By Del Danielson
Reprinted from The Seattle Times, July 22, 1972
TRI-CITIES — "He was really smokin’ out there, wasn’t he?"
Dave Heerensperger didn’t wait for an answer to his own question as he bounced down a catwalk to greet his driver, Bill Sterett, Jr., after a world-record run by the Pride of Pay ‘N Pak yesterday.
Sterett qualified for tomorrow’s Atomic Cup unlimited-hydroplane race with a sizzling average of 120.161 miles an hour for two laps on the Columbia River course.
The mark, which bettered the 116.636 m. p. h. clocking Bill Muncey turned in the Atlas Van Lines in Owensboro, Ky., earlier this year, is the top qualifying effort ever on a 2½-mile course.
Muncey had yesterday’s second fastest mark as five of the eight unlimiteds in the pits were put on the "in" list for this year’s Atomic Cup.
Muncey pushed the Atlas to 115.531 m. p. h. Terry Sterett, in the Budweiser, turned 110.294 m. p. h. George Henley, returning to the circuit after losing a sponson in the Detroit Gold Cup race last month, registered 109.093 m. p. h. in the Lincoln Thrift. Bob Gilliam qualified his Pizza Pete with a 100.560 m. p. h. clocking.
Making qualifying efforts today were Jim McCormick in the Timex, Bill Wurster in the Valu-Mart and Chuck Hickling in the Smoother Mover.
Heerensperger has predicted a 118 for either the Pay ‘N Pak or the Atlas. He was ecstatic when the public address announcer called out the lap speeds for his boat.
A photographer asked Heerensperger to pose near the Pay ‘N Pak.
The owner’s reply:
"You bet! You want me to stand on my hands?" Sterett was driving without the benefit of nitrous oxide. Most unlimiteds are fitted with a nitrous injection system to provide added acceleration off the turn.
"We blew a supercharger during a test run," Sterett explained. "When that popped, it cut the nitrous line. We didn’t hook it up for this run."
The young driver from Owensboro didn’t know how fast he was going.
"I didn’t look at the speedometer," he said. "I’ve got too many other things to do out there."
Heerensperger credited the improved speed to a change in the skid fin, moving it farther out on the sponson.
"Billy picked up one a half seconds in each corner," Heerensperger said. "Three seconds is five miles an hour."
Race sponsors are concerned about the small number of boats.
If all eight qualify, the Atomic Cup will go with two sections of four boats each. If any fail to start, there would be three-boat race in one or both sections.
The Valu-Mart and Smoother Mover camps were having their problems yesterday. A burned-out booster coil stalled the Valu-Mart. Bob Murphy, owner of the Mover, was shopping for a propeller.
"We can’t get any speed at all," Murphy said. "The Budweiser guys are loaning us a different prop to try, but we have to send to Seattle for it."
"We don’t have very many boats," said one race official. "The Pay ‘N Pak and Atlas will have to be mighty fast and mighty close to save the show for us."
Sunday, April 21, 2013
Thursday, February 28, 2013
Pay ‘n Pak wins Seneca hydro race
By Martin Toombs, Seneca Falls Bureau
Reprinted from The Citizen, Auburn, N.Y., Tuesday, June 15, 1982.
ROMULUS – The turbine-powered Pay ‘N Pak, driven by John Walters, won the first ever unlimited hydroplane race in the Northeast Monday on Seneca Lake.
Walters led five other boats at the start line and survived a challenge from Miss Budweiser to win.
The race, Thunder in the Park, was run in perfect conditions before about half the 10,000 people who had been at Sampson State Park Sunday. Rough water had postponed the event.
The first lap determined the outcome of the final, which included six of the seven boats at the race.
The boats entered the water five minutes before the starting gun. It was Walters who hit the start line first, followed closely by Dean Chenoweth in Miss Budweiser and Chip Hanauer in Miss Atlas Van Lines.
Walters led into the first turn, with Pay ‘N Pak on the outside, Miss Atlas Van Lines the inside and Miss Budweiser in between.
As the boats roared into the turn, the rooster tail of water they threw up prevented the crowd from seeing all but the leader.
Behind the shield of water was determined the race’s outcome. Hanauer later said Chenoweth left him only five feet in which to pass his 15-foot wide boat traveling more than 100 mph.
He said he was forced to pull back and was hit by the rooster tails from the other boats. The force of the water tore at the cover on his engine and tore away a section of the rear wing. Disabled, he completed the lap and made his way to the pits, losing the engine covering on the way.
Officials gave Chenoweth a lap penalty.
Not knowing about the penalty, Chenoweth chased Walters across the back straightaway. Walters got the boat too high in the water, and had to ease off the throttle, letting Budweiser in front. At the same time, a system in Budweiser failed and the engine began losing oil.
On the front straight, Budweiser continue to hold the lead, but the turbine fired down the straight, the more than 6,500 pound boat dancing on the surface of the water.
A lap later, a slowing Budweiser pulled out. Miss Rock pulled out with engine problems, followed quickly by The Squire Shop.
A crew which had run the turbine boat all last year without a victory, and failed to complete this season’s opener, gave Walters an enthusiastic welcome when he reached the dock.
Hanauer got out of his boat, saw a piece of his engine cover sink several feet offshore, and then went to talk to Bernie Little, Miss Budweiser owner.
“He didn’t give me five feet” to make the turn, Hanauer said of Chenoweth.
“I’m alright,” he said, “just angry.”
J. Lee Schoenith, referee, told him they “penalized him (Chenoweth) a lap, it’s all we could do,” adding his regret Hanauer was knocked out of the race.
Chenoweth, who said he had never been penalized before, explained Walters of Pay ‘N Pak “came in on me. I just didn’t have a place to go.”
Walters “left a boat lane, and I just too the boat lane he left,” he said.
After receiving his trophy, Walters said it was his “strategy to try to get to the first turn first,” and it worked.
Someone from the crowd hollered “What’s Pay ‘N Pak?” Walters answered “the fastest boat in the world,” before telling them about the western chain of home improvement stores.
Then he took the public address microphone and said, “We’re really sorry we weren't able to go on and race yesterday. But I’m really thankful you came back and saw us today.”
“We’ll be back next year, without a doubt.”
Tom Sheehy aboard Miss Madison placed second, a crowd favorite after the community-owned boat had suffered a series of mechanical problem during the weekend.
Showing his oil-splattered helmet, Sheehy said the boat wasn't really ready for an all-out effort. So he “decided to keep my nose clean, stay out of trouble and see what happened.”
When he started to see the other boats drop out, he said he knew is approach would pay off.
Pay ‘N Pak turned the fastest lap of the day, 124.783 mph en route to its victory, averaging 120.887 over the course. Miss Madison averaged 88.106 mph.
The seventh boat, Miss KYYX driven by Brenda Jones, failed to start its head, and did not qualify for the finals. Robert Miller aboard Miss Rock was injured in his heat when a rooster tail hit his boat, breaking his windshield. The piece of plexiglass hit him in the face, causing him to lose two teeth and drop out of the heat.
With no windshield but with a full helmet, he went back out for the finals.
Reprinted from The Citizen, Auburn, N.Y., Tuesday, June 15, 1982.
ROMULUS – The turbine-powered Pay ‘N Pak, driven by John Walters, won the first ever unlimited hydroplane race in the Northeast Monday on Seneca Lake.
Walters led five other boats at the start line and survived a challenge from Miss Budweiser to win.
 |
| Stan Hanauer (second from left), Jim Lucero (center), and John Walters (second from right) celebrate their victory at Seneca Lake. Photo by Bill Osborne. |
The race, Thunder in the Park, was run in perfect conditions before about half the 10,000 people who had been at Sampson State Park Sunday. Rough water had postponed the event.
The first lap determined the outcome of the final, which included six of the seven boats at the race.
The boats entered the water five minutes before the starting gun. It was Walters who hit the start line first, followed closely by Dean Chenoweth in Miss Budweiser and Chip Hanauer in Miss Atlas Van Lines.
Walters led into the first turn, with Pay ‘N Pak on the outside, Miss Atlas Van Lines the inside and Miss Budweiser in between.
As the boats roared into the turn, the rooster tail of water they threw up prevented the crowd from seeing all but the leader.
