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American Road Race of Champions (Formula B class)

Road Atlanta, 25 Nov 1972

ResultsLapsTime/Speed
1 Chuck Sarich March 722 - Ford twin cam
#57 Quicksilver Racing (see note 1)
15 30m 25.5s
74.63 mph
2 Reg Scullion March 71BM [1] - Ford twin cam Greatorex
#95 Ecurie Canada (see note 2)
14 30m 47.6s
3 Chuck Dietrich March 722 - Ford twin cam
#31 Dietrich Motors (see note 3)
14
4 Tom Outcault March 722 - Ford twin cam
#3 (see note 4)
14
5 Mike Hall Brabham BT40
#27 (see note 5)
14
6 Bill Middleton Brabham BT38B [16] - Ford twin cam
#81 Connor Enterprises (see note 6)
14
7 Mike Rand March 722 [71BM-15] - Ford twin cam
#37 Analube (see note 7)
13
8 John Angus March 722 - Ford twin cam
#16 (see note 8)
13
9 Tom Shelton Brabham BT38B [18] - Ford twin cam
#71 Racetech (see note 9)
12
10 Ted Titmas Lola T240 [HU15] - Ford twin cam
#14 Autohaus (see note 10)
12
11 Van Durrett Jr Brabham
#2 Racepro
11
R Jim Grob Chevron B20 [71-1] - Ford twin cam
#47 J.C. Competion Eng (see note 11)
6
R Jim Harrell Lola T242 [HU17] - Ford twin cam
#69 Marathon Oil (see note 12)
6
R Bob Hebert Lotus 69 [71/69.4.FB] - Ford twin cam
#91 Sanka/J.C. Competion (see note 13)
5
R Gordon Smiley Merlyn Mk 21 [320/FB/71] - Ford twin cam
#7 (see note 14)
5
R Ken Duclos Brabham BT29 [2] - Ford twin cam
#34 Trojan Saw Blades (see note 15)
4
R James King March 71BM [4?] - Ford twin cam
#22 (see note 16)
3
R Bill Roland Brabham BT29 [40] - Ford twin cam
#45 (see note 17)
0
R Dan Carmichael Chevron B20 - Ford twin cam
#72 (see note 18)
0
DNS Bill Bachman Lola T240 - Ford twin cam
#70 Transcendental Racing (see note 19)
Did not start

All cars are 1.6-litre FB unless noted.

Qualifying
1 Ken Duclos (FB) 1.6-litre Brabham BT29 [2] - Ford twin cam 1m 26.679s (104.85 mph)

Notes on the cars:

  1. March 722 (Chuck Sarich): Chuck Sarich (McLean, VA) raced a midnight blue/white #57 March 722 in SCCA Nationals and Pro Formula B in 1972, entered by Quicksilver Racing Enterprises, Inc of Rockville, Maryland. Chuck finished second in the Southeast Division FB championship and qualified for the Runoffs, which he won. Sarich and his team moved into Formula 5000 for 1973, and his March 722 was evidently sold to Steve Jizmagian (San Francisco, CA), who raced a March 722 in west coast SCCA Nationals and Regionals in 1973. He retained the car for 1974, using it mainly in SCCA Nationals and qualifying for the Runoffs. He retained the 722 for a third season in 1975, still with its Ford twin cam engine despite the formula's move to BDA engines, and again qualified for the Runoffs. The 722 was entered throughout these three seasons by Jizmagian as #4. Its colour was variously reported as blue and as black in 1973, then as red in 1974 and 1975. He advertised the car in August 1976 as "March 72B, Quicksilver, three times ARRC", indicating it was Chuck Sarich's car in 1972, as Jizmagian had only qualified for the Runoffs in 1974 and 1975, and Chuck was the only one of the Sarich brothers to qualify in 1972. Jim Sarich's car had gone to Ted Roman. Subsequent history unknown.
