OldRacingCars.com

Continental 49'er

Sears Point, 28 Jun 1970

ResultsLapsTime/Speed
1 Gus Hutchison (F1) 3-litre Brabham BT26A [3] - Cosworth DFV V8
#51 Champlin Racing
40 1h 07m 11.4s
89.308 mph
2 John Gunn Surtees TS5A - Chevrolet V8
#39
40 1h 07m 31.8s
3 Rex Ramsey Eagle Mk 5 [509] - Chevrolet V8
#22
40 1h 07m 38.0s
4 Fred Baker McLaren M10A - Chevrolet V8
#29 Fred Baker
40 1h 08m 17.8s
5 Spence Stoddard Lola T190 - Chevrolet V8
#9 Competition Development
40 1h 08m 39.0s
6 Gregg Young McLaren M10B [400-14] - Chevrolet V8
#5 Irene Young
39
7 Lyle Forsgren Forsgrini Mk 14B - Chevrolet V8
#46 Forsgren Eng. Ltd
38
8 John Martin Surtees TS5A - Chevrolet V8
#89 Royal American Competition
38
9 Michael Brockman Lola T190 [190/F1/18] - Chevrolet V8
#87
38
10 Gerard Raney Eagle Mk 5 - Chevrolet V8
#90
37
11 Alan Bouverat McLaren M10A - Chevrolet V8
#11 Bouverat Racing [entered as #17]
35
12 Mel Andrus Lola T142 - Chevrolet V8
#66 (see note 1)
34
13 Don Inferrera Brabham "BT13" [BT11 F1-6-64] - Chevrolet V8
#41 Don Inferrera
34
14 John C. Kircher Lola T140 - Chevrolet V8
#99 Rotex Punch Co Ltd
33
15 Ron Grable Lola T190 [190/F1/3] - Chevrolet V8
#4 Williams Racing Ent.
39 Out of fuel
16 Len Guneau Lola T142 - Chevrolet V8
#13 Foreign Automotive of Hanford
(see note 2)
32 Black flagged
17 Jim Paul LeGrand Mk 11P - Chevrolet V8
#19 Frank Monise Motors (see note 3)
30 Lost wheel
18 Dave Jordan Eagle Mk 5 [511] - Chevrolet V8
#21 American International
24 rocker arm
19 Dick Smothers Lotus 70 [05] - Chevrolet V8
#10 Smothers-Wintersteen Racing
23 Front suspension
20 Eric Haga Lola T190 [190/F1/8] - Chevrolet V8
#8 Competition Development (see note 4)
18 Accident
21 Dow "Jack" Byers II Lola T190 [190/F1/6] - Chevrolet V8
#7 Byers Racing Centre [Jack Byers]
(see note 5)
16 running, not classified
22 Lou Pavesi McLaren M10A [300-05] - Chevrolet V8
#61 EPR Racing Organization (see note 6)
15 running, not classified
23 George Wintersteen Lotus 70 [03] - Chevrolet V8
#12 Smothers-Wintersteen Racing
13 suspension
24 Rich Galloway Lola T190 - Chevrolet V8
#27 Colea Metals Int. Ltd (see note 7)
12 clutch
25 John Cannon McLaren M10B [400-01] - Chevrolet V8
#2
7 Head gasket
26 Lou Sell Surtees TS5 - Ford V8
#15 J & B Racing
4 Overheating
27 Steve Durst McLaren M10B [400-13] - Chevrolet V8
#36 Smith Racing
3 Oil pressure
28 Dennis Ott Eisert 70 - Chevrolet V8
#16 Ott Racing Enterprises (see note 8)
1 Mechanical
DNS John Bisignano McLaren M10A - Chevrolet V8
#6 American Competition Racing
Did not start
DNS Nick Dioguardi (F5000) WRE Shadow
#65 (see note 9)
Did not start
DNS Earl G Kelley "Custom Space Frame Spl" - Chevrolet V8
#78
Did not start
DNSC Hamilton Vose Surtees TS5 - Chevrolet V8
#88 Royal American Competition
Did not start (crashed)
DNSC Hiroshi Fushida Eagle Mk 5 [503] - Plymouth V8
#97 V. Wayne-Jones-Zeus Develop.
Did not start (crashed)
  Lew Florence Lola T142 [SL142/41] - Chevrolet V8
#24 Lew Florence Motors Inc (see note 10)
On entry list
  Crockey Peterson Coyote [Lotus 38/4?] - Chevrolet V8
#28 Crokey Peterson Racing Int.
(see note 11)
On entry list
  Keith Saunders Lola T142 - Chevrolet V8
#54 Keith G. Saunders (see note 12)
On entry list
  Dave Heinz Lola T142 - Chevrolet V8
#59 Dave Heinz Racing Inc (see note 13)
On entry list
  Mike Goth Lola T190 [190/F1/12] - Chevrolet V8
#96 Mike Goth Racing
On entry list

All cars are 5-litre F5000 unless noted.