Behind the shield of water was determined the race’s outcome. Hanauer later said Chenoweth left him only five feet in which to pass his 15-foot wide boat traveling more than 100 mph.
He said he was forced to pull back and was hit by the rooster tails from the other boats. The force of the water tore at the cover on his engine and tore away a section of the rear wing. Disabled, he completed the lap and made his way to the pits, losing the engine covering on the way.
Officials gave Chenoweth a lap penalty.
Not knowing about the penalty, Chenoweth chased Walters across the back straightaway. Walters got the boat too high in the water, and had to ease off the throttle, letting Budweiser in front. At the same time, a system in Budweiser failed and the engine began losing oil.
On the front straight, Budweiser continue to hold the lead, but the turbine fired down the straight, the more than 6,500 pound boat dancing on the surface of the water.
A lap later, a slowing Budweiser pulled out. Miss Rock pulled out with engine problems, followed quickly by The Squire Shop.
A crew which had run the turbine boat all last year without a victory, and failed to complete this season’s opener, gave Walters an enthusiastic welcome when he reached the dock.
Hanauer got out of his boat, saw a piece of his engine cover sink several feet offshore, and then went to talk to Bernie Little, Miss Budweiser owner.
“He didn’t give me five feet” to make the turn, Hanauer said of Chenoweth.
“I’m alright,” he said, “just angry.”
J. Lee Schoenith, referee, told him they “penalized him (Chenoweth) a lap, it’s all we could do,” adding his regret Hanauer was knocked out of the race.
Chenoweth, who said he had never been penalized before, explained Walters of Pay ‘N Pak “came in on me. I just didn’t have a place to go.”
Walters “left a boat lane, and I just too the boat lane he left,” he said.
After receiving his trophy, Walters said it was his “strategy to try to get to the first turn first,” and it worked.
Someone from the crowd hollered “What’s Pay ‘N Pak?” Walters answered “the fastest boat in the world,” before telling them about the western chain of home improvement stores.
Then he took the public address microphone and said, “We’re really sorry we weren't able to go on and race yesterday. But I’m really thankful you came back and saw us today.”
“We’ll be back next year, without a doubt.”
Tom Sheehy aboard Miss Madison placed second, a crowd favorite after the community-owned boat had suffered a series of mechanical problem during the weekend.
Showing his oil-splattered helmet, Sheehy said the boat wasn't really ready for an all-out effort. So he “decided to keep my nose clean, stay out of trouble and see what happened.”
When he started to see the other boats drop out, he said he knew is approach would pay off.
Pay ‘N Pak turned the fastest lap of the day, 124.783 mph en route to its victory, averaging 120.887 over the course. Miss Madison averaged 88.106 mph.
The seventh boat, Miss KYYX driven by Brenda Jones, failed to start its head, and did not qualify for the finals. Robert Miller aboard Miss Rock was injured in his heat when a rooster tail hit his boat, breaking his windshield. The piece of plexiglass hit him in the face, causing him to lose two teeth and drop out of the heat.
With no windshield but with a full helmet, he went back out for the finals.
Bud ‘Rides’ Pak’s Broken Prop
Reprinted from The Seattle Times, July 23, 1973.
Tri-Cities — Dean Chenoweth, Gold Cup champion for a second time, will get his desired chance to prove yesterday’s victory on the Columbia River was no fluke.
Chenoweth piloted the Miss Budweiser to victory in the 65th running of the prestigious unlimited-hydroplane race by out-dueling Bill Muncey in what amounted to a winner-take-all final.
Chenoweth’s task was made much, much easier when Mickey Remund’s ride, Seattle’s Pride of Pay ‘n Pak, conked out early in the second lap of the final.
Chenoweth, a jockey-sized automobile dealer from Xenia, Ohio, said his second Gold Cup triumph in four years was an "honest one." And he looked upon the fleet’s net outing, the $50,000 World Championship race on Seattle’s Lake Washington August 5, as a chance to prove it.
Many among the thousands of sun-worshippers clinging to the Columbia’s banks along a three mile stretch might disagree with Chenoweth’s assessment of an "honest" win.
Remund cleanly defeated Chenoweth in a head-to-head match up during the day’s first preliminary heat, 1-A. And Remund broke on top in the final, shattering a Gold Cup record before a broken propeller stalled the craft early in lap two.
Remund’s first lap was 119.691 miles an hour, bettering by more than 8 m.p.h. the previous standard set by Chenoweth in 1969.
Remund truly was humming in the final. He shot the Pak ahead coming out of the first corner and had a remarkable 6-second lead after the first of six laps on the 2½-mile course.
When the prop broke off and the Pak drifted to a halt, the crowd’s attention turned to a Chenoweth-Muncey duel that lasted more than three laps in one of the better unlimited races ever staged here.
Chenoweth had the inside lane and a slight lead on Muncey and the Atlas Van Lines, when Remund’s boat went out of commission. Muncey wouldn’t let Dean ease up and stayed within one roostertail of the Budweiser for three more laps.
"I was just trying to get your attention," Muncey a five-time winner of the Gold Cup, told Chenoweth later during a congratulatory trip to the Budweiser trailer.
"I pushed him as hard as I could and tried to make his equipment break," Muncey. said. "Let’s face it. The Pak and Bud are faster than the Atlas. But strange things happen in Gold Cup races and you keep trying.
"You just go as hard as your equipment will stand and hope for a break. I happen to know they come along quite often. Today they didn’t."
Chenoweth’s winning average of 111.386 m.p h. in the final heat is a Gold Cup record. His 60-mile average (four heats) of 105.354 also was a new standard. Muncey averaged 107.100 in the final.
Muncey lost two duels to Chenoweth yesterday. By blind draw, the two were matched in preliminary 3-A. Chenoweth got the inside at the start and held his position. Muncey never did find room or enough power to pass and dropped off the pace in lap three. But the two veterans were running deck-by-deck through the first two trips around.
Remund’s only test in the early heats came from Chenoweth in 1-A and the rookie made the veteran look bad. Remund out-positioned Chenoweth at the start, led the five-boat field out of the first corner and had a 3-second lead after one lap. The quiet man from Garden Grove, Calif., kept Chenoweth on his hip and by the end of lap two there was open water and an eight-second spread.
"I was very embarrassed in that first heat," Chenoweth, winner of the 1970 Gold Cup, said. "He took my start away from me. I wasn’t really up for this race beforehand but getting beat there motivated me for the rest of the afternoon, believe me!"
Chenoweth thinks the Pak’s speed edge is in the corners, but "I think we can out-pull him in the straightaway.
"I’m looking forward to Seattle. That 3-mile course has longer chutes and I should be able to show you what I mean. That race is going to be a real humdinger."
The disappointing mishap shell-shocked the Pay ‘n Pak camp. It cost Dave Heerensperger’s boat its lead in the national point chase. The Bud now has a 100-point edge over the Pak, with three races to go in the 1973 season.
A blade broke off the Pak’s prop, bending the shaft, which ripped a hole in the bottom of the boat. As soon as the other boats passed the disabled craft, three patrol boats moved in to secure lines and prevented the Pak from sinking.
"It’s the identical thing that happened in Detroit," Heerensperger said. "I think we’re going to have to find a different source of metal for props. We’re just putting so much pressure on everything that it just shakes apart."
During qualifying for the Gar Wood Memorial race on the Detroit River last month, the Pay ‘n Pak was ripped open by a bent shaft, caused by a broken prop.
"That’s five wheels in two years," Heerensperger said. "The Lincoln Thrift went here. I know we’re going to have to look for better metal. We’re just going too fast for the kinds we’ve got now."
Heerensperger, who has been chasing the Gold Cup and national-championship trophies unsuccessfully for six years, was disappointed.
Heerensperger expressed some concern about getting the Pak repaired in time for the Seattle race. "We’re running short of honeycomb aluminum," he said. "We’ll be ready, but it’s a good thing we’ve got two weeks."
After the Detroit accident, ‘ the Pay ‘n Pak crew worked 58 straight hours and got the boat ready less than two hours before race time. Remund finished second in that one.
It truly was a record race. Four Gold Cup marks fell, two to Remund and two to Chenoweth. Remund picked off three course records and Chenoweth one. In fact, several lap and heat records were broken early in the day, then bettered a few hours later.
