SCCA National (Cal Club Region)

Riverside, 4 Jul 1976

All cars are 1.6-litre FB unless noted.

Notes on the cars:

1. Lola T332 [HU45] (Max Mizejewski): See full history: Lola T332 HU45.
2. Brabham BT40 [33] (Ron Dykes): New to Ted Titmas (Van Nuys, CA) for the British Formula Atlantic series in 1973, but not raced until late in the season. This is presumably the "brand new", "never used" BT40 advertised from Reigate and London numbers in June 1973. Titmas ran the car in September and October, and Cyd Williams used it for one race in October. Titmas reappeared with the car briefly at the end of the 1974 season. He then took the car to the US, and entered it for Ron Dykes to drive in Californian Formula Atlantic races in 1976. To John Angus for 1977 (or to Wilbur Bunce and run by him for Angus). Then to Marc Bahner 1978, who restored it with a stock nose and sold it to George Seydel. In early 1980 it was sold to Finish Line editor Bob Schilling. Later owners have been given as Ken Patch, Perry Sands, Kevin Roggenbuck, who raced it in the 2011 Pacific Northwest Historics, and then David Rugh. Rugh sold it to Chris Rose in 2018.
3. Lola T460 [HU7] (Dennis Firestone): New to Wilbur Bunce Racing, and raced by Richard Melville and Dennis Firestone in IMSA and Canadian Formula Atlantic in the first half of 1976. Reappeared in early 1977 for Dennis Firestone in an SCCA National, then to Sam Nicolosi (San Diego) for the rest of the year. Retained by Nicolosi for 1978 for SCCA Nationals and Regionals. Advertised by Nicolosi in September 1978. Subsequent history unknown, but Nicolosi recalls that he sold it to "a racer in SCCA North Western region".
4. 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.
5. March 75B [4] (Jeffrey Alkana): 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).
6. 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.
7. March 75B [R1] (Bob Kolowich): A March 75B built up specifically for Patrick Depailler to drive at Trois-Rivières in 1975 as part of the Ecurie Canada team. Depailler took pole, but the engine broke during practice and he borrowed a different car for the race. The 75B was sold after the race to Bob Kolowich (Mountain View, CA), who raced it in SCCA events in 1976. At the end of that season, Kolowich had to give up racing, and the car was stored. He still owned it in 2008, when he took it out of storage and started to restore it.
8. LeGrand Mk 7 [002] (Ken Owen): A new car replacing the original works Mk 7 sold to Don Richardson, and shaken down by Bruce Eglinton at Whitman stadium June 1968 where he crashed and was badly burnt. The car was rebuilt and loaned to Jerry Entin, fitted with his Chevrolet engine and ZF gearbox, and taken to Road America for the Badger "200" on 27 July 1968, but the timing gear broke before the race, and Entin did not start. Entin won a National at Riverside in August and two Regionals later in the year. Dick Guldstrand took over the car for the Laguna Seca 'Pro' race in October and it was then driven by Rex Ramsey at the ARRC, and at the Monaco International Trophy in New Zealand at the end of December. Ramsey continued to drive the car in 1969, winning three SCCA Nationals but was well off the pace in Pro races. It was then shared by Chuck Elliott and Bruce Eglinton in SCCA Regionals and Nationals respectively in 1970 and 1971. Then sold to Mal Patterson (San Jose, CA), who entered it for the Pro race at Laguna Seca 7 May 1972, but does not appear to have raced it very often. It was then sold to Ken Owen (Union City, CA) and used in local SCCA racing in 1975 and 1976. Then sold to Skip Pack (Hollister, CA) and Dennis McLaughlin , who autocrossed the car in the late 1970s and early 1980s before they sold it to Butch Gilbert in October 2009. Sold to John F Boxhorn (Mukwonago, Wisconsin) in October 2010, and restored during 2011 and 2012. Sold to David Zavetsky (Wellesboro, PA) in 2019. See full history: LeGrand Mk 7 002.
9. GRD 373 (Jules Williams): In late 1975, Jules Williams of Automotive Development (Orange, CA) announced that he would be running the ex-Tony Brise GRD 373 in Formula C car in Southern Pacific Division Nationals in 1976. The car was to be powered by an 1100cc Fiat engine developed by PBS Engineering (Garden Grove, CA) with a four-valve head based on the company's 1300cc C Sports Racing engine. Williams qualified for the SCCA Runoffs at Road Atlanta but retired after a single lap. He returned in the car in 1977, when he finished second in the Division. He scored points again in SPDiv in 1979 with the "PBS".
10. 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.
11. March 74B/75B (Johnnie Crean): 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.
12. March 76B [9] (Don Breidenbach): New to Don Breidenbach (Oakland, CA) and raced in SCCA Nationals, IMSA Formula Atlantic and the Players series in 1976 with support from Roots Footwear. The history of this car is then unknown until it was sold by Chuck Billington (Modesto, CA) as a CSR sports car to Chuck McCain (Tuscon, AZ). Retained by the McCain family after his death in 2010. Sold in August 2013 to Ian Ashdown (San Clemente, CA).

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-39S. Official results from SCCA records at the IMRRC.