set a world record of 113.464 mph for a 2½-mile heat in the World Championship race here with Leif Borgersen in the cockpit.

In fact, the U-95 whipped the Pay 'n Pak which went on to win the national championship that year and might have won the race had it's tail assembly not been clipped in the first turn of the final by another boat.

The boat was the project of the late Jim Clapp, who died before he could see the fruits of his idea and investment. Hist widow, Pam, carried the project on.

Chuck Lyford, the crew chief on the first jet boat, is associated with the present Pay 'n Pak team and is much less inhibited in his optimism over the boat's future than is the owner.

"This boat's much faster right now than the U-95 was on its best day," he said as he watched the new turbine boat lowered into the water Saturday at the Columbia Park pits. "It has more power and less weight."

More important, thought, is the fact is has but one engine, thus greatly simplifying the transmission of power.

"This boat has one gear box while we had five. That's a lot of things to go wrong," he points out. "They haven't begun to pull on their power yet but I really don't foresee any problem." Lyford said. "The ability to produce full power almost instant is going to be spectacular coming out of turns."

Actually, the present turbine engine used by the Pak is the type Lyford wanted back in 1974, but it wasn't available because of Defense Department restrictions.

Also along for the turbine boat's maiden voyage was Pam Clapp.

"I really admire Jim for his foresight. He was really enthusiastic about turbine engines and had he courage to put his money behind the idea. In the finally analysis it takes an idea get things going."

Clapp invested about $600,000 in the project and Pam added another $200,000. The boat sank during a race on Lake Washington.

"I was sad," his widow recalled, "but also in a way relieved. I felt I had fulfilled my obligation."

Now another owner has his money on the line and it ready to roll the dice.

"Anyway," says Heerensperger, "if Griffons are so great, how come they don't use them in helicopters."

16 Cylinder Revolution

Reprinted from Pay 'n Pak Racing News, May 13, 1970

San Diego, California (Special) —A 16 cylinder revolution made its debut on Mission Bay here May 7. Despite nagging and frustrating last minute problems, the startlingly different hydroplane Pride of Pay 'n Pak wet her full for the first time and caused a cyclone of comments from unlimited hydroplane followers i this sunny community that will be home for the 1970 APBA Gold Cup.

The 1970 Pride of Pay 'n Pak. Photo by Roger Newton.

A scheduled May 6 christening was moved back one day due to a welter of problems which included a boat trailer that wouldn't accept the hull for which it was built, a maddening motor mount problem which consumed five hours and other frustrations, all unexpected but all commonplace when an intricate piece of machinery is involved.

Even after it arrived the Pride of Pay 'n Pak went through pre-christening trauma, with small fuel leaks found around main tanks and an electrical problem disrupting first testing efforts. But at 1:15 p.m. 1970 Gold Cup Queen Sharon Yettra smashed a flagon of champagne on the Pay 'n Pak bow and the first auto-engine, low-profile hydro was in business.

Pay 'n Pak Stores Chairman of the Board Dave Heerensperger, who is APBA owner of record for the boat, was almost as nervous as builder Ron Jones who, in turn, rivaled engine wizard Keith Black in goose pimples. Driver Tommy Fults and crew chief Dan Olsen shared in the butterflies.

Butterflies, however, have a way of disappearing in direct proportion to departure of bugs that complicate the successful debut of a racing machine into competition.

One thing was for sure in San Diego. The new Pride of Pay 'n Pak caused a lot of "gee whiz" type of admiration among onlookers. Throw out any preconceived notions about how a hydro looks. The Pay 'n Pak for all its 28 feet 6 inches in length, looks short and wide -- and formidable. Her two Chrysler Hemi engines squad behind driver Fults, who sits at the rear of a pickle-fork nose section.

The Pay 'n Pak tail fin is a classic jet design -- much like a 707 tail. And, though her profile is low, she looks thick and tough and strong.

Her maiden appearance at San Diego was in construction colors. Only the tail fin was painted in the luminescent gold that will be a principal color. The rest of the boat was in plain raiment. When completed, the Pay 'n Pak will be gold and orange and will be one of the most colorful of the thunderboat fleet.

"We think we've found most of our pre-launching bugs," said owner Heerensperger, continuing "just getting the boat on the trailer and in the water erases many problems. Now, we'll begin our test program, iron out our problems and get ready for the first race."

Prior to her appearance at Tampa, Florida, for the May 31 Tampa Suncoast Cup event, the new creation will be fitted out complete and all systems perfected, Heerensperger said.

He pointed out that in case any bugs develop in the planned program, the Pay 'n Pak Lil' Buzzard waits in the wings. "We don't plan to campaign the Lil' Buzzard until the Tri-Cities Atomic Cup in mid-July, but she is available in case we feel she's needed before that time," Heerensperger said.

Pride of Pay 'n Pak represents all the stores in a growing group of electrical, plumbing home and auto supplies retail outlets in Washington, California, Oregon, Nevada, Utah, and Colorado.

Home office for the organization is in the Seattle suburb of Kent, Washington. The boats are also headquartered in the Seattle area.

Hydroplane driver hurt in spectacular flip

Reprinted from The Daily Colonist, July 29, 1980

KENNEWICK, Wash. (AP) — "You can't win if  you don’t play,” said Pay 'n Pak hydroplane driver  John Walters after a first-run test of his new machine on the Columbia River one day before the  Columbia Cup race.

He may have played too hard. The boat that had electrified a large crowd on Saturday horrified those gathered for the race Sunday.

