1982 Season Summary
Statistics
| 1 | June 6 | Champion Spark Plug Regatta | Miami, Florida |
| 2 | June 11-14 | Thunder In the Park | Geneva, New York |
| 3 | June 27 | Stroh's APBA Gold Cup | Detroit, Michigan |
| 4 | July 4 | Indiana Governor's Cup | Madison, Indiana |
| 5 | July 11 | Thunder on the Ohio | Evansville, Indiana |
| 6 | August 1 | Columbia Cup | Pasco, Washington |
| 7 | August 8 | Sea Galley Emerald Cup | Seattle, Washington |
| 8 | September 19 | Circus Circus Thunderboat Regatta | San Diego, California |
| 9 | October 3 | UIM Budweiser World Championship | Houston, Texas |
| Winner | Crew Chief | Designer | Builder | Engine | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 06-Jun | Miss Budweiser (12) | Dave Culley | Ron Jones | Ron Jones | Rolls Griffon |
| 13-Jun | Pay 'n Pak (2) | Jim Lucero | Jim Lucero | Jim Lucero | Lycoming |
| 27-Jun | Atlas Van Lines (10) | Jim Harvey | Jim Lucero | Jim Lucero | Rolls Merlin |
| 04-Jul | Squire Shop (3) | Jerry Zuvich | Dave Knowlen | Norm Berg | Rolls Merlin |
| 11-Jul | Atlas Van Lines (10) | Jim Harvey | Jim Lucero | Jim Lucero | Rolls Merlin |
| 01-Aug | Squire Shop (3) | Jerry Zuvich | Dave Knowlen | Norm Berg | Rolls Merlin |
| 08-Aug | Atlas Van Lines (10) | Jim Harvey | Jim Lucero | Jim Lucero | Rolls Merlin |
| 19-Sep | Atlas Van Lines (10) | Jim Harvey | Jim Lucero | Jim Lucero | Rolls Merlin |
| 03-Oct | Atlas Van Lines (10) | Jim Harvey | Jim Lucero | Jim Lucero | Rolls Merlin |
| Built | Boat High Points | Total | Team High Point | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | (1982) | Atlas Van Lines (10) | 6375 | (1) |
| 2 | (1980) | Miss Budweiser (12) | 5163 | (2) |
| 3 | (1979) | Squire Shop (3) | 4244 | (3) |
| 4 | (1973) | Rich Plan Food Service | 3517 | (4) |
| 5 | (1976) | Budweiser Light | 1938 | (6) |
| 6 | (1980) | Pay 'n Pak (2) | 1800 | (7) |
| 7 | (1966) | Louie's On The Lake | 1688 | (8) |
| 8 | (1978) | Tempus | 1595 | (9) |
| 9 | (1973) | Executone (1) | 1225 | (5-2035) |
| 10 | (1967) | U-80 | 919 | (10) |
| 11 | (1982) | Executone (2) | 895 | |
| Oh Boy! Oberto (4) | (16-85) | |||
| 12 | (1975) | RIC Gunite Special | 882 | (11) |
| 13 | (1974) | Gilmore Special | 535 | (12) |
| 14 | (1976) | Miss KYYX-FM | 509 | (13) |
| 15 | (1970) | Miss La Jolla Plumbing (2) | 395 | (14) |
| 16 | (1972) | Advanced Audio Limited | 283 | (15) |
| 17 | (1971) | Tom Wright Special | 85 | (16) |
| 18 | (1980) | Aronow Unlimited | 0 | |
| 19 | (1972) | Captran Resorts | 0 | |
| 20 | (1977) | Miss Machine Rock Band (2) | DNQ | |
| 21 | (1957) | Miss Island Security | DNQ | |
| 22 | (1975) | Spirit of Detroit | DNQ | |
| 23 | (1974) | Miss Canada | DNQ | |
| 24 | (1976) | Miss O'Neil & Knudsen | DNQ |
| Driver High Points | Total | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chip Hanauer | 6375 |
| 2 | Tom D'Eath | 4244 |
| 3 | Dean Chenoweth | 3338 |
| 4 | Ron Snyder | 3217 |
| 5 | George Johnson | 2035 |
| 6 | John Walters | 1800 |
| 7 | Jon Peddie | 1688 |
| 8 | Jack Schafer Jr. | 1595 |
| 9 | Ron Armstrong | 1519 |
| 10 | Scott Pierce | 1479 |
| 11 | Jim Kropfeld | 1225 |
| 12 | Steve Reynolds | 1079 |
| 13 | Terry Turner | 882 |
| 14 | Brenda Jones | 509 |
| 15 | Bob Miller | 395 |
| 16 | Tom Sheehy | 300 |
| 17 | Will Muncey | 198 |
| 18 | Tom Martin | 170 |
| 19 | Buck Thornton | 0 |
| 20 | Fred Giese | 0 |
1982
Miss Budweiser was in a commanding position heading into the 1982 season. Pay 'n Pak was still an unruly hull driven by John Walters who was certainly not comparable to Budweiser's Dean Chenoweth? but knew how to get speed out of a boat. Atlas Van Lines had a new hull to be driver by Chip Hanauer, however she was to be powered by a Rolls Merlin engine. Bill Muncey felt that a Rolls Griffon was needed for 1982.
