SCCA Continental Championship for Formula B/C Race

Sebring International Raceway, 28 Dec 1969

All cars are 1.6-litre FB unless noted.

Notes on the cars:

1. Chevron B15b [FB-69-8?] (Reine Wisell): A new Chevron B15B was prepared for Reine Wisell to race - and win - at Sebring 28 Dec 1969. Doug Brenner bought this car for 1970 and raced in the Pro series and then sold it to Byron Hatten (Altadena, CA) for 1971. Hatten continued to race it into 1972 but crashed heavily at Riverside in Feb 1972, the first event of the season, badly damaging the Chevron. Art Brisbane (Covina, CA) bought the damaged car, and also bought the ex-Syd Demovsky damaged B15b frame from Wayne Mitchell. Frank Monise cut the two frames in half and "beautifully attached the good parts together". Brisbane used the rebuilt car in Cal Club Formula C from 1974 until 1978 at least. Subsequent history unknown.
2. Brabham BT29 (Brian Robertson): Brian Robertson (Brockville, Ontario) bought a Brabham BT29 late in 1969, debuting it at Sebring in December. He raced it extensively in 1970, taking in the Quebec and national Canadian series as well as rounds of the SCCA Pro series. He was entered by Fred Opert Racing Canada, a business in which he was a partner with Opert. Robertson upgraded to a BT35 for 1971 and his BT29 is likely to have been sold via the Opert operation. It does not appear in Opert's early 1971 advert so one possibility is that it was BT29/23, the car Evan Noyes took to the Tasman series.
3. Brabham BT29 (Bill Gubelmann): Bill Gubelmann (Oyster Bay, NY) bought one of the first Brabham BT29s to arrive in the US and debuted it in the Pro race at Lime Rock 1 Sep 1969, winning comfortably. He raced it three more times that season but then decided to join Gene Mason's works-assisted Tecno FB team for 1970. The BT29 was advertised and, based on the identical, orange, yellow and white livery, was sold to John G. Girdler (Southampton, NY) who raced it in a handful of Pro events and probably also in SCCA events during 1970. Girdler upgraded to a new March for 1971 so the Brabham may have been traded to Joe Grimaldi. Subsequent history unknown.
4. Chevron B15b [FB-69-5?] (Hugh Kleinpeter): Just as many other SCCA FB drivers were acquiring Brabham BT29s, Hugh Kleinpeter invested in a Chevron B15b to replace the Beach T11 with which he'd won the SEDiv FB title. He retained his title in 1969 and retained the Chevron for 1970, winning his third successive title. After the 1970 season, the car was sold to Dave Yoder (Plantation, FL) and it was raced by Yoder and by Frank Marrs (Plantation, FL) in local SCCA events and occasional nearby Pro events over the next four seasons. Yoder scored nine points in Southeast Division FB in 1972, and ten points in 1974, qualifying for the Runoffs that year. It was then sold to Bill Anspach, who used it for spares for his Formula C Chevron B17. It was later sold to Barry Geng (Burlington, Iowa), to replace the B17b that Geng had wrecked at Road Atlanta. It ended up with someone who was going to break it up for a 3-wheeler project, but was rescued by Wayne LaFrenz (Iowa), who has owned it since the early 1980s. It arrived complete with a 1100cc HRE-built Ford twin cam engine and Hewland FT200 gearbox.
5. Chevron B15b [FB-69-6?] (Steve Brownstein): Steven Brownstein (Hewlett, NY) had a blue Chevron B15B for Formula B in 1969. He raced in the Pro series but also took 25 pts in Northeast Division FB racing. Brownstein retained the car for 1970, but blew his engine at Brainerd in August and was not seen again. Steve Brownstein cannot remember who he sold his Chevron to, but doubts that it went back to Opert. Subsequent history unknown.
