SCCA National (Cal Club Region)

Riverside, 15 Feb 1976

All cars are 1.6-litre FB unless noted.

Notes on the cars:

1. March 76B [2] (Cliff Hansen): Cliff Hansen (Laguna Beach, CA) campaigned a blue/red #6 March 76B in 1976 as part of the Doug Shierson Racing operation. Hansen retained the car for the start of the 1977 season, until his new 77B arrived, and then kept the 76B as a spare, needing it at St-Félicien and at Trois-Rivières after crashing the 77B. Its history in 1978 is unknown, but it is believed to be the car raced by Tom Contino (Ontario, CA) between 1979 and 1981, then sold by him in October 1981 to Damon Meek (Los Gatos, CA), who raced the car in SCCA Nationals in 1982 and has identified it as "76B-02" and ex-Cliff Hansen. Meek sold it to Lee Follansbee (San Jose, CA) and it would be the 76B raced by him in the Sears Point Pro race in 1984. Sold by Follansbee to Michael Olsen (Santa Clara, CA) who raced it at Sears Point in October 1988. Subsequent history unknown.
2. March 75B [4] (Don Breidenbach): Don Breidenbach (Oakland, CA) had a new March 75B which he first raced at Holtville Aerodrome 23 Mar 1975. It was blue and ran as #61 entered by D. L. B. Industries. Last known race was in February 1976, after which Breidenbach's new 76B arrived and the 75B went to Jeffrey Alkana (Azusa, CA), replacing his earlier 74B. Alkana is reported to have won the regional championship in 1977 with this car but it seems more likely that he won the 1976 Cal Club Formula B title. Sold to Alan Holly (North Hollywood, CA) for 1977, repainted red and again used in Cal Club SCCA events. Sold by Holly to studio exec Steve Brimmer (Irvine, CA) who modified the sidepods and cockpit shroud and added a Perspex wind deflector. He raced it from 1978 to 1980, and then kept it, unused, until he sold it to his race mechanic Marc Cohen, around 1983 or 1984. History then unknown until it was owned by Walter Hagstrom (Laguna Niguel, CA) in 1988. It then sat unused for ten years from 1990 until sold by Roger Downer (Petaluma, CA) to Ken Stone (Redding, CA) in 2000. Retained by Stone in 2004. By 2008, the car was with Mark Rincon (Redding, CA), who ran it in Ramada Inns livery. Later bought from Rincon by Steve Cook (Napa, California).
3. Chevron B27 [27-74-05] (Hugh "Wink" Bancroft): An Fred Opert team car, used by Hugh "Wink" Bancroft (Costa Mesa, CA) in the US series in 1974. The car was owned by Bancroft, who according to Formula and Sports Car retained it unraced in 1975, and then wheeled it out again for a few SCCA South Pacific Division races in early 1976. Advertised in May 1976, and then by Fred Opert in November 1976. The car now owned in 2009 by Bud Morrison had an SCCA log book showing it was owned by Ken Valan (Wilmington, DE) in August 1978, so it is assumed that this was the "B29" that Valan raced from the start of the 1977 season. The logbook then shows that it went to Frank Shober (Chatham, NJ) and was raced by him from early 1979 to 1985. In October 1988, it was bought from Bruce McQuiston at the Bertil Roos Racing School (Blakeslee PA) by Monte C. Shalett (New Orleans, LA), who sold it via Grand Prix Classics (La Jolla, CA) to Paul Wesselink (Dana Point, CA/Huntington Beach, CA) in June 1997. From Wesselink to Emmet "Bud" Morrison (Tempe, AZ) in May 2005.
4. March 742 (Tom Sauerbrei): Patrick Depailler raced a March 74B at Trois-Rivières in September 1974. Autosport described it as the car tested earlier in England by Jim Crawford, but now set to full Formula 2 specification. Canadian Motorsport Bulletin described it as the ex-Coulon 'slave' March 732, but photographs show it with the same rear wing and oil tank used on the works F2 March 742s. A photograph also shows that it was raced by Lang in the US GP support race at Watkins Glen in October. The car then went to Formula Ford graduate Tom Sauerbrei (Fresno, CA), who had an excellent season in the "742" in SCCA Regionals and Nationals in 1975, winning the regional title. After that season, it was rebuilt to 75B specification and leased to Johnnie Crean (San Juan Capistrano, CA), the 27-year-old son of former racer John C Crean, who raced it in two IMSA Formula Atlantic races in California in May 1976, and later in SCCA Nationals and Regionals. Subsequent history unknown.
