APBA Speed Records
152.130 mph Straightaway record - The Going Thing 16-F - Oct. 30, 1971 at Parker, Arizona.
Fox, Thompson & Wolf (owners) with Mickey Remund (driver). 
103.45 mph Competition record - Shogun F-23 - 1981 at unknown location by George Woods Jr. (Chevy powered).

photo by Phil Kunz

From Chip Hanauer
The circumstances for me driving for Thompson and Wolf is a story I'll never forget. Firstly, I was a huge fan of the boat and the people involved. They came to Green Lake with Mickey driving, trying to get the record. They didn't, but man, I thought that was the coolest boat I'd ever seen and I stood back and watched the people and could see they were true racers. I'm not sure what year that was. Time passed and I was teaching school in Port Townsend. I lived in a crappy little shack, it was bad, but it was on the beach at Discovery Bay and that's all that mattered to me. I loved it there! One evening after I returned home from school there was a message from John Wolf. He introduced himself and asked if I'd be willing to drive, The Going Thing at the Nationals that upcoming summer at Castaic. I was thrilled! I called him back and said we, "had a deal." It was one of the greatest experiences of my racing life. Winning the Nationals with that boat and those people is a wonderful memory for me, one that I will never forget. There are only three boats that I would love to see again. One was the Lauterbach Special, which was restored and I got to see in Detroit a few years ago. Another is the 145 that I won the nationals with and the points championship with. It's in Alaska and the guy doesn't want to sell it. And of coarse, The Going Thing. Those boats meant a great deal to me and the people who were involved with those boats mean even more".

Green Lake 1972

"The Going Thing was very special because of the speed but mostly the crew and owners, John Wolf, Wayne Thompson and Bud Fox. 
In 1972 we ran the fastest 5 litre lap ever on a mile and 2/3 course at Green Lake. 
The last lap of the final heat was 102.8 mph, passing 3 boats on the outside. On the back stretch I saw 144 mph. Lots of fun". 
Mickey Remund - driver
 

Green Lake 1972

1971 Western Divisional
Dexter Dam, Oregon

I'm going to do what a boat driver should never do; I’m going to pick my favorite boat. When 
driving unlimited boats like the Pay-N-Pak, Budweiser, Squire Shop, Lincoln Thrift and others, you're 
representing a corporate image and a lot of people you will never meet but are still a very important 
part of the big picture. That puts pressure on a driver you donut get in the smaller boats. I found all racing fun. 

I saw an article under a picture of the 5 liter boat, “The Going Thing” F16, written by Chip 
Hanauer that was sent to me by Randy Wold from Spanaway Washington. That 
inspired me to add my thoughts at this time. What Chip said about owners John Wolf, Buddy Fox and of 
course Wayne Thompson is what I've known for many years. When Wayne was thrown from “The 
Going Thing” in 1970, he was critically injured and was paralyzed from the neck down. I was the first 
person to see Wayne in the hospital other than his family. Wayne could only blink his eyes, one blink 
was yes and two blinks was no. He was asked if they should run “The Going Thing” and he blinked yes, 
he was asked if he wanted me to drive it and he blinked yes. I was so proud he wanted me to drive, I 
would have driven it to the moon. Wayne never recovered from his accident but did get a little better 
and came to the Long Beach race in California in 1972. Unfortunately that was where I crashed the 
hardest in my racing career. I was racing the Bud Meyers boat and we were side by side at almost 130 
mph when the steering failed and I made a square 90 degree right hand turn. I was thrown out the 
hardest ever. I was in shock until about 3:00 AM the next morning and didn't know it. We were all 
concerned for Wayne because he saw the accident and was concerned for me. The crash was in the 
second heat after winning the first heat, there wasn't time to run the second heat over so we won the 
race by winning just the first heat, it was one of those years. We won 9 races that year and the National Championship.

Parker AZ Kilo event
On Oct, 1971 we went to Parker AZ for the race and a chance to run the kilos on Friday and 
Saturday. The Colorado River there does not have a long enough straight away but we wanted to see 
how fast we could go. John went through the engine and checked everything and we had a new Italian 
propeller that we never ran before. On Friday we decided to make an easy run up river to check things 
out before a hard run. Going up river with some HP left, I saw 147 mph on the speedo, that was nice 
but when I backed off a little, up came the front of the boat, “Oh Oh” it was trying to go over backwards. 
I had to stand on the gas to get the nose down, then back off again and up came the front again. By that 
time I was out of river as it went to the left, now I had to do something or I would be up the river bank. 
So what I did was as I lifted the throttle just a little and turned to the left and it worked just in time 
before the river bank. “Oh My”. I went back down the river to the pits to talk this over with the crew. 
We took about 6 pieces of rubber hose, 6 inches long and hung them under the front of the boat to 
disturb the air under the boat just a little, it helped. When our turn came again, we ran a little harder, it 
was better but the nose came up again but now it was 153 mph, what a ride, and I had to turn left to get 
it back on the water. Friday we set the record at 151.?? Mph. Late Friday our group was all in a circle to 
talk this over. We agreed we could go a little faster but how, with what gears, what engine rpm and 
what go fast breakfast for me. John was asked if we could turn the engine a little faster, so I told him we 
were turning it about 8700 rpm. John said we can turn a little more rpm. Then we talked about the gear 
box and what gears to run on Saturday. We all sat and discussed all this very calmly with no one trying 
to make their point over anyone else. This is some of what Chip was talking about in his opinion of “The 
Going Thing” owners and crew. In all of my racing, this group worked together the best. We changed 
the gear in the gearbox to accelerate a little better. Come Saturday we made several runs on the kilo 
each time a little faster and each time I had to turn it left to get back on the water, what a ride. On our 
best set of runs we averaged 152.130 mph. Parker is short of room to start and to stop, we would enter 
the speed trap at about 145 mph and go out the end about 158 to 159 mph. On our best set of runs we 
went out the end of the speed trap at 161 mph and 9100 rpm on Johns Ford engine, John is the best 
engine man I have ever known. Our fastest one way run was 156 mph. Life was good then and still is. 