Walters took the Pay 'n Pak for a test spin around the course prior to the day’s first scheduled heat.

Accelerating hard down the straightaway in front of the south bank of the river, the boat was caught by the wind, turned on its heel and went hurtling 30 feet into the air. The boat flipped backward 2½ times, hit the water on its nose and flipped backward again, coming to rest upside down in the water.

Walters was ejected on the first flip. The rescue barge was at his side 55 seconds after the start of
the crash. Divers were in the water helping the injured driver 10 seconds later.

Walters, an experienced young limited hydroplane driver making his debut on the unlimited circuit, was rushed to hospital where he was treated for a broken hip socket and a rash of cuts, bruises and sprains.

Damage to the boat was concentrated on its right side, where the front portion of the sponson was sheared off. The top was smashed. Crew and designer Jim Lucero estimated damage at $30,000 but  said the boat was not a total loss.

Owner Dave Heerensperger said Walters was running the course to get his timing down against the start clock and evidently got moving too fast for the tail wing and sponsons to handle.

Pay 'n Pak White Lightening

By Steven Sheppard
Reprinted from The Norberg Custom Boats

Perhaps the most notable of the early Dave Knowlen-Norm Berg collaborations was the project that followed the Spirit of ’76. It was the designing and building of a hull for a young Seattle boat racer named Steve Reynolds. That project would become the highly successful 225-class N-10 "White Lightning."

Reynolds had enjoyed moderate success with "Sundance Kid." Dave Knowlen had built that hull and raced it as a conventional 280-class limited in the mid-to-late 1960s. Dave sold it to two gentlemen who in turn sold the boat to Steve after altering it to race as a 225-class hull. Perhaps too heavy to compete well in the lower classification, the "Kid" failed failed to win any trophies for Reynolds, and left him wanting more.

Focused on eventually moving up to the unlimited class, the young driver decided to upgrade his ride after a particularly frustrating day of racing. He arduously saved his money over the course of a year to have a new, more competitive boat constructed.

When he had assembled the needed funds, he at first contacted Ron Jones to design and build the craft, but an anticipated wait of seven to eight months to begin construction of the Jones-crafted hull led the young racer to look elsewhere.

As luck would have it, Reynolds ran into Dave Knowlen, who had heard that Reynolds had been looking to have a boat built.  Knowlen showed Steve his latest design prints and then took him to the NCB shop to meet with Berg.

Impressed with Berg’s craftsmanship, it is said that Reynolds reportedly declared aloud that Berg’s wood working was every bit as good as that done on Ron Jones’ hulls, to which Berg reportedly responded by telling Reynolds of his years spent working in the Jones’ shops in California.

Subsequently, Reynolds and the NCB partners settled on a price, and Norm began construction from Knowlen’s plans. The result was a bright blue and white cabover powered by a Buick engine — emblazoned with a big N-10 and the name "White Lightning". Notably, one of the major innovations that Knowlen applied to the design of that boat was a horizontal stabilizer wing — the first ever to be used on a 225-class hull.

"I kept the boat in my Parents Garage/Workshop on Mercer Island," Reynolds recalled of his new acquisition. "My first sponsor was actually an old friend of mine and my fathers who owned the Shell Gas Station on Mercer Island."

The boat became a front-runner almost immediately, winning six races in a row while winning every preliminary heat that the boat entered. It was about this point that the team was to become even better.

The catalyst for that improvement would be the addition of Jim Harvey to the "White Lightning" team as crew chief.

Harvey and Reynolds had a mutual friend who saw the potential in the two joining forces to race Steve’s new boat. A meeting was soon arranged, and Steve and Jim hit it off almost immediately. After taking Harvey to see the boat, Reynolds invited him to head his crew.

While Reynold’s father was a big help, the grind of Reynolds having to race the boat, put it back on the trailer, refuel it for the next heat, put it the water, race it again, put it back on the trailer, tie it down, load the truck with equipment, tow the boat to the shop, go through the hull and check for needed repairs, put away all support equipment (i.e. tools, gas cans, slings, ropes. etc.), and then to drive home for work the day after a race was wearing young Reynolds out. He needed help to carry the load so he could focus on winning.

Reynold’s made it clear that night that he felt that Harvey was the man to provide that help. He could be that someone that was needed to manage and take care of the boat—that someone who would become Reynolds’ crew chief.

Harvey accepted the position and quickly made it clear that Reynolds had made the correct choice.

A view of part of the damage done to the N-10 Pay 'n Pak from its blow over on Green Lake.

"Jim was definitely the RIGHT MAN for the job!  He'd stop by my folks’ garage after work everyday. He and my Dad babied the White Lightning, treating her with kid gloves", Reynolds said. "In the process Jim became like a second son to my Dad. They got along so well, and he was there so often."

Harvey, Reynolds, and Reynolds’ father then joined forces with another of Steve’s friends — engine builder Bill Grader — to set two world competition records and to remain undefeated in competition for two and one-half years, dominating the 225 class in Region 10 if not the entire West Coast.

Through it all, the centerpiece of the success was the 18’ cab over limited hydro with the innovative large rear wing crafted by NCB, and this was not lost on Reynolds. He recently commented on the "White Lightning" and his perspective on the work of Berg in a Facebook posting about another of Berg and Knowlen’s other hulls:

"Norm's boats were pieces of finely built works of art." Reynolds said. "He was truly one of the finest craftsman in boat building. His craftsmanship was second to NONE!" Reynolds then embellished that observation with a smiley emoticon to further emphasize his pleasure with Berg’s work.