6. Brabham BT14 [FL-3-65] (Bruce Redding): This BT14 was bought new by John Mitchell and raced in northern English libre racing in 1965 and 1966. It was missing for most of 1967, but was sold late that year to Steve Pfeiffer (San Francisco, CA) and equipped with a BRM Phase 4 twin-cam for 1968 Formula B racing, now described as a BT21. It was sold to Bruce Redding (Monterey, CA) for 1969 but crashed early in the season and extensively rebuilt. Redding thereafter entered it in 1969 and 1970 as a Ford Special, Gravelle Special or even as a Honda Special. It was later sold to Steve Jizmagian (San Francisco, CA) in early 1971 and crashed again, then to Tom Gouldstone (Santa Rosa, CA/Napa, CA) in November 1972 and crashed again - each time at Laguna Seca. By 1975, Gouldstone was describing it as a BT18/21. It was sold to Dick McGovern in 1978. It was retained by McGovern until 1994 when sold to George Goodare (Sydney, NSW, Australia) and restored. Later to Brian Wilson in September 2000 then to John Gale in November 2001. Sold to Richard Longes late 2008 and raced in 2009 Tasman Revival races.
7. Chevron B15b [FB-69-4?] (Jim Grob): Jim Grob (Ft Lauderdale, FL but later Pompano Beach, CA) raced a Chevron B15b in Pro racing in 1969 and also scored 24 points in Northeast Division FB, representing Northern New Jersey Region. He retained the car for 1970 and again for 1971, then mainly focusing his efforts on SCCA Divisional racing in Southeast Division. He finished second to Hugh Kleinpeter's sister car in 1970 but then won the Division in 1971. He changed to a new Chevron B20 for 1972.
8. Brabham BT29 (Fred Opert): Fred Opert (Paramus, NJ) raced his own yellow/orange/blue #73 Brabham BT29 as soon as one was available, debuting at Brainerd in August 1969. He presumably drove the same car for the rest of that season, and for the opening race of the 1970 season. Opert then moved to a Chevron B17b, and the subsequent history of the BT29 is unknown. One possibility is it was one of the cars made available as a hire car by Fred Opert Racing in 1970, but there are no obviously candidates, so it is more likely that the car was sold.
9. Brabham BT29 [10] (Bill Bowman): Bill Bowman (Palm Beach, FL) moved from sedan racing to FB for 1969 and bought one of the first Brabham BT29s to arrive in the US. The 43-year-old veteran first raced it at Daytona on 2 Aug 1969 and competed in 10 races in SEDiv but suffered significant reliability problems with the Vegantune engine and only finished third in the Division. He raced the blue-and-orange #79 car at the Run-Offs and also appeared at the Sebring Pro race in December. Bowman then injured his lower back and was unable to continue racing the car. He sold it in the summer of 1970 to Jack Dartigalongue (Jacksonville, FL) who raced it in SCCA Regional and National events for several seasons. In 1973, he sold it to Lyle Heck (Reading, PA) who raced it until October 1975 when it went to Denny Anderson who discarded the chassis and used the corners to build a CSR racer, the Firand. Anderson later sold the Firand in 2000 to Frank Stark (Mechanicburg, PA) who sold it to Bruce Domeck (Louisville, KY) in 2002. Domeck acquired a repaired original BT29 frame with the intention of restoring it as a BT29 but sold the package to David Irwin (Evergreen, CO) and Eric Stange (Evergreen, CO) instead. Irwin was restoring the car in 2010 when he was able to trace the original frame which Anderson had thrown away. He purchased this frame and then cut it into pieces so it could not be used to build a separate car. Irwin bought out Stange's share in the car in 2011, and in 2013 sold the complete car to Larry Wilson in Florida.