  2. March 71BM [1] (Reg Scullion): Gordie Dewar was appointed March importer into Canada for 1971 and his first purchase, chassis 71BM-1, went to Delta Racing Developments for Ian Coristine (Montréal, Quebec) to race in the Players FB series. Coristine finished the season fifth in the red #50 March but crashed in practice for the final race, at Circuit Ste-Croix in October. The car went to Reg Scullion (Dollard-des-Ormeaux, Montréal, Quebec) for 1972 and it was entered for him by Kris Harrison's Ecurie Canada, and prepared by Andy Roe and Tom Greatorex. Ecurie Canada had also bought Wilson Southam's engine manufacturing business, acquiring Greatorex with it, and were preparing the engines in Scullion's car. Scullion started the season racing in Nationals in Texas before returning to Canada for the Players season. He ended the Canadian season in ninth place but then returned to the US to finish second in the SCCA Run-Offs. He retained the car for 1973 as a Scullion-Donolo Racing entry, and it was raced by partner Louis "Lou" Donolo (Montréal, Quebec) once or twice. Subsequent history unknown.
  3. March 722 (Chuck Dietrich): Chuck Dietrich (Sandusky, OH) raced a blue-and-white #30 or #31 March 722 in CenDiv and NEDiv Formula B and some Pro races in 1972. Photographs suggest this was the car raced by Freddy van Beuren in the Formula B race at Caracas in February 1973. Subsequent history unknown.
  4. March 722 (Tom Outcault): Tom Outcault (Middletown, OH) raced a green-and-yellow #3 March 722 in CenDiv and NEDiv Formula B and some Pro races in 1972, entered by Troco Racing of Cranford, NJ. Outcault upgraded to a March 73B, so the 722 may have been returned to Joe Grimaldi in trade. Subsequent history unknown.
  5. Brabham BT40 (Mike Hall): Mike Hall (Twin Lakes, WI) raced a brand new Brabham BT40 at the SCCA Run-Offs, known then as American Road Race of Champions, at Road Atlanta 25 Nov 1972, the first BT40 to race. Hall then raced this car in Formula B and Formula Atlantic in 1973 and 1974. He replaced it with a Lola T360 for 1975 and the Brabham was then raced by John Elder (Rosemount, Minnesota) in SCCA Nationals in 1975, winning his class at Brainerd in July. Hall had modified his car with a wide nose and a higher and fuller tail, and Elder's car showed the same modifications. The car was then advertised, as "ex-Mike Hall" by Richard Prather's Prather Racing (Wheeling, IL) in November 1976. There is a good chance this was the car raced by Peter Robinson (Madison, Wisc) in 1976 and 1977. Subsequent history unknown.
  6. Brabham BT38B [16] (Bill Middleton): Sold new to Bill Middleton (Newport Beach, CA) and raced in the 1972 SCCA Formula B series, starting at Watkins Glen in August 1972. Also raced in SCCA Nationals and at the SCCA Run-Offs. Retained by Middleton for 1973 and run in SCCA Nationals, winning at Holtville in March. Retained again for the early 1974 Nationals and then said to have been seized by the sheriff at the Phoenix National for unpaid alimony. Next seen in May 1975 when Pete Halsmer (Huntington Beach, CA) raced "the ex-Middleton Brabham BT-38" in Formula B. Raced by Halsmer for three seasons, during which time it was extensively modified by Halsmer. Halsmer won the Laguna Seca June Sprints in the BT38 in 1977. The car is then unknown for ten years, until it was bought by John Hafkenschiel as a disassembled roller from Grant Koaller (Lakewood, Ohio) in July 1987. Hafkenschiel used this car as a pattern for the restoration of his BT38B, then sold it to a Mr Schaffer in California in November 1988. Since Mr Schaffer's death, the car is believed to have remained with his family, and is still unrestored.