And the crowd was the largest in eight years of unlimited racing here.
Heat 1-A — Pride of Pay ‘n Pak (Mickey Remund) 110.905; Budweiser (Dean Chenoweth) 105.058; Lincoln Thrift (Danny Walls) 90.634; Miss U. S. (Tom D’Eath) 84439; Murphy Marine (Chuck Hickling) DNF.
Heat 1-B — Pizza Pete (Fred Alter) 102.118; Notre Dame (Ron Larsen) 100.222; Miss Madison (Tom Sheehy) 98.792; Mister Fabricator (Tom Kaufman) 93.750.
Heat 1-C — Atlas Van Lines (Bill Munrey) 105.757; Red Man (James McCormick) 91.837; Valu Mart I (Bob Gilliam) 89.315; Shakey’s Special (Tom Martin) 81.154.
Heat 2-A — Atlas Van Lines 109.766; Notre Dame 101.771; Red Man 96.982; Miss U. S. 93.328; Murphy Marine 85.361.
Heat 2-B — Budweiser 104.046; Pizza Pete 98.828; Mister Fabricator 96.947; Shakey’s Special 91.525.
Heat 2-C — Pride of Pay ‘n Pak 109.356; Lincoln Thrift 104.247; Madison 99.852; Valu Mart I 94.405.
Heat 3-A — Budweiser 110.929; Atlas Van Lines 109.090; Notre Dame 100.521; Miss U. S. 91.093; Lincoln Thrift, DNS; Red Man DNS.
Heat 3-B — Pride of Pay ‘n Pak 107.142; Pizza Pete 100.222; Miss Madison 98.324; Mister Fabricator 96.463; Valu Mart 190.210.
Consolation — Red Man 97.508; Mister Fabricator 94.703; Miss Madison 92.465; Miss U. S. 92.402; Valu Mart 191.805; Shakey’s Special DNF.
Gold Cup final — Budweiser 111.386; Atlas Van Lines 107.100; Pizza Pete 98.864; Notre Dame 95.710; Pride of Pay ‘n Pak DNF.
Final points, [national totals in parentheses] — Budweiser 1,500 (6,238); Atlas Van Lines 1,400 (3,900); Pizza Pete 1,225 (3,200); Pride of Pay ‘n Pak 1,200 (6,138); Notre Dame 994 (1,463); Miss Madison 675 (2,642); Mister Fabricator 563 (1,858); Red Man 525 (4,184); Lincoln Thrift 525 (3,421); Valu Mart 1521 (1579); Miss U. S. 507 (1,544); Shakey s Special 338 (338) Murphy’s Marina 127 (127).
Tri-Cities — Dean Chenoweth, Gold Cup champion for a second time, will get his desired chance to prove yesterday’s victory on the Columbia River was no fluke.
Chenoweth piloted the Miss Budweiser to victory in the 65th running of the prestigious unlimited-hydroplane race by out-dueling Bill Muncey in what amounted to a winner-take-all final.
Chenoweth’s task was made much, much easier when Mickey Remund’s ride, Seattle’s Pride of Pay ‘n Pak, conked out early in the second lap of the final.
Chenoweth, a jockey-sized automobile dealer from Xenia, Ohio, said his second Gold Cup triumph in four years was an "honest one." And he looked upon the fleet’s net outing, the $50,000 World Championship race on Seattle’s Lake Washington August 5, as a chance to prove it.
Many among the thousands of sun-worshippers clinging to the Columbia’s banks along a three mile stretch might disagree with Chenoweth’s assessment of an "honest" win.
Remund cleanly defeated Chenoweth in a head-to-head match up during the day’s first preliminary heat, 1-A. And Remund broke on top in the final, shattering a Gold Cup record before a broken propeller stalled the craft early in lap two.
Remund’s first lap was 119.691 miles an hour, bettering by more than 8 m.p.h. the previous standard set by Chenoweth in 1969.
Remund truly was humming in the final. He shot the Pak ahead coming out of the first corner and had a remarkable 6-second lead after the first of six laps on the 2½-mile course.
When the prop broke off and the Pak drifted to a halt, the crowd’s attention turned to a Chenoweth-Muncey duel that lasted more than three laps in one of the better unlimited races ever staged here.
Chenoweth had the inside lane and a slight lead on Muncey and the Atlas Van Lines, when Remund’s boat went out of commission. Muncey wouldn’t let Dean ease up and stayed within one roostertail of the Budweiser for three more laps.
"I was just trying to get your attention," Muncey a five-time winner of the Gold Cup, told Chenoweth later during a congratulatory trip to the Budweiser trailer.
"I pushed him as hard as I could and tried to make his equipment break," Muncey. said. "Let’s face it. The Pak and Bud are faster than the Atlas. But strange things happen in Gold Cup races and you keep trying.
"You just go as hard as your equipment will stand and hope for a break. I happen to know they come along quite often. Today they didn’t."
Chenoweth’s winning average of 111.386 m.p h. in the final heat is a Gold Cup record. His 60-mile average (four heats) of 105.354 also was a new standard. Muncey averaged 107.100 in the final.
Muncey lost two duels to Chenoweth yesterday. By blind draw, the two were matched in preliminary 3-A. Chenoweth got the inside at the start and held his position. Muncey never did find room or enough power to pass and dropped off the pace in lap three. But the two veterans were running deck-by-deck through the first two trips around.
Remund’s only test in the early heats came from Chenoweth in 1-A and the rookie made the veteran look bad. Remund out-positioned Chenoweth at the start, led the five-boat field out of the first corner and had a 3-second lead after one lap. The quiet man from Garden Grove, Calif., kept Chenoweth on his hip and by the end of lap two there was open water and an eight-second spread.
"I was very embarrassed in that first heat," Chenoweth, winner of the 1970 Gold Cup, said. "He took my start away from me. I wasn’t really up for this race beforehand but getting beat there motivated me for the rest of the afternoon, believe me!"
Chenoweth thinks the Pak’s speed edge is in the corners, but "I think we can out-pull him in the straightaway.
"I’m looking forward to Seattle. That 3-mile course has longer chutes and I should be able to show you what I mean. That race is going to be a real humdinger."
The disappointing mishap shell-shocked the Pay ‘n Pak camp. It cost Dave Heerensperger’s boat its lead in the national point chase. The Bud now has a 100-point edge over the Pak, with three races to go in the 1973 season.
A blade broke off the Pak’s prop, bending the shaft, which ripped a hole in the bottom of the boat. As soon as the other boats passed the disabled craft, three patrol boats moved in to secure lines and prevented the Pak from sinking.
"It’s the identical thing that happened in Detroit," Heerensperger said. "I think we’re going to have to find a different source of metal for props. We’re just putting so much pressure on everything that it just shakes apart."
During qualifying for the Gar Wood Memorial race on the Detroit River last month, the Pay ‘n Pak was ripped open by a bent shaft, caused by a broken prop.
"That’s five wheels in two years," Heerensperger said. "The Lincoln Thrift went here. I know we’re going to have to look for better metal. We’re just going too fast for the kinds we’ve got now."
Heerensperger, who has been chasing the Gold Cup and national-championship trophies unsuccessfully for six years, was disappointed.
Heerensperger expressed some concern about getting the Pak repaired in time for the Seattle race. "We’re running short of honeycomb aluminum," he said. "We’ll be ready, but it’s a good thing we’ve got two weeks."
After the Detroit accident, ‘ the Pay ‘n Pak crew worked 58 straight hours and got the boat ready less than two hours before race time. Remund finished second in that one.
It truly was a record race. Four Gold Cup marks fell, two to Remund and two to Chenoweth. Remund picked off three course records and Chenoweth one. In fact, several lap and heat records were broken early in the day, then bettered a few hours later.
And the crowd was the largest in eight years of unlimited racing here.
Heat 1-A — Pride of Pay ‘n Pak (Mickey Remund) 110.905; Budweiser (Dean Chenoweth) 105.058; Lincoln Thrift (Danny Walls) 90.634; Miss U. S. (Tom D’Eath) 84439; Murphy Marine (Chuck Hickling) DNF.
