The first boat associated with Dave Heerensperger was originally the Miss Spokane. This Ted Jones designed boat was purchased by Bob Gilliam in 1962 – the boat was sponsored by Heerensperger’s Spokane-based Eagle Electric and Plumbing for the 1963-1964 seasons. The first Miss Eagle Electric was not very competitive, and was sold to Jim Herrington at the end of 1964. She would run as Herrington’s Detroit-based Miss Lapeer through 1967.
Heerensperger became a boat-owner himself when he purchased the second $-Bill during the 1967 season. The Staudacher designed boat, originally built in 1962 and campaigned as the $-Bill from 1962-1967 was renamed Miss Eagle Electric after the August purchase and completed the season as an also-ran with Norm Evans driving. Over the winter the team rebuilt the boat, and when she emerged for the 1968 season, the second Miss Eagle Electric was a top contender, challenging for the 1968 National Championship with retired Air Force Colonel Warner Gardner behind the wheel. The “Screaming Eagle” as this boat was nicknamed scored victories at the Dixie Cup, the Atomic Cup, and the President’s Cup. Unfortunately, Gardner was killed in September during the final heat of the postponed Gold Cup in Detroit. While attempting to gain the lead from Miss Budweiser on the third lap, Gardner drove the boat deep into the roostertail turn. The boat got out of attitude and the left sponson began to lift, resulting in a slow roll and the boat crashing back into the water upside down. The boat was destroyed in a shower of splintered wood and water, the crash also taking the life of popular Colonel Gardner.
Heerensperger made the difficult decision to press on, ordering a radical outrigger hydroplane which eliminated air-traps between the hull and sponsons, reducing lift and chance the boat might take flight. This design marked the first of several significant departures from mainstream boat design, exemplifying the innovative character of Heerensperger. The boat also had a new name, the “Pride of Pay ‘N Pak” named after the Northwest “Pay ‘N Pak” hardware store chain which Heerensperger had purchased. Perhaps the outrigger was a little too radical to be successfully developed during the heat of battle – after struggling with the boat for the first half of the 1969 season, the first Pride of Pay ‘N Pak gave way to a conventional Staudacher Hull which ran for the first time at the Gold Cup in San Diego. The first Pride of Pay ‘N Pak was retired after the ’69 season… read more >
Pay 'n Pack Racing Performance Rated 1969 Vintage Men's T-Shirt