5. March 722/75B [722-33] (Dennis Firestone): New to Dick Doherty (Hollywood, CA) and raced in Pro FB in 1972, as well as Cal Club SCCA events. Retained for Cal Club events in 1973, 1974 and 1975. Rebuilt by Wilbur Bunce to 75B specification for 1976, and run by him in Californian SCCA races for Dennis Firestone to drive, and later in Pro Formula Atlantic races in California for Ron Dykes, Rocky Moran, and Bob Lazier. It was red, and wore #10, #70 and #87 during the season. Sold to Ted Titmas (Van Nuys, CA) in early 1977, and run by him as a hire car in 1977, but Titmas had two cars in 1977, one red and one orange, and it is unclear which was which. Subsequent history unknown.
6. Chevron B27 [27-74-07] (Jim van Horn): Chevron build record says sold via Fred Opert to George Sabin. Used by Alan Lader as well in 1974. Sold to Bobby Fisher (Lafayette, CA) for 1975 and used in some early-season Nationals and one Pro race. To Jim Van Horn (Orange, CA) for 1976 and run in west coast Pro and SCCA racing. Then a strong candidate for the car of Californian Mike Morris in SCCA races in 1977 though this may have been the ex Hayes car from 1975-76. Either this or the Hayes car likely to be the B27 for sale by Crosslé Cars Pacific in 1982. In February 2007, Emmet "Bud" Morrison (Tempe, AZ) bought what he believes to be B27-74-07 from Neil Johnson via Fantasy Junction (Emeryville, CA).
7. March 75B (Tim Cooper): Tim Cooper (Kansas City, MO) raced a yellow #8 March 75B for Doug Shierson Racing in 1975 with backing from Rutledge Oil. Joe Grimaldi recalls that Cooper hired a new 75B from the team for 1975, and that the car then returned to Shierson. Chip Mead drove Cooper's car at Halifax, with Mead's bodywork transplanted onto it. Cooper moved to Wilbur Bunce Racing in California for 1976, taking the 75B with him, and the car was updated to "75B/76B" specification during the season.
8. Lotus 69C [71/69.2.FB] (Jon Norman): New to William Monson (Kent, WA) in February 1971 with pale yellow bodywork according to the Lotus built record. Raced by Monson in the SCCA Continental Championship and SCCA Nationals in 1971 but after only a few races he suffered a major accident at Laguna Seca in June 1971 when he clipped the bridge and was in hospital with significant injuries. He returned to racing but crashed again in an SCCA Regional at Portland in August, seriously damaging the car. This time he retired from racing and sold the wrecked Lotus to Gary Gove (Tacoma, WA). Gove's racing partner Pete Lovely was then in the process of fitting a F1 DFV engine to his 1970 F2 Lotus 69 and Gove was able to use the F2 rear end to repair Monson's car. The result was a very quick car and in 1972 Gove raced it in ICSCC and NW Regional events plus at least one National, the Kent (Seattle) National in September. In 1973, Gove won the NorPac title in the Lotus and then sold it to Jon Norman (Oakland, CA) who won the 1975 NorPac FB title and was second in 1976. Norman also took the car to the SCCA Runoffs in 1975, finishing a remarkable fourth, and raced it in several Pro Formula Atlantic races. Norman raced it at least once in SCCA events in 1977 before replacing it with a much newer March 76B. Subsequent history unknown.
9. Brabham BT29 (Frank Monise): Graham Baker moved from New Zealand to the US for a season of Formula B in 1970. He bought a new green Brabham BT29 from Chip Gompf and Wayne Mitchell, one of three new BT29s they had in stock. He was entered by Charlie Hayes Racing Equipment as #82 for his first race, at Edmonton in May, but was then self-entered as #82 for the next eight races as #67 before ending the season as part of the Bonphil Racing Industries team. Hayes sold the car for Baker at the end of the season to a non-racer in Laguna Hills who appears to have retained it, unused, for three years. In late 1973/early 1974, CSCC racer Jeff Alkana learnt from engine specialist Steve Jennings about the car and he bought it with Frank Monise (Pasadena, CA), who needed a new BT29 having wrecked his earlier BT29-41. Monise raced the car for several more seasons with Ford twin cam and BDA engines before selling it around 1976 to Tito D'Oporto and Gary Green and replacing it with a March.