Heat 1-B — Pizza Pete (Fred Alter) 102.118; Notre Dame (Ron Larsen) 100.222; Miss Madison (Tom Sheehy) 98.792; Mister Fabricator (Tom Kaufman) 93.750.
Heat 1-C — Atlas Van Lines (Bill Munrey) 105.757; Red Man (James McCormick) 91.837; Valu Mart I (Bob Gilliam) 89.315; Shakey’s Special (Tom Martin) 81.154.
Heat 2-A — Atlas Van Lines 109.766; Notre Dame 101.771; Red Man 96.982; Miss U. S. 93.328; Murphy Marine 85.361.
Heat 2-B — Budweiser 104.046; Pizza Pete 98.828; Mister Fabricator 96.947; Shakey’s Special 91.525.
Heat 2-C — Pride of Pay ‘n Pak 109.356; Lincoln Thrift 104.247; Madison 99.852; Valu Mart I 94.405.
Heat 3-A — Budweiser 110.929; Atlas Van Lines 109.090; Notre Dame 100.521; Miss U. S. 91.093; Lincoln Thrift, DNS; Red Man DNS.
Heat 3-B — Pride of Pay ‘n Pak 107.142; Pizza Pete 100.222; Miss Madison 98.324; Mister Fabricator 96.463; Valu Mart 190.210.
Consolation — Red Man 97.508; Mister Fabricator 94.703; Miss Madison 92.465; Miss U. S. 92.402; Valu Mart 191.805; Shakey’s Special DNF.
Gold Cup final — Budweiser 111.386; Atlas Van Lines 107.100; Pizza Pete 98.864; Notre Dame 95.710; Pride of Pay ‘n Pak DNF.
Final points, [national totals in parentheses] — Budweiser 1,500 (6,238); Atlas Van Lines 1,400 (3,900); Pizza Pete 1,225 (3,200); Pride of Pay ‘n Pak 1,200 (6,138); Notre Dame 994 (1,463); Miss Madison 675 (2,642); Mister Fabricator 563 (1,858); Red Man 525 (4,184); Lincoln Thrift 525 (3,421); Valu Mart 1521 (1579); Miss U. S. 507 (1,544); Shakey s Special 338 (338) Murphy’s Marina 127 (127).
Record Run Doesn't Pay Off
Reprinted from Sea and Pacific Motor Boat, July 1969
And in May Spokane's newest Pride of Pay 'N Pak, was pak'd off all the way to Guntersville, Alabama, and smooth water for an assault on the propeller-driven craft speed record of 200.419 mph. National sports T.V. was there, all the officials. The try went on for five days, but all of the effort wasn't pay’n off this time. But Dave Heerensperger, president of a chain of stores on the coast, is not through trying. This is his third hydro and he feels that it will have a strong year in unlimited-class racing. It is a revolutionary design as pointed out in previous issues of this column.
There was one interesting tie-in note. Driver Tommy Fults, Rookie-of-the-Year in '68, wore the new life support system and reported it is comfortable, it did not hamper his action and it gave a feeling of confidence to the driver.
And in May Spokane's newest Pride of Pay 'N Pak, was pak'd off all the way to Guntersville, Alabama, and smooth water for an assault on the propeller-driven craft speed record of 200.419 mph. National sports T.V. was there, all the officials. The try went on for five days, but all of the effort wasn't pay’n off this time. But Dave Heerensperger, president of a chain of stores on the coast, is not through trying. This is his third hydro and he feels that it will have a strong year in unlimited-class racing. It is a revolutionary design as pointed out in previous issues of this column.
Pay 'N Pak Unlimited Hydroplane 1969 Mile Straightaway Run
There was one interesting tie-in note. Driver Tommy Fults, Rookie-of-the-Year in '68, wore the new life support system and reported it is comfortable, it did not hamper his action and it gave a feeling of confidence to the driver.
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
Pay 'n Pak Unlimited Hydroplane First Turbine Victory!
John Walters makes history at Seneca Lake, New York, becoming the first driver to win an unlimited hydroplane race using turbine power!
Monday, August 20, 2012
The "Winged Wonder" flies again
Reprinted from http://thunderthebridge.blogspot.com.
News has broken recently that Ken Muscatel has purchased the former Pay 'N Pak "Winged Wonder" hydroplane with the intention of restoring it for the Hydroplane and Raceboat Museum. This is, no doubt, a fitting home for one of the most successful and innovative boats in the history of the sport. In fact, with its record of four championships and twenty two race wins, the 1973-25 hull holds the distinction of being the most successful piston powered boat in the history of Unlimited Hydroplane racing.
On a more personal level, however, this boat holds the distinction of one of the first hydroplanes I have a personal recollection of. To give away my age, I don't remember the boat's glory days of the 1970's because I hadn't been born. As many readers of this blog will know, I grew up in Madison and make no secret of the fact that I am a fan of the Miss Madison team. Because of this, the old Pay 'N Pak boat is effectively the first boat I was able to get up close and personal with, as it was the Miss Madison boat during the time I was growing up. Therefore this post is going to be part history of the hull and part personal recollection with my main focus being on the boat's later years.
The story of the Winged Wonder began its life on the draftboards of master boatbuilder Ron Jones. The number of innovations involved with this boat are numerous. Although there had been a couple of Unlimited Hydroplanes that had sported the pickle fork design since the 1960's, this boat represented the first true breakthrough for the design that would soon become the norm in hydroplane racing. Seemingly overnight, the spoon nosed design was obsolete. It was also the first boat to use aluminum honeycomb as a primary building material, which made the boat much lighter than its competitors. Most apparent, however, was its use of a horizontal stabilizer which immediately set the boat apart from everything else in the pits and gave the boat a decided advantage, especially in the turns. Perhaps never before or never since has a boat represented such a separation from what was the conventional accepted design in the Unlimited class at the time, and went on to be an unheralded success.
This success came almost immediately. When a new boat is built any team can expect a period of time to "work out the bugs" so to speak and hold judgment on the boat's success until the hull is dialed in. As a sign of things to come, however, the "Winged Wonder" bucked this trend and won its very first race out of the box. With Mickey Remund at the wheel the Pay 'N Pak won all three heats at the 1973 season opener in Miami, but then would face stiff competition the rest of the season from Dean Chenoweth and the Miss Budweiser. At the end of the season, the Pay 'N Pak would win four races and edge the Miss Budweiser by less than 300 points to win the championship.
In 1974, the Pay 'N Pak took five of eight races with George Henley at the wheel and ended the season with a considerable lead over second place Miss Budweiser in the High Points. Things didn't come as easy in 1975. Jim McCormick was named the new driver of the Pay 'N Pak, but after he struggled in the season's first two races owner Dave Heerensperger coaxed former driver George Henley out of retirement to take over driving duties.
The bad luck didn't stop there, however, as the boat turned over at Owensboro and the boat didn't score any points. Four races into the season, the Pay 'N Pak found itself with no race wins and was well behind the Miss Budweiser and Weisfield's in the High Point standings. The season would turn after crew chief Jim Lucero returned the boat to the setup used in previous seasons and the team returned to its winning ways. Winning five of the season's final six races of the season with victories in Madison, Dayton, the Gold Cup in Tri-Cities, Seattle, and San Diego, the Pay 'N Pak completed one of the most dramatic comebacks in Unlimited Hydroplane history and captured the championship.
1976 would bring more changes as Bill Muncey bought out Dave Heerensperger's team and the Winged Wonder got a new paint job and a new home. Now racing as the Atlas Van Lines, the boat picked up where it left off and won five of nine races on the year, including a string of four straight first place finishes, on its way to the High Point championship. After four years of racing, the Winged Wonder's spot in history had been solidified. Its twenty one first place trophies made the boat the winningest hull in the history of the sport at that point. It was also the only hull to win four consecutive High Point championships up to that point. Although that feat would later be eclipsed by the T-3 then the T-5 and T-6 Miss Budweiser hulls, it should be noted that these hulls always won their titles in a "tandem" with the other hulls on the team whereas the Winged Wonder won all of its titles on its own. In only four seasons, the 1973-25 had made its mark on the sport for years to come.
