SCCA Continental Championship for Formula B/C Race

Brainerd, 16 Aug 1970

All cars are 1.6-litre FB unless noted.

Notes on the cars:

1. Chevron B17b (Mike Eyerly): Mike Eyerly (Salem, OR) raced a Chevron B17b for Fred Opert Racing in 1970, winning the first six races of the Continental Formula B Championship. Despite competition from Alan Lader, he won a total of eight rounds of the series and easily retained his title. The car was then sold to Phil Cole, who raced it in an Arizona Region SCCA Regional at Phoenix in December 1970, but then nothing was seen of it until Chuck McCain (Tuscon, AZ) raced it in the Formula B class at an Arizona Sports Racing Association race in October 1973, instead of his usual Brabham. McCain advertised the car in March 1974, but evidently never sold it, as it was ultimately bought from his family by Lee Chapman in 2013. It was fully restored and raced by new owner Jim Victor (Davenport, Iowa) at Road America in 2015, originally in white bodywork, but later restored very precisely to Eyerly's livery . A week after racing the Chevron at Road America in July 2018, Victor sadly died following an accident while driving another car at the same track.
2. Chevron B15b [FB-69-8?] (Doug Brenner): 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.
3. Brabham BT29 (Evan Noyes): Evan L. Noyes Jr . (Cedarville, MI) entered a yellow Brabham BT29 for Sebring 28 Dec 1969 but did not arrive, implying his car was not quite ready on time. His first known race is at Green Valley Raceway on 22 Feb 1970, a SWDiv National and he ran the canary yellow BT29 in both the 1970 Pro season, where he was a member of the Fred Opert Racing team, and in Nationals where he finished second in CenDiv to Michael Hall. He finished second to Skip Barber's Tecno at the Run-Offs. This is not the same car that Noyes then took to the Tasman series in January 1971 as his well-used US car was on Fred Opert's stock list on 1 May 1971 with a comment that it had not raced since the Run-Offs.
4. Brabham BT29 [33] (Mike Hall): This Brabham BT29, believed to be chassis BT29-33, was bought new by Michael F. Hall (Chicago, IL) and used in SCCA racing where Hall won the 1970 CenDiv FB title. He also raced it in the Pro series in the latter half of the season. Hall retained the red-and-yellow BT29 for the first half of 1971 but replaced it with a new BT35 in August and sold the BT29 to Phil Geraldi (Valley Stream, NY), who had previously raced a LeGrand in NEDiv FB. Geraldi raced it for the rest of 1971 and in 1972 then sold it to Charles J. Derbes III (Metairie, LA) in the spring of 1973. Derbes won the SWDiv Formula B title in this car in 1974 and attended the Run-Offs, finishing 12th. He was second in the Division in 1975 and tied with Warren Pauge for the 1976 title. Chaz Derbes has retained the BT29 ever since, still owning it in 2012.
5. Brabham BT29 [38] (Randy Lewis): John Ranson Lewis III, who raced as Randy Lewis (Sunnyvale, CA), had a blue Brabham BT29 for 1970 which was entered as #7. He raced the car through the full Pro season, finishing fourth at Sears Point in June and at Road America in August, end ending the season in eighth place in the championship. He did not compete in SCCA Nationals. The car was sold to Bunny Ribbs (San Jose, CA) for Mike Eyerly to drive in FB in 1971 (#63) and 1972 (#80). Jon Milledge also drove Ribbs car at Brainerd in Sep 1972. Ribbs, father of future Trans-Am star Willy T. Ribbs, advertised the car at the end of 1972. This is presumably the blue #80 Brabham BT29 raced by Lee Midgley at Road America in August 1973 and driven by Archie Snider at Trois-Rivières a week later. Subsequent history unknown.
6. 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.
7. Brabham BT29 (Graham Baker): Graham Baker moved from New Zealand to the US for a season of Formula B in 1970. He bought a new green Brabham BT29 from Chip Gompf and Wayne Mitchell, one of three new BT29s they had in stock. He was entered by Charlie Hayes Racing Equipment as #82 for his first race, at Edmonton in May, but was then self-entered as #82 for the next eight races as #67 before ending the season as part of the Bonphil Racing Industries team. Hayes sold the car for Baker at the end of the season to a non-racer in Laguna Hills who appears to have retained it, unused, for three years. In late 1973/early 1974, CSCC racer Jeff Alkana learnt from engine specialist Steve Jennings about the car and he bought it with Frank Monise (Pasadena, CA), who needed a new BT29 having wrecked his earlier BT29-41. Monise raced the car for several more seasons with Ford twin cam and BDA engines before selling it around 1976 to Tito D'Oporto and Gary Green and replacing it with a March.