A view of part of the damage done to the N-10 Pay 'n Pak from its blow over on Green Lake.

Perhaps by chance, Reynolds drew a new, more influential sponsor to the N-10 camp with his success.

"Dave Heerensperger, owner of the Pay 'n Pak unlimited, was living on Mercer Island at the time, and he saw a picture of the White Lightning on the wall in the gas station," said Reynolds of the origins of the new sponsor arrangement.

"Heerensperger then told the station owner that if I was interested in him sponsoring me that I was to contact him at his office in Kent for a meeting, and we'd discuss sponsorship."

"I called Dave, set up a meeting, and then met him at his office. I walked out two hours later with a Pay 'n Pak sponsorship. I believe that was the first limited hydroplane, in Region 10 anyway, to have a contending unlimited hydroplane sharing sponsorship with a limited hydroplane."

Reynolds said he ran the N-10 hull four or five races as the Pay 'n Pak previous to a flip on Green Lake that nearly destroyed the boat and injured Reynolds.

Norm Berg rebuilt and repainted the boat while Reynolds was recuperating from the Green Lake accident. After the repairs were completed, Heerensperger contacted Reynolds, and told him that he wanted the boat to run in an exhibition race featuring local limited boats during Seattle's unlimited Seafair race.

A view of part of the damage done to the N-10 Pay 'n Pak from its blow over on Green Lake.
Photo Credit: Bob Bolam Collection

"I was on crutches for Seafair and couldn't drive," Reynolds said of the situation. "I told Dave I thought the water conditions on Lake Washington were far too rough for my little 18' boat. Dave wanted it to run anyway, and he told me that if I couldn't drive it myself then I was to find another driver — but he wanted it there!"

"I got another driver for Seafair, and my boat ran in the exhibition race. But as I feared and predicted, it cracked open a sponson in that rough water and had to be towed back to the pits. As can be imagined, I was NOT happy about it, and that ended my sponsorship arrangement with Pay 'n Pak right on the spot!"

As Reynolds transitioned into the unlimited ranks shortly after the Pay 'n Pak accident (he said that he was still quite stiff when he assumed that role), he divested himself of the "White Lightning", selling the engine to Brad Mosure and the hull to Roby Ottwell. It then became the "Honey Hush" according to Reynolds, and Ottwell ran the boat for a season before destroying it in a blow-over accident on Green Lake.

Note: Parts of the "White Lightning" reportedly still remain, however. The nose cowling of the N-10, with Reynold’s name on it, is currently part of the Hydroplane and Raceboat Museum collection in Kent and is in currently in storage for possible display at a later date.

Pay 'n Pak will return with turbine

Reprinted from The Seattle Times, November 19, 1978

The Pak will be back — with turbines.

David Heerensperger, chairman of the Pay 'n Pak corporation, has announced plans to re-enter unlimited hydroplane racing with a turbine-powered boat in the 1980 season.

The new boat will be built by Jim Lucero, now crew chief of the Atlas Van Lines, last season's national champion. Lucero will remain with the Atlas camp for the 1979 season.

The new turbine boat will be powered by a Lycoming T-55 L7 gas turbine, originally developed for military helicopters.

Chuck Lyford, who served a crew chief on the turbine-powered U-95, will be a consultant to the Pak camp. In 1974 the U-95 was heralded as the "boat of the future" but failed to win a race and sank after an accident at the Seafair Regatta. The turbine project was abandoned later when the boat's owner, Jim Clapp, died.

Heerensperger's Pay 'n Pak won national titles in 1973, '74 and '75. Heerensperger dropped out of hydroplane racing after the 1975 season, selling his boat and equipment to Bill Muncey. Racing under Atlas Van Lines sponsorship, Muncey won the national title in 1976. The boat raced last season as Miss Madison.

Heerensperger ranks fourth on the all-time list of owners' victories with 24.

The way for Heerensperger's re-entry into hydro racing was cleared at the recent Baton Rouge, La., meeting of the Unlimited Racing Commission. A rule was passed allowing turbine racing "without restrictions" for a four-year period beginning with the first season Heerensperger's new boat races, according to Sue Sponnoble, executive secretary of the commission.

A total of 10 races are on the 1979 unlimited schedule. New sites are Long Beach, Calif., a site outside Salt Lake City and El Dorado, Kansas. Dropping from the circuit is Owensboro, Ky., site of last year's Gold Cup.

The Seattle unlimited race will be held August 5.

The sport meets a “Winged Wonder”

Reprinted from Unlimited NewsJournal, January 2019

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.

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.

A few details about the new boat began to emerge from Ron Jones’ Costa Mesa, California, shop while the thing was still under construction early in 1973. A press release said that it would be “new and revolutionary” and that it would look like Heerensperger’s previous boat, but much stronger and with other changes, such as aerodynamic cowlings.

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.

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.

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.

Selling the Pride of Pay ’n Pak

By A.J. Muntz
Reprinted from At the Ragged Edge

Everything clicked for Bill Muncey in 1972. He won both preliminary heats at the season’s first race in Miami and was about to head onto the course for the final when he received sage advice that he would follow to the letter for the rest of the year. With a serious look on his face, his crew chief, Bill Cantrell, leaned over the cockpit and, in his deep, Kentucky drawl, told Muncey to “get out in front and then improve your position.

The 1972 Pride of Pay 'n Pak. Photo by Bill Osborne.

He not only followed Cantrell’s instructions in Miami, but also continued running ahead of the field at each race, winning in Owensboro, Detroit, Madison, the Tri-Cities, and in Seattle. The Detroit victory had been the most satisfying, giving him his fifth Gold Cup, a mark that tied him with the great Gar Wood.