Green Lake
In 1972, we took “The Going Thing” boat to Seattle's Green Lake the weekend before the 
unlimited’s ran on Lake Washington. Most unlimited owners and crews were there to watch. The 
Seattle racers heard we were running fast and made the start of the heats just as hard on me as they 
could. I think we won the first heat but I’m not sure. The second and final heat is the real story. We 
were held up on the start by I think 10 boats and I could not see where I was going and hoping not to 
run over anyone or get run over. The second lap was better and I started to run “The Going Thing”
harder, by the third and last lap there was just 3 boats ahead of me. I caught one on the end of the 
front straight away and passed him, the next boat was in the turn and I passed him on the outside also. 
Now I looked down the last straight away and the lead boat was far ahead of me. I had good water for 
the first time and I ran wide open to the last big turn. My thoughts about then was my crash going into 
that turn wide open a few years earlier in a smaller boat. I was running 144 mph and said to myself, stay 
way outside the lead boats water and remember the wind that can change everything. At Green Lake 
the wind is called Woodland Park Outflow, you watch the color of the water. I went into the turn just as 
I caught the lead boat and never lifted on the throttle, Ron Jones Sr. said it was flying the inside 
sponson. We went on to win the race and our last lap speed was 102.8 mph, passing 3 boats on the 
outside, what a ride. When I got back home in California I received 3 calls from unlimited owners asking 
me to drive their boat. I went with Dave Heerensperger’s Pay-N-Pak. That turned out to be the best 
choice as we won the National Championship. That was the end of me driving “The Going Thing”, I 
leaned years ago, if you want to do well at anything, donut try to do too much else at the same time. 
Guess what boat is my favorite 

Saint Pete Florida
In 1971 we all went to Saint Pete, Florida with “The Going Thing” boat to a double race weekend, 
one race on Saturday and one race on Sunday. Our best competition was Gene Henderson’s “Miss 
Washington DC” boat with Charley Dunn driving. Before the race started I told Charley I was going to 
get the inside lane all four heats, and I did. The Going Thing did not like the slight turn on the first 
straight away and that gave Charley the advantage he needed to win. We ran side by side all four 
heats of racing with Charley winning by no more than one boat length in any heat, that's fun. At one 
point during the race there was a pause and Gene asked me if I wanted to drive the DC boat, and of 
course I said yes. I ran two laps but did not show how fast I could go. One evening our group and Gene 
Henderson’s group with the Lauterbach’s went out to dinner. At dinner I challenged Charley to a fast lap 
race in the DC boat, I said lets both put a $1,000 on the table and the one that goes the fastest lap 
wins. Charley looked at me and said “no”. Gene, the Lauterbachs and everyone had a big smile. The 
DC was a Lauterbach hull and that made it even more fun because The Going Thing is a Ron Jones Sr. 
hull. I felt I could run a 100 mph lap, that boat was fast and it fit me like a glove. That was the same 
weekend as the BIG Silmar earthquake in the LA area. John Wolf made one phone call home to his wife 
Virginia and that was the only call home for two days, all lines were full. John and Virginia had some 
damage like a block wall fell down, the chimney collapsed and a lot of household items were on the 
floor but no one was hurt.

Western Divisional
Battle between F-11 Curious Yellow & 16-F The Going Thing
 

The above 5 photos were taken by Eileen Crimmin.
Used by permission of Ned Crimmin from "The Crimmin Collection"

The Going Thing 16-F
Ron Armstrong 
Dayton, Ohio 1980's
(Gary Todd photo)
 

Shogun F-23 when George Woods had it.
 

Restoration

Coming home from back East with the soon to be vintage again, The Going Thing - rest stop in eastern Washington.

I pulled the engine out and immediately found the oil leak. 
The inside of the boat has been washed with a mixture of Dawn, Oil Eaters and Tide and my steam cleaner/pressure washer.
There was no damage inside the hull. It was remarkably sealed very well. Decals are now removed and I am sanding the deck for repaint.

Gurney Weslake engine I recently purchased to be used in the restoration. Induction is via 48mm Webers.

© Randy Wold

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