8. Brabham BT29 (Matt Spitzley): Matt Spitzley (then from Aspen, CO), had a Brabham BT29 for 1970 entered by his Spitzford Racing team (Detroit, Michigan). For 1971 the car was sold to Mike Rand (Riverside, CT/Greenwich, CT) who raced it in NEDiv FB, finishing third overall. It then went to Peter Regna in New Jersey for 1972, after which Regna recalls selling it to Ken Duclos. Duclos, however, does not remember buying it.
9. Brabham BT29 [1] (John Angus): John Angus bought the first BT29, ordering the car as early as late summer of 1968 but taking delivery in August 1969. He ran it in Regionals in late 1969 before participating in the Pro series in 1970. He swapped from a Vegantune to a Racing Services engine for 1971 and continued in Nationals. Angus continued with the car in 1972, when Ron Dykes also drove it in the Bogotá races and again in 1973, when the car continued to be competitive at National level. To Marc Bahner (Santa Ana, CA) for 1974, and rebodied by him with March bodywork. Raced by Bahner in local SCCA events in 1974 and 1975. Bahner retained the car for many years, advertising it in December 1996 as "absolutely new - needing paint and assembly".
10. Lotus 59/69 [59-F2/XB-40] (David McConnell): New to David McConnell (Montréal, Quebec, Canada) and raced in the SCCA Continental Championship for Formula B series and the Quebec Region Molson Championship during 1970. The car was entered by Jim Russell RDS (Canada) Ltd, and generally wore #86. McConnell then took the car out to New Zealand for the start of the 1971 Tasman Cup, where the car was described as a Lotus 69. After a run of poor results in New Zealand, he fitted an 1800cc Cosworth FVC engine for the Australian rounds, but failed to qualify for the Warwick Farm race. Local Lotus agent Leo Geoghegan tried the car in practice at that event. After one more race, McConnell abandoned the series. The subsequent history of the Lotus 59/69 is unknown.
11. 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.
12. Brabham BT21C (John Marshall): John Marshall (Sandusky, OH) drove a red Brabham BT21C in Formula B in 1970, entered by Suzy Dietrich's 'Team Suzy'. He finished sixth in Central Division with 21 points. Marshall had raced a Lola Mk 5A in Formula C the two previous years and took over John Bisignano's F5000 McLaren M10A for 1971. Nothing more known.
13. Brabham BT29 (Sandy Shepard): Sandy Shepard (Denton, TX) raced a new black #59 Brabham BT29 from the start of the 1970 season. With support from his father's KDNT Radio Station, Shepard competed in every round, finishing second in his 'home' race at Dallas. He also raced the car in the Polar Prix SCCA National in February 1971 before it to Fred Opert who had it lined up for a Mexican customer.
14. Lotus 59/69 [59-F2/XB-42] (Jacques Couture): New to Jacques Couture (Laval, Montréal, Quebec) and raced in the SCCA Continental Championship for Formula B series and the Quebec Region Molson Championship during 1970. The car was entered by Jim Russell RDS (Canada) Ltd, and generally wore #86. Sold to Eligio Siconolfi (Montréal, Quebec) for 1971 and raced in the Players Canadian Formula B series and the Quebec Region Molson series. The car was acquired from Siconolfi by Mauro Lanaro (Montréal, Quebec) who took some time restoring it, and then raced it in regional events in Canada in 1973. Lanaro recalled to Joe Griffin in 2021 that "after a bad accident at Mosport, I sold what was left it to Peter Draggfy". Peter Dragffy is known to have had several Lotus 59/69s in the 1980s.
15. Brabham BT21B (Ken Kloster): Ken Kloster (Toledo, OH) raced a Brabham BT21B in Formula B in 1970, starting with third place in a National at Green Valley in February. He advertised the car in Sep 1970 as a BT21B with all-steel Vegantune engine and also mentioning wins at MIS and at the Donnybrooke National. Subsequent history unknown.