It seemed Muncey and Atlas Van Lines could do nothing wrong that year. The team won 18 of the 21 heats started, placed second in the other three, set a number of lap, heat, race, and qualifying records, and earned Muncey his fourth national driver’s championship. “We didn’t expect to have this kind of a season,” Muncey said. “Who’d ever believe 10 years ago that I’d bring Lee Schoenith a national championship?”

As Muncey dominated everything in Atlas Van Lines, Bill Schumacher and Billy Sterett, Jr. combined to take runner-up honors aboard the Pride of Pay ’n Pak. In the process, the team also won  the only race Muncey didn’t, the President’s Cup, and set a world record qualifying time of 125.874 miles per hour.

Meanwhile, Bernie Little’s Karelsen-designed Budweiser began to show its age. With Terry Sterett at the wheel, the three-time national champion managed only two second-place finishes and ended the 1972 season a distant third in the national standings.

Bernie Little didn’t like being third in anything, so he again turned to the same strategy he used in 1966 when he bought Miss Exide and again in 1969 when he enticed Dean Chenoweth to join his team: He acquired the very thing he couldn’t beat.

The day after the season’s final race, Little announced that he had purchased the Pride of Pay ’n Pak from Dave Heerensperger for $30,000.

Heerensperger was willing to part with the boat because he already had plans for a new hydroplane. Months earlier, he had asked Ron Jones to design and build a new Pay ‘n Pak that would be even better than the “Pride.” Jones did just that, producing a boat that would stun the hydro-racing world and become one of the most successful race boats in history.”

Remund 1st; Muncey 5th

MIAMI — (Special) — Mickey Remund wasn't satisfied with going Bill Muncey one better. He had to rub it in a little.

Remund, getting his first assignment in a "real" unlimited hydroplane, yesterday outgunned Muncey for the Champion Regatta trophy and twice broke a course record set by the defending national champion.

Remund, Garden Grove, Calif., piloted the Seattle-based Pride of Pay 'n Pak to three easy heat wins and a 1,200-point sweep against seven competitors in Marine Stadium.

Remund won Heat 1A with a record 106.867 miles-an-hour average. In Head 2B, Remund zipped around the 2½-mile course even faster, setting the standard at 111.150 m.p.h. Muncey, who won six of last season's seven races, provided Remund a target with a 05.448 heat last year.

In the final, Remund slowed to 102.389 m.p.h., but was not pushed after Muncey's Atlas Van Lines stalled on the third lap.

Remund, who had a "cup of coffee" in the underpowered Van's P-X a few years back, established himself as the 1973 favorite with his immediate success in the new Pay 'n Pak.

Yesterday's regatta was the first for the new Ron Jones-designed hull, owned by Dave Heerensperger of Mercer Island. The last time a boat won it's first race was in 1959 when Chuck Hickling captured the Apple Cup with the Miss Pay 'n Save.

Heerensperger, a fierce competitor, was more than pleased with the win, which earned his camp $5,445.

"We've got one that Muncey's gonna chase all year, I hope," Heerensperger said after his boat crossed the finish line.

The Pay 'n Pak utilizes a horizontal stabilizer bar — a "bat wing" — on the tail fin to smooth out cornering.

"I think we will see a lot of those wings being built in the next 30 days," Buddy Byers, unlimited commissioner, said while congratulating Heerensperger.

George Henley of Eatonville, driving the Lincoln Thrift, placed second with 900 points on three second place finishes. Henley earned $4,095 for Bob Fendler, owner of the Lincoln.

Jim McCormick of Owensboro, Ky., was third with his Red Man (former Hallmark Homes).

Dean Chenoweth of Xenia, Ohio, was a disappointed fourth in the Budweiser.

Muncey's 300 points for a second in Heat 1A stood up for fifth overall.

Bill Wurster, in Bob Gilliam's Valu-Mart, and Charlie Dunn, in the Miss Madison, tied for sixth with 225 points each.

The unlimited fleet now heads for Washington, D.C., and the President's Cup on the Potomic River, June 2-3.

Pak won't be back—Heerensperger says 'I quit'

By Glenn Nelson
Reprinted from The Seattle Times, August 11, 1982

Unlimited-hydroplane racing received another jolt yesterday when Pay 'n Pak owner Dave Heerensperger announced he was pulling out of racing.

Driver John Walters sits dejectedly on the hull of the Pay 'n Pak after the boat went dead in the water during testing before crashing in Sunday's Emerald Cup on Lake Washington. Yesterday, Pak owner Dave Heerensperger decided to retire from unlimited racing.

Heerensperger's decision came two days after his driver, John Walters, was injured in a three-boat crash during an early heat in the Sea Galley Emerald Cup on Lake Washington.

Walters was seriously injured when the Pak ran over Executone, which had gone out of control and struck The Squire Shop.

The 28-year-old Pak driver's condition is serious but has steadily improved, doctors at Harborview Medical Center said yesterday. Walters will remain on a ventilator until doctors can determine the extents of injuries to a lung.

Walters suffered a fractured right elbow, broken left knee, three broken bones in the cheek, all of which were set in surgery at Harborview Sunday night. He also had compression fractures of three vertebrae, but no paralysis.

"It was just the accident," said Heerensperger, explaining his decision. "It was an uncontrollable thing but the bad publicity and with John hurt and the boat wrecked ... and we'd lost Dean Chenoweth one weekend and one week later, I almost lost my own driver. When Muhammad Ali hits you in the face one or two times, you don't need the third. I'd had enough.

