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Central Division SCCA Formula B 1968

One division where Brabham was not yet king was Central Division. Chuck Dietrich won again in his McLaren M4B and Martin Sellers similar car was fourth. The only Brabham was Jerry Nelson's BT21C which finished second overall. An impressive third was the aged Lotus 22/31 of Thomas Richmond.

Fifth in the table was Tom Tufts driving one of the first single-seater Chevrons to reach the US. Behind Dan Murphy's Winkelmann WDB1, there were no other competitive runners, the remainder of the field being largely made up of Formula Ford Lotus 51s, which didn't yet have their own class, and Porsche-engined specials.

Final standings

1. Chuck DietrichMcLaren M4BNEOhio51 pts 
2. Jerry NelsonBrabham (BT21C)Land O'Lakes34 pts 
3. Thomas RichmondLotus (22)-FordDetroit29 pts 
4. Martin SellersMcLaren (M4B)Ohio Valley28 pts
5. Tom TuftsChevron (B14)Milwaukee10 pts 
6. Dan MurphyWinkelmann WD(B)1Milwaukee10 pts
7. Herbert LaddLotusNE Michigan10 pts 
8. Jim DuitLotus 27DMV6 pts
9. Jeffrey LanceLotus 51Detroit6 pts 
10. Peter QuenetLotus 51Detroit6 pts 
11. Bill BlackmoreFormcarChicago6 pts 
12. "Bud" JacksonMerlyn PorscheIowa4 pts 
13. Jim LloydPogoIndianapolis4 pts 
14. Reg HowellLotus-FordWestern Ohio3 pts 
15. Glen LyallLotus 51Detroit2 pts 
16. Lee GaglianoLotus 51Milwaukee1 pt   
17. Joe GillespieForjayOhio Valley1 pt   
18. Richard MoxleyLotusDetroit1 pt   

† Indicates total includes points earned out of home division.

1968 Schedule

02 Jun 1968Grattan RacewayNortheast Michigan/
Saginaw Regions
16 Jun 1968Road AmericaChicago Region
30 Jun 1968Wisconsin State Fair ParkMilwaukee Region
21 Jul 1968Mid-OhioCincinnati Region
04 Aug 1968Grattan RacewayWestern Michigan Region
11 Aug 1968BrainerdLand O'Lakes Region
25 Aug 1968Blackhawk FarmsBlackhawk Valley Region
08 Sep 1968Mid-OhioNEOhio Region
22 Sep 1968Nelson LedgesDetroit Region
06 Oct 1968Indianapolis Raceway ParkIndianapolis Region

Note that Brainerd was at this time known as Donnybrook Raceway and Nelson Ledges was called Steel Cities International.

Although this list of races has been cross-checked against the receipts for the ARRC Travel Fund, it is possible that it still contains one or two errors. The National jointly organised by Northeast Michigan and Saginaw Regions for 1-2 June was originally scheduled for their old home at Grayling airfield but was replanned for Steel Cities (Nelson Ledges) before finally settling at Western Michigan Region's new home at Grattan Raceway. Curiously, the points table in Sports Car showed Donnybrooke taking place in between Blackhawk Farms and Mid-Ohio. To confuse matters further major races are believed to have taken place at Nelson Ledges on 28 July 1968 and at Mid-Ohio 17-18 Aug 1968 supporting the USRRC Buckeye Cup Races.

Central Division sources

Most of our knowledge of CenDiv racing comes from the SCCA's Sports Car magazine and from Competition Press & Autoweek. We are very keen to acquire, borrow or receive copies of 1960s, 1970s and 1980s SCCA regional publications from this Division. There were many such newsletters in this Division, including:

  • Auto-Graph (Indiana Northwest Region)
  • Backfire (Western Michigan Region)
  • Blower (Northeast Ohio Region)
  • Class Q and later CinChronizer (Cincinnati Region)
  • Clutch Chatter (Indianapolis Region)
  • Clutch Chatter (Northwestern Ohio Region)
  • Crashbox (Golden Triangle Region)
  • Down Shift (Central Illinois Region)
  • Downshift (Kentucky Region)
  • The Drift (Milwaukee Region)
  • Drifting (Des Moines Valley Region)
  • The Fifth Wheel (Northeastern Michigan Region)
  • The Four Wheel Drift (Fort Wayne Region)
  • Iowa Regional News (Iowa Region)
  • Newsletter (Central Kentucky Region)
  • Ohio Valley Regional News and Observers Stand (Ohio Valley Region)
  • Open Exhaust (Detroit Region)
  • Piston Patter (Chicago Region)
  • Pit Board (South Bend Region)
  • The Pit Stop (Southern Indiana Region)
  • The Racket (Tennessee Valley Region)
  • Recaps (Eastern Tennessee Region)
  • Rev Record (Western Ohio Region)
  • S.I.R. SCCA Newsletter (Southern Indiana Region)
  • Smoke Signals (Blackhawk Valley Region)
  • The Tonneau (Land O'Lakes Region)

Also relevant are some non-SCCA publications, notably that of the Midwestern Council of Sports Car Clubs (MCSCC), based in the Chicago area:

  • Klaxon (Midwestern Council of Sports Car Clubs)

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