American Road Race of Champions (FB and FC classes)

Road Atlanta, 29 Nov 1970

All cars are 1.6-litre FB unless noted.

Notes on the cars:

1. Brabham BT29 (Evan Noyes): Evan L. Noyes Jr . (Cedarville, MI) entered a yellow Brabham BT29 for Sebring 28 Dec 1969 but did not arrive, implying his car was not quite ready on time. His first known race is at Green Valley Raceway on 22 Feb 1970, a SWDiv National and he ran the canary yellow BT29 in both the 1970 Pro season, where he was a member of the Fred Opert Racing team, and in Nationals where he finished second in CenDiv to Michael Hall. He finished second to Skip Barber's Tecno at the Run-Offs. This is not the same car that Noyes then took to the Tasman series in January 1971 as his well-used US car was on Fred Opert's stock list on 1 May 1971 with a comment that it had not raced since the Run-Offs.
2. Brabham BT29 ("Butch" Harris): Cecil N. Harris Jr (Houston, TX), known in racing circles as Butch Harris, raced a Brabham BT29 in Formula B in 1970. He appeared in the Pro events at Edmonton in June 1970, but thereafter ran in Nationals in Southwest Division. Harris had begun his career as a 16-year-old in La Feria, TX in 1958, drag racing a 1934 Ford Model T, and had raced in Formula Vee in 1968 before moving up to Formula B in 1969 with a Winkelmann. Harris started the 1970 season with the Winkelmann but as he entered the BT29 for the Sears Point Pro race in May 1970, the Brabham is likely to have been new for 1970, but probably not part of the initial batch of 1970 deliveries. Harris retained the BT29 for 1971 but only appeared in Nationals, taking 24 pts in SWDiv that season. He did not appear at the Run-Offs and the subsequent history of the BT29 unknown. It may have been the car raced by Norman Johnson, also a resident of Houston, in the two Mexican Pro races in 1971.
3. Chevron B15b [FB-69-4?] (Jim Grob): Jim Grob (Ft Lauderdale, FL but later Pompano Beach, CA) raced a Chevron B15b in Pro racing in 1969 and also scored 24 points in Northeast Division FB, representing Northern New Jersey Region. He retained the car for 1970 and again for 1971, then mainly focusing his efforts on SCCA Divisional racing in Southeast Division. He finished second to Hugh Kleinpeter's sister car in 1970 but then won the Division in 1971. He changed to a new Chevron B20 for 1972.
4. Chevron B15b [FB-69-5?] (Hugh Kleinpeter): Just as many other SCCA FB drivers were acquiring Brabham BT29s, Hugh Kleinpeter invested in a Chevron B15b to replace the Beach T11 with which he'd won the SEDiv FB title. He retained his title in 1969 and retained the Chevron for 1970, winning his third successive title. After the 1970 season, the car was sold to Dave Yoder (Plantation, FL) and it was raced by Yoder and by Frank Marrs (Plantation, FL) in local SCCA events and occasional nearby Pro events over the next four seasons. Yoder scored nine points in Southeast Division FB in 1972, and ten points in 1974, qualifying for the Runoffs that year. It was then sold to Bill Anspach, who used it for spares for his Formula C Chevron B17. It was later sold to Barry Geng (Burlington, Iowa), to replace the B17b that Geng had wrecked at Road Atlanta. It ended up with someone who was going to break it up for a 3-wheeler project, but was rescued by Wayne LaFrenz (Iowa), who has owned it since the early 1980s. It arrived complete with a 1100cc HRE-built Ford twin cam engine and Hewland FT200 gearbox.
5. 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.