"If I hadn't won any national titles or any Gold Cups, that would be one thing. but I've done everything in this sport. I don't need anymore. Whenever you leave a sport that's been so good to you, sure you might have some regrets.

But I left in 1975, I left because we had just on three national championships. After winning the '75 title, (Pak driver) George Henley said, 'We've done everything. I think I want to get out.' I agreed. I sat on the beach for five years and it didn't bother me. I came back with the turbine to help the sport.

"The upside of racing is winning races. The downside is that I almost lost a driver and a friend. When I see the accident and get a queasy feeling in my stomach, it's time to get out."

With 25 victories spanning the period from 1968 to 1975 and 1980 to the present season, Heerensperger is the fifth winningest owner in the sport's history.

He captured national championships in 1973, '74, an '75 and Gold Cups in '74 and '75. Heerensperger won four races in Seattle and four in Pasco. The Pay 'n Pak Corp. sponsorship is fourth in career wins.

Heerensperger is chairman of the board of Pay 'n Pak, a Kent-based chain of plumbing and electrical stores. He had been one of the top innovators in the sport, credited with introducing stabilizer tail-fins, rear-mounted engines, trimaran hulls and the turbine power plant.

Heerensperger said he was also disturbed by the current trend of blowover-type accidents that claimed the lives of Chenoweth and Bill Muncey, two close friends.

"After what happened to Dean, I thought we should all meet in the winter and do something about safety," said Heerensperger. "Maybe shorten the courses, limit manifolds and maybe the sport would be called 'semi-limited." Something has to be done to make it safer. The sport has got to do some serious governing. It can't go on like it has. I think the sport itself will die if it does.

"I hope the sport can keep going. I'm sure it will, but without us. But this is a resilient bunch. Someone will step in and the sport will be back where it was."

According to Pak crew chief Jim Lucero, Heerensperger had hinted at the decision Sunday night.

"At the time, it was maybe yes, maybe no," Lucero said. "He probably didn't make the decision just because of the accident — though it was the biggest factor. Boat racing is an expensive thing to do. I don't think expenses was the major issue, however.

"I can understand the decision. We had two major accidents in the past two years. And there was nothing we could do about Sunday's. I felt we had reached the point where we were running better and safer than we had ever run.

"The Pay 'n Pak people feel real responsibility to Arlene (Walter's wife) and his two kids (Katrina and Marciva). I think they don't want to go through that again."

"We put together the best and safest equipment we could," Heerensperger said. "The accident wasn't related to going too fast or flying. It was an unfortunate accident — who knows what happened? If you noticed, John was behind everybody — exactly where we told him to be. We felt we could stay behind and that it would be no problem to pick off the rest one at a time, finished second because the Budweiser couldn't outrun us, and give a good show. If water conditions improved, which I understand they did, then give it a shot in the final."

Lucero, the all-time winningest crew chief in unlimited history with 45 victories, said he would continue in his advisory position with the Atlas Van Lines, which he designed and built.

"I have a commitment with them and I'll stick to it," he said. "But as for what I'll do on a full-time basis, I think I'll sit back and see what develops. Meanwhile, I'll do whatever I can to help the other teams — especially from the aspect of safety,

Heerensperger had left unlimited racing before. After campaigning Miss Eagle Electric, Pride of Pay 'n Pak and Pay 'n Pak 'Lil Buzzard for eight years, he sold his three boats and equipment in 1975 to Muncey. Racing under the Atlas sponsorship, Muncey won the national title in 1976.

The 45-year-old Pak owner returned to the sport in 1980 with the turbine-powered hydro that crashed at Seattle on Sunday.

In the boat's first race at Pasco that year, Walters flipped in spectacular fashion during a pre-race test lap. He was hospitalized for two weeks with a fractured hip socket and sprains to his left shoulder, elbow and knee.

Lucero and the Pak crew last year completed a new Pay 'n Pak hull that was the prototype for this year's version of the successful Atlas Van Lines. Heerensperger said he will sell all his equipment but has not yet talked to anyone about the sale.

It has been speculated that Squire Shop owner bob Steil is interested in the boat, but Steil could not be reached for comment.

Two drivers have died under Heerensperger's employ. Col. Warner Gardner died in the Miss Eagle Electric at the 1968 Gold Cup in Detroit. Tommy Fults was killed during testing in Pay 'n Pak's 'Lil Buzzard four days before a 1970 race in San Diego.

"I had a real low feeling then," said Heerensperger. "But those were different type accidents. I didn't feel they had to do with anything safety wise with the sport. With the colonel, it was driver error."

Pay 'n Pak Corp. was founded in Longview in 1953 by Stan Thurman. Heerensperger got into the business under Thurman when he established a chain of stores known as Eagle Electric in Spokane. Heerensperger and Thurman merged their operations with John M. Headley's Seattle-based Buzzard Electric in 1969 under the Pay 'n Pak name.

David Heerensperger Passes Away

David Heerensperger, hydroplane owner, tough businessman and ‘the kindest man you could ever hope to meet’

By Asia Fields
Reprinted from The Seattle Times, December 7, 2018

The entrepreneur, known for his ownership of the Pay 'n Pak hardware stores and hydroplanes, was also an early investor in Emerald Downs.

Businessman David Heerensperger was known for being tough, but the sight of his hydroplane driver being severely injured in a crash made him feel like he was having a heart attack.