In 1977, a new Jim Lucero designed hull became the primary hull for Bill Muncey's racing team and the Winged Wonder found itself on the sidelines for the majority of the season. The boat's only appearances for that season came in the Washington races, wearing the old Pay 'N Pak colors. With inexperienced driver Ron Armstrong at the wheel and working with a limited crew, the Pay 'N Pak's appearance at the Gold Cup in Tri-Cities and the Seafair trophy in Seattle were expected to be little more than a cameo for the Winged Wonder. In Heat 1A of the Gold Cup, however, the old Winged Wonder hull showed it was still a force, winning the heat going away. Then in Heat 2-C the Pay 'N Pak once again found itself going head to head with the Miss Budweiser for three laps until it's day ended with a violent hook that damaged the hull's left sponson. The following week at Seattle, Armstrong and the Pay 'N Pak won Heat 2A but then failed to finish the Final Heat on a day that was overshadowed by a tragic accident in Heat 1A involving the Squire Shop that ended the life of Jerry Bangs.
1978 saw another change of address for the Winged Wonder. The Miss Madison team was in desperate need of upgrading their equipment so the decision was made to acquire the 1973-25. The Miss Madison's previous hull, known as the Miss Madison III or 1972-06, was only a year older than the Winged Wonder but might as well have been built in a different era. The third Miss Madison boat was never the same after an accident saw the boat sink to the bottom of the Detroit River of the 1972 Gold Cup. The team spent the rest of the season in the garage repairing the badly damaged hull, then the next season the Winged Wonder debuted and the Miss Madison team found itself racing with a suddenly obsolete hull. Indeed, the Miss Madison III would turn out to be the last hull to be built with the old spoon nosed design built for racing in the Unlimited class (although a few other spoon nosed replicas of hydroplanes have been built for the intention of vintage exhibitions). Although I have never seen anything official in terms of the sale price, multiple sources have claimed that Bill Muncey effectively donated the boat to the Miss Madison team and sold the boat for $1. No doubt this was an act of goodwill on the part of Muncey but it would be hard to claim that Muncey would miss the old hull. In a bit of irony, the Miss Madison team was buying the hull that had made its previous hull obsolete, but that boat had itself been rendered obsolete by Bill Muncey's cabover "Blue Blaster" hydroplane, so once again the Miss Madison team would find itself racing with a boat that was certainly an upgrade over its previous hull but still dated in terms of Unlimited racing. A new team also brought the most dramatic changes to the boat in its history, as the hull was refitted to be powered by an Allison powered engine as opposed to the Rolls Royce Merlin engine which the boat had been powered by up to that point. With its new less powerful engine and the fact that the boat was now becoming dated as more and more cabovers were showing up in the pits, it is sometimes easy to forget about the old Winged Wonder's time with the Miss Madison team. As is often the case in Unlimited Hydroplane racing, however, the hull had a long career long after it was at the front of the pack. It should not be forgotten that of the sixteen years that the 1973-25 boat was in the pits and racing, for eleven of those years the boat was carrying the Seal of the City of Madison, Indiana.
1978 will always be remembered as a season in which Bill Muncey dominated the field in a fully dialed in Atlas Van Lines hydroplane. The tone was set in the season's first race when the Atlas Van Lines was not only the winner but also the only starter of the Final Heat. Muncey would win six of the season's seven races, his only loss coming due to a blown engine in the Final Heat at Tri-Cities. So despite being overshadowed on that season the Miss Madison still turned in a decent season, with a second place in the Gold Cup in Owensboro with Madison native Jon Peddie at the wheel and a second place in Tri-Cities with Milner Irvin at the wheel en route to a fourth place finish in the High Point standings.
1979 saw the Miss Madison team race a partial schedule, not making any appearances after finishing sixth at the Gold Cup race in Madison. In 1980 the team once again raced a full national schedule and, after struggling through the season's eastern tour, turned heads with a string of four straight podium finishes that was highlighted by a second place finish in the only Unlimited race to take place in Ogallala, Nebraska. 1981 was another banner year for the Winged Wonder and the Miss Madison. Despite no wins and only one second place finish in Evansville, the Miss Madison was a consistent finisher all season long, finishing on the podium in seven of nine races and finishing second in the High Point standings. In 1982 Tom Sheehy took over driving duties after Milner Irvin left racing for a year but the team continued its consistent ways, finishing second in Romulus, New York (ironically finishing behind the Pay 'N Pak, which was back in the sport after a hiatus and in the process becoming the first team to win with turbine power) and in Madison (the team's highest finish in its hometown race since that fateful day in 1971) en route to a fourth place High Point finish.
Ten years after its debut, the Winged Wonder had gone from the undisputed leader of the pack to a consistent if not spectacular racer on the Unlimited tour. By 1983 it was no secret that the best days were well behind the hull, but the boat was still making its mark as a solid performer for the Miss Madison team. In an era when the shelf life for many hydroplanes didn't exceed more than six or seven years, the Winged Wonder was finishing on the podium years after its initial construction. As if to show the boat wasn't completely obsolete, the Winged Wonder scored what was undoubtedly its most unlikely and arguably its most memorable victory in the 1983 season opener at Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri. At the Final Heat, Jim Kropfeld in the Miss Budweiser and Chip Hanauer in the Atlas Van Lines were so preoccupied with one another that the Bud blew its engine and the Atlas got off to an awful start. Ron Snyder, driving the Miss Madison (sponsored by Rich Plan) wired a perfect start and led the race from the onset. The Atlas Van Lines gave chase but succumbed to a blown engine of its own, giving the Rich Plan a clear path to victory. A decade after its debut, the Winged Wonder had scored its twenty third and most unlikely victory. It was also a race that solidified Ron Snyder's well earned reputation as a driver who was able to get the most out of underpowered equipment. As for the rest of 1983, the Rich Plan finished second in Detroit and finished an overall fourth in the High Point standings.
1984 saw another name change as the Miss Madison team secured the sponsorship of American Speedy Printing for the duration of the season. The season started well for the team with a third place finish in Miami and a third in Syracuse and the season ended well with a second place finish at the World Championship race in Houston. The rest of the season, however, was an exercise in frustration that saw the team finish no higher than fifth and included a four race stretch where the boat failed to score point in three races and could only muster a twelfth place finish in the other race. As a result of the dramatic mid-season swoon, the team finished seventh in the High Points and, for the only time in its history, found itself looking up in the standings at another Madison based boat. Jim Sedam's U-22 finished fourth in the High Points in its debut season. In 1985 the Miss Madison opened the season with back to back runner up finishes at Miami and Syracuse and closed the season with a third place in San Diego but was befelled by another midseason swoon (although not as dramatic as the season before) that relegated the team to a sixth place finish in the High Points, although it did earn the distinction of driver Andy Coker capturing the Rookie of the Year honors for that season. Miss Madison opened 1986 with another second place finish, and continue the season as a consistent performer. Driver Ron Snyder returned, but then was involved in an accident that saw him being thrown from the boat in Evansville. Despite the accident, Snyder and the Miss Madison closed the season out with a third place finish at the season finale in Las Vegas and finished the season fourth in the High Points.
Holset returned as sponsor for 1987 and the Winged Wonder continued its consistent ways. It was also about this time that I, as a resident of Madison, became aware of the hydroplanes. As I am sure is the case with many hydroplane fans, I inherited much of my fandom from my dad. At least once a year we would stop by the Miss Madison shop, where the crew has always welcomed visitors even to this day. Because of this, the 1973-25/Winged Wonder/Miss Madison IV was the first boat that I ever saw up close, even sitting in the cockpit at one point. The Holset Miss Madison turned in another solid season, although it scored only one podium finish, a third place in the Madison race that was cut short by the horrific accident involving the Cellular One that ended the driving career of Steve Reynolds. It was also announced during the season that the Miss Madison team would be debuting a new hull for 1988, so the 1987 season was meant to be something of a "farewell tour" for the historic craft. For the final race of the year, the team even entered the hull as the "Holset Mrs. Madison" to signify that this would be the final race for the hull. The Mrs. Madison finished fourth at the season finale in Las Vegas and its consistent performance throughout the season meant the team would finish third in the overall High Point standings.