6. Brabham BT29 [8] (Bob Welch): R. C. 'Bob' Welch (Alexandria, VA) ordered one of the earliest Brabham BT29s but his car did not arrive late August 1969, giving him time for a short test before the Lime Rock Pro race where he finished seventh. He then set about qualifying for the Run-Offs with just four weeks of the season left and on successive weekends won Nationals at Marlboro, VIR, IRP, and Pocono. Welch retained the car for 1970 when he scored 42 points in NEDiv but was again beaten to the title, this time by Ken Duclos in yet another BT29. The car was sold for 1971 and is believed to be the BT29 in which David Pearl (Atlanta, GA) was killed at Daytona that August. The ex-Welch car is known to have been involved in a major accident and its remains were used by Carl Whitney (Forge Village, MA) in 1972 when he constructed a BT29 out of two wrecked cars. By 2005, this car was with John Stowe.
7. Brabham BT29 [33] (Mike Hall): This Brabham BT29, believed to be chassis BT29-33, was bought new by Michael F. Hall (Chicago, IL) and used in SCCA racing where Hall won the 1970 CenDiv FB title. He also raced it in the Pro series in the latter half of the season. Hall retained the red-and-yellow BT29 for the first half of 1971 but replaced it with a new BT35 in August and sold the BT29 to Phil Geraldi (Valley Stream, NY), who had previously raced a LeGrand in NEDiv FB. Geraldi raced it for the rest of 1971 and in 1972 then sold it to Charles J. Derbes III (Metairie, LA) in the spring of 1973. Derbes won the SWDiv Formula B title in this car in 1974 and attended the Run-Offs, finishing 12th. He was second in the Division in 1975 and tied with Warren Pauge for the 1976 title. Chaz Derbes has retained the BT29 ever since, still owning it in 2012.
8. Brabham BT29 (Larry Harley): Larry Harley (Dallas, TX) bought a Brabham BT29 for the 1970 season, using it in the Southwest Division FB title race - where he finished just a single point behind winner Roy Maze - and in a couple of Pro events. After finishing ninth in the Run-Offs, the car passed to Steve Louden (also Dallas) who raced it in 1971 and 1972, winning the SWDiv title in 1971 and tying in 1972.
9. Titan Mk3 (Harvey Snow): Harvey Snow (San Jose, CA) raced a white Team CIRT Titan in Formula C in west coast SCCA and Pro events during 1969, qualifying for the Run-Offs. Retained for 1970 and again qualified for the Run-Offs. Subsequent history unknown.
10. Brabham BT15 [BT9 F3-6-64] (Chuck Grauel): Identified by the Formula 1 Register as the car raced by Patrick Dal Bo in 1964 and by Jean Sage briefly at the end of 1965. Then sold back to England via Stephen Conlan and owned by David Wragg (Leeds) in early 1966 then to Malcolm Smith (Clitheroe, Lancashire) later that year. Sold by Smith via Fred Opert to the US, where dealer Pierre Phillips imported it into Portland, OR. He sold it to Win Casey, also of Portland, who raced it in ICSCC and SCCA FC in 1967 with a MAE engine. Then to another Portland driver, Neil Hansen, for NorPac FC in 1968 when it was described as a BT14. It was later owned by Chuck Grauel (Kansas City, KS) and raced in MWDiv Formula C in 1970 and 1971, then via midget racer Frank Dickerson (Wichita, KS), John Stokes and others to Jerry Strickfaden (Los Alamos, NM) 1987, during which time it was regarded as a BT15. Researched by Jerry Strickfaden and identified as a BT9. To Wayne Mitchell 1988. To Robs Lamplough (Hungerford, Berkshire) 2011.
11. Brabham BT21B (Tom deLoughry): Thomas J. deLoughry (Cold Spring Harbor, NY) acquired a Brabham BT21B for Formula C in 1969. He retained this car through moves to North Haledon, NJ, in 1970 and Brooklyn, NY in 1972. Despite using a March 703 with 1.1-litre BDA engine in 1972, he returned to the 1-litre BT21B in 1973, and renewed his licence again in 1978, by which time he was living in Lithia, Florida, and raced the BT21B at Charlotte, Lime Rock, Roebling Road, and PBIR that season. Deloughry was 53 by this time. The subsequent history of the Brabham is unknown.
