Central Division SCCA Formula B 1976
John Kowalski won the Divisional title in Bill O'Connor's old Lola T360, from veteran Chuck Dietrich, who was in his third season with another ex-O'Connor car, his ex-F2 Brabham BT38. Jerry Hansen had a brand new Lola T460 but he raced his Formula A Lola T330 instead at several Nationals. Tom Outcault and Dale Lang both had brand new March 76Bs but were focused mainly on the Pro series, as was Chip Mead in his new Ralt RT1. Also very competitive were Keith Feldott who retained his ex-Chip Mead Chevron B27, Vince Muzzin who had kept the March 75B he'd driven in the Pro series in 1975, and Dean Lundgreen who had acquired an ex-F2 Rondel M1.
Older equipment was fielded by Thomas Christ in a 1974 Chevron B27, Steve Fossett with a 1972 Brabham BT38B, and Gary Robinson the ex-Bruce Cambern 1971 March 712M. Back for more in their usual cars were Tom Mangan in his Crosslé 28F, Bruce Kramer and James Opperman in their Eldens, and Peter Robinson in his Brabham BT40.
Less is known of two Chicago Region drivers who had March 75Bs: Ted Johnson who picked up three points at Mid-America Raceway in May, and Glenn Guerra, who also picked up three points at Indianapolis Raceway Park in June. Paul Henry raced a Chevron B25 in FC for most of the season, but scored up a couple of FB points for eighth place at the September IRP race in an unidentified Chevron.
Final standings
1. | John Kowalski | Lola T360 | NEOhio | 48 pts |
2. | Chuck Dietrich | Brabham BT38 | NEOhio | 37 pts |
3. | Keith Feldott | Chevron B27 | Chicago | 37 pts |
4. | Jerry Hansen | Lola [T460] | Land O'Lakes | 28 pts |
5. | Tom Outcault | March 76B | Central Illinois | 13 pts |
6. | Peter Robinson | Brabham [BT40] | Milwaukee | 12 pts |
7. | Vince Muzzin | March 75B | Detroit | 9 pts |
8. | Tom Mangan | Crossle [28F] | Golden Triangle | 8 pts |
9. | Dean Lundgreen | Rondel Mk 1 | Milwaukee | 8 pts |
10. | Tom Christ | Chevron B27 | Milwaukee | 7 pts |
11. | Bruce Kramer | Elden PH75-B | Blackhawk Valley | 7 pts |
12. | James Oppermann | Elden Mk 12B | Chicago | 6 pts |
13. | Dale Lang | March 76B | Land O'Lakes | 5 pts |
14. | Chip Mead | Ralt RT1 | Western Ohio | 4 pts |
15. | Glenn Guerra | March 75B | Chicago | 3 pts |
16. | Ted Johnson | March 75B | Chicago | 3 pts |
17. | Steve Fossett | Brabham [BT38B] | Chicago | 3 pts |
18. | Paul Henry | Chevron | NEOhio | 2 pts |
19. | Gary Robinson | March 712 | Northeast Michigan | 1 pt |
20. | Tom Cooney | March | Indianapolis | 1 pt |
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)
- 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)
- Newsletter (Central Western Michigan)
- 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.