SCCA National (Milwaukee Region)

Blackhawk Farms, 19 Jun 1977

All cars are 1.6-litre FB unless noted.

Notes on the cars:

1. March 76B (Bobby Rahal): Ecurie Canada ran a pair of green #69 March 76Bs in 1976 for Gilles Villeneuve (Lasalle, Quebec) with support from Skiroulle. Skiroule's signature green colour suggests they were the two cars listed in March records as being "leaf green", 76B-10 and 76B-15. The main car was owned by Ecurie Canada, but the spare car was on loan from March importer Doug Shierson. According to Graham Scott, who worked for Ecurie Canada in 1976 and then for James Morgan in 1977, Villeneuve's spare car was only raced once, at Westwood at the end of May. Villeneuve then crashed it in testing at St Jovite (Mont-Tremblant) in July, and it had to be rebuilt on a new monocoque. It was repainted in red Ramada livery and used by F1 star James Hunt at Trois-Rivières in September, and then by Howdy Holmes at Road Atlanta, where he wrecked it. Scott recalls that it was rebuilt on another new monocoque and sold to James Morgan, who ran a two-car team in 1977, his other car being the ex Seb Barone 76B. Morgan raced them in early 1977 SCCA races alongside Bobby Rahal (Glen Ellyn, IL) and then entered them for Rahal in the 1977 Pro series with sponsorship from Red Roof Inns. Rahal is also reported to have had a 77B which was crashed at the opening race. The ex-Barone 76B then went to Ron Levanduski (Elmira, NY) in 1980, but it is not known where the ex-Villeneuve car went.
2. Lola T360 [HU12] (Rick Koehler): Sold via North American agent Carl Haas to Tom Klausler (Palatine, IL) and run for him by Traylor Engineering in the Canadian Formula Atlantic series in 1975, replacing the earlier T360 HU2 he drove in 1974. Sold to James Cushing and Tom Price (Mt Prospect, IL), who raced it during 1976, Cushing in an IMSA race and at the Road America June Sprints, and Price in Midwest Council races, tying for the FB title that year. In August 1976, Price advertised the Lola T360 which he described as being "ex Klausler". As Klausler's 1974 T360 HU2 was still with Mike Hall at this time, this must have been Klausler's 1975 HU12, as must Rick Koehler's "ex-Klausler" car in 1977. Rick Koehler (Mequon, WI) raced the Lola in Central Division Formula B in 1977, winning the division with 43 points, one ahead of Jerry Hansen's newer Lola. The car was described at some races as an "Excalibur EE1B", including at the Runoffs, but this is believed to be the same car. Koehler converted the car to Formula C specification for 1978, and Pat Buckley set the lap record at PBIR on its only outing of 1978. Koehler advertised the car in August 1979, saying that it was "ex-Klausler", had not raced in 1979, had only been raced once in 1978, and reiterating the lap record holder at PBIR. Subsequent history unknown.
3. Brabham BT40 (Peter Robinson): Peter Robinson (Madison, Wisc) raced a Brabham in Formula B at the Indianapolis Raceway Park SCCA National in September 1975. In 1976, Robinson raced a Brabham BT40 at Brainerd in September 1976, and it seems likely this was the same car. He made further appearances in an FB Brabham in 1976 and 1977, before acquiring a newer Chevron B39 for 1978. Nothing more known.