A new format made its appearance for 1982 known as the Cole Plan after the current executive secretary Sam Cole. The format was really a modified Fan Plan with four fast flight contenders qualifying for the championship heat along with only one from the slow flight The last position in the final would be filled by the winner of the consolation heat for those entries not already among the righteous and the holy. In contrast the Fan Plan filled the last two slots from the slow flight.
Unfortunately only seven boats showed up for the start of the season at Miami. An elaboration of the Cole Plan allowed only the top five to start with the two stragglers on the beach until the consolation heat. When all was said and done Miss Budweiser had an easy victory against the new Atlas Van Lines. Pay 'n Pak was washed down prior to the start of the championship heat.
Again only seven boats were in the pits for a new regatta in northern New York. Run under the Cole Plan Miss Budweiser, Pay 'n Pak and Atlas Van Lines made the final heat. Pay 'n Pak prevailed as the second place Miss Budweiser experienced engine trouble. In the preliminary heat Budweiser had gotten the best of Pay 'n Pak by 3½ seconds.
The Gold Cup at Detroit was next and Miss Budweiser was the favorite. Pay 'n Pak although improved over 1981 was still flighty, but also fast. Atlas Van Lines was flighty and slow. All of the aforementioned entries made the fast flight under the Cole Plan.
In the first elimination heat Atlas Van Lines ran side by side with the Miss Budweiser until the latter went dead in the water. Miss Budweiser won the second heat by a clear margin over a kiting Atlas Van Lines. Pay 'n Pak was third in the first heat and then had to withdraw due to hull damage.
In the preliminaries Miss Budweiser had 129.8 m.p.h. to Atlas' 127.7. However Budweiser could not live at that speed turning only 126.5 in her winning heat. Still Budweiser looked like a winner due to Atlas Van Lines' kiting.
Miss Budweiser got the inside in the championship heat and led Atlas Van Lines down the first backstretch. Budweiser driver Dean Chenoweth slid wide off the roostertail turn allowing Atlas Van Lines the inside. In the next lap Atlas Van Lines outperformed Miss Budweiser by 7 m.p.h. and was in first place going into lap 3. Budweiser stayed close in the next two go-rounds before conceding in the final circuit - instead of closing ground she fell back.
To the distress of the burghers of Madison, Indiana, one of the three hot boats - Pay 'n Pak - went back to Seattle due to hull damage. This apparently left the regatta to Atlas Van Lines and Miss Budweiser.
The race was to be run under the Hughes Plan which was a draw format with the second heat matching the two first place boats with the two third places and the two fifth places. The second, fourth, and sixth place finishers would go in the other section followed by a winner-take-all final heat.
Both Miss Budweiser and Atlas Van Lines made the championship heat, but it was Squire Shop driven by Tom D'Eath that led into the first turn by making a perfect on the line start in comparison to Atlas Van Lines and Miss Budweiser. Atlas Van Lines was sick and Budweiser had vibration problems. Squire Shop led up the backstretch and ended the first lap with 2 seconds over Miss Budweiser. In the next lap Budweiser could not gain and then lost part of her propeller giving the win to Squire Shop. The Bob Steil entry was much improved at Madison although still 5 m.p.h. behind Budweiser.
At Evansville only seven entries qualified which resulted in two qualifiers staying on the beach until the consolation heat. After the prelims Atlas Van Lines and Miss Budweiser appeared to be nearly equal.
