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.

Fastest Lap Time

MIAMI, FLA., May 17, 1973 (AP WIREPHOTO)

FASTEST LAP TIME

Pay 'n Pak, an unlimited hydroplane of radical design, from Seattle, Washington, and driven by Mickey Remund, of Palm Desert, California, as it set an unofficial lap record of 119.1 m.p.h. in Miami's Marine Stadium. The boats are testing in preparation for Sunday's $25,000 Champion Spark Plug Unlimited Regatta with ten Super Speed hydros competing over a 2½ course.

Walters, D'Eath top Green Lake drivers

By Craig Smith
Reprinted from The Seattle Times, May 26, 1980

John Walters says he is the driver of the new turbine-powered Pay 'n Pak unlimited hydroplane.

And yesterday, in a limited hydroplane, he showed that he knows his way around a race course.

Walters, 27, won both heats of the 280-cubic-inch competition in the 33rd annual Green Lake Regatta.

Walters, who is helping build the new Pay 'n Pak, replied "yes" when asked if Dave Heerensperger, Pak owner, has told him he will be behind the wheel of the new pak when it debuts lat next month.

Heerensperger has declined o make an official announcement.

Yesterday's Green Lake Regatta was unusual in two respects: no records and no flips.

Several races were run in a mist and some in light rain, factors that reduced the crowds and speeds.

"This is not a day for records," said one driver.

There was some good driving, though. Tom D'Eath of Detroit, who won the 1976 Gold Cup in Miss U.S., easily won both 7-liter heats in Don Ryan's Lauterbach Special, the Bellingham boat he drove to a national high-points Grand Prix title last year. His fastest on the 1⅔-mile course was 102.041 miles an hour, best time of the day.

D'Eath, 36, also has been driving mini-Indianapolis cars and has aspirations of racing in the Indy 500 next year. He also would like to be back in an unlimited.

"I'd like to keep driving unlimiteds, but there aren't may boats around," he said. "All of the boats are on the West Coast and the West Coast guys gobble up the seats."

One of the best duals of the afternoon was in the speedy SK class, where Dr. David Bosacco of Wallingford, Pa., nipped George Nordling of Portland in both heats. The surgeon's fastest heat was 98.664 m.p.h.

Dr. Bosacco began racing two years ago, but could not provide any explanation for his decision.

"You ask all these people why they do it and you don't get an explanation that makes any sense," he said, surveying the pits.

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.

Henley, Pak 'boys' do it again

By Chuck Ashmun
Reprinted from The Seattle Times, August 4, 1975

George Henley wrapped up the Seafair Trophy by driving the patched-up Pay 'n Pak to a
second-place finish in the final heat of unlimited-hydroplane racing yesterday on Lake Washington.
Weisfield's, piloted by Billy Schumacher, took the final heat, but the Pak increased its national point
lead by picking up 1,100 points during the afternoon.

Ho hum . . . just another race.

The Seafair Trophy Race had two fires, two accidents, a rhubarb, many mechanical casualties, a near drowning, and . . .

George Henley and Pay 'n Pak won.

If all of that seems familiar, it's because there have been controversies, collisions, infernos and conk-out hydroplanes before.

And Henley, Mr. Nice Guy on the roostertail roster, also was the winner of last year's hydro happening here.

"The boys did their work," Henley said. "That's why we won today. That's why we've been winning."

Yesterday, however, it took more than an oil change by Henley's "boys," the Pay 'n Pak crew put the bandaged Pak on top of the pack in a accident filled regatta.

"It'll take two weeks of work to repair the back end," said Dave Heerensperger, Pak owner, as he surveyed the damaged boat.

"We just patched it up, as well as the sponson, before heats."

Heerensperger, whose hydros have won three straight Seattle races and four of the past five here, was asked: "Do you own this water?"

"I can't walk on it," he replied.

Henley won with handicaps. The Eatonville driver crossed the starting line early, with his boat already damaged, in the first heat race of the day.

And he finished the final heat with the engine leaking oil.

In addition to collecting his fourth consecutive triumph, Henley put the Pak farther ahead of the Weisfield's in their season-long struggle for the national championship.

Pay 'n Pak picked up 1,100 points yesterday, while Weisfield's, which finished second, collected 1,025. The Pak's point total, with two races remaining, is 6,964. Weisfield's has 6,813.

The attrition rate much have been embarrassing to race sponsors. Nine boat — the smallest field since 1954 — started. Five finished.

After two heats of racing, only three boats had scored a point. And nine crews found the whole day point-less because of mechanical malfunctions.

Drivers were so eager to get going they took to the water about 2½ hours early — that is, five unqualified  throttle pushers attempted to qualify before the scheduled noon start, violating Seafair's contract with the city by doing so.

All that resulted from that impropriety was that Tom Kaufman, owner-driver of Mr. Fabricator, suffered shoulder and arm burns when his craft caught fire near the start-finish line.

The qualifiers also were too eager to get started. As they swarmed into the north turn, vying for position in the opening heat, Pay 'n Pak and Hamm's Beer collided, causing the damage which kept Henley's crew busy.

Still eager, four drivers crossed the starting line prematurely, leaving Bill Muncey, in Atlas Van Lines, as the only legal starter.

