The 1967 Miss Budweiser Runs Again

Mike Hanson in the cockpit, October 4, 2025, at Lake Chelan.
Photo by Gleason Racing Photography

By Craig Fjarlie 

At Mahogany and Merlot, on Lake Chelan, a historic Miss Budweiser returned to the water after a lengthy absence. The craft is currently owned by John Goodman, who also sponsors the U-91 Miss Goodman Real Estate on the H1 Unlimited hydroplane circuit.

The 1967 Miss Budweiser was built in 1962 by Les Staudacher. Its original name was Notre Dame, U-7. The owner was Shirley Mendelson McDonald. An Allison aircraft engine powered the boat, which was driven by Warner Gardner.

McDonald had a new boat in 1964 that was powered by a Rolls-Royce Merlin engine and initially driven by Bill Muncey. She briefly campaigned her original boat at two events in 1965. The boat was named Shu-Shu, driven by Jim Miller.

Bernie Little, owner of Miss Budweiser, was anticipating a successful season in 1967. His hopes were dashed at the first race in Tampa, Florida, when the boat had a major accident and driver Bill Brown was killed. Little needed a new boat in a hurry to fulfill his sponsorship obligations. He bought McDonald’s original boat and renamed it Miss Budweiser, U-12. The boat was re-powered with a Rolls-Merlin and driven in one race by Roy Duby. Duby then stepped aside and Unlimited rookie Mike Thomas took over the cockpit duties. Thomas won a race in Kelowna, British Columbia. It turned out to be the only race the boat would win. Thomas, who appeared to be on his way to a bright career in the Unlimiteds, was killed in a non-racing accident following the season.

Little purchased a new boat designed by Ed Karelsen for the 1968 season. Meanwhile, the ‘67 boat sat on its trailer outside the team’s Seattle shop. Little brought the ‘67 boat out briefly in 1969, to help fill the face field. It carried the name Miss Budweiser II, U-13, and was driven by Fred Alter.

U-4 Burien Lady on the trailer near its shop in Burien, Washington. Photo by Randy Hall.

The 1967 Budweiser was purchased by Bob Murphy, who named it Burien Lady, U-4, after his hometown of Burien, Washington. Under Murphy’s ownership, the boat’s first race was the 1970 Owensboro, Kentucky, regatta. The driver was George Henley, a champion inboard racer making his debut in the Unlimited class. At San Diego that year, the boat was sponsored by Smyth Moving. The name was changed to The Smoother Mover, and Bob Miller took over as driver. Murphy had the same sponsor in 1971 and ‘72. His drivers included Terry Sterett and Chuck Hickling.

Photo of Miss Budweiser outside its Seattle shop in 1968, when it had been replaced by a boat designed by Ed Karelsen. Photo by Randy Hall.

From that point on, the boat went through several name changes. Among the names were Ms. Greenfield Galleries and Mallory’s Red Ball Express, U-18. Another inboard champion, Jerry Bangs, made his start in the Unlimited class driving the latter.

Bill Wurster drove the boat in 1975 and 1976 when it carried the name Oh Boy! Oberto. Then, in 1977, it had the name R. Mikulski Advertising, U-10, and Tom Martin drove. At that point, the Allison-powered boat was clearly an also-ran. The boat sat out the ‘78 season, when it was purchased by Norm Evans, of Chelan, Washington. Evans intended to campaign the tired boat in 1979. It was painted green with white lettering and named Evergreen Roofing, U-10. Norm’s son, Mark, recalls what happened next. “In 1979, I drove it in Tri-Cities and Seattle, the very first time.” There was a new boat on the circuit powered by a single automobile engine, and Norm Evans decided to drive it. “We were getting ready to head to Tri-Cities and dad says, ‘Well, you’re driving the green boat anyway.’ That shocked me ‘cause I’d never driven a limited boat or anything. I’d raced snowmobiles and I won a race in our pleasure boat up lake. I said, ‘Dad, I can’t race down there.’ He says, ‘Oh, heck, you raced snowmobiles, you know how to do it.’ I didn’t even get to test at Chelan, I just got thrown in the water at Tri-Cities. Lee Schoenith came up to me and said, ‘Hey, boy, how much experience do you have?’ I said, ‘Well, limited.’ He just said, ‘Get out there and get that qualified and be careful.’ Our engines didn’t hold up. We hurt ‘em and then the flashing went through the gear box and we just kept on making a mess. Did that in 1979 and also in 1980. All four times I tried, I think I my fastest (lap) was 98 and you had to go 100 to qualify. Didn’t make it but had fun. Art Thiel was in the newspaper and did the odds on who’s winning and stuff. He had Bill Muncey at the top and I sat clear on the bottom. Art said, ‘Mark Evans probably will hit his biggest speeds going back home on the trailer.’ Made me mad, but I laugh about it now.”