Qualifying
1 Ron Grable (F5000) 5-litre Lola T190 [190/F1/3] - Chevrolet V8 1m 33.6s
2 George Wintersteen (F5000) 5-litre Lotus 70 [03] - Chevrolet V8 1m 34.8s
3 John Cannon (F5000) 5-litre McLaren M10B [400-01] - Chevrolet V8 1m 34.8s
4 Gus Hutchison (F1) 3-litre Brabham BT26A [3] - Cosworth DFV V8 1m 36.6s
5 Rex Ramsey (F5000) 5-litre Eagle Mk 5 [509] - Chevrolet V8 1m 37.8s
6 John Gunn (F5000) 5-litre Surtees TS5A - Chevrolet V8 1m 38.4s
7 Fred Baker (F5000) 5-litre McLaren M10A - Chevrolet V8 1m 39.6s
8 Dick Smothers (F5000) 5-litre Lotus 70 [05] - Chevrolet V8 1m 40.2s
9 Hiroshi Fushida * (F5000) 5-litre Eagle Mk 5 [503] - Plymouth V8 1m 40.8s
10 Eric Haga (F5000) 5-litre Lola T190 [190/F1/8] - Chevrolet V8 1m 40.8s
11 John Martin (F5000) 5-litre Surtees TS5A - Chevrolet V8 1m 41.4s
12 Rich Galloway (F5000) 5-litre Lola T190 - Chevrolet V8 1m 41.4s
13 Spence Stoddard (F5000) 5-litre Lola T190 - Chevrolet V8 1m 41.4s
14 Dave Jordan (F5000) 5-litre Eagle Mk 5 [511] - Chevrolet V8 1m 41.4s
15 Lou Sell (F5000) 5-litre Surtees TS5 - Ford V8 1m 42.0s
16 Steve Durst (F5000) 5-litre McLaren M10B [400-13] - Chevrolet V8 1m 42.0s
17 Lyle Forsgren (F5000) 5-litre Forsgrini Mk 14B - Chevrolet V8 1m 43.2s
18 Michael Brockman (F5000) 5-litre Lola T190 [190/F1/18] - Chevrolet V8 1m 43.2s
19 Gregg Young (F5000) 5-litre McLaren M10B [400-14] - Chevrolet V8 1m 43.8s
20 Jim Paul (F5000) 5-litre LeGrand Mk 11P - Chevrolet V8 1m 45.0s
21 Dennis Ott (F5000) 5-litre Eisert 70 - Chevrolet V8 1m 45.6s
22 Lou Pavesi (F5000) 5-litre McLaren M10A [300-05] - Chevrolet V8 1m 45.6s
23 Len Guneau (F5000) 5-litre Lola T142 - Chevrolet V8 1m 45.6s
24 Hamilton Vose * (F5000) 5-litre Surtees TS5 - Chevrolet V8 1m 47.4s
25 Dow "Jack" Byers II (F5000) 5-litre Lola T190 [190/F1/6] - Chevrolet V8 1m 48.6s
26 Alan Bouverat (F5000) 5-litre McLaren M10A - Chevrolet V8 1m 52.2s
27 John C. Kircher (F5000) 5-litre Lola T140 - Chevrolet V8 1m 53.4s
28 Don Inferrera (F5000) 5-litre Brabham "BT13" [BT11 F1-6-64] - Chevrolet V8 1m 59.4s
29 Earl G Kelley * (F5000) 5-litre "Custom Space Frame Spl" - Chevrolet V8 2m 00.6s
- Mel Andrus (F5000) 5-litre Lola T142 - Chevrolet V8 no time
- Gerard Raney (F5000) 5-litre Eagle Mk 5 - Chevrolet V8 no time
- John Bisignano * (F5000) 5-litre McLaren M10A - Chevrolet V8 no time
- Nick Dioguardi * (F5000) WRE Shadow no time
 
* Did not start

Notes on the cars:

  1. Lola T142 (Mel Andrus): Dick Simon (Salt Lake City, UT) US 1969 (yellow #66 from R1) - (maybe with Hayes 10 Dec 1969?). In the book "The Boys of Indy" (Phil Berger & Larry Bortstein, 1977), Simon is quoted as saying the car was "used". But he also says he won one race (true) and finished in the top six five times in his six races (not so). Simon used this season to get into USAC. Maybe to Hayes. Then to Mel Andrus (Salt Lake City, UT): US 1970 (two races: R2 Edmonton 24 May and R5 Sears Point 28 Jun); US 1971 (only appeared at R1 Riverside 25 Apr: crashed in practice and Andrus was killed). The car was stripped and the remaining damaged section of the chassis lay in a wrecking yard for many years.
  2. Lola T142 (Len Guneau): Len Guneau (Hermosa Beach, CA): first seen winning FA class in SCCA Regionals at Laguna Seca on 12 Oct 1969, then at Riverside two weeks later, so possibly second hand but there are no obvious contenders except the cars crashed at St Jovite. If new, then likely to be one of the last three Haas cars (43, 44 or 45). Raced at Sebring 1969, the West Coast races in 1970 and at Laguna Seca 1971. On the entry list for Laguna Seca 1972. Subsequent history unknown.
  3. LeGrand Mk 11P (Jim Paul): Raced by Rex Ramsey in late 1969, winning at Trois-Rivières in September, but well off the pace in the L&M series. Jim Paul raced the car in 1970, with a best result of eighth in the Pro race at Laguna Seca, and appeared a few times in 1971 and early 1972. To Keith Saunders (Albuquerque, NM) for SCCA racing later in 1972, then to Bill Swope (Albuquerque, NM) for 1973. Swope advertised it late 1975, and it seems likely that this was the LeGrand used by JB Walton in SCCA Regionals in Utah Region in 1978. The next time it was seen was when Harold Janke owned it in Nebraska in the late 1990s. To Kirk Severson and racing in historic events by 2001. To Marty Fidrich (Elisabeth, CO) by 2007.
  4. Lola T190 [190/F1/8] (Eric Haga): New to Eric Haga (Seattle, WA) and raced in the US Pro series in 1970. To Don Baker (Long Beach, CA) for 1971 and used in local SCCA events. To Jim Gustafson (Costa Mesa, CA) for 1974 and again raced in West Coast SCCA events. To Richard Votava (Southern California) in 1975. The log book then identifies a Troy R. Milken (or Millen or Milleau) driving the car in a school on 21 Feb 1976. Then Votava in SCCA Regionals (mainly at RIR) in 1976 and 1977; then SCCA Nationals in 1978 and 1979. To Marshall R. Tarnow March 1980 - Alan Sevadjain (owned with Don Johnstone) and raced at Texas in 1981 - Larry C. Clain (Tulsa, OK) and raced at RIR and elsewhere 1982 - Chuck Haines (St Louis, MO) 1984 - Chip Boatright (Illinois) 2006. Sold back to original driver Eric Haga (Renton, WA) for historic racing. Appeared in the 2011/12 and 2012/13 Tasman Revival series, but wrecked at Teretonga Park in February 2013. Tony Garmey built a new monocoque for the car, but it was still incomplete when Haga died in November 2021. Ted Wenz bought the project from the estate in early 2022 as a retirement project and completed it. After testing, it was sold via Art Hebert at Motorsports Market to Paul Kuhl (San Diego, CA) in 2023.
  5. Lola T190 [190/F1/6] (Dow "Jack" Byers II): Test car. Epstein-Cuthbert for Mike Hailwood UK R1 1970 but crashed Heat 1 and replaced by 190/F1/15 for next three races. Original car apparantly to Dow 'Jack' Byers II US 1970 (11 races) and presumably the car he raced at Questor 1971 ("T190/6"). Advertised by Jack Byers 12 Jun 1971. Subsequent history unknown. Note that two cars in the US may have carried this number, Byers' and Don Dierking's ex-Epstein car (see 190/15).
  6. McLaren M10A [300-05] (Lou Pavesi): See full history: McLaren M10A 300-05.
  7. Lola T190 (Rich Galloway): Richie Galloway US 1970 (6 races) then crashed in practice at R8 St Jovite 1 Aug and wrecked. Replaced by the ex-Hansen T190/F1/1. This car may have been repaired to become Bobby Brown's 1971 Tasman car.