Miss Budweiser got her favored inside position at the start of the championship heat and finished the initial lap slightly in front of Atlas Van Lines. In the second lap Miss Budweiser had engine trouble and Atlas Van Lines was away for another victory.
Mechanical problems and driver error typified the Budweiser five race eastern campaign although they still had a 213 point advantage in the race for the National High Point Championship. In addition Budweiser was about three m.p.h. slower than in 1981. Last year Budweiser had mechanical problems in only one heat in comparison to five heat failures in 1982.
Atlas Van Lines had experienced mechanical trouble in three heats and had won two races to the Budweiser's one. She had never had the fastest competition lap although she was real close to Budweiser at Detroit and Evansville. The Fran Muncey entry was about three m.p.h. faster than Bill Muncey's Atlas Van Lines on the eastern circuit last year.
Pay 'n Pak was back for the Tri-Cities Regatta and the race shaped up as a good three way battle between herself, Miss Budweiser and Atlas Van Lines. However the day before the race the Budweiser, which had run comparable laps to the new Atlas Van Lines, tried to set a qualifying record. She did not get very far as just past the starting line she went into a classic blowover coming down on top of driver Dean Chenoweth killing him. Chenoweth like Bill Muncey had been unlucky in contrast to Chip Hanauer and John Walters, who had survived similar accidents when the boat spit them out before crashing down.
As a result it was Atlas Van Lines versus Pay 'n Pak for the Columbia Cup which was run under the Cole Plan.
Atlas Van Lines and Pay 'n Pak made it to the final heat amid driver error and mechanical failures. Atlas Van Lines won the first heat although being penalized for jumping the gun. Pay 'n Pak ran back in the pack in this heat before succeeding to first place. Both Atlas and Pay N’Pak failed in the second heat.
It wasn't that much of a surprise then when neither Atlas Van Lines nor Pay 'n Pak was able to start the championship heat. This left the door open for Squire Shop to get her second trophy for the season.
Miss Budweiser was repaired in time for the Seafair Trophy at Seattle. Ron Armstrong would occupy her cockpit however she was still flighty in trial runs. Jim Kropfeld, a limited driver with the credentials of Ron Musson and Buddy Byers in that field of boat racing, was the heir apparent to Dean Chenoweth and would take over at San Diego.
It was reported that Chenoweth intended to retire at the end of the season in favor of Kropfeld. Seafair was to be run under the Cole Plan.
Another tragedy almost occurred at the start of the first heat of the fast flight. Pay 'n Pak getting a late start crashed into Executone who had gotten out of shape in the first turn. Pak driver John Walters was critically injured, but recovered to rejoin the sport in later years as a crew chief.
In the final at Seattle Atlas Van Lines easily defeated Miss Budweiser who was 7 m.p.h. behind the standard set by the Atlas. After the race Dave Heerensperger of Pay 'n Pak announced his retirement from Unlimited Racing even though having a new hull that had never been run designed along the lines of the new Atlas Van Lines.
Heerensperger was used to winning and he had taken only one race in 13 starts under the Lucero-Walters crew chief-driver combination. In addition his driver John Walters had been in two bad accidents. From 1971 thru 1975 - his glory years - none of Heerensperger's drivers had been severely injured.
Circus Circus, sponsor of the San Diego Regatta,opted to run the Hughes Plan tried at Madison rather than the Cole Plan. Both Atlas Van Lines and Miss Budweiser went dead in the water in their first heat which made probable their meeting in the second heat. In heat 2-B Atlas was beating Budweiser convincingly until the latter expired causing her to miss the championship heat as she had no points. Atlas then cruised in the final to add another trophy to her collection.
It was back to the Cole Plan for the final race of the year at Houston, Texas. Atlas Van Lines and Miss Budweiser exchanged preliminary heat wins showing equal speed. However in the championship heat Miss Budweiser got off to good lead and it looked like 1980 and 1981 as the Bernie Little entry was in front of Atlas by 15 seconds approaching the last lap. Unfortunately Miss Budweiser ran out of gas before the finish and Atlas Van Lines had another win albeit not being totally triumphant.
Running out of gas in the last event of the season sort of typified the Budweiser 1982 campaign. However in this final heat of the year, Budweiser showed herself to be about 5 m.p.h. faster than Atlas Van Lines, which was about 5 m.p.h. short of Bill Muncey's Atlas in 1981.
[Statistics from Greene, V.2]