4. Rondel M1 [204?] (Dean Lundgreen): The car used by Jody Scheckter as part of the Motul Rondel team at the first two F2 races of 1973. In June, Titan Properties, the company owned by Chris Meek and Malcolm Wayne, sponsored this car for Tom Pryce to make his F2 debut for Motul Rondel. He drove it until Rouen in June, where he retired with a blown engine, but then had a new car, chassis 208, when he returned to F2 in August. Chassis 204 was sold at the end of the season via Fred Opert to Chris O'Brien (Ottawa, Ontario /Halifax, Nova Scotia) and raced in the Players Canadian Formula Atlantic series in 1974. O'Brien crashed the car at Mosport in July 1974 and it was rebuilt on a new monocoque in time for Sanair two weeks later. It was advertised in December 1974 as "ex-Scheckter" with spares that included a monocoque, presumably the one damaged at Mosport. O'Brien recalls that he sold the car back to Opert. Unknown in 1975, but to Dean Lundgreen (Milwaukee, WI) for 1976, when he scored eight points in Central Division Formula B, and 1977, when he scored 18 points and qualified for the Runoffs. To Ron Drew (Milwaukee, WI) and fitted with a Cosworth BDJ for Formula C in 1978 and 1979, then to Tim Joyce April 1980, then to Greg Dauterman (Fond du Lac, WI) February 1981 and used in Formula Continental up to June 1985. Dauterman sold it Bill Schley at Schley Motor Cars in Waukesha, Wisconsin, and from him it was sold to Jurg Dubler in Switzerland in January 1990. Then sold to Jody Scheckter in June 1999, and picked up by Kerry Adams who then looked after his cars. It has since been immaculately restored to original condition, and is in the care of Sam Kendle of Kendle Adams Motorsport Limited at Scheckter's Laverstoke Park Farm in Hampshire.
5. Brabham BT38B [18] (Steve Fossett): Thomas M. Shelton (Plantation, FL/Fort Launderdale, FL) raced a red-and-white Brabham BT38B in South-East Division FB in 1972. The car arrived relatively late in the season and was still being described as immaculate and new at the Palm Beach National in September. Tom recalls that the engine broke at the Road America Pro race in August 1973, and he diverted to Chicago on his way home and traded the car to Carl Haas. Haas sold it to Mikeal Bystrom Jr (Minneapolis, MN), who had previously raced a Brabham BT18 in FC, and still recalls the chassis number of the BT38B as being BT38B/18. He broke the Hart twin cam at his first race and fitted a BDA instead, racing it in US Pro races in 1974 and then in the Canadian series in 1975. He sold it to Steve Fossett (Chicago, IL), then a commodities trader in Chicago, but later more famous for his ballooning exploits. Fossett raced it in SCCA Formula Atlantic in 1977.
6. Lola T460 [HU12] (Robert A Lybarger): New to Brian Robertson's Quick-Trans/Gabriel International Warranty team for Bertil Roos and Craig Hill for 1976, but it is not known who drove which car. Chassis HU12 was sold to Bob Lybarger (McHenry, IL) for 1977, and updated with a T560 kit supplied by Carl Haas. Lybarger raced the car in SCCA Nationals and Midwest Council events from 1977 to 1982 but actual data on his race history is sparse. He scored two points in CenDiv Formula B in 1977, representing Iowa Region, and finished fourth in class at Road America in September. He scored two points again in 1979, by now a member of Blackhawk Valley Region, then 16 points in 1980 and 50 points in 1981, when he finished third in the division. Lybarger is believed to have sold the car to Ed Midgley, but exactly when this happened is unclear. Midgley had it by 1999, when it had been restored, and it was next seen when owned by Mark Barr. Then sold to Mike Finch (Austin, Texas), and sold by him to Simon Gardiner (Adelaide, Australia) in 2006 or 2007, who first raced the car at Mallala in March 2008. Raced regularly in Australian historic events from 2008 to 2016. After a three-year gap, Gardiner raced it again at The Bend International Track in September 2019.
7. Chevron B29 [29-75-23] (Robert Williams): New to Bobby Brown (Hicksville, NY) and run by his B&B Racing for customer Syd Demovsky (Chicago, IL) in the CASC Players Formula Atlantic series in 1975. Retained by B&B Racing and Demovsky for 1976. Sold to Bob Williams, and raced in SCCA Central Division Nationals and Regionals in 1977. Retained by Williams for 1978. To Richard Shepard (San Francisco, CA) by 1980 and run by him in Formula Atlantic in Colorado until 1985. Then unknown until owned by Peter Gates in 1990. Sold by Gates to Robert Clarke in 1992, and still with him as a bare tub in 2006.