Despite having what was supposed to be its "farewell" race at the season finale in 1987, construction delays to the new boat meant that the Winged Wonder would be pulled out of the garage for one final curtain call. Once again Ron Snyder and the team got more than seemingly possible out of the now ancient hull by scoring a surprise second place finish in Miami. After a fourth place finish in Detroit, the boat failed to make the cut for the Final Heat for the remainder of the Eastern tour. The 1973-25, once the most advanced boat in hydroplane racing, now looked more like a museum piece. The boat was the last conventional hull to race in the Unlimited class, and was one of the last boats to not have a canopy. Despite the boat being terribly antiquated in comparison to its competitors in 1988, designer Ron Jones and others who had been involved in the Winged Wonder throughout the years had to take pride in the fact that many of the innovations that this boat represented, including the horizontal stabilizer and the pickle fork design, had now become commonplace in the sport. The old hull had its last race at the 1988 Syracuse race, where the team failed to score any points. Despite its underwhelming finale, the boat no doubt had made its mark on hydroplane racing as a whole. After all, at the time of its retirement the boat still held the record for most race victories by a hull (that record would later be broken by the T-3 Miss Budweiser). The new Miss Madison hull was ready in time for the Tri-Cities race and at long last, the Winged Wonder was retired.
Over the next few years the 1973-25 would largely do display work around Madison, then sometime in the early 1990's the boat was sold to Dave Bartush who was at the time building up a collection of hydroplanes and keeping them in a warehouse in Detroit. It sat in the warehouse for the better part of twenty years, still in the Miss Madison colors. Then earlier this year new begin to leak that Bartush was looking to sell off some of his collection, which is where the Ken Muscatel and the Hydroplane and Raceboat Museum comes in. With that the Winged Wonder now awaits restoration into its original form. Although I have to admit I'll be kind of sad to see the Miss Madison paint come off the hull it's fitting that the boat will wear the colors that it made such a huge splash and broke so many records in the early 1970's. Also, since H.A.R.M. makes a concerted effort to keep all of its boats in racing condition, the possibility of seeing the Pay 'N Pak "Winged Wonder" on the water again is certainly exciting. So while the boat won its championships and made its history years before, for a generation of fans around Madison this was the first hull that many of us saw and will always hold a place in our hearts.
News has broken recently that Ken Muscatel has purchased the former Pay 'N Pak "Winged Wonder" hydroplane with the intention of restoring it for the Hydroplane and Raceboat Museum. This is, no doubt, a fitting home for one of the most successful and innovative boats in the history of the sport. In fact, with its record of four championships and twenty two race wins, the 1973-25 hull holds the distinction of being the most successful piston powered boat in the history of Unlimited Hydroplane racing.
On a more personal level, however, this boat holds the distinction of one of the first hydroplanes I have a personal recollection of. To give away my age, I don't remember the boat's glory days of the 1970's because I hadn't been born. As many readers of this blog will know, I grew up in Madison and make no secret of the fact that I am a fan of the Miss Madison team. Because of this, the old Pay 'N Pak boat is effectively the first boat I was able to get up close and personal with, as it was the Miss Madison boat during the time I was growing up. Therefore this post is going to be part history of the hull and part personal recollection with my main focus being on the boat's later years.
The story of the Winged Wonder began its life on the draftboards of master boatbuilder Ron Jones. The number of innovations involved with this boat are numerous. Although there had been a couple of Unlimited Hydroplanes that had sported the pickle fork design since the 1960's, this boat represented the first true breakthrough for the design that would soon become the norm in hydroplane racing. Seemingly overnight, the spoon nosed design was obsolete. It was also the first boat to use aluminum honeycomb as a primary building material, which made the boat much lighter than its competitors. Most apparent, however, was its use of a horizontal stabilizer which immediately set the boat apart from everything else in the pits and gave the boat a decided advantage, especially in the turns. Perhaps never before or never since has a boat represented such a separation from what was the conventional accepted design in the Unlimited class at the time, and went on to be an unheralded success.
This success came almost immediately. When a new boat is built any team can expect a period of time to "work out the bugs" so to speak and hold judgment on the boat's success until the hull is dialed in. As a sign of things to come, however, the "Winged Wonder" bucked this trend and won its very first race out of the box. With Mickey Remund at the wheel the Pay 'N Pak won all three heats at the 1973 season opener in Miami, but then would face stiff competition the rest of the season from Dean Chenoweth and the Miss Budweiser. At the end of the season, the Pay 'N Pak would win four races and edge the Miss Budweiser by less than 300 points to win the championship.
In 1974, the Pay 'N Pak took five of eight races with George Henley at the wheel and ended the season with a considerable lead over second place Miss Budweiser in the High Points. Things didn't come as easy in 1975. Jim McCormick was named the new driver of the Pay 'N Pak, but after he struggled in the season's first two races owner Dave Heerensperger coaxed former driver George Henley out of retirement to take over driving duties.
The bad luck didn't stop there, however, as the boat turned over at Owensboro and the boat didn't score any points. Four races into the season, the Pay 'N Pak found itself with no race wins and was well behind the Miss Budweiser and Weisfield's in the High Point standings. The season would turn after crew chief Jim Lucero returned the boat to the setup used in previous seasons and the team returned to its winning ways. Winning five of the season's final six races of the season with victories in Madison, Dayton, the Gold Cup in Tri-Cities, Seattle, and San Diego, the Pay 'N Pak completed one of the most dramatic comebacks in Unlimited Hydroplane history and captured the championship.
1976 would bring more changes as Bill Muncey bought out Dave Heerensperger's team and the Winged Wonder got a new paint job and a new home. Now racing as the Atlas Van Lines, the boat picked up where it left off and won five of nine races on the year, including a string of four straight first place finishes, on its way to the High Point championship. After four years of racing, the Winged Wonder's spot in history had been solidified. Its twenty one first place trophies made the boat the winningest hull in the history of the sport at that point. It was also the only hull to win four consecutive High Point championships up to that point. Although that feat would later be eclipsed by the T-3 then the T-5 and T-6 Miss Budweiser hulls, it should be noted that these hulls always won their titles in a "tandem" with the other hulls on the team whereas the Winged Wonder won all of its titles on its own. In only four seasons, the 1973-25 had made its mark on the sport for years to come.
In 1977, a new Jim Lucero designed hull became the primary hull for Bill Muncey's racing team and the Winged Wonder found itself on the sidelines for the majority of the season. The boat's only appearances for that season came in the Washington races, wearing the old Pay 'N Pak colors. With inexperienced driver Ron Armstrong at the wheel and working with a limited crew, the Pay 'N Pak's appearance at the Gold Cup in Tri-Cities and the Seafair trophy in Seattle were expected to be little more than a cameo for the Winged Wonder. In Heat 1A of the Gold Cup, however, the old Winged Wonder hull showed it was still a force, winning the heat going away. Then in Heat 2-C the Pay 'N Pak once again found itself going head to head with the Miss Budweiser for three laps until it's day ended with a violent hook that damaged the hull's left sponson. The following week at Seattle, Armstrong and the Pay 'N Pak won Heat 2A but then failed to finish the Final Heat on a day that was overshadowed by a tragic accident in Heat 1A involving the Squire Shop that ended the life of Jerry Bangs.
1978 saw another change of address for the Winged Wonder. The Miss Madison team was in desperate need of upgrading their equipment so the decision was made to acquire the 1973-25. The Miss Madison's previous hull, known as the Miss Madison III or 1972-06, was only a year older than the Winged Wonder but might as well have been built in a different era. The third Miss Madison boat was never the same after an accident saw the boat sink to the bottom of the Detroit River of the 1972 Gold Cup. The team spent the rest of the season in the garage repairing the badly damaged hull, then the next season the Winged Wonder debuted and the Miss Madison team found itself racing with a suddenly obsolete hull. Indeed, the Miss Madison III would turn out to be the last hull to be built with the old spoon nosed design built for racing in the Unlimited class (although a few other spoon nosed replicas of hydroplanes have been built for the intention of vintage exhibitions). Although I have never seen anything official in terms of the sale price, multiple sources have claimed that Bill Muncey effectively donated the boat to the Miss Madison team and sold the boat for $1. No doubt this was an act of goodwill on the part of Muncey but it would be hard to claim that Muncey would miss the old hull. In a bit of irony, the Miss Madison team was buying the hull that had made its previous hull obsolete, but that boat had itself been rendered obsolete by Bill Muncey's cabover "Blue Blaster" hydroplane, so once again the Miss Madison team would find itself racing with a boat that was certainly an upgrade over its previous hull but still dated in terms of Unlimited racing. A new team also brought the most dramatic changes to the boat in its history, as the hull was refitted to be powered by an Allison powered engine as opposed to the Rolls Royce Merlin engine which the boat had been powered by up to that point. With its new less powerful engine and the fact that the boat was now becoming dated as more and more cabovers were showing up in the pits, it is sometimes easy to forget about the old Winged Wonder's time with the Miss Madison team. As is often the case in Unlimited Hydroplane racing, however, the hull had a long career long after it was at the front of the pack. It should not be forgotten that of the sixteen years that the 1973-25 boat was in the pits and racing, for eleven of those years the boat was carrying the Seal of the City of Madison, Indiana.
