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Bart Brownstein in his Brabham BT16 passes the Vulcan of Steve Durst.  Copyright Steve Brownstein.  Used with permission.

North East Division SCCA Formula B 1968

The influence of local dealer Fred Opert was being seen in the North East Division where 21 drivers scored points and 11 of them were driving Brabhams which were now flooding into the country via Opert's operation in New Jersey. Despite his customer base, Opert was trumped by two works-assisted teams finished first and second: Lotus agent Fred Stevenson won the title in a Lotus - a 20 according to Sports Car but actually the same 41C he had driven in the Pro series - and Roger Barr was second in his Crosslé, almost certainly a 12F.

Bill Gubelmann was a regular in the Pro series and had acquired a Formula B version of the successful BT23 Formula 2 car. Of the other Brabham drivers, Mike Hiss and Fred Ashplant were seen in the pro series in their BT21As, as were Carson Baird and Oliver Grant in older BT18s. Nick Craw, Bob Welch, Mike Hayman and Peter Goetz all had new BT21Cs but the Brabham of Bruce Kearsley is not yet known.

Peter Rehl converted his Cooper T88 from Formula C specification to FB during the season but it continued to be referred to as a Cooper-BRM. Two more Crosslés appeared further down the listing, driven by Bruce Klussman and George Faraghan. Both are believed to have been 12Fs.

Final standings

1. WP Fred StevensonLotus '20' [41C]New England45 pts 
2. Roger BarrCrosslé 12FWashington DC36 pts
3. Bill GubelmannBrabham [BT23F]New York27 pts
4. Peter RehlCooper-BRM [T88]New England24 pts
5. Mike HissBrabham [BT21A]Washington DC21 pts
6. Carson BairdBrabham [BT16]Washington DC15 pts 
7. Bob WelchBrabham [BT21C]Washington DC15 pts 
8. Fred AshplantBrabham [BT21A]NNJ10 pts 
9. Mike HaymanBrabham [BT21C]Washington DC9 pts 
10. John F. SirmonsLotus 22New England8 pts 
11. Howard BrownRussell AlexisPhiladelphia7 pts 
12. Steve BrownsteinBrabham [BT16]New York5 pts 
13. Nick CrawBrabham [BT21C]Washington DC4 pts
14. Bruce KearsleyBrabhamNew England4 pts 
15. Oliver GrantBrabham [BT18]Old Dominion3 pts 
16. Bruce KlussmannCrossléSteel Cities3 pts 
17. Don BurrisCooperPhiladelphia2 pts 
18. George FaraghanCrosslé [12F]Philadelphia2 pts 
19. Don CampbellMerlynWashington DC1 pt   
20. Victor FranzeseLola T63Glen1 pt   
21. Peter N GoetzBrabham [BT21C]Blue Mntn1 pt   

† Indicates total includes points earned out of home division.

1968 Schedule

07 Apr 1968Marlboro Motor SpeedwayWashington Region
21 Apr 1968Virginia International RacewayNorth Carolina Region
12 May 1968Cumberland AirfieldSteel Cities Region
19 May 1968BridgehamptonNew York Region
09 Jun 1968Thompson SpeedwayNew England Region
06 Jul 1968Lime RockNorthern New Jersey Region
20 Jul 1968Lime RockMohawk Hudson Region
28 Jul 1968Nelson LedgesSteel Cities Region
11 Aug 1968Watkins GlenGlen Region
01 Sep 1968Bryar Motorsport ParkNew England Region
22 Sep 1968Marlboro Motor SpeedwayWashington Region

This points table above appears in Sports Car magazine which lists the Nationals included as Marlboro, VIR, Cumberland, Bridgehampton (both halves), Thompson, Lime Rock (NNJ), Lime Rock (Mohawk-Hudson), SCIR, Watkins Glen, Bryar and Marlboro. The first Marlboro was The Governors Cup; Cumberland would have been the Annual Cumberland Sports Car Races; Watkins Glen had SCCA Nationals supporting a Trans-Am race; and the second Marlboro was The Marlboro National Championships.

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.