It was the 1982 Emerald Cup on Lake Washington and John Walters was racing Mr. Heerensperger’s Pay ‘n Pak against its fiercest competitor, the Miss Budweiser. Another hydroplane unexpectedly veered off course and crashed into the Pay ‘n Pak, going over top of it. Walters was ejected and floated facedown in the lake for nine minutes until responders got to him, he said.

David Heerensperger was instrumental in growing Pay ‘n Pak’s annual sales
to nearly $400 million. (Greg Gilbert / The Seattle Times, 1993)

The hydroplane’s owner, then 46, had already lost two drivers to fatal accidents. But the sight of the crash sent him to the hospital and off the sport for good. When Mr. Heerensperger was released, he went straight to Walters’ side. Doctors were able to restart Walters’ heart, but he had a broken back, head injuries, internal bleeding and broken ribs that had punctured his organs, he said.

Mr. Heerensperger kept him on the payroll for the four years it took him to recover.

Mr. Heerensperger was best known for his competitive spirit, which fueled his hardware-business empires and investments in Thoroughbred and hydroplane racing. Friends remember him most for his quiet generosity.

Mr. Heerensperger died Sunday from medical complications at the age of 82, surrounded by family at his home in Bellevue.

“I’d like for people to know that he was more than just a suit and tie in the corporate world,” Walters said. “He had to wear this armor to be the tough guy and the leader of a multimillion dollar business. But I was fortunate to see the other side of David Heerensperger. Under that armor was the heart and soul of the kindest man you could ever hope to meet.”

A self-made businessman

Mr. Heerensperger was born in 1936 in Longview. His first jobs included pumping gas and doing inventory for hardware-store owner Stanley Thurman, according to his biographer and former Seattle Times reporter Gary Dougherty. Thurman gave him a loan to open Eagle Electric and Plumbing Supply in Spokane in 1959.

As Mr. Heerensperger worked his way up, he began sponsoring Spokane sports, including hydroplane racing, softball, drag racing, football, basketball, baseball, hockey and bowling teams.

In 1969, a merger brought Eagle Electric under Thurman’s Kent-based hardware store Pay ‘n Pak, and Mr. Heerensperger soon after became chairman and CEO. He moved to the Seattle area and began funding the city’s fast-pitch softball team, which won three national and two international championships under his leadership.

Mr. Heerensperger oversaw Pay ‘n Pak’s expansion and grew its annual sales to nearly $400 million before he was forced out in 1989 after an attempted hostile takeover. He went on to create a competitor store, Eagle Hardware and Garden, and Pay ‘n Pak shuttered three years later.

David Heerensperger, left, gives his driver, Mickey Remund, a big hug after his hydroplane won the
World Championship Seafair regatta on Aug. 6, 1973. (Vic Condiotty / The Seattle Times)

Eagle Hardware, which competed with chains like Home Depot, was “the Nordstrom of home improvement,” former employee Eric Goranson said. Mr. Heerensperger would walk through the stores to ensure the white-tile floors were polished, items were perfectly straight on the shelves and employees were experts on inventory.

The company had grown to 32 stores and 6,000 employees by the time Mr. Heerensperger sold it to Lowe’s for $1 billion in 1998.

After selling Eagle, Mr. Heerensperger tried to retire, sailing to the Mediterranean on a 162-foot yacht with an 11-person crew and personal chef, according to a 2000 Seattle Times article. But he returned a year later to launch yet another business, founding World Lighting and Design at the age of 64. Mr. Heerensperger’s friend and Emerald Downs founder Ron Crockett said this was one of the few unsuccessful projects the late entrepreneur had, as the stores didn’t meet sales expectations and closed after two years.

“He was a risk-taker of a high degree, always willing to take a chance,” Crockett said.

Hydroplane and horse racing

Mr. Heerensperger bought his own hydroplane in 1967 and immediately began racking up victories.

Hydroplane racing was extremely dangerous during this time, recalled Stephen Shepperd, who wrote a book on the Diamond Cup hydroplane races. It wasn’t until the 1980s that closed canopies were used, which largely eliminated the deaths of drivers, he said.

It was during a 1968 race with the Miss Budweiser that Mr. Heerensperger’s boat somersaulted, killing the driver. It was the sixth fatality in unlimited hydroplane racing in two years, Shepperd said. Another one of Mr. Heerensperger’s drivers died in 1970.

Mr. Heerensperger hired designers to make his boats safer and faster, which led to the 1973 Winged Wonder Pay ‘n Pak. The boat was more stable and did better on corners, Shepperd said.

“Back when he started, the boats were all made of wood. He brought the aluminum construction into the sport,” Shepperd said. He was an innovator and he did it by hiring the best.”

David Heerensperger, owner of Millennium Wind, talks about his horse’s chances in the Kentucky Derby during a
press conference at Emerald Downs in April 2001. (Mike Siegel / The Seattle Times)

The piston-powered ’73 Pay ‘n Pak, white with a distinct orange stripe, set a world lap speed record of almost 127 mph on a 3-mile Lake Washington course. It’s now in the Hydroplane & Race Boat Museum in Kent.

Mr. Heerensperger’s team won 25 races from 1968 to 1982, including two prestigious American Power Boat Association Gold Cups and four Seafair races. President Richard Nixon personally gave Mr. Heerensperger a trophy in 1973, and the boat owner was inducted into the Unlimited Hydroplane Hall of Fame in 1980.

After leaving hydroplane racing, Mr. Heerensperger focused his attention on Thoroughbreds. He was an early investor in Emerald Downs, which Crockett opened in 1996. He won 25 graded stakes races from 1995 to 2014, Dougherty said, and his horse Millennium Wind ran in the 2001 Kentucky Derby.