But Muncey's thirsty engine couldn't tolerate such a gift. He ran out of fuel nearing the finish line of the final lap, even though his crew had pumped 100 gallons into the boat which usually carries 80.

Muncey got the black flag, since his boat was creating a wake. Henley, penalized a lap for jumping the gun, scooted around the course a sixth time to take the checkered flag.

The next fire broke out on the Miss U.S. — the second time in as many years George Simon's boat had burned here.

This time, the firefighters got there quicker, but not before the cockpit was destroyed. The driver, Tom D'Eath, blown out of the cockpit by the explosion, was rescued from the water, unhurt.

That blaze delayed the start of Heat 2B, the only heat in which fans got excited about a two-boat duel.

Mickey Remund, Miss Budweiser's pilot, caught up with the Pak in the second lap and engaged in a brief battle before pulling up lame with a broken propeller

Except for that skirmish, and a brief Lincoln Thrift-Weisfield's exchange in Heat 2A, the racing was confined to fans dashing towards their cars after the regatta.

How many were there? Probably no more than one-fourth of the pre-race prediction of 200,000.

The other accident, which led to the controversy, came in the last heat.

Lincoln Thrift, which could have won the regatta by winning the final dash, got washed down as Milner Irvin fought for survival in a south-turn lane-changing incident.

The water blew off Irvin's windshield and face guard, injuring the driver and knocking the Thrift out of contention. But no foul was called.

Weisfield's won the final heat. Pay 'n Pak was second, but Henley had enough points accumulated to take the trophy.

Few fans seemed upset with the outcome — even though the winner of the last heat did not win the race.

It has happened before — at three other regattas this season.

And this was just one more race.

The Pak is Back in Seattle

August 5, 2018 — The 1973 Pay 'n Pak, beautifully restored by the Hydroplane & Raceboat Museum, returned to the shores of Lake Washington as part of the Vintage Hydroplane Exhibition during the Seafair Weekend featuring the Albert Lee Appliance Cup.

The Pak, along with the 1957 Miss Wahoo, 1958 Miss Bardahl, and 1977 Atlas Van Lines, make several appearances during the three day event.

Designed and built by master hydroplane build Ron Jones, the Pay 'n Pak ranks among the all-time great thunderboats with 22 race victories. It stands as the first hydroplane of any shape or size to be built of aluminum honeycomb, rather than marine plywood. It was also first hull to sport a horizontal stabilizer wing.

Between 1973 and 1975, Pay 'n Pak won three consecutive races in Seattle. In 1973, Micky Remund out-dueled Dean Chenoweth and Miss Budweiser to capture the UIM World Championship. In 1974, it was George Henley guiding the Pak to a victory in the APBA Gold Cup. Henley returned in 1975 to pilot the Pay 'n Pak to a win in the Seafair Trophy race.

Pay 'n Pak wins 3rd straight hydro title

Reprinted from The Seattle Times, September 22, 1975

SAN DIEGO — (Special) — Billy Schumacher ran out of "laughing gas" yesterday, and George Henley and the Pay 'n Pak giggled all the way home.

Henley scored come-from-behind victories in all three heats on Mission Bay to win the Weisfield's Cup trophy and the 1975 national championship.

The win was Henley's 12th in less than two seasons as the Pay 'n Pak pilot and a record 16th for Dave Heerensperger's boat, the national champion the past three seasons.

Heerensperger has announced plans to campaign a new hull in 1976.

Henley, lured out of retirement after two races this season, passed the lead boat in the final turn of each five-mile heat to overtake the Weisfield's in national point standings in the season's final race.

Pay 'n Pak wound up with 1,200 points here and a season total of 8,864. Weisfield's, unable to qualify for the final heat after blowing an engine in a preliminary face, finished the season with 8,213 points.

Henley and Schumacher waged a side-by-side duel for 4½ laps in Heat 1B before the Pak shot in front as Weisfield's lost acceleration coming out of the final turn.

"The nitrous tank just fat ran dry," Schumacher said later. The drivers used nitrous oxide, an exotic fuel also known as laughing gas, to boost acceleration.

Henley, of Eatonville, Wash., made similar last-lap charges to edge Lincoln Thrift in Heat 2B and Miss Budweiser in the final heat.

In the final, the Pay 'n Pak darted past Mickey Remund in the Miss Budweiser when Remund had to slow temporarily as his craft overtook another, slower-moving boat in the inside lane of the course.

Henley said he planned no come-from-behind strategy in his battle with Schumacher, which he won in a course-record average speed of 116.099 miles an hour around the 2½ mile circuit.

In other heats, "we wanted to make sure we would finish," Henley said, indicating he did not push the Pak quite as much.

Schumacher dropped out of Heat 2A, losing a shot in the final heat, when his boat lost oil pressure. He shut it down just as the engine threw a rod.

"I'm getting pretty tired of being passed in the last turn," said the Seattle driver, who finished on top in points standings for drives for the third time in his unlimited career.

Henley's win here successfully defended his title in the Mission Bay regatta. He earlier scored victories at Madison, Ind., Dayton, Ohio, Tri-cities, Wash., and Seattle — repeating 1974 wins at each of those sites.