16. Brabham BT29 (Randy Fraser): Randy Fraser (Piedmont, Quebec/Rhode Island) raced a blue-and-silver #54 Brabham BT29 in 1970 as part of Team IRI and with sponsorship from Multimetals. He appeared in both the Canadian and US Pro series but focused on the US series after the first few races. He moved to a new March 71BM for 1971 but the Brabham remained unsold. It appeared in his advert in CP&A in November 1971 when it was described as a rolling chassis in parts. Subsequent history unknown.
17. Brabham BT29 [30] (Dexter Farley): After crashing his FC car at Lime Rock in August 1969, Dexter Farley (Waldorf, MD) part-exchanged the wrecked Brabham for a new Brabham BT29 from east coast dealer Joe Grimaldi, who had recently parted from Fred Opert. Farley drove the car in Pro events in 1970 as well as competing in NEDiv FB races. He retained it for 1971 when Tom Reddy raced it a couple of times and advertised it as "ser no 30" in October 1971. He also had it in the early part of 1972 before moving to Washington state and quitting racing. The next period of the car's life is unknown but it has been identified as the BT29 bought around 1974 from Bill Wonder by engine preparer Ted Wenz and raced in 1975. Wonder had been running it for a woman driver, which must mean Diana Black (Kew Gardens, NY) who raced a Brabham BT29 in NEDiv FB in 1973 and 1974. Wenz later sold it to Texas but it re-emerged in the 1980s and was recently owned by Peter McLaughlin (Hannover, NH).
18. Brabham BT29 (Syd Demovsky): Syd Demovsky (Chicago, IL) raced a yellow #11 Brabham BT29 in Pro events in 1970. At the end of the year the car was sold via Joe Grimaldi (Race Shop) to Peter Nye (Ann Arbor, MI) who fitted it with a HRE twin cam and raced it in Pro events and in some SCCA events through 1971. At the end of that season he sold it less engine to Jim Lloyd (Indianapolis, IN) who converted it to Formula C and won the CenDiv FC title in 1972 and 1973. Lloyd retained the car and later restored it to Formula B specification for vintage racing. He advertised it in fully-restored condition in February 1991.
19. Brabham BT29 [43] (Cliff L. Phillips): Cliff Phillips (Palos Park, IL) acquired a red Brabham BT29 for 1970 but his first known appearance wasn't until Road America 18 Jul 1970 where he recorded 41st fastest time. The car appeared on several more entry lists later in the season but Phillips started to advertise the car from early September onwards. Still being advertised in July 1971. The car is then unknown until mid-1972 when it has been identified (with chassis number and AM number) as the car driven by Roger Seacrist (Chicago, IL). Retained by Seacrist for 1973 but then unknown until acquired by Gary Dausch (Indianapolis, IN) some time before Apr 1987. To Dave Vegher and raced once at Palm Springs then to Tony Podell (Rolling Hills, CA), then Randall Smith (Petaluna, CA) and retained 2012.
20. Chevron B15 [FB-68-13?] (Larry Wright): Joe Grimaldi acquired one of four late 1968 Chevrons to arrive in the US. At least three of these were described by Chevron as B14s, including Grimaldi's. He debuted the car at Mosport Park in Aug 1968 and raced it twice more in Pro events. Grimaldi reappeared in August 1969 with what was reported to be a Chevron B15B which he raced three more times. Larry Wright then acquired a Chevron from Grimaldi for the 1970 season which was described to him as a B15 but when Wright advertised the car in 1971, he called it a "late-1968 Chevron FB" which identifies it as a B14. Wright traded the Chevron to Charlie Hayes in May 1971 for a new Brabham BT29.
21. Brabham BT21C (Bruce Jensen): Bruce Jensen (Kitchener, Ontario, Canada) raced a yellow #41 Brabham BT21C in Canadian and US Formula B events during 1970. He bought the car from Brabham dealer Fred Opert and it was yellow with a black stripe. It came with a Vegantune but that blew up and was replaced by a BRM twin cam. Jensen bought a Chevron B17 for 1971 and the Brabham is believed to have gone back to Fred Opert in that trade.