10. Brabham BT29 [5] (Nick Craw): Nick Craw (Washington,DC) bought one of the first Brabham BT29s from local Brabham dealer Fred Opert, a car identified by Ted Walker of the Brabham Register as chassis BT29-5. Craw raced in SCCA events from August 1969 onwards, finishing second in the SEDiv FB championship by a single point, and in two Pro races. He continued with a BT29 in 1970 in Pro racing as part of Fred Opert Racing and to the best of his and Opert's recollection, used the same car. He bought a Brabham BT35 for 1971 but before this arrived in the US, he raced the BT29 once more, winning a National at Summit Point in April 1971. The car appeared in Fred Opert's stock list on 1 May, and on the reverse of one of this list, as sent by Opert's secretary Jeannie to Brabham historian Denis Lupton in 1971, a handwritten comment gives Craw's car as "BT29-5". A column by Craw in June 1972 said the car was sold to Jiro Yoneyama, a Japanese driver who raced a Brabham BT29 in US Formula B as part of Fred Opert's team. His car was white and ran as #76. The Road America entry list noted it was using a Hart engine. He was not seen after Road America in August 1971, and the BT29 was then sold to Gary Gove (Tacoma, WA) who raced it in SCCA Regional and ICSCC events in 1971 and 1972, It was reportedly crashed in 1972 and its later history is presently unresolved.
11. Brabham BT21C [14] (R. Noel McGlothlin): Duncan Rabagliati advises that Brabham BT21C chassis 14 went to Fred Opert for customer "McLaughlin". This would appear to be RN (Noel) McGlothlin of Chattanooga, TN (or nearby Rossville, GA) who entered a Brabham BT21C for the Sept 1968 SCCA National at Virginia International Raceway. He also appears at Sebring in December 1969, his car now entered simply as a BT21. Subsequent history unknown.
12. Brabham BT18 [BT16 F2-1-65] (Bruce Jensen): Driven by Alan Rees for Roy Winkelmann Racing in 1965. Presumably Rees raced the same car all season. Bought in 1966 from Winkelmann by Bob Fuller (Connecticut), fitted with a Cosworth Mk 12 and raced in FB in 1967. To Steve Brownstein (New York) for 1968 and raced again in FB with the Mk 12. Then traded to Fred Opert for a new Chevron. To Bruce Jensen and raced in Canadian FB in 1969 and then to Bill Pickthorne (Ottawa, Ontario) who raced it in 1970 and at the beginning of 1971. It was then stored for 18 years until bought by Murray Wivell (Brantford, Ontario) in October 1989. Restored and used in US vintage racing for ten seasons, initially with the Ford twin cam engine and then with a Cosworth SCA for the last two seasons. Sold to Ivan Scotti (Zurich, Switzerland) November 2004. This is presumably the ex-Alan Rees BT16 run at the 2013 Solitude Revival by Bruno Weibel of Schaffner Racing.
13. Brabham BT21B (Tom deLoughry): Thomas J. deLoughry (Cold Spring Harbor, NY) acquired a Brabham BT21B for Formula C in 1969. He retained this car through moves to North Haledon, NJ, in 1970 and Brooklyn, NY in 1972. Despite using a March 703 with 1.1-litre BDA engine in 1972, he returned to the 1-litre BT21B in 1973, and renewed his licence again in 1978, by which time he was living in Lithia, Florida, and raced the BT21B at Charlotte, Lime Rock, Roebling Road, and PBIR that season. Deloughry was 53 by this time. The subsequent history of the Brabham is unknown.
14. McLaren M4A (Skeeter McKitterick): Skeeter McKitterick raced a McLaren M4A in Formula B in 1969 using a fuel-injected Alfa Romeo engine built by John Shankle's company, Shankle Automotive Engineering (Van Nuys, CA). The car was owned by San Diego Alfa Romeo dealer International Automotive although the original plan was for it to be run as part of a four-car team run by Automotion, Dick Barbour's Porsche business on Mission Gorge road in San Diego. The next owner of the car was probably Phil Lester (Van Nuys, CA) in 1970. Soon after it passed to Bruce McCaw (Seattle, WA) who raced it once or twice with the Alfa engine and found that the bag tanks leaked. It was put aside until reassembled by Tony Garmey between 1993 and 1998 at McCaw's Vintage Racing Motors. Sold in 1998 to Pat Hart as a rolling chassis. Sold to Tony Garmey (Seattle, WA) in 2012 with a Ford twin cam engine and Hewland Mk 5 gearbox.