“He was a guy who could do most anything, to tell you the truth,” Crockett said.

Mr. Heerensperger is survived by his children Joe, Julie, Karen and Corey, and fiancée Nikki Johnson.

David Heerensperger

David Heerensperger, former H1 Unlimited Hydroplane Racing Series owner & successful businessman passes away.

December 2, 2018 —  (SEATTLE) The world of hydroplane racing has lost one of its legendary former boat owners with the passing of David Heerensperger at the age of 82.

Dave Heerensperger in 1971

Heerensperger died of complications from a medical procedure. Members of his family were at his bedside.

Born in Longview, Washington on June 5, 1936, Heerensperger's foray into the business world began in Longview, Washington in 1959 when businessmen Stan Thurman and Bob Grover of T&T Electric set him up in a store in Spokane, Washington called Eagle Electric and Plumbing.

In 1969, Eagle Electric and Plumbing, was acquired by Pay 'n Pak, which was founded by Thurman. A year later, a rift developed between Thurman, Heerensperger and another longtime T&T employee, John Headley. Thurman left the group.

Dave Heerensperger, with Mickey Remund, in 1973

In 1969 Heerensperger became chairman and CEO of Pay 'n Pak. He grew it to more than 30 stores throughout the western United States. After a hostile takeover attempt, Heerensperger retired from Pay 'n Pak in November 1989.

After his retirement from the Pay 'n Pak stores, Heerensperger developed Eagle Hardware and Garden, a west coast big box hardware store. He was chairman from 1989 to 1997 and it was sold 1997 to Lowes Home Improvement Warehouse for an estimated $1 billion.

Never one to slow down, Heerensperger then founded and was chairman of World Lighting & Design based in Bellevue, Washington.

Dave Heerensperger, with George Henley and Jim Lucero, in 1974

During his life he invested in seven different unlimited hydroplanes including the 1968 "Miss Eagle Electric," the iconic 1973 "Pay 'n Pak," and in the 1980s campaigned the first turbine-powered hydroplane to win a H1 Unlimited Hydroplane race.

Between 1968 and 1982, Heerensperger’s team won 25 races, including two prestigious American Power Boat Association Gold Cups, and three National High Point Championships. In 1973, the "Pay 'n Pak" set a world lap speed record of 126.760 m.p.h. on a 3-mile course on Seattle’s Lake Washington with Mickey Remund driving.

Dave Heerensperger, with John Walters, in 1981

The Heerensperger dynasty also had its dark side. Two drivers were fatally injured in hydroplane accidents–Warner Gardner in 1968 with the second "Miss Eagle Electric" and Tommy Fults in 1970 with "Pay 'n Pak."

In his early years, Heerensperger was an avid fast pitch softball player and hockey player, and sponsored highly successful semi-pro softball teams in the Spokane and Seattle. In addition to H1 Unlimited Hydroplanes, Heerensperger and his Pay 'n Pak stores sponsored NHRA dragsters.

Dave Heerensperger, with Jim Lucero, in 2004

In his later years, he became involved in the world of thoroughbred racing and became a successful owner and breeder. Heerensperger and then-wife Jill first became involved in racing after purchasing a trip to the 1980 Kentucky Derby at a charity auction. They reached the Derby as owners in 2001 with GI Toyota Blue Grass S. winner Millennium Wind (Cryptoclearance). Trained by David Hofmans, the $1.2-million Keeneland September purchase was 11th in the Run for the Roses that year.

He was also reported to be a significant investor in Emerald Downs race track near Auburn, Washington.

Hydro folk to draught beer-firm sponsor?

By Glenn Nelson
Reprinted from The Seattle Times, October 13, 1982

It may be Miller Time for the unlimited-hydroplane circuit.

Budweiser and Miller Brewing Co., at lager-heads over the beer market for some time, have embodied their competition in the spirit(s) of athletic endeavor.

Last night, the St. Louis Cardinals, owned by Bud chairman Auggie Busch, and the Brewers, who play in Milwaukee, home of the Miller corporation offices, opened baseball's World Series.

Next year, the two may take their stout rivalry to the waters.

Pay 'n Pak crew chief Jim Lucero made two trips to Milwaukee last summer to propose an unlimited-hydroplane sponsorship the the Miller people.

According to sources in both the boating and beer caps, Miller would not have allowed Lucero to travel all the way to Milwaukee if there was no interest in what he had to say.

Lucero has been actively recruiting new ownership for Pak president Dave Heerensperger's two hulls (one which has not tested competitive waters), his arsenal of turbine engines, assorted equipment and out-of-work crew.

Heerensperger retired from hydro racing shortly after an accident involving his driver, John Walters, in the Aug. 8 Seattle regatta.

Heerensperger said he has not been approached by Miller, but has received feelers from others not associated with Miller.

"Jim Lucero" has been talking to some people, but it's not his equipment to sell," he said. "They have to talk to me. It's my equipment."

The sponsorship would take a big gulp of of Miller's corporate coffers. The value of the Pak equipment has been estimated to be in the $500,000 to $1 million range.

What appears to be holding up the venture is the lack of an outside owner who would buy the boat with Miller's backing.

The development at least had Bernie Little, owner of the Miss Budweiser, foaming over the possibilities.

"If another beer company got into the sport, it would be a great challenge," he said. "I'm all for it. Let's go!"

Miller's entry into unlimited racing would shake up an already brewing rivalry with Budweiser. Miller High Lift sponsored an offshore race this year and Lowenbrau, a Miller subsidiary, has sponsored an offshore boat. Budweiser has been involved in offshore boat racing for some years, though its boats have not gone head-to-head with Lowenbrau's.