Photo by Randy Hall. Evergreen Roofing in the pits at Tri-Cities, Washington, 1979.

Norm Evans was killed in a construction accident in early 1981. Norm had a Chevron gas station which was torn down and a new business moved onto the property. “I was going to set the Evergreen Roofing on top of it as a big sign,” Mark remembers. “Well, the city of Chelan got wind of it, came out and said, ‘You can’t do that.’ That started the sign ordinance for the whole city of Chelan. No goofy signs. So, it sat alongside the road for a while and we finally sold it. Chuck Hickling got the trailer for his tunnel boat, Tempus. I can’t really remember where it went from there. Luckily, someone acquired it later on.” 
For a while, Seattle restaurateur Gerald Kingen was a co-owner of the boat, and he essentially saved it from the scrap heap. It was sold to the Hydroplane and Raceboat Museum in 1998 and was restored as the 1967 Miss Budweiser. It appeared in the movie Madison as Notre Dame and Miss Budweiser. Later, the Museum painted it to look like Oh Boy! Oberto.

John Goodman obtained the boat from the Museum. He had it restored as the 1967 Miss Budweiser, with a Rolls-Merlin engine. Peter Orton worked on the boat and drove it at exhibition events for Goodman. “I started working on the Budweiser for John Goodman, I think, around 2009,” he remembers. “I overhauled the engine, did some work on it, and buffed up the interior. We ran it for nine years, all over the place. Had it in Idaho. It was a fun boat to drive. If you wanted to lean on it, it would go. The owner is great to work for, the best there is.”

Goodman felt the boat needed work, so he stopped running it about 10 years ago. “John wanted the engine overhauled while it was down,” Orton explains. “I didn’t want to do it, so we sent it down to Mike Barrow. He’s a Mustang (P-51 Mustang airplanes – Ed.) builder. That took about three years to gather up enough parts to get it to work, which is why I didn’t want to do it.” The engine is a dash 7 Merlin. “It has a dash 9 bank on it, other than that it’s a dash 7,” Orton says. “It has dash 7 gears in the blower.”

When the restored 1967 Miss Budweiser appeared at Mahogany and Merlot in early October, it was a pleasant surprise. Dixon Smith, who owns the restored 1962 Miss Bardahl, and Mike Hanson, crew chief on the Goodman Real Estate Unlimited hydroplane, took turns driving the Budweiser. “The engine actually runs quite nicely,” Smith says. “The boat right now has a fairly good water leak that we don’t know where it is. I’m guessing since we ran, there is probably somewhere between 50 and 75 gallons of water in the boat. The first lap it behaved pretty well, by about the third lap it seemed to be dragging the right sponson, but that makes sense if that’s where all the water would be. We’re hesitant to run it really hard until we figure out what’s leaking and make sure that there isn’t any structural problem associated with the leak. I’d driven the boat before and my recollection is that it handles about the same as in the past.”

Hanson was more critical of the ride. “It had numerous water leaks and it still does. We sealed up quite a few of them but it still has some. It’s taking on water while we run, so we’re not going to run a lot. You don’t know until you put it in the water and find out. It’s a handful; it’s about the worst thing I’ve driven so far. It pulls to the right and it’s hitting all the rollers. No boats run well when they’re full of water. We have to take it back to the shop and we’ll work on it and get the water out of it. Maybe next time we bring it back out it’ll run a little bit better.”

Smith takes a long view of the boat’s legacy. “That thing went through a number of owners and crews. It had Allisons in it and Merlins in it, back and forth. It’s been through so many different owners. I know the Museum restoration was okay, but it was kind of ‘get it done,’ and so forth. Anyway, it’s another vintage boat that actually does run which is a really good deal.” We will look forward to seeing it again and hearing its Rolls-Royce Merlin roar.

Dixon Smith preparing to drive the 1967 Miss Budweiser on Lake Chelan, October 4, 2025. Photos by Craig Fjarlie.