10. Brabham BT29 (Larry Wright): 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".
11. March 74B (Jeffrey Alkana): Don Breidenbach (Oakland, CA) raced a white March 74B in SCCA National and later in Pro races in 1974 but early that season his car was described as a 732 so this 74B may have been a mid or late-season replacement for the older car. Retained for the early 1975 race at Riverside and then sold to Bob Gledhill (Utah). Somehow the deal with Gledhill unwound because Breidenbach advertised the car again at the end of 1975, alongside his newer 75B. Jeff Alkana (Azusa, CA) recalls buying it from Breidenbach and he raced it in SCCA events in early 1976. Alkana then bought Breidenbach's newer 75B and he recalls selling the 74B to Jim Van Horn (Orange, CA). However, Van Horn drove an older March 71BM updated to 76B from 1977 to 1980. Subsequent history unknown.
12. Brabham BT38 [‘33’] (Warren "Bud" Pauge): 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.
13. Lola T332 [HU50] (John David Briggs): See full history: Lola T332 HU50.
14. Chevron B29 (Gordon Strom): Gordon Strom (Santa Cruz, CA/Sunnyvale, CA) ran a Brabham BT35 in west coast SCCA racing from 1972 to 1975 when he moved up to a nearly-new Chevron B29. The car was yellow with red top bodywork and ran as #9. The identity of the Chevron is not known. Strom raced this in 1976 and 1977 until an accident at Laguna Seca in June 1977 in which he suffered massive head injuries. It is likely that the car was destroyed. Strom was hospitalised but his medical insurance "ran out", and a fund was established to help his wife Kay with the overwhelming hospital bills. He died in November 1977 without having regained conciousness.
15. Lola T192 (Al Stanchfield): Al Stanchfield (Fresno, CA) raced a Lola T192 in SCCA Formula A events at Riverside and Phoenix from 1974 to 1978. Steve Smith, who crewed for Stanchfield and raced the car once in an ASRA event in Phoenix, recalls that Stanchfield sold the engine and later sold the car separately in the early 1980s. Nothing more known.
16. Lola T240 (Lee Pitman): Lee Pitman (La Hambra Heights, CA) raced an orange #57 Lola T240 in SCCA races at Riverside and Laguna Seca from 1972 to 1978 at least. He was a member of CSCC but rarely scored points at National level. Nothing more known.
17. Chevron [B15 F3-69-9?] (Chris Price): New to Howden Ganley and raced in European F3 in 1969 using Lucas engines. Hired to Reine Wisell at one race in August after Ganley's entry was turned down. To Steve Matchett for 1970 and used in British F3. Matchett took the car back to the US and it was advertised by Jack Grimm (Orange, CA) in October 1971. Presumably the B15 raced by Doug Turner (Newport Beach, CA) in Formula C from 1972 to 1974, latterly as a B17. Advertised by Turner as a B17 in October 1974. Towards the end of 1975, the car reappeared in Southern Californian FC, raced by Chris Price (Garden Grove, CA). He continued to race it at Riverside in 1976 and 1977. Subsequent history unknown.
18. Lola T332 [HU51] (Evan Noyes): See full history: Lola T332 HU51.
19. Brabham BT40 [30] (Mark Munroe): New to Olney "Bill" Mairs (Malibu, CA) and raced at the 1973 SCCA Runoffs, Mairs having qualified by finishing fourth in his March 722 in NEDiv, representing New York Region. Retained for 1974, when Mairs finished fifth in Southern Pacific Division, representing CSCC. He then sold to the car to his two mechanics, Victor Tostado and Mark Munroe, and Munroe raced it in 1975 and 1976. After Munroe was killed in a sprint car accident at Ascot Raceway in September 1979, the Brabham was sold to Richard Christ, and then to John Whitton. It was next seen when owned by Mike Fazzi in 2002 or 2003, and was sold by him to Peter Brennan (Melbourne, Victoria, Australia) in 2004. The car remained in the UK, and was raced by Brennan with the HSCC in 2019. Sold to Martin Friedl (Vienna, Austria) in 2020, but the car was expected to stay with Bob Juggins in England, and be used in HSCC events in 2021.
