1973 U-12 Miss Budweiser

Reprinted from Skid Fin Magazine, 2003, Volume 1 Number 2.

The late 1960s and early 1970s were a time of change and revolution. Music, fashion and politics were all going through unprecedented transformations. Hydroplane racing was no different. It was a struggling with a number of issues that would define the shape of its future.

The old, round-nosed, rear-cockpit boats were clearly reaching the limits of their abilities, and new ideas were cropping up everywhere. One of the most radical new boat designs came from the drawing board of Ron Jones. The 1970 Pay ‘N Pak was a wide-transom, low profile, cab-over, pick-fork boat with twin automotive engines. More new ideas were being tried in this one boat than in an entire fleet in previous years.

The bright gold and orange Pay ‘N Pak featured a long, low hull that was wider at the transom than any other boat. The drive sat ahead of the twin Chrysler Hemi engines. The bow was cut back deeply to create the now familiar pickle-forks.

The new boat was driven by the popular Tommy Fults and later by Ron Larson. She showed moments of promise, qualifying second fastest in her very first race. She even won a few heats, but the twin Chryslers proved to be too unreliable to beat the Merlin and Allison engines that dominated the sport. The Pay ‘N Pak ended up seventh in the 1970 National High Point Standings.

In the off-season between 1970 and 1971, Pay ‘N Pak crew chief Jim Lucero converted the boat to a front-engine configuration powered by a single Merlin. Two-time Gold Cup winner Billy Schumacher was brought in to drive.

The ’71 season got off to a rocky start when the Pak lost her rudder during the first race. Schumacher and the Pak struggled with a variety of problems for the next few races, but everything came together for the team at the end of the season when they won three-consecutive races.

The Pak’s performance was hit-and-miss in’72. She won only one race that year, the Presidents Cup in Washington D.C. Following the ’72 season; the Pak was sold to Bernie Little and became the seventh Miss Budweiser.

In 1973, with Dean Chenoweth driving, the Miss Budweiser won four races including the Gold Cup, and narrowly missed claiming the National Championship. The Bud won four more races in 1974 and again narrowly missed out on the National Championship. She won two races in 1975 and was sold to Norm Putt of Australia. Putt renamed her Miss Bud and her number changed from U-12 to VS-22. She continued her winning ways in Australia capturing the prestigious Griffith Cup.

Eric Mann of Unlimited Excitement went to Australia, bought the boat and shipped her back home to Seattle in 2001. She is in running shape, but she needs a little work. She is next up in the queue to be restored, and with any luck race fans will see her back on Lake Washington in the near future.