1978 will always be remembered as a season in which Bill Muncey dominated the field in a fully dialed in Atlas Van Lines hydroplane. The tone was set in the season's first race when the Atlas Van Lines was not only the winner but also the only starter of the Final Heat. Muncey would win six of the season's seven races, his only loss coming due to a blown engine in the Final Heat at Tri-Cities. So despite being overshadowed on that season the Miss Madison still turned in a decent season, with a second place in the Gold Cup in Owensboro with Madison native Jon Peddie at the wheel and a second place in Tri-Cities with Milner Irvin at the wheel en route to a fourth place finish in the High Point standings.
1979 saw the Miss Madison team race a partial schedule, not making any appearances after finishing sixth at the Gold Cup race in Madison. In 1980 the team once again raced a full national schedule and, after struggling through the season's eastern tour, turned heads with a string of four straight podium finishes that was highlighted by a second place finish in the only Unlimited race to take place in Ogallala, Nebraska. 1981 was another banner year for the Winged Wonder and the Miss Madison. Despite no wins and only one second place finish in Evansville, the Miss Madison was a consistent finisher all season long, finishing on the podium in seven of nine races and finishing second in the High Point standings. In 1982 Tom Sheehy took over driving duties after Milner Irvin left racing for a year but the team continued its consistent ways, finishing second in Romulus, New York (ironically finishing behind the Pay 'N Pak, which was back in the sport after a hiatus and in the process becoming the first team to win with turbine power) and in Madison (the team's highest finish in its hometown race since that fateful day in 1971) en route to a fourth place High Point finish.
Ten years after its debut, the Winged Wonder had gone from the undisputed leader of the pack to a consistent if not spectacular racer on the Unlimited tour. By 1983 it was no secret that the best days were well behind the hull, but the boat was still making its mark as a solid performer for the Miss Madison team. In an era when the shelf life for many hydroplanes didn't exceed more than six or seven years, the Winged Wonder was finishing on the podium years after its initial construction. As if to show the boat wasn't completely obsolete, the Winged Wonder scored what was undoubtedly its most unlikely and arguably its most memorable victory in the 1983 season opener at Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri. At the Final Heat, Jim Kropfeld in the Miss Budweiser and Chip Hanauer in the Atlas Van Lines were so preoccupied with one another that the Bud blew its engine and the Atlas got off to an awful start. Ron Snyder, driving the Miss Madison (sponsored by Rich Plan) wired a perfect start and led the race from the onset. The Atlas Van Lines gave chase but succumbed to a blown engine of its own, giving the Rich Plan a clear path to victory. A decade after its debut, the Winged Wonder had scored its twenty third and most unlikely victory. It was also a race that solidified Ron Snyder's well earned reputation as a driver who was able to get the most out of underpowered equipment. As for the rest of 1983, the Rich Plan finished second in Detroit and finished an overall fourth in the High Point standings.
1984 saw another name change as the Miss Madison team secured the sponsorship of American Speedy Printing for the duration of the season. The season started well for the team with a third place finish in Miami and a third in Syracuse and the season ended well with a second place finish at the World Championship race in Houston. The rest of the season, however, was an exercise in frustration that saw the team finish no higher than fifth and included a four race stretch where the boat failed to score point in three races and could only muster a twelfth place finish in the other race. As a result of the dramatic mid-season swoon, the team finished seventh in the High Points and, for the only time in its history, found itself looking up in the standings at another Madison based boat. Jim Sedam's U-22 finished fourth in the High Points in its debut season. In 1985 the Miss Madison opened the season with back to back runner up finishes at Miami and Syracuse and closed the season with a third place in San Diego but was befelled by another midseason swoon (although not as dramatic as the season before) that relegated the team to a sixth place finish in the High Points, although it did earn the distinction of driver Andy Coker capturing the Rookie of the Year honors for that season. Miss Madison opened 1986 with another second place finish, and continue the season as a consistent performer. Driver Ron Snyder returned, but then was involved in an accident that saw him being thrown from the boat in Evansville. Despite the accident, Snyder and the Miss Madison closed the season out with a third place finish at the season finale in Las Vegas and finished the season fourth in the High Points.
Holset returned as sponsor for 1987 and the Winged Wonder continued its consistent ways. It was also about this time that I, as a resident of Madison, became aware of the hydroplanes. As I am sure is the case with many hydroplane fans, I inherited much of my fandom from my dad. At least once a year we would stop by the Miss Madison shop, where the crew has always welcomed visitors even to this day. Because of this, the 1973-25/Winged Wonder/Miss Madison IV was the first boat that I ever saw up close, even sitting in the cockpit at one point. The Holset Miss Madison turned in another solid season, although it scored only one podium finish, a third place in the Madison race that was cut short by the horrific accident involving the Cellular One that ended the driving career of Steve Reynolds. It was also announced during the season that the Miss Madison team would be debuting a new hull for 1988, so the 1987 season was meant to be something of a "farewell tour" for the historic craft. For the final race of the year, the team even entered the hull as the "Holset Mrs. Madison" to signify that this would be the final race for the hull. The Mrs. Madison finished fourth at the season finale in Las Vegas and its consistent performance throughout the season meant the team would finish third in the overall High Point standings.
Despite having what was supposed to be its "farewell" race at the season finale in 1987, construction delays to the new boat meant that the Winged Wonder would be pulled out of the garage for one final curtain call. Once again Ron Snyder and the team got more than seemingly possible out of the now ancient hull by scoring a surprise second place finish in Miami. After a fourth place finish in Detroit, the boat failed to make the cut for the Final Heat for the remainder of the Eastern tour. The 1973-25, once the most advanced boat in hydroplane racing, now looked more like a museum piece. The boat was the last conventional hull to race in the Unlimited class, and was one of the last boats to not have a canopy. Despite the boat being terribly antiquated in comparison to its competitors in 1988, designer Ron Jones and others who had been involved in the Winged Wonder throughout the years had to take pride in the fact that many of the innovations that this boat represented, including the horizontal stabilizer and the pickle fork design, had now become commonplace in the sport. The old hull had its last race at the 1988 Syracuse race, where the team failed to score any points. Despite its underwhelming finale, the boat no doubt had made its mark on hydroplane racing as a whole. After all, at the time of its retirement the boat still held the record for most race victories by a hull (that record would later be broken by the T-3 Miss Budweiser). The new Miss Madison hull was ready in time for the Tri-Cities race and at long last, the Winged Wonder was retired.
Over the next few years the 1973-25 would largely do display work around Madison, then sometime in the early 1990's the boat was sold to Dave Bartush who was at the time building up a collection of hydroplanes and keeping them in a warehouse in Detroit. It sat in the warehouse for the better part of twenty years, still in the Miss Madison colors. Then earlier this year new begin to leak that Bartush was looking to sell off some of his collection, which is where the Ken Muscatel and the Hydroplane and Raceboat Museum comes in. With that the Winged Wonder now awaits restoration into its original form. Although I have to admit I'll be kind of sad to see the Miss Madison paint come off the hull it's fitting that the boat will wear the colors that it made such a huge splash and broke so many records in the early 1970's. Also, since H.A.R.M. makes a concerted effort to keep all of its boats in racing condition, the possibility of seeing the Pay 'N Pak "Winged Wonder" on the water again is certainly exciting. So while the boat won its championships and made its history years before, for a generation of fans around Madison this was the first hull that many of us saw and will always hold a place in our hearts.