12. Brabham BT15 [F3-18-65] (Jerry Wilson): New to Jens-Christian Legarth, and raced in F3 in Denmark and around Europe in 1965. To Ole Vejlund for 1966, and raced in Danish F3 events. To Kurt Seerup for 1967, and again raced in Scandinavian F3 events. Then unknown in 1968, but said to have been driven by Tom Watson in the US in 1969. To Gerry Wilson (Prairie Village, KA) and raced in SCCA Formula C in 1970 and 1971, qualifying for the Runoffs both years. Al Essig (Overland Park, KS), Wilson's partner in Goodman Motor Parts, took over the car for 1972, but crashed heavily at Lake Garnett when his car hit water-filled retainer barrels. Essig was badly injured and the car completely wrecked. Essig sold the remains of the car to Stephen Wood (Australia) in 2006. Sold to Ed Holly (Sydney, NSW, Australia) in 2018.
13. Brabham BT2 [FJ-1-62] (Dennis F. Lokmer): Sold to Briggs Cunningham (Bridgeport, CT) and raced by his team of drivers in 1962, but most often by Briggs himself. Sold to team driver Augie Pabst (Milwaukee, WI) for 1963 and raced by him in the last seasons of Formula Junior and in the first season of the SCCA's new Formula C. Then to Tom Gelb (Hartford, WI) for 1966 who was enormously successful in Central Division FC over the next three seasons, winning the Divisional title in 1968 with a maximum 54 points. The car was then sold to Dennis Lokmer (De Pere, WI) who continued its success, qualifying for the Run-Offs in 1969 and 1970. He then sold it to Bill Anspach (Palm Beach Gardens, FL) who won the Florida Region FC title in 1971. It went to Bud Bakels (also Palm Beach Gardens, FL) in 1972 and is then missing until 1985 when it was found, still in Anspach's livery, and bought from Randy Morvant (Vidor, TX) by David Roland (Alexandria,  LA). Sold to Wayne Mitchell (Cardiff, CA) in 2006 and bought from him by Robs Lamplough (Hungerford, Berkshire) and returned to the UK in 2011.
14. Titan Mk3 [68306] (Fred Roehr): New to Charles Sawyer-Hoare and raced in British F3 in 1968 up to Brands Hatch in August 1968. Then to Fred Roehr (Portland, OR) and raced in Formula C in the US from 1969 to 1971. According to a June 2010 feature on Curtis Jacobson's BritishRaceCar.com, the car then went to Don Starr who fitted a Kawasaki motorcycle engine, presumably still for Formula C. Several owners later it was acquired by Bob Erickson and Don Snyder who are believed to have converted it to Formula B specification with a Ford twin cam engine. In the mid-1990s it passed to Brad and Dean Baker (Bowmanville, Ontario) who raced it in historic events. In February 2004 it was acquired by Bill Bovenizer (Ajax, Ontario, Canada) who continued to use it in vintage racing, still with a Lotus-Ford twin cam engine.
15. Brabham BT29 (James Gutfreund): Jim Gutfreund (Des Moines, Iowa) bought a new Brabham BT29 for 1970 and ran it in Midwest Div Formula B, winning two races and leading the division until his BRM-built Ford twin-cam blew. He sold the car to Archie Snider (Los Gatos, CA) for 1971 and Snider continued with the BRM engine until joining forces with Jon Milledge (Mountain View, CA) who crewed the car for Snider in Regionals while racing it in Nationals and in Pro events. They continued with the car through 1972 and into 1973, before Snider replaced it with a GRD. It then went to Larry Wright (Riverside, CA) to replace his earlier BT29 that he'd wrecked in June 1973. Wright kept the car until 1976 after which he retired and sold the car to "an unknown guy who lived in the Sierra Madre area of So Cal, near Pasadena".