22. March 705 (Charles T. Gibson): Charles T. Gibson raced a black #57 March 705 in Formula B in 1970, entered by Gibson Racing Company of Poughkeepsie, NY. Later in the season, the team was said to be based in Denver, CO, but this appears to have been a short-lived change. Gibson entered the car at Road America in July 1971. He bought a second-hand 71BM in February 1973, so it is possible he kept the 705 longer than 1971. History then unknown until 1983, when, according to later owner Ben Auto in Japan, it was owned by Ed Forbes on Long Island, New York, who intended to use it for autocross. It was then sold to "Thomas Gaffney of Classic Advantage" in 1992, and fully restored. Exactly what happened next is unclear, but by 2019, the 705 was owned by Ben Auto (Yamada, Japan) and was being raced in historic events in Japan.
23. Lotus 59B [59-F2/XB-41] (Craig Hill): New to Craig Hill (Mississauga, Ontario) and run in the Canadian Road Racing Championship and the SCCA Continental Championship for Formula B, entered by Bill Brack Racing Enterprises. Hill ran in a team with Brack's Formula 5000 Lotus 70, with both cars in marching Castrol GTX livery. Unlike the two JRDS cars, which were entered as Lotus 69Bs, Hill's car first raced in Lotus 59 bodywork and was generally billed through the season as the "Castrol GTX Lotus 59". For 1971, the car was sold to Max Nerrière (Toronto, Ontario), who raced it in the Players Canadian Formula B series. Retained by Nerrière for 1972 and for 1973. Subsequent history unknown.
24. Chevron B17b (Fred Opert): Fred Opert ran a team five-car team in 1970 which included a Chevron B17b for himself and a sister car for Mike Eyerly. Opert's personal car was sold to Tom Outcault (Cranford, NJ) for 1971 who used it in NEDiv events and also in the Pro race at Road America in Aug 1971. Outcault sold it via Fred Opert to Carmelo Crisafuli (Great Neck, Long Island, NY), and it was registered by the SCCA at Watkins Glen in September 1972. He raced it in SCCA Regionals including two New York Region rounds of the North Atlantic Road Racing Championship in 1974. RJ Nelkin (Roslyn, NY) bought the car for 1975, and raced it in SCCA and EMRA events that season. It was sold in 1976 via Fred Opert to Roy Aber (Penn Hills, PA) who recalls racing the car until 1981. He sold it to JC Gongaware (Youngwood, PA), and did not hear of it again. The car was next seen about 1986 when Lee Chapman (New Milford, CT) of Auto Restorations had the car, having bought it from Jim Wisheart in Pennsylvania. It went from Chapman to Fred Gunther (Trumbull, CT), then to Peter McLaughlin (Hannover, NH), and then to Travis Engen (Weston, CT) in 1994 or 1995.
25. Brabham BT15/BT29 ("Tuck" Thomas): Mike Hiss left the east coast Abrasive Alloys team at the end of 1969 and moved to the west coast, joining Charlie Hayes' team. He raced an updated five-year-old Brabham BT15 at the opening round of the 1970 Pro FB series and finished a remarkable second. The car was advertised by Hayes in May 1970 and again in July 1970 as a "BT15/29". Sold to David E. Thomas III (Edina, MN) Thomas, an executive at his father's Lancer Stores and better known later in his career as Tuck Thomas. Entered by Lancer Racing, of Minneapolis, as a #84 Brabham BT21/29 at the Road America's Pro FB race in July 1970 but did not start. His name was also on the entry list for Mont-Tremblant two weeks later but this seems down to the Canadian organisers copying liberally from the Road America entry list. Thomas does not appear on the 1970 CenDiv FB points table but he did register in 1971 with five points. However, the entry list for Mid-Ohio 5 Jul 1971, the second National of the 1971 CenDiv season, shows him in a BT18, not a BT21/29. Advertised in October 1971 as the ex-Hayes team BT15/29 with Vegantune engine. Subsequent history unknown.
26. Brabham BT18 (Peter W Nye): Peter Nye (Ann Arbor, MI) bought a Brabham BT18 rolling chassis from Fred Opert for the 1969 season. Opert fitted a used Vegantune twin cam engine to it for Formula B, but the engine kept bending valves and Nye rarely finished a race. After returning the Vegantune to Opert, he bought an HRE engine from Gus Hutchinson for the 1970 season but did not have much more success. Nye does not recall whether he sold that car privately, but may have traded it to Joe Grimaldi's Race Shop for his next car, a Brabham BT29. 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.