  7. March 722 [71BM-15] (Mike Rand): New to US dealer Joe Grimaldi and supplied in red bodywork. New to Mike Rand (Greenwich, CT) in time for the SCCA Runoffs, where he crashed in practice. Raced in Pro FB and SCCA Nationals in 1972. Sold to Charlie Gibson (Poughkeepsie, NY) for 1973, and again raced in Pro FB and in SCCA Nationals. Retained again for 1974, when it was run in the Canadian series in 73B specification. Also raced more rarely in 1975, before Gibson advertised it in early 1976. According to current owner Simon Perkins, it was sold for 1976 to "Eric Schneider who only did a few events and then neglected the car when he went off to college". In 1989, Charlie Gibson reacquired the car and resold it to Chris Smith, who had it refurbished by Derek Matthews at Ark Racing in 1989/1990. After racing it occasionally, Smith sold it to Perkins (North Newington, Oxfordshire) who did a few US Vintage races in 2002 and 2003 before bringing the car back to the UK in 2004. He has since raced it in HSCC and European F2 races.
  8. March 722 (John Angus): Dale W. Lang (Woodstock, VT/Wilton, CT) raced a blue-and-white #21 March 722 in Pro FB and SCCA Nationals in 1972, entered by Joe Grimaldi's Race Shop, of Midland Park, NJ. It seems very likely that this was the car that Grimaldi himself raced in three Pro races in 1972, and it is therefore likely that this is the car Grimaldi hired to John Angus for the 1972 SCCA Runoffs. Lang raced the car again at the Road America and Watkins Glen Pro FB races in 1973. In between these two, Grimaldi drove a 722 at Trois-Rivières, entered as #81, the same number used by Lang at Road America the previous weekend, adding extra weight to the belief that they were sharing this car. Grimaldi also raced it, wearing #87, at Lime Rock in July 1973. Grimaldi had also raced Lang's 71BM in 1971 and would race his March 74B in 1974. Subsequent history unknown.
  9. Brabham BT38B [18] (Tom Shelton): Thomas M. Shelton (Plantation, FL/Fort Launderdale, FL) raced a red-and-white Brabham BT38B in South-East Division FB in 1972. The car arrived relatively late in the season and was still being described as immaculate and new at the Palm Beach National in September. Tom recalls that the engine broke at the Road America Pro race in August 1973, and he diverted to Chicago on his way home and traded the car to Carl Haas. Haas sold it to Mikeal Bystrom Jr (Minneapolis, MN), who had previously raced a Brabham BT18 in FC, and still recalls the chassis number of the BT38B as being BT38B/18. He broke the Hart twin cam at his first race and fitted a BDA instead, racing it in US Pro races in 1974 and then in the Canadian series in 1975. He sold it to Steve Fossett (Chicago, IL), then a commodities trader in Chicago, but later more famous for his ballooning exploits. Fossett raced it in SCCA Formula Atlantic in 1977.
  10. Lola T240 [HU15] (Ted Titmas): Invoiced to Hayes Racing in late June 1971, but it is now known how this car was used in 1971. To Ted Titmas (Van Nuys, CA) for Formula B in 1972. Retained for the first race of 1973. History then unclear until February 1978 when acquired by Rob Mullaney (Pleasant Hill, CA), but the car was still wearing Titmas's #4 Autohaus livery so may not have been used since 1973. Raced by Mullaney in SCCA Regionals in San Francisco Region in 1978. To Tom Tampi in January 1979, and raced in one SCCA Regional, then to Nathan Burmeister (Manton, CA) September 1980, and raced from 1981 to June 1984, when the car was retired and stored. Restored by Burmeister 2001 to 2003, and advertised by him on race-cars.com in February 2005. The car was acquired at that time or soon after by Bob Yarwood (Lymm, Cheshire) and returned to the UK. Later to Tim Harrison (Ripon, North Yorkshire).