15. Brabham BT29 [8] (Bob Welch): R. C. 'Bob' Welch (Alexandria, VA) ordered one of the earliest Brabham BT29s but his car did not arrive late August 1969, giving him time for a short test before the Lime Rock Pro race where he finished seventh. He then set about qualifying for the Run-Offs with just four weeks of the season left and on successive weekends won Nationals at Marlboro, VIR, IRP, and Pocono. Welch retained the car for 1970 when he scored 42 points in NEDiv but was again beaten to the title, this time by Ken Duclos in yet another BT29. The car was sold for 1971 and is believed to be the BT29 in which David Pearl (Atlanta, GA) was killed at Daytona that August. The ex-Welch car is known to have been involved in a major accident and its remains were used by Carl Whitney (Forge Village, MA) in 1972 when he constructed a BT29 out of two wrecked cars. By 2005, this car was with John Stowe.
16. Chevron B15b (Jon E. Hall): Jon E Hall (Decatur, GA/Gaithersburg, MD) raced a yellow #8 Chevron B15b at the Sebring Formula B race in December 1969, and also entered it for the first three Pro races of 1970, but his only known appearance in 1970 was at Edmonton in June, where he crashed. He was entered as #75 by Fred Opert Racing in 1970, and his car was again yellow. Subsequent history unknown.
17. Titan Mk3 (Doug Champlin): Son of a wealthy oil family, Doug Champlin (Enid, OK) raced a gold-and-blue #49 Titan-Ford in Formula B in 1969 but it only appeared very rarely. Champlin then decided to buy a F1 Brabham BT26 and entered it for Gus Hutchison in Formula A late 1969 and through 1970. Later a noted firearms manufacturer and aircraft collector, Champlin died in May 2013. Nothing more is known of his Titan.
18. Brabham BT21 [9] (Cam McKenzie): New to Brian Classick for F3 in 1967. To Peter Hanson for 1968. To Cam McKenzie (Squamish, British Columbia, Canada) in Formula B specification for 1969, and retained by him for 1970 and 1971.
19. Brabham BT21C (Gerald Crow): Gerald Crow (Denver, CO) appeared in the 1969 US FB season in a Brabham, identified by the Brainerd entry list as a BT21C-Ford. The car was described at Seattle in July as green/yellow. Fred Opert Racing mentioned his debut in this car at Wentzville (Mid-America Raceway) at the end of March 1969 and said that it was a BT21C with Vegantune engine. Nothing more known.
20. Brabham BT21C [12] (Charlie Adams): New to Charles W. Adams (Springfield, IL, but then living in Manhattan Beach, CA) via Jim Russell, who then had a racing school at Willow Springs. Charlie Adams was a regular in Formula B with this car from mid-1968 to 1971, his car being green, and entered as #64. Adams won the Southern Pacific Division FB title in 1969 but did not score any points in 1970 and his appearances in the Pro series ceased after the Laguna Seca race in June. In 1971, he scored just two points in the SPDiv championship, for fifth place at the Riverside National in July, and only appeared at one Pro race, the Edmonton round in August. Subsequent history unknown, but the BT21C was bought in the US by Australian Gary Simkin who was working there, and returned with him to Australia in March 1983. It was sold to George Goodare (Sydney, NSW), rebuilt and used in historic racing. It was owned by Peter Addison (Sydney, NSW) then sold to Howard Blight (Sydney, NSW) 1989. and then via Rob Bailey (Victoria) 1998 to Nereo Dizane (Sydney, NSW) December 1998. Dizane died in 2004, aged only 53, but his collection of cars has been kept together by his wife Anna Dizane (Wantirna, Victoria).