8. Chevron B34 [34.76.35?] (Paul Henry): New to Fred Opert Racing and believed to be the car raced by José Dolhem at Trois-Rivières in early September. Then to Paul Henry (Clyde, OH), and believed to be the car he drove in Formula Atlantic specification at Indianapolis Raceway Park two weeks later. Converted to Formula C specification with a Cosworth BDJ engine and raced by Henry at the SCCA Runoffs in October. Retained by Henry for 1977 and used in SCCA Nationals in Formula Atlantic spec. In 1978, Henry ran 76-35 in SCCA Formula A specification, still with the same engine but adding 100 lbs of weight, and won a Regional F5000 series based at Nelson Ledges. Henry retained the car until 2006, when he advertised his three Chevrons. All three cars were acquired by David Gathercole in 2008 and returned to England. Sold to Ken Thorogood, and raced by John Finch in HSCC events in 2013 and 2014. Crashed by Finch at Donington Park in 2015, and rebuilt by Thorogood over the next four years, reappearing when raced by Clive Wood at the Oulton Park Gold Cup in September 2019.
9. March 75B (Thomas Sokoly): For 1976, Thomas and Theodore Sokoly acquired a March 75B from Doug Shierson Racing. The car was blue when they first acquired it, and they were told that it had been raced by a Canadian hire driver at Trois-Rivières, who had damaged the engine during practice. This would seem to be a reference to Marcel Talbot, as he was the only Canadian to drive for DSR at that race, and he failed to start the race. With Tom Sokoly (Mayville, WI) driving, and brother Ted as chief mechanic, they raced the March 75B in Formula Atlantic in 1976, including one IMSA round, two Players rounds, plus SCCA Nationals. Tom did not score any points in Central Division in 1976, but scored three points in 1977. For 1978, the car was sold to Frank Scott (Racine, WI), a local Assistant District Attorney. He scored only three points in CenDiv FB in 1978, and took part in the Labatts Championship Series race at Road America in July 1978. Advertised by Scott in throughout 1979 as a 75B/77B with a choice of BDD and BDN engines. Subsequent history unknown.
10. Lola T460 [HU5] (Frank Mahaney III): New to Jerry Hansen (Long Lake, MN) for SCCA Central Division Formula B during 1976, and first appeared at the Road America June Sprints. Finished second at the 1976 Runoffs to Bobby Brown's March 76B. Sold to Frank Mahaney III (Wayzata, MN) for 1977, but Hansen confusingly acquired a different T460, the ex-Tom Klausler car, to run himself that year, as his 1977 Lola T560 was late to arrive. HU5 was sold to Steve Overton (Belleville, IL), a member of St Louis Region, for 1978 and is probably the car raced by Ernst Schneider (St Louis, MO) in 1979 and 1980. Then unknown until bought from Californian Paul Schafer by Cy Moreland (Trainer, PA) in 1997. Sold to Colin Haste (Port Macquarie, NSW, Australia) in 2003 as a "basket case" with a new tub fabricated by Marc Bahner. Restored to Jerry Hansen's livery.
11. Elden Mk16 [155/16001/73] (Bruce Kramer): Completed for Gordon Smiley to drive in the 1974 British Formula Atlantic series, using Hart BDA engines and entered by Elden International Racing. After missing two races in June, Smiley made his debut in the car at Thruxton on 7 July, qualifying ninth and finishing fifth. He was described by Autosport as "unbelievably hairy" at the Brands Hatch race two weeks later, and then crashed at Silverstone the following weekend. The car was next seen at Brands Hatch in September, when it had been fitted with a Ford twin cam engine and converted to Formula 3 specification for Peruvian driver Jorge Koechlin to drive, with backing from the Bondurant Racing School. Koechlin had been driving a Elden-Scholar Mk10C in Formula Ford with some success until a massive accident at Brands Hatch in May. He competed in four F3 races in September and October. It was then converted back to Formula Atlantic specification and sold to Bruce Kramer (Rockford, Illinois). Describing the car as an "Elden PH75-B", he raced it in SCCA Nationals in 1975 but failed to qualify from his heat in his only Pro race, at Trois-Rivières. It was retained by Kramer for 1976 and 1977, again appearing in SCCA Nationals but without notable success. He was 11th in Central Division in 1976 but failed to score a point in 1977. Subsequent history unknown, but in January 2009 'capri' on 10 Tenths said he had the Mk16 in the Chicago area, his father having "purchased it in the early 1980s in pieces".