  8. Eisert 70 (Dennis Ott): Dennis Ott (Montclair, CA/Upland, CA) raced a Eisert in Formula A in 1970. He later advertised the car as a 1970 model, but it looked much like a 1969 model, and may actually have been second hand. At 6'2" and 185 lbs, Ott was large for a racing driver at the time. He came up through modified racing in his home state of Nebraska, then California Racing Association sprint cars in 1967, and then FA in 1970 at the age of 24. He advertised the Eisert in November 1970, describing it as a "1970 wedge style Eisert USAC or F/A" that had been "road raced nine times". For 1971, he acquired a McLaren M10B, and the Eisert was sold to 29-year-old CAMRA driver Ken Hamilton (Boise, ID), who completed the SCCA drivers school at Seattle International raceway in April 1971 and drove the Eisert in SCCA Regional and National races that season, as well as the USAC road-racing event at Seattle in August. In 1971 he was considering having Eisert convert the car to use in the 1972 Indy 500, but nothing came of this. He was entered for the Laguna Seca and Edmonton Pro F5000 races in early 1972, but there is no record of his participation in either event. He focused on CAMRA and MRAO racing in 1972, driving for Art Sugai, and had a very successful season. The subsequent history of the Eisert is unknown.
  9. WRE Shadow (Nick Dioguardi): New to Nick Dioguardi (Glendale, CA) for SCCA Formula A in 1968. Retained for a few races in 1969. Retained again for a few races in 1970. Then unknown until advertised by Charlie Harris (California) in in Finish Line December 1976, at which time it was fitted with roll cage, "nerf bars" and mufflers for oval track racing. Subsequent history unknown.
  10. Lola T142 [SL142/41] (Lew Florence): See full history: Lola T142 SL142/41.
  11. Coyote [Lotus 38/4?] (Crockey Peterson): Built 1965 (fifth chassis built) from spares with symmetrical suspension and using some parts from the original 38/2. Used by Jim Clark at St Ursanne and Ollon-Villars 1965. For Jim Clark at the 1966 Indy 500 (#19 qualified 2nd, finished second). Sold to AJ Foyt and wrecked in practice at Milwaukee a week later when the suspension on the straight and the car hit the wall and burst into flames. Returned to Lotus in England and rebuilt; returned to Foyt August 1966 but no further results known in 1966. Likely to have been the #84 Lotus 38 used by Foyt in the opening races of 1967 at Phoenix and Trenton. Then used by Gary Congdon at the Indy 500 when he was bumped. With the other Foyt 38s wrecked, this last survivor was the car Foyt raced at Langhorne in July. Several years later, a ‘Coyote’ was raced in F5000 by Crockey Peterson, but photographs show that it was a Lotus 38, and it has been identified as 38/4. Later sold to Chuck Haines (St Louis, MO) and then to collector James L. Jaeger (Cincinnati, OH). Run at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in 1997, 1998 and 2000. On display in the Speedway Museum March 2009. Ran again at Goodwood 2011.
  12. Lola T142 (Keith Saunders): Keith G. Saunders (Albuquerque, NM): bought as a kit from Carl Haas and completed late 1969 or during 1970. David Hutson recalls that it ran at the Laguna Seca Pro race, presumably in 1970, but the engine blew in practice and it did not start. This ties in with entry lists, which show Saunders entered for the Pro races at Laguna Seca and Sears Point in June 1970. His car is likely to be one of the last three Haas cars (43, 44 or 45). Advertised by Saunders in August 1970. A legal case between Saunders and Carl Haas was settled in April 1971. Subsequent history unknown.
  13. Lola T142 (Dave Heinz): See full history: Lola T142 'the Dave Heinz car'.

Sources

Note that the identification of individual cars in these results is based on the material presented elsewhere in this site and may in some cases contradict the organisers' published results.

1968 US information has been taken from SCCA results sheets with additional information from Autoweek race reports and from some entry lists. Thanks to David McKinney and Wolfgang Klopfer for providing these. Identifying the classes and model of some entries has proved very difficult so all new information would be welcomed.

1969-1971 US information has been collated by Chris Townsend using Autoweek reports. All comments, clarifications, corrections and additions are most welcome.

1972-1976 US information was originally collated by Wolfgang Klopfer, converted to database format by Dawn Harrison and checked by Jim Thurman and Don Capps. Wolfgang's main sources are Autoweek and individual SCCA results bulletins but Autosport, Autocourse and Road Racing Annual have also been consulted.

US SCCA Runoffs, Nationals and Regionals results were collated by Wolfgang Klopfer from Autoweek reports. These reports were usually very brief so the information on the majority of races is limited just to the identity of the FA class winner.

Some race programs have also been used for entry lists and other information. My thanks to Richard Coe for the generous contributions from his collection.

All comments, clarifications, corrections and additions are most welcome. Please email Allen if you can add anything.