Sunday, May 27, 2012
Even the winner sunk
Reprinted from the Tri-City Herald, July 29, 1979
Stroll around the pit area of Columbia Park and you can’t help but be impressed with the vast array of hydroplanes, engines, trucks and vans.
No figures are kept on these things, but if you guessed it was the most valuable unlimited hydroplane armada ever assembled, who could say you were wrong?
The total runs into several million bucks in no time at all.
Bill Muncey, for instance, puts a $350,000 price tag on the Atlas Van Lines, including boat and support equipment.
Bernie Little says the new Miss Budweiser cost him something like $250,000.
Kenny Thompson has a six figure investment in Miss Tri-City Tile and Masonry.
Some folks say Circus Circus is the best financed operation on the circuit.
It wasn’t always that way. Like most sports, the so-called good ol’ days weren’t so hot.
Back in 1948, all of 21 boats showed up for the Gold Cup in Detroit. In the wake of World War II, there had been a rash of backyard boat building, as owners strove to take advantage of surplus machinery and equipment.
The enthusiasm of the new boat builders, however, outstripped their expertise. Out of 21 entries, 20 boats didn’t finish the race.
And the winner of the race, Miss Great Lakes, sunk at the dock during the trophy presentation.
It’s also interesting to note, the winning speed was a blinding 46.845 miles per hour.
True, it was a 90-mile course, but that speed equates better with ski boats. Maybe even sail boats.
Faster, even faster
But as fast as today’s championship heat might be, it’s just a rung on the ladder as the hydroplaners strive for higher and higher speeds.
In fact, the successor to day’s hot boats could be taking shape right now in Seattle.
Developing a turbine powered boat that is supposed to be ready in the 1980 season in Dave Heerensperger.
“It’s going to be either the biggest think to ever happen to hydroplane racing, or the biggest bust,” said Heerensperger who was in the Tri-Cities for the running of the Columbia Cup. “And if it’s a bust, it’ll probably be the most expensive one in history,” he adds.
Heerensperger, however, hasn’t been associated with many failures. It was Heerensperger, for instance, who had the winningest boat in the history of the sport – the U-25 Pay ‘N Pak.
He also developed the U-1 Atlas Van Lines, which has now won seven straight races going back to last year.
A little over three years ago, he sold the kit and caboodle to Muncey. “Muncey made me an offer I couldn’t refuse. It’s been a bargain for Bill too.”
He attributes his withdrawal from the sport to the pressure of is business, plus the fact he didn’t like the direction in which the sport was headed.
“You had to spend most of your time raising funds to hold the Seafair race. Now with Bob Steil and the Squire Shop underwriting it, Seafair is in good shape for the first time.”
There are some obvious advantages to the turbine. For one thing, the turbines, used in military helicopters, are about 15 percent lighter than the Rolls Royces currently in favor. The other thing, of course, is the face that they can produce about 1,000 more horsepower.
Gearing the power down so it’s adaptable to hydroplanes is the big problem.
Six years ago, the late Jim Clapp pioneered a turbine boat. It wasn’t a bad but his widow, Pam Clapp, gave up on the project after two seasons.
“The boat was too heavy,” reports Heerensperger. “Instead of two turbines, we’ll use just one. That greatly simplifies things.”
Better in the turns
People who have heard the high whine of turbine associate it with great speed.
“Actually, turbines generate more power at the low end than they do at the high end. In other words, they supply the power you need in the turns where you need it. Getting speed on the straight away has never been a problem.”
The project has reunited Heerensperger with his former crew chief Jim Lucero. Lucero, who designed the U-1 Atlas Van Lines while he was with the Pay ‘N Pak team, is designing the new boat.
Initial reports had Lucero rejoining his old boss next year on a full time basis. Now, however, it’s believed that he’ll set up his own consulting business and be available to several clients.
That’s the shape of things to come. For the present, marring mishap, we have what could be the fastest championship final ever assembled.
Picking a winner is tough. My last prediction was that the price of gasoline would go down.
The only think I’ll go on record with is that we won’t have 20 DNF this afternoon, and the winner won’t sink at the dock.
Now, that’s progress.
Stroll around the pit area of Columbia Park and you can’t help but be impressed with the vast array of hydroplanes, engines, trucks and vans.
No figures are kept on these things, but if you guessed it was the most valuable unlimited hydroplane armada ever assembled, who could say you were wrong?
The total runs into several million bucks in no time at all.
Bill Muncey, for instance, puts a $350,000 price tag on the Atlas Van Lines, including boat and support equipment.
Bernie Little says the new Miss Budweiser cost him something like $250,000.
Kenny Thompson has a six figure investment in Miss Tri-City Tile and Masonry.
Some folks say Circus Circus is the best financed operation on the circuit.
It wasn’t always that way. Like most sports, the so-called good ol’ days weren’t so hot.
Back in 1948, all of 21 boats showed up for the Gold Cup in Detroit. In the wake of World War II, there had been a rash of backyard boat building, as owners strove to take advantage of surplus machinery and equipment.
The enthusiasm of the new boat builders, however, outstripped their expertise. Out of 21 entries, 20 boats didn’t finish the race.
And the winner of the race, Miss Great Lakes, sunk at the dock during the trophy presentation.
It’s also interesting to note, the winning speed was a blinding 46.845 miles per hour.
True, it was a 90-mile course, but that speed equates better with ski boats. Maybe even sail boats.
Faster, even faster
But as fast as today’s championship heat might be, it’s just a rung on the ladder as the hydroplaners strive for higher and higher speeds.
In fact, the successor to day’s hot boats could be taking shape right now in Seattle.
Developing a turbine powered boat that is supposed to be ready in the 1980 season in Dave Heerensperger.
“It’s going to be either the biggest think to ever happen to hydroplane racing, or the biggest bust,” said Heerensperger who was in the Tri-Cities for the running of the Columbia Cup. “And if it’s a bust, it’ll probably be the most expensive one in history,” he adds.
Heerensperger, however, hasn’t been associated with many failures. It was Heerensperger, for instance, who had the winningest boat in the history of the sport – the U-25 Pay ‘N Pak.
He also developed the U-1 Atlas Van Lines, which has now won seven straight races going back to last year.
A little over three years ago, he sold the kit and caboodle to Muncey. “Muncey made me an offer I couldn’t refuse. It’s been a bargain for Bill too.”
He attributes his withdrawal from the sport to the pressure of is business, plus the fact he didn’t like the direction in which the sport was headed.
“You had to spend most of your time raising funds to hold the Seafair race. Now with Bob Steil and the Squire Shop underwriting it, Seafair is in good shape for the first time.”
There are some obvious advantages to the turbine. For one thing, the turbines, used in military helicopters, are about 15 percent lighter than the Rolls Royces currently in favor. The other thing, of course, is the face that they can produce about 1,000 more horsepower.
Gearing the power down so it’s adaptable to hydroplanes is the big problem.
Six years ago, the late Jim Clapp pioneered a turbine boat. It wasn’t a bad but his widow, Pam Clapp, gave up on the project after two seasons.
“The boat was too heavy,” reports Heerensperger. “Instead of two turbines, we’ll use just one. That greatly simplifies things.”
Better in the turns
People who have heard the high whine of turbine associate it with great speed.
“Actually, turbines generate more power at the low end than they do at the high end. In other words, they supply the power you need in the turns where you need it. Getting speed on the straight away has never been a problem.”
The project has reunited Heerensperger with his former crew chief Jim Lucero. Lucero, who designed the U-1 Atlas Van Lines while he was with the Pay ‘N Pak team, is designing the new boat.
Initial reports had Lucero rejoining his old boss next year on a full time basis. Now, however, it’s believed that he’ll set up his own consulting business and be available to several clients.
That’s the shape of things to come. For the present, marring mishap, we have what could be the fastest championship final ever assembled.
Picking a winner is tough. My last prediction was that the price of gasoline would go down.
The only think I’ll go on record with is that we won’t have 20 DNF this afternoon, and the winner won’t sink at the dock.
Now, that’s progress.
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