21. Brabham BT21C (Mike Hayman): Mike Hayman (Washington, DC) raced a Brabham BT21C occasionally in Formula B in 1968 and 1969. He scored just nine points in NEDiv in 1968, and four in 1969, and none of his Pro race entries in the orange-and-blue Brabham resulted in starts. He advertised the car as a BT21C with Vegantune engine in CP&A 30 August 1969. Subsequent history unknown.
22. Chevron B15b [FB-69-3?] (Syd Demovsky): Syd Demovsky (Chicago, IL) bought a Chevron B15B for 1969, racing in Pro events and also in SCCA FB events, finishing fifth in CenDiv. The car was red and blue and raced as #11, Demovsky's usual number. Demovsky, a dentist, retained the car for 1970 but at the opening race of the season at Riverside, he went off during practice and crashed through a fence. He was taken to hospital with "pulmonary contusions and bruises". Although he was reported to be driving a Chevron again in the second round, at Edmonton in May, it seems likely that reports were referring to the Chevron that he entered for the race, rather than the car he actually arrived in. From the third race of the season onwards, Demovsky raced a Brabham BT29. The car was advertised by Ron Hunter (Denver, CO), one of Demovsky's crew, in September 1970, and was sold to Wayne Mitchell (San Diego, CA), who used it to build up a new car for Terrance Peterson around a new Chevron B17 chassis. The original B15 frame was also repaired and sold to Frank Monise. Frank recalls that it was combined with the frame that Byron Hatten had damaged to create a car for Art Brisbane.
23. Chevron (Warren Flickinger): Warren A. Flickinger II (Golden, CO) raced a Chevron in Formula B in 1969. Flickinger was born in April 1947 and was described in 1969 as a pre-med student and karate instructor from Denver. His car was usually entered as #5, was described as yellow/coral and had Vegantune and later HRE engines. The identity of the car remains a mystery but it is most likely to have been an ex-F3 B9 as all the B14s and B15s can be identified at this point and the B7 appears to have run in FC during the time, not FB. He raced this car until a Regional race at Texas International Speedway in July 1970 when he "flipped his car a number of times". He then acquired a Winkelmann WDB2. Flickinger, later of Denver, CO, went on to race a Chevron B18 in FB in 1971 and then a F5000 Lola T300 for two seasons. Nothing more is known of his 1969/70 Chevron and it is quite possible that it was destroyed in the accident.
24. Chevron B9 [F3/68/7] (Wayne Kelly): Sold to John Ralph and used in European F3 events in 1968 with Lucas engines. Sold to Wayne Kelly (Ottawa, Ontario, Canada) for 1969 and fitted with a Ford twin cam engine for Formula B. Raced in US and Canadian FB events from July to September 1969. Kelly, the builder of the Kelly Formula Vees, died in 1971 following an accident in a Formula Ford race. Subsequent history of the Chevron is unknown but it is possible that this, rather than Peter Broeker's Chevron B14, was the car raced by Bill Eagles in 1970 and 1971.
25. Lola T100 (Max Mizejewski): Max Mizejewski (Woodland Hills, CA) raced a Lola T100 in Formula B in Southern California in 1970, entered at #97 at least part of the time by Dr Walter H. Martin. Mizejewski and his engine preparer Chuck Willis moved to a new Lola T240 for 1971, and the movements of the T100 are unknown in 1971. Raced by Bob Bollegra (Centerport, NY) in SCCA Regionals in NEDiv in 1972, and advertised by him in December 1972 as "ex-Max Mizejewski". Subsequent history unknown.

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.

1970 US FB results were compiled from Autoweek reports by Jim Thurman; 1971 results were transcribed from Autoweek by Allen Brown and 1972 results were compiled by Chris Townsend from an SCCA results publication.

The US Formula B series did not continue in 1973 but a race was organised in Caracas in March 1973 that fits here probably better than anywhere else, as do the occasional SCCA F/Atlantic and FB races in 1974 and 1975.

All comments, clarifications, corrections and additions are most welcome. Please email Allen (allen@oldracingcars.com) if you can help in any way with our research.