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North East Division SCCA Formula B 1967

Local Brabham importer Fred Opert had been busy as Fred Ashplant, Joe Grimaldi and Mike Hiss all started the NEDiv season with new BT21As. Hiss did very well in the early Pro races at Bridgehampton and War Bonnet so was a favourite for the NEDiv title but destroyed his car in a spectacular accident at Bridgehampton in July. After the Steel Cities National in August, Grimaldi led the points table from Ashplant but right behind them was the remarkable Mike Cronin of New England in his old but very quick Lotus 22. Cronin won the next two National outright, at Watkins Glen in mid-August and at Lime Rock three weeks later to establish a firm lead in the series. He underlined his talent with second place behind Ashplant at the St Jovite 'pro' FB race and by dominating his class in the Area 1 championship. Sports car specialist George Wintersteen, a late starter to the the FB season in yet another Brabham BT21A, had already picked up three second places, notably after a great battle with CenDiv leader Chuck Dietrick at Steel Cities, and became Cronin's main challenger when he dominated the Marlboro National in mid-September. Cronin could not add to his total at the final National at Bryar and Wintersteen won the race to overtake him and win the title.

Behind these four, Alan Gottlieb, Sam Brown and Rob Fuller all had older Brabhams and Peter Hutchinson who won at Marlboro in April but then had his Lotus 35 destroyed in a fiery accident at VIR that Hutchinson was lucky to escape. Also appearing in significant numbers were the new Crosslé 12Fs, three of which were delivered to Ned Owen, George Farraghan and Bruce Klussman. Roger Barr bought Klussman's car before the end of the season.

Final standings

1. George WintersteenBrabham [BT21A]Philadelphia42 pts†
2. Mike CroninLotus 22New England30 pts 
3. Fred AshplantBrabham BT21ANew York25 pts 
4. Joe GrimaldiBrabham [BT21A]NNJ18 pts†
5. Samuel BrownBrabham [BT18]Washington DC12 pts†
6. Bob FullerBrabham BT14 [BT16]New England9 pts 
7. Peter HutchinsonLotus 35New York9 pts 
8. Alan GottliebBrabham ['1966']Steel Cities9 pts 
9. Russ MacGrottyLotus 22New York9 pts 
10. George AldermanMarlinPhiladelphia8 pts 
11. Charles KruegerElfin [Mono Mk IIC]New York7 pts 
12. Ned OwenCrossle [12F]Philadelphia7 pts 
13. William KneelandLotus 32New England6 pts 
14. George FaraghanCrossle [12F]Philadelphia5 pts 
15. Mike HissBrabham [BT21A]Washington DC5 pts 
16. Bruce KlussmannCrossle [12F]Western NY5 pts 
17. Ron AlexanderAlex PorscheMahoning Valley4 pts 
18. Roger BarrCrossle [12F]New England4 pts 
19. Mike HaymanLotus 22New York4 pts†
20. Joe RichardsonCooperWashington DC4 pts 
21. Don BurrisCooperPhiladelphia3 pts 

† Indicates total includes points earned out of home division.

1967 Schedule

08 Apr 1967Marlboro Motor SpeedwayWashington Region
29 Apr 1967Virginia International RacewayNorth Carolina Region
13 May 1967Cumberland AirfieldSteel Cities Region
04 Jul 1967Lime RockNorthern New Jersey Region
15 Jul 1967BridgehamptonNew York Region
05 Aug 1967Nelson LedgesSteel Cities Region
19 Aug 1967Watkins GlenGlen Region
02 Sep 1967Lime RockNew England Region
16 Sep 1967Marlboro Motor SpeedwayWashington Region
07 Oct 1967Bryar Motorsport ParkNew England Region

Northeast Division sources

Most of our knowledge of NEDiv racing comes from the SCCA's Sports Car magazine and from Competition Press & Autoweek. We are very keen to acquire or borrow 1960s, 1970s and 1980s copies of SCCA regional publications from this Division. These include:

  • Pit Talk (New England Region) - full archive available at pittalk.org
  • The Drift (Steel Cities Region)
  • Knock Off (Mohawk Hudson Region) - full archive available at mohud-scca.org
  • Regional Review (New York Region)
  • Spark Plug (Glen Region)
  • The Bulletin (North Carolina Region - full archive available at ncrscca.com.
  • The Spokesmen (Philadelphia Region)
  • The Straightpipe (Washington DC Region)
  • Top End Magazine (Finger Lakes Region)

Three regionals have scanned all copies of their newsletters and made them available online: New England Region's 'Pit Talk', Mohawk Hudson Region's 'Knock Off', and North Carolina Region's 'The Bulletin'.

Additionally, Racing Magazine was published as a Lime Rock track magazine.

We are also keen to get scans of entry lists from SCCA Nationals in this Division.