SCCA National (Central Pennsylvania & Washington DC Regions)

Summit Point, 22 Aug 1976

All cars are 1.6-litre FB unless noted.

Notes on the cars:

1. March 76B [7] (John Mortensen): John Mortensen (New York, NY/Weston, CT) raced a March 76B in SCCA events in 1976 and the livery - Midnight blue with red stripe on each side - exactly matches that given in March records for 76B-7.
2. March 75B [73B-7] (Eric Kerman): New to Ron Cohn (Modena, NY), and run as a two-car team with Bruce MacInnes in 1973, entered by DRC Formula Racing Inc in Players Canadian and SCCA Formula B races, running as #56. Retained for 1974, running in the Players Canadian Formula Atlantic series and in the US GP support race at Watkins Glen in October. To Eric Kerman (Hempstead, NY/Glen Cove, NY) for 1975 and updated with new orange bodywork, entered as #81 or #87, and running as a 75B. Raced by Kerman in SCCA Nationals from 1975 to 1979. Later to Oran Bushey (Huntingdon, NY) and raced until 1982. Subsequent history unknown, but this is a leading candidate for the car used by Cory Mayo with a Chevrolet V6 engine in the RCCA series in the 1980s. .
3. Chevron B29 (William Kneeland): Bill Kneeland (Franklin, NH) bought a pale blue Chevron B29 from Fred Opert for the 1976 season. He raced it in several Pro races as well as a program of SCCA racing in 1976 with support from Real Estatement Marketing. Photographs show that Kneeland's B29 was driven by Max Sebba (Sandy Springs, GA) at the SCCA Runoffs, instead of the much older March 722 he had used in SCCA Nationals. Kneeland did race at the Runoffs, so it seems likely he had hired a new car, so a B34, from Opert. Kneeland acquired the first of the Chevron B39s for 1977, but the Runoffs at the end of October 1976 is too early for it to have been that car. The B29 went back to Fred Opert as a trade on the new car. Subsequent history unknown.
4. Brabham BT29 [2] (Ken Valan): 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.
5. Chevron B29 [29-75-21] (Lyle Heck): New to Bobby Brown (Hicksville, NY) who took delivery in England. Raced by David Morgan in two early British Formula Atlantic races, entered by Roger Chalk Racing, before being shipped to the US. Raced by Brown in the Players Canadian Formula Atlantic series in 1975, entered by B&B Racing. Unseen in early 1976, then sold to Lyle Heck (Reading, PA) and raced in NEDiv SCCA Nationals. Retained by Heck for 1977 and 1978, and presumably the Chevron he raced at Summit Point in May 1979. Then to Mike Rand (Amherst, Massachusetts) for NEDiv SCCA events in 1979, then to Nolan 'Lanny' Drevitch (Milton, MA) and Nick Leonard. Devitch was a member of the SCCA's New England Region, and scored one point in SCCA Nationals in 1980 in this car. It was then advertised by Leonard (Pipe Creek, TX) in early 1982, noting that the car was in New York. Then to Chris Perrotti (New Rochelle, NY), and fitted with a Chevrolet V6 engine for the RCCA Formula American class, but Perrotti found he had litle competition. By 1988, the car was with Tony Carpanzano (New Milford, CT), who restored it to Atlantic specification. Sold to Paul Lasko (Las Vegas, NV) in 2006.
6. March 722 [23] (Folis Jones): Roy Folland (Montréal, Quebec) raced a blue March 722 in the early rounds of the British Formula Atlantic series in 1972, before taking the car to Canada and running in the Players Canadian Formula B series. Sold for 1973 to Bruce Jensen (Kitchener, Ontario) and raced in the Players Canadian series. Sold to Edmond Villa (Clark, NJ), and raced in a New England Region SCCA Regional at Lime Rock in April 1974. In January 1976, he advertised a 722 in Competition Press & Autoweek from Port St Lucie, FL. Ed sold it to Folis Jones (Chesapeake, VA), who raced a March in SEDiv events in 1976 and 1977, and in SCCA Regionals at Summit Point in 1978 and 1979. This would be the March 722 with '77 bodywork advertised by Jones in December 1978 and February 1979. Subsequent history unknown.
7. Brabham BT40 [17] (R Peter Gates): New to Ken Duclos (Boxboro, MA) and raced in Formula B in 1973, winning the Northeast Division title, and the National title by winning the SCCA Runoffs at Road Atlanta in November. Retained for 1974, and again won both the Northeast title and the National title, and towards the end of that season was fitted with a Cosworth BDA for Formula Atlantic. Again retained for 1975, now with the BDA in Formula B, and Duclos won a third successive NEDiv title in the car, but this time retired at the Runoffs. In 1975, the car wore Falconer bodywork. Sold to Peter Gates (Claymont, DE) for 1976, fitted with a 1.1-litre Cosworth BDJ for Formula C, and finished third in the NEDiv FC title. To Jon Sley (Claymont, Delaware) for FC again in 1977, finishing fifth in NEDiv, and retained for 1978 and 1979. The car was next seen when advertised by Gates in 1992 as restored with a new tub. After that, it was next mentioned by Michael Rand in February 2018 as having been recently purchased. By April 2015, Rand had sold it to Bob Burnside (Dexter, MI).
8. Lola T240 (Bob Welch): Bob Welch (Alexandria, VA) raced a Lola T240 in Formula C in 1975 and 1976. 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.

Individual sources for this event

SCCA Sanction 76-N-54S. Official results from SCCA records at the IMRRC.