  11. Chevron B20 [71-1] (Jim Grob): The prototype Chevron B20 was completed in Formula B specification delivered to Jim Grob (Ft Lauderdale, FL) in time for the 1971 Run-Offs. Grob then raced the orange car at the Bogotá races in early 1972 and then in Southeast Div and Pro FB in 1972. He retained the car for 1973 and 1974, racing it in a total of four Run-Offs, before selling it to Peter Symonds (Rowley, MA) for the 1975 season. Symonds only raced it four times: two SCCA Regionals in 1975 and another two in 1976. Symonds advertised it in 1977. Its next owner was Jack Van Dell who raced it in Regionals in 1985. It was sold to Pierre Haverland (Belgium) in 1988 and then to Nelson Todd (Belfast, Northern Ireland) in 2000. To Laurent Fort (Arles, Provence, France) in 2006, then to Michael Henderson (Donaghadee, County Down, Northern Ireland) in 2007.
  12. Lola T242 [HU17] (Jim Harrell): New to Jim Harrell (Tecumseh, Michigan), replacing the ex-Sarich T240 he raced in the Bogotá races. Used in CenDiv Formula B in 1972 and qualified for the Runoffs in November, where he retired. Sold to J. Lewis Cooper (Detroit, Michigan). History then unknown until it was advertised by Tom Young (Columbus, OH) in January 1982. Sold by Young to Charles Warner (Memphis, TN) who sent it to Mike Gue's Essex Racing in Atlanta, GA for restoration but this did not go ahead. Later sold it about 1988 to someone in North Carolina who wanted the suspension and bits for an autocross car. Subsequent history unknown.
  13. Lotus 69 [71/69.4.FB] (Bob Hebert): New to "J Silver" in March 1971 with red bodywork according to the Lotus built record. This would have been John Silver, owner of the Barrington House restauarant in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, who sponsored Bob Hebert (Monterey, MA). Raced by Hebert in Northeast Division SCCA Nationals in 1971 and 1972. Sold to George Liebman Jr (New York, NY), who raced it in New England Region NARRC Formula B at Lime Rock in April 1973, but it appears it was borrowed back by Hebert for the Lime Rock National on 7 July where he raced it with Liebman's entry number #77. Then raced by Liebman at a New York Region SCCA Regional at Bridgehampton in October 1973, having earlier been entered in such a car for the Pro FB race that supported the Grand Prix at Watkins Glen. Subsequent history unknown, but Jeff Hailand (Clayton, MO) ran a Formula B Lotus 69 in historic racing between 2014 and 2018 that was registered with the Lotus Formula Ford Register as chassis "71/69/4FB".
  14. Merlyn Mk 21 [320/FB/71] (Gordon Smiley): New to Gordon Smiley (Shawnee Mission, Kansas) for Formula B in 1971, via Bill Ippolito's Race America (Dallas, TX). Smiley led before retiring at his first SCCA National, at Bonneville Raceway Park , and then dominated his next race at Mid-America Raceway two weeks later. He also won the SCCA National at Dallas International Motor Speedway in October. Retained by Smiley for 1972, when he won the Ponca City SCCA National and the Continental Championship at Road Atlanta. He retired at the Runoffs, as he had in 1971. When Smiley moved into F5000 in 1973, the Merlyn was acquired by chief mechanic Charlie Williams and run by him for David Loring (Concord, Mass) in 1974. Loring won the Stuttgart SCCA National in April 1974 and then raced it in the Players Formula Atlantic championship. Then sold to Mike Winn (Little Rock, AR) who raced it in FB in late 1974 and Formula Atlantic in 1975, using a Ford twin cam engine. He maintained its record by winning the Lake Afton SCCA National in 1975. To Barry Findley (North Little Rock, AR) who won a SCCA National at Chennault Field in 1976. Subsequent history unknown, but in 2011 Winn believed it was in Canada.
