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Lake Afton Grand Prix (Wichita Region SCCA National)

Lake Afton, 18 Aug 1974

ResultsLapsTime/Speed
1 J Robert Young Lola T242 - Ford twin cam
#1 (see note 1)
20 24m 23.7s
88.343 mph
2 Bruce Cambern March 712M [20?] - Ford twin cam
#8 (see note 2)
20 2nd in FB
3 Jackie Cooper March 74B - Ford twin cam
#14 (see note 3)
19 3rd in FB
4 John Saucier (FSV) 1.6-litre Tui BH3 VW
#61
19 1st in FSV
5 Mark Felson (FSV) 1.6-litre Lola VW
#70
19 2nd in FSV
6 John Bernadine Brabham BT38 [‘33’] - Ford twin cam
#80 (see note 4)
19 4th in FB
7 Richard Johnson (FC) 1.1-litre Merlyn Mk 20A [393/FC/72] - Ford Lucas downdraft
#13
19 1st in FC
8 Gerald E Hudson (FC) Lola T60 [SL60/4]
#19 (see note 5)
18 2nd in FC
9 Marion Noake (FSV) 1.6-litre Tui VW
#2
18 3rd in FSV
10 Ray Waddell (FSV) 1.6-litre Lola T250 VW
#73
17 4th in FSV
11 Keith Thomas (FSV) 1.6-litre Lola VW
#67
16 5th in FSV
12 Jim Liska (FC) Lotus 51
#6
16 3rd in FC
13 William Brown Brabham BT29 - Ford twin cam
#39 (see note 6)
13 5th in FB
14 Frank Dickerson Brabham [BT9 F3-6-64] - Ford twin cam
#18 (see note 7)
11 6th in FB
R Dorsey Schroeder Brabham BT35 [9] - Ford twin cam
#42 (see note 8)

DNS Bill Nees (FSV) 1.6-litre Hawke DL5 VW
#5
Did not start
DNS Larry Anderson (FSV) 1.6-litre Winkelmann VW
#10
Did not start

All cars are 1.6-litre FB unless noted.

Qualifying
Qualifying information not available

Notes on the cars:

  1. Lola T242 (J Robert Young): J Robert Young (Snowmass Resort, CO/Glenwood Springs, CO) won MWDiv in 1974 in his Wagnon-Coulter Lola, identified at the Runoffs to be a T242. This could be the T240 raced by Carl McIntyre from nearby Boulder, CO, the previous year. Young moved up to a new Lola T360 for 1975, and advertised the T242 in April 1975. Later in 1975, it was bought from Bob and Don Preston by James Maetzold (Valley Centre, KS), who raced it in 1976 in SCCA Regionals and then SCCA Nationals. He upgraded to a Lola T360 for 1977 but still had the Lola T242 when he advertised it in October 1978. Maetzold recalls that he sold the T242 to someone in Michigan. Subsequent history unknown.
  2. March 712M [20?] (Bruce Cambern): Bruce Cambern (Dearborn, Michigan) bought an "ex-Pace" March 712M from Fred Opert, but the deal was brokered by Doug Shierson (Adrian, Michigan). Pace had raced several 712Ms as part of Williams' F2 team but this was the only one to move to the US, and a later advert for 712M-20 suggests it was that one. The F2 FVA engine was kept by Opert, and Cambern acquired a tired Vegantune twin cam. He raced the car in Central Division Formula B in 1973, when he scored eight points in SCCA Nationals, and may have had it earlier that that. Cambern recalls that the car was sold to a 'Gary' from Oklahoma, which is very likely to be Gary Robinson (Broken Arrow, Oklahoma) who raced a "March 712" in Southwest Division Formula Atlantic in 1976, 1977 and 1978. Robinson later acqured a March 75B, but exactly when he moved over to the newer car is unclear. Then unknown for ten years. In September 1989, Michael Duncan (Los Altos, CA) advertised a March 712, giving its chassis number as #20 and saying it had three owners from new, suggesting he had acquired it directly from Robinson. It then had a "fresh" Bahner tub and 77B bodywork, but the 1971 bodywork was with it. In 1990 or 1991, so possibly in response to these adverts, Simon Hadfield and Tony Thompson bought a March 712M from the US that still had its original HSCC logbooks. They sold it unrestored to Alain Filhol in France. Subsequent history unknown.
  3. March 74B (Jackie Cooper): Jackie B. Cooper (Valley Park, Kansas) drove a March 74B in MidWest Division SCCA races in 1974. Cooper was a a 42-year-old commodity broker, and member of Wichita Region, who had joined the SCCA in 1970 and raced Formula Ford and FSV before acquiring the 74B. He scored a total 20 points in Nationals, for two second places and two third places. He did not race in 1975, but was third in the Division in 1976, scoring 40 points. Unknown between 1977 and 1980, but it reappeared with John Saucier (Midwest City, Oklahoma) in 1981, still in Cooper's livery. Saucier raced it in Midwest Division Formula Atlantic between 1981 and 1984, after which it may have gone to Ron McKinsey. It is believed to have turned up in Belgium many years later, in 742 specification.
  4. Brabham BT38 [‘33’] (John Bernadine): A "new chassis" replacing the ASCA team's Brabham BT38 wrecked by Jean-Pierre Jaussaud at Rouen. It was raced by teammate Adam Potocki at Imola, where Potocki failed to qualify, and was then Jaussaud's car for the rest of the season. ASCA entered Jaussaud in the Brazilian F2 Torneio, but he was involved in the startline accident at the second Interlagos race, and the Brabham was badly damaged. According to Chris Townsend's research, this car was acquired by Fred Opert Racing and raced by Héctor Rebaque in the Caracas Formula B race in March 1973, then by Brian Robertson in the JAF Grand Prix in May 1973. It is not clear what else Opert used it for in 1973, but in January 1974, he sold it to John Bernadine (Tulsa, OK) for SCCA Formula B. Then to Warren Pauge (Hacienda Heights, CA) in August 1975, replacing his well-used Brabham BT21. Pauge retained the BT38 for many years, even running it as a Can-Am car once in 1982. After he finally stopped racing it in 1988, he sold it to Marc Bahner, then it went to George Steven in 1992, Tom Stapleton about 2008, and Paul Skilowitz (Stuart, FL) in 2016.
  5. Lola T60 [SL60/4] (Gerald E Hudson): New to Eric Offenstadt, originally planned as a F2 car with BRM engine. Its first race was in F3 specification later in 1965, but it was raced in F2 with BRM power in 1966. Bought by Robs Lamplough (London) in 1967 and sold on to Brian Cullen for Irish 1600cc class racing in 1968 and 1969. Then sold to the US, where it was advertised by Sport Car Service (Vandalla, Ohio) in May 1970. Likely to be the T60 advertised by R.H. Kulaas (Fairborn, Ohio) five months later. Bought by Gerry Hudson (Galva, Kansas) in 1970 and raced in SCCA Formula B and then Formula C over the next few years. Retained by Hudson until 2014 when it was sold to Rob Shanahan (San Diego, CA), who fully rebuilt the car. It made its historic racing debut at the 2018 Goodwood Revival, raced by Ben Mitchell. Ben raced it again at the Goodwood Revival in 2019.
  6. Brabham BT29 (William Brown): Bill Brown (Memphis, TN) raced a Brabham BT29 in Midwest Division Formula B in 1973. After faiuling to start for his first three Nationals, he won the Lake Afton SCCA National in mid-August 1973, then scored two more for fifth place at Mid-America Raceway in September, qualifying for the 1973 Formula B Run-Offs. Memphis is on the border of three Divisions, Southeast, Southwest and Midwest, and Brown faced a long haul to any National. He attended the Run-offs where he finished 10th. Previously, Brown had raced a Temple in Formula Super Vee and qualified for the Run-Offs in 1972. Brown scored points in FB in a Brabham again in 1974 and 1975, and raced at Mid-America Raceway in May 1976. He moved to a FSV Lola for 1977. This is probably the Dr. William Russell Brown, a former SCCA racer, who died in 2004. Nothing more is known about the Brabham BT29.
  7. Brabham [BT9 F3-6-64] (Frank Dickerson): 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.
  8. Brabham BT35 [9] (Dorsey Schroeder): New to Nick Craw, and raced initially in the British Formula Atlantic series at the start of 1971 before moving to the North American SCCA series in May. Borrowed by Alan Lader for the 1971 SCCA Runoffs. Raced by Craw at Bogotá in early 1972, then sold to Bob Schutt (Kirkwood, MO) for Midwest Division SCCA FB in 1972 and 1973. Sold to Dorsey Schroeder (Manchester, MO) and raced by him 1974, 1975 and 1976. Then to Mike Mahan in 1976 or 1977 for autocross, and next to Greg Scharnburg in 1980, also for autocross. In October 2001, it was bought from Scharnburg by Mike Winebrenner (Sellersburg, Indiana).

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.

Individual sources for this event

SCCA Sanction illegible. Official results kindly provided by Rocky Entriken. Competition Press & Autoweek 7 Sep 1974 p21.