SCCA National (F/SCCA class)

Willow Springs, 11 Apr 1976

All cars are 1.6-litre FB unless noted.

Notes on the cars:

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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).
4. March 722 (John Angus): Bob Lazier (Vail, CO) raced a black #6 March 722 in the Pro Formula B series in 1972, winning at Bryar Motorsports Park in May. The car was sold to Byron Hatten (Altadena, CA) for 1973, and he entered it for John Angus (formerly of Hartland, WI, but living in Marina Del Rey, CA at this time) for 1974. According to a later advert, this was the "76B" driven by Hatten at the IMSA Formula Atlantic race at Ontario in 1976, and it was then sold to George Seydel (Pasadena, CA), who raced a Formula B March in SCCA Regionals at Riverside in 1978. According to this car's SCCA logbook, it was raced by Seydel until 1979. The SCCA Logbook records its "Manufacturers Identification No." as 722-16, but this was the chassis number reported in Europe to be Xavier Perrot's F2 car, so this identity remains unconfirmed.
5. Lola T460 [HU3] (Steve Jizmagian): New to Steve Jizmagian (San Francisco, CA) and raced in SCCA Nationals and IMSA Formula Atlantic races in 1976. Retained for 1977 for Californian SCCA Nationals and Regionals. Retained again for 1978, again for Californian SCCA Nationals and Regionals. Retained by Jizmagian for 1979, but destroyed in an accident at Westwood in June 1979. What was left was broken for spares.
6. 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.
7. March 74B/75B (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.
8. 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.
9. 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.
10. Eisert 72 (Hunter Harris): A new 1972 "Webster/Eisert Formula A chassis" with 92-inch wheelbase advertised by Marv Webster (Mill Valley,CA) in April 1972. Sold to John Kuenzli (Reno, NV) who intended to run the car for Gary Burke to drive in Formula A, but its first event showed that it was not set up properly for road racing. After some time redeveloping the car, Kuenzli and Burke returned with the "Webster/Lizard-1972" for L&M F5000 Championship race at Laguna Seca in May 1973, where it was entered as the "RNR Special". The rest of the pit crew comprised Kuenzli's wife Marilyn, engine builder Bob Santolini, body man Mike Peart, and Burke's wife Rosemarie. Burke qualified 32nd, slowest of all those that set a time, 23% slower than the leading Lola T330s, and was the first retirement. He also drove the car at the Laguna Seca June Sprints seven weeks later. The car was later found hanging on Bob Santolini's shop wall in 1974 by Hunter Harris (El Macero, CA/West Sacramento, CA), a friend of Burke's. He raced the car in local SCCA Formula A in California in 1975, but found its ZF gearbox was still geared for very high speeds. He changed it to a Hewland DG300 for 1976, when he also fitted a new nose and a single mount rear wing. When Harris bought a Talon later in 1976, he sold the Eisert to someone in Monterey, CA. This is likely to have been Bill Moir (Salinas, CA), who bought such a "Spartan Machine in Sacramento CA around 1978". The date and location match, as Carmichael is a suburb of Sacramento, and Spartan Engine Development & Machine Work was Bob Santolini busines in West Sacramento. David Pozzi (Salinas, CA) drove the car in a Solo event while Moir owned it. He remembers that Moir, who moved to Oregon and became well-known as a restorer of Can-Am McLarens, sold it during the 1980s. Somehow the car reached Kenny Hamilton (Boise, Idaho), joining the ex-Ott car that he already owned. Both Eisert's were sold by Hamilton to Lonnie Knigge (Salt Lake City, UT), to use as supermodifieds. He raced one of them for a single season but then quit racing. Knigge sold them to Bill Freeman (Colerain, NC), who understands that Knigge acquired them in the late 1970s. Freeman sold the ex-Ott car in 1982 but retained the ex-Kuenzli /Burke car, still recognisable in Freeman's photos in the same livery and with "paint by Peart" on the rear wing. Sold by Freeman to Toney Edwards (Indianapolis, IN) in 2017.

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-11P. Official results from SCCA records at the IMRRC.