  15. Brabham BT29 [2] (Ken Duclos): Fred Ashplant (Franklin Lakes, NJ) ordered a Brabham BT29 for 1969 but the car was not delivered until August and Ashplant had moved on to other projects. The car was not used during 1969 and was still in its crate when sold to Ken Duclos (Boxboro, MA) for use in NEDiv Formula B. Duclos won the title with a massive 48 pts from the similar BT29 of Bob Welch. After a quiet season with the black BT29 in 1971 he reclaimed his title in 1972, beating the newer March of Michael Rand. He bought a new Brabham BT40 for 1973 and won the divisional title again that season. The BT29 went in part exchange to Fred Opert and from him to Peter Gates (Wilmington, DE) who ran it in NEDiv FB for three more seasons. After him it went to Ken Valan (Wilmington, DE) for 1976, winning the FB class of the Mid-Atlantic Road Racing Series (MARRS) based at Summit Point, then to John Galson (Glen Mills, PA) and was then sold to the Midwest where it was expected to be converted into a sports racer. Subsequent history unknown.
  16. March 71BM [4?] (James King): Robert Lazier (Vail, CO) raced a black March 71BM in the SCCA Pro Formula B series and in SCCA Nationals in 1971. The car was sold to James King ( East St Louis, IL) for 1972, when it was repainted green and yellow and entered as #22 in Pro FB and in Nationals. King qualified the car for the 1972 Runoffs, but retired. This may be the car he raced at Mid-America Raceway in May 1973, before his March 73B was delivered. Subsequent history unknown.
  17. Brabham BT29 [40] (Bill Roland): William D "Bill" Roland bought a new Brabham BT29 for SWDiv Formula B racing in 1970. The car was one of the last built and was new in July 1970. He scored two second placed finishes in Nationals in 1970, both times at Texas World Speedway, but narrowly failed to qualify for the Run-Offs, He later crashed the car heavily at Road Atlanta requiring a new frame, In 1973, Roland sold the rebuilt car plus its original frame to Mike Calvert (Deer Park, Pasadena, TX) who raced it in SWDiv Regionals in 1977. Subsequent history unknown. This car was owned by Brad Balles in 2007-2008, and sold to Dean Butler.
  18. Chevron B20 (Dan Carmichael): Dan Carmichael (Columbus, OH) raced a Chevron B20 at the Road America June Sprints and at the 1972 SCCA Runoffs. He finished the season with 25 points, indicating that he used the car at a minimum of three other SCCA Nationals during 1972. Carmichael acquired a new Brabham BT40 for 1973 and the Chevron was sold to Joe H. Shepherd (Indianapolis, IN), who raced it in Canadian and SCCA Pro Formula B in 1973, entered by Xanadu Racing, and also scored three points in SCCA Central Division FB. Retained by Shepherd for Players Canadian Formula Atlantic and SCCA Formula B in 1974, but he did not score any points in Central Division that season. He appeared again in 1975, but his only certain outing that season was in the Hoosier Grand Prix SCCA National at IRP in September. The car was advertised by Shepherd in January and February 1976, and his recollection is that it went to someone in the southeast US, perhaps on the coast.
  19. Lola T240 (Bill Bachman): Rocky Moran (Arcadia, CA) raced a black #10 Lola T240 in the 1971 US FB Pro series. At the end of the season, Rocky recalls that he sold it to someone in Boulder, Colorado. This must be Bill Bachman (Boulder, CO/Nederland, CO) who raced a Transcendental Racing Lola in MWDiv Formula B in 1972. Bachman raced the Lola in a Wichita Region SCCA National at Hutchinson in June 1972, finishing second overall and winning the two-car FB class. He ended the season on 16 points and qualified for the Runoffs, Although he was a non-starter at Road Atlanta, his car was identified in the programme as a Lola T240. He retained the car for 1973, finishing third in class at MAR in May, but he did not add to his score so it is possible this car went to fellow Boulder resident Carl McIntyre who raced a Lola T240 in MWDiv FB later that season. 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.

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.