16. Chevron B15 (Peter Darr): Peter Darr (Government Camp, OR) raced a green or blue/green Chevron in Formula B from June 1970 to June 1971. The only clue to its identity is from Darr's advertisement for the car in November 1970, where he called it a "B15-17 Chevron F2 chassis", adding that it was a "works convt. F2". It was fitted with a Hewland FT200 gearbox and 10" and 14" wheels. The only F2 car that this could possibly be is the first B10, thought to have been used as a Formula A car in 1969 in Illinois. Darr continued to race a Chevron in 1971, but was involved in a collision in an SCCA Regional at Portland in August 1971. Subsequent history unknown.
17. Chevron B15b [FB-69-8?] (Doug Brenner): A new Chevron B15B was prepared for Reine Wisell to race - and win - at Sebring 28 Dec 1969. Doug Brenner bought this car for 1970 and raced in the Pro series and then sold it to Byron Hatten (Altadena, CA) for 1971. Hatten continued to race it into 1972 but crashed heavily at Riverside in Feb 1972, the first event of the season, badly damaging the Chevron. Art Brisbane (Covina, CA) bought the damaged car, and also bought the ex-Syd Demovsky damaged B15b frame from Wayne Mitchell. Frank Monise cut the two frames in half and "beautifully attached the good parts together". Brisbane used the rebuilt car in Cal Club Formula C from 1974 until 1978 at least. Subsequent history unknown.
18. Brabham BT21B (Dewey Harless): Fred Opert, the leading US racing car importer in the late 1960s, raced a Brabham in Formula C in 1968. At the end of the season, he advertised it in CP&A (7 Dec 1968) as a BT21B with fuel-injected SCC engine, six-speed Hewland gearbox and "extra light chassis and body". Opert's car was sometimes reported at races as a Formula B and it is unclear whether this was a mistake or whether Opert was driving other cars he had in stock. Sold to Dewey Harless (Portland, OR) for 1969 and raced with great success in FC. Harless advertised it in July 1970, still with its fuel-injected SCC engine but as a BT21, not a BT21B. He retained it until early 1971 when it was sold to Butch Owsley (Aptos, CA/San Jose, CA) who ran it at Laguna Seca in June 1971. Subsequent history unknown.
19. Brabham BT29 (Robert Nunemacher): Robert B. Nunemacher (Grosse Ile, Michigan) was one of the leading runners in Central Division Formula B in 1970, scoring 22 points in a Brabham BT29. He had raced an Alexis in FB in 1969 and it is possible he used the Alexis at the start of the 1970 season so it is not yet possible to say when he first raced the BT29. He did not attend the Run-Offs in November 1970 but was out again in 1971, racing in the Mid-Ohio National in July, but did not scoire any points that season. He was not seen in 1972, but "Bob Nunmacher" (Rochester, MI) advertised a BT29 in "excellent shape" in December 1972. Subsequent history unknown.
20. Brabham BT29 (Roy Maze): Roy Maze (Alvin, TX), owner of local car dealer Royal Dodge Inc, won the 1970 Southwest Division SCCA Formula B title in a Brabham BT29, amassing 33 pts over the season. He scored a second place early in the season but won at Texas International Speedway in July, just a week after crashing out of his only Pro appearance at Dallas International Motor Speedway, and went on to win two of the remaining three Nationals. He was entered for the Run-Offs but did not appear.
21. Brabham BT21 (Dick Seelye): Dick Seelye (Milwaukee, WI) ran a red #95 Brabham BT21 in Central Division Formula C in 1970 and 1971. He qualified for the Run-Offs both seasons. Nothing more known.
22. Brabham BT21B (Russell Freed): Russell Freed (McKees Rock, PA) raced a Brabham in SCCA Formula C from 1970 to 1975. In 1972, he had moved to Coraopolis, PA and was entered by Bonnie Freed. He qualified for the Runoffs in 1970, where his car was identified on the entry list as a Brabham BT21B.
23. Brabham BT21B (Larry Skeels): Larry Skeels (Madison, WI, later Rockford, IL) raced a Brabham in Formula C from 1969 to 1971 (or later). The car was identified on several occasions as a BT21B and on one late occasion as a 1000cc car, implying it had been 1000cc all along so probably using its original Ford-based Cosworth MAE engine. Nothing more known.

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.