12. Lola T360 [HU3] (John Kowalski): Sold via North American agent Carl Haas to Bill O'Connor (Highland Park, IL) and run for him by Traylor Engineering in the Canadian Formula Atlantic series in 1974. O'Connor won the US GP support race in this car in October 1974. Retained for 1975, when it was used in the Canadian series and at least once in SCCA Nationals, entered by United Racing Ltd. To John Kowalski (Berea, OH), who won Central Division Formula B in 1976 in the car, qualifying for the Runoffs. Kowalski only scored nine points in a Lola in Central Division FB in 1977. Subsequent history unknown.
13. March 75B (Glenn Guerra): Chip Mead (Dayton, OH) raced a red #17 March 75B as part of the Doug Shierson Racing team in the Players Canadian series 1975 with backing from Zonin wines. He also raced the car in CenDiv Formula B, finishing in a tie for second place for the title. H. T. Mead Jr, who was 25 years old and worked for his father's investment company, had previously raced for Doug Shierson Racing in 1974 in a Chevron B27. Advertised by Chip Mead with a Nicholson/McLaren BDA in December 1975 and January 1976. This car was raced by Ted Johnson (Arlington Heights, IL) in an SCCA National at Mid-America Raceway in May 1976, when a photograph shows that it was still in Mead's distinctive livery. Sold soon after to Glenn Guerra (Barrington, IL) who raced it in Midwest Council and SCCA Central Division Formula B in 1976, winning the MCSCC event at Blackhawk Farms in late May, and scoring scoring three points for his fifth place finish (fourth in the FB class) at Indianapolis Raceway Park in June. Guerra scored three points again in the SCCA division in 1977, and competed in Midwest Council events at Blackhawk Farms, winning two races. He also appeared at least once in MCSCC events in 1978, and scored three points in SCCA CenDiv in 1979. Subsequent history unknown.
14. March 722 (Ed Midgley): William Kautz (Geneva, IL) had a March 722 during 1972 and 1973 but did not start any of the races that he is known to have entered. This unfortunate sequence started with a Midwestern Council race at Blackhawk Farms on 11 June, and continued through SCCA Nationals and SCCA Pro races that season. The car was entered as #60 at least twice in 1972 and as #6 in 1973. Its colour was given as yellow in 1973 and the entrant throughout was Kautz Farm Racing. Kautz advertised the car in May 1976, still with a "big valve Hart" engine and a Falconer body. He sold it to Ed Midgley (Geneva, IL) who raced it in Formula B in 1977 and advertised it in August 1978. It was bought from Midgley by Tom DePagter (Sheboyan, WI), who raced it in Midwest Division and Central Division Formula Atlantic in 1979. He advertised the car in September 1979 noting that it had a Cosworth BDD engine and still had its Falconer body. Subsequent history unknown but DePagter recalls selling it to someone who used it in historic racing.
15. Lola T460 [HU1] (Norm Allen): New to Carl Haas Racing for Héctor Rebaque to race in Canadian and IMSA Formula Atlantic races. Norman Allen (Hanover Park, IL) then raced a Lola in Central Division Formula B in 1977 and 1978, identified as a T460 at one Regional in 1978, and he advertised an "ex-Rebaque" Lola T460 in November 1978. Eleven years later, in September 1989, Michael Duncan (Los Altos, CA) advertised T460 "chassis #1" which he described as an "Ex-Carl Haas/works car driven by Tom Klausler/Hector Rebaque". Subsequent history unknown.

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 77-N-34P. Results transcribed by Chris Townsend from the SCCA Archive at the IMRRC.