20. Lola T330 [HU3] (Bob Earl): See full history: Lola T330 HU3.
21. Brabham BT29 [1] (Marc Bahner): John Angus bought the first BT29, ordering the car as early as late summer of 1968 but taking delivery in August 1969. He ran it in Regionals in late 1969 before participating in the Pro series in 1970. He swapped from a Vegantune to a Racing Services engine for 1971 and continued in Nationals. Angus continued with the car in 1972, when Ron Dykes also drove it in the Bogotá races and again in 1973, when the car continued to be competitive at National level. To Marc Bahner (Santa Ana, CA) for 1974, and rebodied by him with March bodywork. Raced by Bahner in local SCCA events in 1974 and 1975. Bahner retained the car for many years, advertising it in December 1996 as "absolutely new - needing paint and assembly".
22. March 722 (Doug Turner): Doug Turner (Newport Beach, southern California) raced a Formula B March 722 in SCCA Nationals at Riverside and Phoenix in early 1975. The car was variously described as a 722, 722/732 and 742. He was entered on one occasion by Carrier Comfort, and John Blizzard's photograph shows that it ran as #28. Turner more usually competed in Formula C, having raced a Chevron B15/B17 for several years. In February 1976, Max Mizejewski drove Turner's March in a Regional at Riverside, and then in March 1976, Turner advertised a damaged Formula Atlantic March consisting of a 722 tub with 75B suspension, and a Jennings BDD engine. The advert said that the car was damaged at the left front as the result of a testing accident. Nothing more known.
23. Brabham BT29 (Mike Fazzi): Mike Fazzi (Costa Mesa, CA) raced a red Brabham BT29 with Ford twin cam engine in SCCA Regionals and Nationals in California in 1975 and 1976. He advertised the car in November 1976, noting that it had updated bodywork.
24. Ralt RT1/75 [6] (Pat Walter): New to Pat Walter (San Rafael, CA/Novato, CA) and raced in Formula Atlantic in North American in 1975 and 1976, entered by Ameropean Racing. The car was then unraced for several seasons until bought from Ameropean Racing by Ted Titmus and entered by him for Ben Schillachi in SCCA events in 1979. This would be the car raced by Juan Carlos Bolaños at Mexico City in April 1981. CT
25. Chevron B27 (Dick Hayes): Dick Hayes (Huntingdon Beach, CA) raced a Chevron in SCCA Nationals and one IMSA Pro race in 1975 and 1976. It was described as an "ex-Howdy Holmes B27" by Finish Line in 1975, and a photograph shows that it was dark blue with dark green sidepods when it appeared at Ontario in May 1976. However, the car Holmes drove was also driven by Tom Pryce at Trois-Rivières, and an ex-Pryce car was owned by Dan Neuman in 1975 and 1976. So it is possible that the car Holmes drove at Watkins Glen in October 1974 was a new car, unrecorded in Chevron records, and this is what went to Hayes. Subsequent history unknown.
26. Surtees TS8 (Kenneth Rich Amick): Rich Amick (La Mesa, a suburb of San Diego, CA) entered an orange Surtees TS8 for the Riverside SCCA National in February 1976. He that raced a Formula A Surtees at Holtville Aerodrome in March 1976, and Kenneth R Amick (Spring Valley, CA) raced a Surtees TS8 at the SCCA National at Riverside in February 1977. Rich Amick also raced it at Phoenix two weeks later. Amick then advertised the car in Autoweek 23 Apr 1977, mentioning that the "spares include tubs", and later in the season raced a FSV Lola. The two most likely sources for Amick's car are TS8/006, last seen with Dick Ferguson, just up the coast in Los Angeles, or TS8/008, last seen with Stuart Forbes-Robinson in Huntington Beach, CA, also in Greater Los Angeles, at the end of 1974. The Ferguson car seems most likely, as that had other tubs with it when acquired by Chuck Haines in 1990. However, this could also be the car that went to Dale Mahar in the Los Angeles area later in 1977, in which case it was the mystery chassis TS8/010.

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-2P. Official results from SCCA records at the IMRRC. Annotated entry list provided by Michael Winiarski.