Restoration
The Miss Spokane Restoration Team
Pancho Simonson
Pancho Simonson is the son of Kent Simonson, who served initially as a crew member, then as crew chief, and eventually as owner of the Miss Spokane hull. After racing for other owners and sponsors, The MISS SPOKANE hull was retired after the 1967 season, and spent the next twenty years on display near a business in Lapeer, Michigan. Bill Killian returned the hull to Spokane in the mid-1980s. Since then it has been stored at Pancho's property in the Spokane Valley. Pancho says, "We are just starting to determine what is good and what isn't. Basically, the boat is all still there but there is a lot of work to do."
N. Mark Evans
Norman Mark Evans first took the wheel of an Unlimited hydroplane when he attempted to qualify EVERGREEN ROOFING for the 1979 Tri-Cities (Washington) Columbia Cup. The boat, a former MISS BUDWEISER, was owned by his father Norm Evans, who had raced Unlimiteds between 1956 and 1970. In his great Unlimited driving career, Mark won ten races between 1991 and 2003. During that time period, he also finished second ten times with ARC CONSTRUCTION, MISS EXIDE, MISS VONS, MISS BUDWEISER, PICO AMERICAN DREAM, and MISS E-LAM PLUS.
Mitch Evans
Like his older bother, Mitch Evans followed in the footsteps of his father Norm Evans and had a great career driving race boats including piston and turbine powered unlimiteds. His greatest win came in the 2003 Chrysler Jeep Gold Cup in Detroit where he scored the last victory for piston power driving Ed Cooper's Turbo Allison powered U-3. In recent years, he has completely restored the former BREATHLESS vintage hydro in his Chelan, Washington shop. Mitch and his beautifully restored BREATHLESS III have made numerous appearances at Vintage Unlimited events.