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."

A rarity: Owners, drivers agree - Pak is favored

By Chuck Ashmun
Reprinted from The Seattle Times, August 3, 1975

Jim Lucero, left, Pay 'n Pak crew chief, and Dave Heerensperger, owner, watch as the 1975
national-points leader was lowered into Lake Washington for a test run. The Pak, driven by George Henley
of Eatonville, will be bidding for it's forth consecutive victory in today's Seafair Trophy race.
Staff photo by Pete Liddell.

The Pak is the pick.

Unlimited-hydroplane owners and drivers, seldom unanimous about anything, have given the favorite's role to the Pay 'n Pak for today's Seafair Trophy Race on Lake Washington.

A spot check with several camps in the Stan Sayres pits resulted in a near-unanimous agreement that it will be a four-boat race and a less-solid vote for the Pak to finish first.

Weisfields, Miss Budweiser and Miss U.S. are the three other boats given a good chance, but the general feeling is that George Henley will wind up as leader of the pack.

Henley has won 10 unlimited races in less than two full seasons and is aiming for his fourth straight victory of 1975 and second straight in Seattle.

Nine boats qualified before time trials ended, but the field probably will grow by the time the first race starts at noon today.

Closed-mouth race officials last night would not say definitely, but it seemed certain more qualifying tries would be made this morning.

"I'll take the Pay 'n Pak," said Tom D'Eath, Miss U.S. driver, when asked for his assessment of today's outcome. D'Eath was an exception in the he did not choose his own boat to finish first.

"I don't think it's fair for me to pick my boat, but I really do think our chances of winning are very good." D'Eath said.

"We've had all kinds of problems with our engines this week, but maybe that's not so bad. We had trouble all week in Detroit, too."

D'Eath drove to the first unlimited triumph of this career on June 29, winning with a Detroit-based boat rebuilt after it was gutted in last year's Gold Cup race here.

"I'm not superstitious, but after what happened in Detroit, this might be a good omen," D'Eath said.

"Budweiser, Pay 'n Pak and Weisfield's," said Bernie Little, owner of the Miss Bud, giving his choices, in order, without hesitation.

"I'm really serious. I think this is our race course. Mickey went out and hit 160 (m.p.h.) and came back and said he could really turn one on."

The Budweiser jockey, Mickey Remund, charged around the 2½-mile course at an average speed of 121.786 miles an hour soon after the boat was lowered into the water for the first time on Friday.

Remund's last previous ride on the Bud ended with him standing on the upright pickle-forked bow, grasping a tow line from a rescue craft, as his boat sank in the Columbia River.

Another driver, Billy Schumacher, went with a top three of Weisfield's, Pay 'n Pak and Budweiser for today's race, while his former boss, Dave Heerensperger, said:

"Pay 'n Pak, Budweiser, Miss U.S."

"I still think we can beat him when we have it all together," Schumacher said following the Pak's Gold Cup win in the Tri-Cities last weekend.

The Weisfield's driver did not seriously challenge the Pak in what was expected to be a duel of Seattle boats as mechanical difficulties cost Schumacher points as well as money.

"I think this is going to be a Rolls Royce race, although I may have a surprise coming in Heat 1B," he added.

Schumacher's competition in the second heat race will include the Miss U.S. and Lincoln Thrift, both powered by turbocharged-Allison engines.

"The Budweiser might have an advantage if the water's rough," said Heerensperger, who owns the Pay 'n Pak. "He's been doing better than anybody in the corners."

But Heerensperger believes Henley will finish first.

And the consensus is: Stick with the Pak.

New Hydro Type Announced

Reprinted from The Seattle Times, November 11, 1969

Dave Heerensperger, chain-store operator, announced yesterday he has commissioned construction of a low-profile, rear-engine hydroplane to operate in the unlimited racing class in 1970.

The hydroplane will be powered by twin Chrysler hemi engines. The boat will retain the name "Pride of Pay 'n Pak."

The craft, described as being the first unlimited built along low-profile lines with auto engines in the rear, by Heerensperger, is to be completed in April and testing is to begin at Lake Elsinore, Calif. Final tests will be conducted on Lake Washington.

The new Pride of Pay 'n Pak, replacing the disappointing outrigger model, will be 28½ feet long, with a so-called pickle-fork bow with the center section cut out for safety. It will be 12 feet 8 inches wide and weight about 5,500 pounds.

The engines are designed to deliver about 1,100 horsepower.

Pak owner, driver reach $ impasse; Remund out

Reprinted from The Seattle Times, September 26, 1973

Associated Press — An impasse in contract negotiations probably will keep Mickey Remund, national unlimited-hydroplane championship driver, away from the controls of the Pay 'n Pak next summer, Dave Heerensperger, the boat's owner, said yesterday.

Heerensperger, who said he's "in the market for a new driver," said Remund had demanded a 400 percent salary hike and call the demand a case of "the tail wagging the dog."

"I'm a hard-nosed guy. If I make an offer and my driver doesn't accept it, well that's it," he said in Seattle. "I'm still running the show."

He said he and his crew chief have not gone beyond the initial look at five prospective drives but added, "I don't think we'll have any trouble finding the right driver, with a national-championship boat and a great crew."

Remund, 36, had an established record as a limited-hydro pilot before joining the Pay 'n Pak team. The machinist from Palm Desert, Calif., was chosen to replace Billy Sterett, who retired from racing last year.